‘Women with heavy menstrual flow may have fibroid’
MAY 5, 2013
With more women suffering from fibroid and heavy menstrual flow, Dr. Omotunde Green, discusses the link between the two conditions, with MOTUNRAYO ABODERIN
How is fibroid formed?
Fibroids are non-cancerous tumours that grow from the muscle layers of the uterus. They are also known as uterine fibroids, myomas, or fibromyomas. The singular of uterine fibroids isUterine Fibroma. Fibroids are growths of smooth muscle and fibrous tissue. They can vary in size, they can be as small as a bean and as large as a melon. These tumours are composed of renegade muscle cells that come together to form a fibrous “knot” or “mass” within the uterus.
What causes fibroid tumours?
It has no known causes. Fibroid is the growth of a normal tissue of the uterus that has the tendency of overshooting its boundary. If you have had the opportunity to see various uteri, you will discover that a large percentage of women have fibroids, they may not be big in size but they are there. It is a female-gender issue, particular to the uterus. During a woman’s reproductive years, her oestrogen and progesterone levels are high. When oestrogen levels are high, especially during pregnancy, fibroids tend to swell. When oestrogen levels are low, fibroids may shrink.
Is there a link between severe menstrual cramps and fibroid?
Oestrogen which supports reproductive cycle of a woman is responsible for fibroid. The fibroid may be undergoing a degenerative change that causes blood supply to be halted. This process may cause pain. Whatever pain is felt at the time of menstruation may coincide with the process the fibroid is undergoing. It is not correct to state that fibroid is responsible for menstrual pain. It has not been established that it’s only the women who have fibroid that have severe menstrual cramps. Menstruation happens for a couple of days in a whole month. But the pain that people who have fibroid experience goes beyond the menstruation days. The only link with fibroid is heavy menstrual flow.
What are the causes of menstrual cramps?
Menstrual cramps from the physiology of menstruation is caused by a chemical in the body called prostaglandin. During the menstrual flow of the reproductive cycle in the woman, prostaglandin is elaborated. Some women have pain and some don’t. Some women even end up being hospitalised as a result of the cramps.
Prostaglandin is the chemical involved in helping the womb contract. Unfortunately, they also make you feel pain. So during menstruation, the contractions of the muscles of the uterus squeeze the blood supply, cutting the endometrium off from being fed. The tissue dies and the contractions move the tissue out through the cervix in the menstrual flow. Leukotrienes that are involved in the inflammatory response are elevated at this point, which could be a contributor to period cramps. However this is not the case for all women. Some women and girls have mild menstrual pain, but in others, the pain can be harder. No one really knows why, but it could be that if you have stronger pain, you may have too many prostaglandins. This can make the womb squeeze, reducing the blood supply to your womb and causing even more pain.
What are the symptoms of fibroid?
Sometimes, there are no symptoms of fibroid, but often, there are and the symptoms can be very painful, most of them occurring around menstruation. Other symptoms include menorrhagia which is (heavy menstrual periods) sometimes with blood clots, longer than normal menses, pelvic cramping or painful menstruation, bleeding between the periods, pain during intercourse and pressure in lower abdomen.
Is fibroid identified with a certain age group?
No, there have been cases of young girls of around 18 years old, who had fibroids. Fibroid can grow in any woman’s uterus. We should understand that fibroids grow during the reproductive age. Once a woman attains puberty, some have fibroids but may not experience all the symptoms. However, once a young woman is diagnosed with fibroid, we advise her to get married and have children quickly because you don’t know the extent to which the fibroid would grow.
How often should women go for fibroid check-up?
There is no check-up for such. These are usually incidental findings. A large percentage of women walking on the street don’t even know they have fibroids. There is another school of thought that when a woman is pregnant, fibroid grows. And another school of thought says when a woman is pregnant, the fibroid shrinks. To be on the safe side, a woman should undergo pelvic scan. Once you notice sometime unusual with your body, go for check-up. Don’t wait till the discomfort aggravates.
Is it true that as a woman gets older, her menstrual cramps reduce?
Some women who haven’t given birth to children tend to have painful menstrual cramps, but as soon as they give birth, the cramps reduce. We can’t state why this happens. Maybe there is a factor that reduces the prostaglandin.
Does eating sugary food before a menstrual period aggravate cramps?
Like I said, there is a substance called prostaglandin. Substances such as glucose may promote excessive production of this chemical. But these are not scientifically proven facts. They are insinuations. A lady who experiences serious menstrual cramps after eating sugary food may just be unlucky. There is no written fact that states that sugary food aggravates menstrual cramps.
What can women with painful menstrual cramps do to ease the pain?
Women have to understand their cycle. The thing about menstrual cramp is that it needs an anti-prostaglandin. This is designed to bind the prostaglandin. An anti-prostaglandin a few days before the cycle helps reduce the pain.
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