Tag: Uterine Fibroids
Moxibustion Heat Therapy and Herbal Medicine Are Remedies To Consider For Uterine Fibroids
When you have a diagnosis of uterine fibroids, natural and alternative home remedies can be safe and simple ways to treat yourself.
Uterine fibroids also known as leiomyomas, myomas or fibroid tumors are growths of hard muscle tissue in the uterus. About 50 percent of all women over the age of 40 have them. The fibroids grow so frequently that they are deemed a typical irregular occurrence. Most fibroids (about 80 percent) remain small, about the size of a walnut although some fibroids can become huge (medical reports show one that was a hundred pounds!).
Fibroids are the biggest reason women in the US have hysterectomies.
While medical researchers have not determined what exactly causes uterine fibroids, they have established proof that estradiol, a type of estrogen, is responsible for their growth. Fibroids disappear after menopause. But since the level of estrogen levels can increase during the early menopausal years, previously symptomless fibroids may develop in the years just prior to the cessation of the menstrual cycle, leading to menstrual flooding and extreme menstrual pain, difficult evacuation, incontinence or urinary frequency, pain during intercourse, low back pain, a sensation of heaviness in the stomach and other symptoms.
Colored women are 3 to 9 times at risk of developing fibroids with their fibroids growing more rapidly than white women.
Generally, fibroid tumors aren’t cancerous. Tumors are not a malignancy or cancer, they are growths or swelling in the body. Less than 0.1 percent of all uterine fibroids are malignant.
When it is small, the fibroid eventually disappears on its own. Fibroids that are large are harder to deal with, although through natural interventions, they are not impossible to control.
The uterus is where the lowermost energy center or “root chakra” of your body is located. It is the area believed to house unexpressed anger and that any undesirable growths in these organs can be cleared by safely channeling or externalizing the anger.
A woman’s menstrual cramps and fibroids vanished within 3 months after she embarked on a rigid exercise routine. Irregular ovulation appears to exacerbate the fibroids; exercise ensures regular ovulation.
Eating at least three servings of beans or whole grains a day not only lessens the size of fibroids but also helps prevent the development of cancer in the endometrium and breast.
Trifolium pratense or red clover flower can help prevent fibroid development although when used during the menopausal years, it may increase the number of fibroids in the body.
Herbs such as yellow dock root, milk thistle seed, and dandelion can strengthen the liver and help metabolize estrogen out of the body, which helps reduce fibroids.
Twenty five to thirty drops of chasteberry tincture or Vitex two to four times a day, tend to reduce the size of fibroids within a couple of months. But outcomes emanate from long-term use (about two years and more).
A TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) practitioner in Fremont can administer moxibustion heat therapy over the area where the fibroid is located while you visualize the heat releasing the treasures in your uterus. What can you give birth to? What is hidden in this fibroid?
TCM treatments for reducing fibroids
Used externally as a stomach rub oil and internally as a tincture, one to ten drops of Phytolacca Americana or poke root can significantly relieve discomfort and pain caused by fibroids. Take note that poke is a poisonous herb and is usually not for sale. This is one solution you may have to make yourself to try.
Ginger compresses (hot ginger water soaked in a towel) and warm castor oil packs applied on the stomach can help reduce the size of the fibroids as well as alleviate pain.
Hormonal progesterone therapy is a controversial way of treating uterine fibroids in women. Some believe that not having enough progesterone in the body is the cause of fibroids while others believe that progesterone promotes fibroids. During pregnancy, when progesterone production is high, the size of the fibroid increase, and after menopause atrophy when progesterone levels plunge, they diminish. Time will tell what side will be proven right. In the meantime fibroid size can be reduced by eating more beans and whole grains because they alter progesterone/estrogen ratio the leads to the reduction of fibroids.
Decrease fibroids by minimizing exposure to estrogen: Eat organic foods, stay away from HRT/ERT and birth control pills, and avoid pesticides and herbicides and other estrogen-mimicking residues. Chlorine bleached tampons may imitate mimic the negative effects of estrogen as well.
The medication leuprolide acetate or Lupron induces “artificial menopause” by shutting down estradiol production in the body resulting in a substantial reduction in fibroid size within two to three months.
However, when intake of this drug is stopped, the fibroids grow back to almost their original size.
