How are fibroids treated?

Your doctor will develop a treatment plan based on your age, the size of your fibroids, and your overall health. You may receive a combination of treatments.

Medications

Medications to regulate your hormone levels may be prescribed to shrink fibroids. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, such as leuprolide (Lupron), will cause your estrogen and progesterone levels to drop. This will eventually stop menstruation and shrink fibroids. The shrinking also makes the surgical treatment easier.

Other options that can help control bleeding and pain, but will not shrink or eliminate fibroids, include:

⦁ An intrauterine device (IUD) that releases the hormone progestin

⦁ Over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory pain relievers, such as ibuprofen 

⦁ Birth control pills

⦁ Tranexamic acid

Uterine artery embolization.

Also called uterine fibroid embolization, uterine artery embolization (UAE) is a newer minimally-invasive (without a large abdominal incision) technique. The arteries supplying blood to the fibroids are identified, then embolized. The embolization cuts off the blood supply to the fibroids, thus shrinking them. Health care providers continue to evaluate the long-term implications of this procedure on fertility and regrowth of the fibroid tissue.

Surgery

Surgery to remove very large or multiple growths may be performed. This is known as a myomectomy. An abdominal myomectomy involves making a large incision in the abdomen to access the uterus and remove the fibroids. The surgery can also be performed laparoscopically, using a few small incisions into which surgical tools and a camera are inserted. Fibroids might grow back after surgery.

I will be talking further about the treatment of fibroids in the upcoming blogs. Stay connected.