Guest guest Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 Hi, I'm fairly new to this site and have been lurking for about a week. I'e had fibroids for a number of years and this year (turning 46) I was told by my gynecologist that they have grown and was recommended to have the embolization. She made it out that this or a hysterectomy would be my only choices and I have held out. I am against surgery for several reasons even though my synptoms have gotten very uncomfortable heavy bleeding,cramping(during menses), pressure on bladder and it has been interfering with many aspects of my lifestyle. After reading some of the posts from other here who have shared their experiences with surgeries I am still inclinedto find another way maybe just to manage the symptoms until menopause. Does anyone have any knowlegde or personal experience with natural alternatives such as changing diet vitamin therapy? I would really appreciate to hear from anyone about this who could shed some light. I am commited to living with this condition unless the situation would become lifethreatening. Any feedback would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 Hi Cyndi, You may want to also post your question to the " HealingFibroidsNaturally " group as well as this one. Thanks, Shaunah > Hi, I'm fairly new to this site and have been lurking for about a > week. I'e had fibroids for a number of years and this year (turning > 46) I was told by my gynecologist that they have grown and was > recommended to have the embolization. She made it out that this or a > hysterectomy would be my only choices and I have held out. I am > against surgery for several reasons even though my synptoms have > gotten very uncomfortable heavy bleeding,cramping(during menses), > pressure on bladder and it has been interfering with many aspects of > my lifestyle. After reading some of the posts from other here who > have shared their experiences with surgeries I am still inclinedto > find another way maybe just to manage the symptoms until menopause. > Does anyone have any knowlegde or personal experience with natural > alternatives such as changing diet vitamin therapy? I would really > appreciate to hear from anyone about this who could shed some light. > I am commited to living with this condition unless the situation > would become lifethreatening. Any feedback would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 Hi there cyndi < was recommended to have the embolization. She made it out that this or a hysterectomy would be my only choices> What about the myomectomy option if those two are mentioned? The above mentioned three treatments all get rid of, or relieve symtoms. You can discuss symptom relief with the GP. They may have suggestions to offer about the bleeding. *Get a copy of Lark's pink pamphlet book about food and symptoms. *Check out Yahoo's Healing Fibroids Naturally forum * Beware miracle cures....we should be so lucky. * Make sure you are getting all the food groups and that the diet is normal and balanced. Aztek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 Hello Cyndi & welcome to the list. I am a couple years ahead of you, 48, and it sounds like we have a similar history. I tried some alternative methods during the many years we " watched " my fibroids (altho I never tried homeopathy). My experience, and my opinion, is that diet and exercise in particular help with symptoms and for that reason alone are WELL WORTH the effort especially if you want to try to make it " intact " to menopause. But in my case there was no impact on growth. Symptoms also depend a lot on the location of your fibroid. Mine was on top of my uterus, growing out into the abdomen (it never affected the uterine lining at all and I did not have heavy bleeding). This is the least symptomatic kind of fibroid until it gets large enough to create bladder and bowel pressure, which mine finally did and after a year or two of further investigation and more intensive work with an integrative doctor, I finally had an abdominal myo on 12/8/03. I am very glad I had the surgery, finally, after trying many other things. I would also say to you that it is NOT necessary to " live with this condition unless it becomes life-threatening " especially since you say you are having heavy bleeding and it is affecting your lifestyle. We are often only too willing to put up with a lot that we shouldn't put up with, and over time you may not even realize how affected your life really is. So consider options. Ask the women here. This is a list of what I tried and what happened. NONE of these remedies caused the fibroid to stop growing -- it just kept on keeping on for 10 years, oblivious to my many efforts to shut it down. But several things helped me feel good anyway: Acupuncture and Chinese herbs (prescribed by a doctor of Chinese medicine, not self-prescribed) -- I had acupuncture before I knew I had fibroids; I had it for carpal tunnel syndrome, but several months of acupuncture (once a week for several visits, then once a month) and herbs reduced premenstrual carpal tunnel flare-ups and general PMS symptoms. Progesterone cream: yes, I made sure I had the real thing. I tried it for 3 months, it had no affect on anything at all that I could tell. Vitex: this is supposed to be either an " adaptogenic " (makes hormones balance themselves) or a progesterone-supporting herb, depending what you read, and some practitioners claim it will shrink fibroids. I took it for nine months. It improved general PMS symptoms and lengthened my cycles a little, from 26-28 days, to 28-30 days; might have made my periods slightly lighter but hard to tell since that's my general trend over the past few years anyway. No effect on fibroid growth. Aerobic exercise: this probably makes the most dramatic difference in PMS symptoms and general feeling of well-being. I will tell anybody, DO IT! If I go