Significant developments in surgical operations have been made for fibroid sufferers. You can now have other options to consider besides uterus extraction (hysterectomy). These options include suprecervical hysterectomy, hysteroscopic resection, myomectomy, and uterine embolization. It may take time though to find a surgeon who is skilled in the procedure since these are fairly new procedures.
For women below the age of 60 who are suffering from uterine fibroids, hysterectomy can be a life-saving procedure. By the age of 60 however, many American women (a third of them) have decided to have their uterus removed surgically. If you have non-symptomatic fibroids in your body, this is not a good reason to undergo a hysterectomy. Some women who did their research before a getting a hysterectomy because of fibroids, fared much better after the operation than those who did not.
Except for a few women, a woman’s ovaries is a very important aspect of their health. So, keep your ovaries even if you decide to have a hysterectomy.
Start with the most gentle remedies first if you have a uterine fibroid that is problematic. When using a remedy, set a time limit for it. Except in emergencies, don’t advance to stronger solutions until you’re sure the safer ones don’t really work for you. You’re the best one to judge what works for you and what does not.
Acupuncture Treatment for Uterine Fibroids
The development of hard muscle tissue in the uterus is known as uterine fibroids. They may be known by other names like leiomyomas, myomas or fibroid tumors. Fibroids usually develop in women who are over 40 years of age. In fact, about half of the women 40 years old and over suffer from this condition. The fibroid can become huge that it has been known to grow about a hundred pounds (albeit very rarely)! Most sufferers though have significantly smaller fibroids, usually the size of a walnut.
In the United States, the number one reason for hysterectomies is the development of fibroids.
Uterine fibroids have no known causes although estrogens particularly estradiol, often makes it conducive for their development. Because the levels of estrogen may increase during the early years of menopause, previously asymptomatic fibroids can grow during the years just prior to the complete stoppage of the menstrual cycle leading to symptoms like severe menstrual flooding and pain, bowel problems, urinary incontinence or frequency, pain during coitus, low back pain or a sensation of heaviness in the stomach.
White women are less prone to fibroids than colored women. The latter are 3 times to 9 times more likely to develop this condition and develop it more quickly than the former.
Although not usually cancerous, fibroid tumors can still become malignant. Still the there is only less than 0.1% chance of that from ever occurring.
Small fibroids usually vanish spontaneously. More hard to resolve are large fibroids although they can be treated using natural remedies.
In Eastern medicine, the lowermost energy center in the body is known as the “root chakra” and this area includes the uterus. This chakra is the part believed to store anger that is unexpressed. Eastern medical practitioners believe unwanted growths in the uterus can be neutralized by allowing the anger to discharge in a safe way.
Menstrual cramps and uterine fibroids can vanish within or after three months following a vigorous exercise program. Irregular ovulation often accompanies the presence of the fibroids and it can even exacerbate the condition. Exercise can help because it promotes regular ovulation.
Daily eating of three or more serving of beans or whole grains helps to decrease the size of the fibroid as well as afford protection to the endometrium and breasts from development of endometrial and breast cancers.
Trifolium pratense or red clover flowers should not be used during menopause as it can complicate your condition if you have fibroids.
Using yellow dock root, milk thistle seed and other herbs can help tonify the liver helping it metabolize estrogen out of the body helping decrease fibroids in the process.
Chasteberry tincture or Vitex can decrease the size of the fibroids after two months of use although results can take longer perhaps up to a couple of years. Use twice to four times daily at 25-30 drops per use.
Burning moxa over the part of the body where the fibroid is located can help shrink the size of the fibroid.
Poke root utilized as a tincture for internal use can help relieve symptoms of fibroids. Use from one to 10 drops daily. When used externally for rubbing the stomac, poke root can greatly alleviate distress and pain related to the fibroids. A WARNING: Poke is known to be poisonous and so is not usually for sale.
Lupron is a medication that can induce menopause by stopping the body from producing estradiol. This usually helps shrink the size of the fibroid size within two to three months. The problem with this treatment is that the fibroids tend to grow back when the drug’s use has been stopped.
Warm ginger compresses (hot ginger water in a towel) or castor oil packs on the stomach can decrease the size of the fibroids and alleviate pain.
Consuming beans and whole grains can improve the ratio of estrogen and progesterone in the body as well decrease the size of the fibroids.
Fibroids can be lessened by avoiding exposure to estrogen. This means not eating foods that have been exposed to pesticides and herbicides (that have residues that mimic estrogen), eating organic foods, not using birth control pills and not avoiding ERT/HRT.
