What are the symptoms of uterine fibroids?
Fibroids are often asymptomatic but can cause menorrhagia, menometrorrhagia, severe pressure or pain (from growth, degeneration, hemorrhage, or twisting of a pedunculated fibroid), urinary or bowel complaints (eg, urinary frequency or urgency, constipation), recurrent abortions, and infertility. Degeneration or growth of a fibroid causes acute pain that can become chronic, with continuing degeneration. Fibroids do not usually interfere with becoming pregnant; however, they may complicate pregnancy, causing premature contractions or labor or malpresentation, and may even necessitate
cesarean section.
A fibroid can rarely cause acute pain when it outgrows its blood supply. Deprived of nutrients, the fibroid begins to die. Byproducts from a degenerating fibroid can seep into surrounding tissue, causing pain and fever. A fibroid that hangs by a stalk inside or outside the uterus (pedunculated fibroid) can trigger pain by turning on its stalk.
Fibroid location influences your signs and symptoms. Fibroids that grow into the inner cavity of the uterus (submucosal fibroids) are thought primarily responsible for prolonged, heavy menstrual bleeding. Fibroids that project to the outside of the uterus (subserosal fibroids) can press on your bladder or ureters, causing you to experience urinary symptoms. If fibroids bulge from the back of your uterus, they can press either on your rectum, causing constipation, or on your spinal nerves, causing backache. |
