Not many people understand that uterine fibroids, although small, can cause big problems. If you didn’t know, fibroids are tumor-like growths that can grow in your uterus.\u00a0Some fibroids are as tiny as an apple seed and\u00a0other fibroids can\u00a0grow to be as large as a grapefruit. As you can imagine, fibroids that large cause extreme symptoms.<\/p>\n
But how exactly do\u00a0you know if you have a uterine fibroid? Read on to learn more about this noncancerous growth.<\/p>\n
What Are the Symptoms?<\/strong> \u2022 Going\u00a0to the bathroom more frequently, yet feeling like your bladder is still full If you have these symptoms, visit\u00a0your gynecologist. Your doctor might be able to actually feel the fibroid or see\u00a0a possible fibroid by using ultrasound technology or x-rays.<\/p>\n What Are the Risk Factors?<\/strong> \u2022 Family history: If any immediate family members or relatives had uterine fibroids, you’re at greater risk How Can I Treat It?<\/strong> xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"Not many people understand that uterine fibroids, although small, can cause big problems. If you ...","author":252621,"featured_media":85699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/03133904\/shutterstock_359456462.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/03133904\/shutterstock_359456462.jpg","formated_date":"August 4, 2016","category_name":"Health","category_icon":"https:\/\/d3vodd1ws13xud.cloudfront.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10113835\/health-2.svg","author_name":"","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#ffdcc4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252621"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nUterine fibroids don\u2019t always cause symptoms, but when they do, symptoms\u00a0include:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Heavier\u00a0than usual menstrual bleeding
\n\u2022 Pain during sex
\n\u2022 Pain or pressure in the pelvis
\n\u2022 Periods that last longer than a week
\n\u2022 Spotting or bleeding between periods
\n\u2022 Unexplained backache and\/or leg pains
\n\u2022 Unexplained constipation<\/p>\n
\nUterine fibroids aren’t the result of anything you did or didn’t do. However, one risk factor can’t be avoided — being a woman of reproductive age. Other risk factors include:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Race: African American women are at greater risk for uterine fibroids
\n\u2022 Diet: Eating a diet that’s high in red meat and low in veggies and fruits can bring greater risk<\/p>\n
\nIf the fibroid isn’t causing any problems, you might not need treatment. However, uterine fibroids can increase the risk of pregnancy complications and it can also\u00a0lead to excess bleeding which will cause you to become anemic — so be sure to get check at the very least. If your\u00a0uterine fibroids are causing difficulty, a doctor will recommend the right treatment which ranges from medication to surgery.<\/p>\n