Chlorine-bleached tampons should not be used as they can also mimic estrogen.
Women with fibroids can also consider surgery. There are now several options aside from the extraction of the uterus (hysterectomy). They include suprecrvical hysterectomy, myomectomy, uterine embolization and hysteroscopic resection. It is highly recommended to seek a surgeon who specializes in these procedures since they are relatively new procedures.
Hysterectomy is a very important procedure as it can be a life-saving one. However, a third of American women who have reached 60 have had their wombs already surgically removed. Fibroids that do not manifest any symptoms are not enough reasons to undergo a hysterectomy. A woman is healthier with her ovaries intact, although there can be rare exceptions to this. Therefore, even if you need to undergo hysterectomy, it’s best to keep your ovaries.
Galina Semyonova is a licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist in New York City. She has studied extensively in the fields of biofeedback therapy, SCENAR therapy, Chinese herbal treatments and Chinese and Western nutrition.
Acupuncture for Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids are less known by their medical term uterine leiomyomata. They are abnormal growths developing in the uterus, specifically in its muscular tissue. Uterine fibroids may vary in size and they may develop singly or in clusters.
Uterine fibroids are the most typical types of non-cancerous tumors. They usually develop in women of childbearing age. In terms of ratio of occurrence, these conditions develop in 3 out of 4 women in the United States. The risk of uterine fibroids decreases significantly after women enter their menopausal phase. They are also not considered an indication or a risk for uterine cancer.
What Causes Uterine Fibroids?
Medical researchers still have no answer as to what causes uterine fibroids although they believe that certain hormonal and genetic factors may be responsible for their occurrence. The progesterone and estrogen hormones, for example, can activate the development of uterine fibroids. Some of these factors can increase the risk of uterine fibroids:
-Not having ever birthed a child
-Family history of uterine fibroids
-Obesity
The occurrence of uterine fibroids is higher in African American women than in any ethnic group with them having a three to five times greater likelihood compared to white women of developing this condition.
Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids
A lot of women suffering from uterine fibroids may manifest no symptoms of this disorder while other women may suffer from the following symptoms:
Reproductive issues – early labor, multiple miscarriages and infertility
Lower back pain
Pain during sex
Frequent urgency to urinate
Constipation
Pelvic pain or pressure
Fullness sensation in the lower stomach
Bleeding between menses
Painful or heavy periods
Pregnancy and Uterine Fibroids
Having uterine fibroids does not mean that women with this condition cannot attain pregnancy naturally; however, there are sufferers who may find it very difficult to conceive. Moreover, certain pregnant women who have uterine fibroids may have a slightly enhanced likelihood for experiencing issues such as abnormal fetal position, premature labor and birth and miscarriage. More often than not, however, uterine fibroids do not contribute to pregnancy complications.
Treatment for Uterine Fibroids
Certain complications can arise due to uterine fibroids (like anemia due to heave bleeding); therefore, the need to consult with your doctor is important especially if you begin to show symptoms of this problem. Conventional therapies for uterine fibroids usually entail the use of drugs that allay symptoms and retard the progress of fibroids. Other modalities may include surgery (myomectomy), which excises the fibroids but does not touch the parts of the uterus that are healthy.
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Alternative Therapies for Uterine Fibroids
Acupuncture – a study published in 2010 showed that those who have conducted randomized controlled trials that compared acupuncture with other forms of therapies, like medication for the proper control uterine fibroids found those studies not sufficiently well-designed to merit acupuncture’s effectiveness. So they concluded that acupuncture’s efficacy for the control of uterine fibroids still has not been sufficiently proven enough.
Traditional Chinese Medicine – an initial study published in 2002 revealed that some of the women subjects suffering from uterine fibroids were given treatments like guided imagery, bodywork (body therapy) and traditional Chinese medicine for 6 months. The results of the study showed that the fibroids shrank and some have stopped growing altogether in 22 of the subjects while the only three in the control group showed significant improvement in their condition.
Green Tea – in 2010, a study involving animal subjects was published. The study showed that a treatment using green tea extract for a period of eight weeks indicated a substantial decrease in the weight and volume of uterine fibroids in a group of mice.
Dr. Vickery is a licensed acupuncturist in Tarzana, CA., and the founder and clinical director of Vickery Health and Wellness.