through a cycle without regular exercise my (fibro- cystic) breasts really hurt before my period. If I exercise regularly, they don't hurt or swell ever, at all. It's very dramatic. But my fibroids were discovered several years after I started running, so it's certainly not preventative. BTW I also have been doing yoga 1-2 times a week for over ten years; this is great for general wellbeing and stress-busting, but again, didn't prevent fibroids from starting or growing. Castor oil packs: my integrative doctor recommended this. It was relaxing and felt good (who knows whether the oil has anything to do with it, but the heat felt good). I tried it 3-4 days/week for 2-3 months. No affect on anything that I could tell, and I prefer yoga for relaxation. Diet: besides exercise, I think diet also makes a big difference in overall wellbeing, and a lowfat diet is important for keeping hormones balanced (human female fat cells manufacture estrogen, and high fat foods like red meat and dairy, if they are not organic, often contain hormones that were given to the animals). But my fibroids were discovered years AFTER I'd already been eating a lowfat, almost-vegetarian diet with lots of veggies and fruit. So my suspicion is that these kinds of measures may help with symptoms but are generally not enough to be protective against whatever causes the fibroids in the first place -- perhaps a mix of genetics (one of my sisters, my mom and grandmother all have had fibroids) and exposure to toxic environmental estrogens etc. There is a poll re. vitex and progesterone cream on the site right now. Go to the group website and check out the pink column on the left of the screen, where you can click " polls " . The numbers don't look too promising for either one, though some women here say they have helped. Good luck to you, Sunny > Hi, I'm fairly new to this site and have been lurking for about a > week. I'e had fibroids for a number of years and this year (turning > 46) I was told by my gynecologist that they have grown and was > recommended to have the embolization. She made it out that this or a > hysterectomy would be my only choices and I have held out. I am > against surgery for several reasons even though my synptoms have > gotten very uncomfortable heavy bleeding,cramping(during menses), > pressure on bladder and it has been interfering with many aspects of > my lifestyle. After reading some of the posts from other here who > have shared their experiences with surgeries I am still inclinedto > find another way maybe just to manage the symptoms until menopause. > Does anyone have any knowlegde or personal experience with natural > alternatives such as changing diet vitamin therapy? I would really > appreciate to hear from anyone about this who could shed some light. > I am commited to living with this condition unless the situation > would become lifethreatening. Any feedback would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 In answer to your question, I have been having problems for a few years. Last year it got so bad I had to have transfusions. After that I was told only a hystorectomy. I said no. After doing alot of research and talking to my PCP I decided to ry vitamins. I take a multi vitamin, multi mineral, iron supplement, zinc, vitamins A, E, B multi, B6, B12, C(with the iron to help absorb it), and I don't eat red meat any time I have spotting or bleeding. This seems to be working. My iron levels are now normal, I have very little problems with bleeding. May be heavy for a day or two but it stops . My only complaint is I still have lower back pain but I take Motrin for that which also helps with the bleeding. I found a site that discussed vitamin therapy and diet for fibroids. Thereason I don't eat the red meat is it produces bad prostaglandins that cause more bleeding. So on those days I stick to fish and chicken. I can't find the site but I do have a copy of the information.It says VIt. Ais for red blood cell production, B6 produces benificial prostaglandins and stop abnormal clotting, C has been shown to stop heavy bleeding in doses of 200mg or higher, zinc helps the reproductive system and hormones,and red meat and dairy producea bad type of prostaglandin that increases blood flow.The article says that using these vitamins helps to control excess levels of estrogen which increases growth of fibroids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 1, 2004 Report Share Posted February 1, 2004 My doctor also recommended hysterectomy (she does it) or Embo. There were two doctors at her hospital advertising heavily. The question is: do doctors get referral fee? Jacky --- cyndiplatt cyndi248fl@...> wrote: > Hi, I'm fairly new to this site and have been > lurking for about a > week. I'e had fibroids for a number of years and > this year (turning > 46) I was told by my gynecologist that they have > grown and was > recommended to have the embolization. She made it > out that this or a > hysterectomy would be my only choices and I have > held out. I am > against surgery for several reasons even though my > synptoms have > gotten very uncomfortable heavy > bleeding,cramping(during menses), > pressure on bladder and it has been interfering with > many aspects of > my lifestyle. After reading some of the posts from > other here who > have shared their experiences with surgeries I am > still inclinedto > find another way maybe just to manage the symptoms > until menopause. > Does anyone have any knowlegde or personal > experience with natural > alternatives such as changing diet vitamin therapy? > I would really > appreciate to hear from anyone about this who could > shed some light. > I am commited to living with this condition unless > the situation > would become lifethreatening. Any feedback would be > great! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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