One in every four women is affected by uterine fibroids. More than 200,000 hysterectomies are performed in the United States to remove noncancerous growths. Hysterectomy can be disastrous for women who were planning to get pregnant.
Fibroids are tumors within the smooth muscle cells in the uterus that are noncancerous tumors and develop in 70% to 80% of individuals born with a uterus between the ages of 30-50 years old; fibroids can occur at any age. They are collagen and fibrous tissue. Fibroid tumors are also called leiomyomata or myomas. The cause of uterine fibroids is unknown. This paper will identify the co-factors contributing to the development of fibrous tissue growth. According to the JAMA, Uterine Fibroids, individuals whose family member is affected, have a predisposition, with a 2- to 3-fold increase. African American women are three times more inclined to be affected than other women, and tumors tend to occur at an earlier age, are more prominent, and present with more symptoms (Hildereth, 2009).
Western medicine can not confirm the cause of fibroids or how they developed based on scientific discovery. However, studies show that fibroids contain more estrogen and progesterone receptors than normal uterine muscle cells. Estrogen and progesterone invigorate the development of the uterine lining during the menstrual cycle in preparation for pregnancy. Over time, estrogen promotes fibroids’ growth within the uterus’ submucosal or outside of the uterus and doubles in diameter within four to five years.
Stress leads to changes in hormone levels that encourage the development of fibroids. Stressful life experiences, death in the family, divorce, or the birth of a first child, are associated with fibroids.
Uterine fibroids cause no symptoms in the early stages of development and are left alone. Depending on the size, location, and a number of tumors. Treatment also depends on one’s desire to maintain fertility.
Fibroids can be the cause of abnormal uterine bleeding and pelvic discomfort with more extended, heavier menstrual periods. In some cases, some individuals may bleed between menstrual periods. Fatigue caused by anemia Pelvic pressure when fibroid tumor growth causes an enlarged uterus. Urinary frequency, pain in the pelvic region, or pressure from the fibroids on other internal organs increase discomfort. Fibroids are diagnosed using a transvaginal ultrasound or by hysteroscopy, a visual inspection of the uterus’ interior. Ultrasound is used to scan for fibroids.
Uterine artery embolization can destroy uterine fibroids without removing them through surgery. Myomectomy preserves the uterus and allows the woman to maintain fertility by blocks the blood flow to the main artery supplying the uterus. In some women, the tumors can be removed during a hysteroscopy procedure. Myomectomy is the surgical removal of fibroids that preserves the uterus and allows the woman to maintain fertility.
Biomedical Considerations
Some biomedical considerations to look out for are, elevated prolactin, high leukocyte antigen, vascular endothelial growth, and Ghrelin are higher in individuals with leiomyomas. Lactate dehydrogenase serum levels are elevated, cancer antigen (CA 125). The hematopoietic growth factor is significantly higher. (Levi, 2013)
Chinese Medical Theory and Uterine Fibroids
According to the Huang Di Nei Jing, the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor or Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor, an ancient Chinese medical text The treatment of fibroids is traced back more than two millennia. It is defined as “Shi Jia,” a moveable abdominal mass with symptoms that disrupt the body’s bowels and vital energy. Caused by emotional strain like anger and repressed frustration or hate lead to stagnation of energy flow and injure the liver. Irregular eating or excessive consumption of cold, raw, and greasy foods leads to compromised circulation and increase phlegm and blood stasis.
There are more than 20 menstrual disorders in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
In TCM, fibroids are caused by two various imbalances: the stagnation of blood or accumulation of dampness. Blood stagnation: means there’s a lack of smooth blood flow that causes blockages and obstructions.
Chinese physicians discovered that fibroids represent stagnation of blood and energy combined with depleted Stomach and Spleen, leading to loss of function in the lower abdomen. Based on this theory, three significant patterns identity individuals who suffer from fibroids. Qi and Blood Stagnation is brought on by emotional stress and physical trauma. Yin Deficiency with Fire is identified as a chronic illness and manifests in multiple fibroids that become submucosal. Liver Qi Stagnation with Spleen Qi Deficiency, where the tumor is a soft mass and symptoms of dragging down sensation in the abdomen, diarrhea or other digestive problems, thin vaginal discharge after cycle.
Treatment Plan for Uterine Fibroids
There are five modalities within TCM. All of them are used to promote the reduction of fibroids, prevent tumors from growing and promote vaginal health. In this document, we will discuss three areas of treatment.
Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Acupuncture and Moxibustion are both effective protocols used in the reduction of uterine fibroids. Acupuncture is cumulative, for best results, it’s recommended to receive at least 6-12 treatments of acupuncture a month over three months. Including moxa therapy treatment in between acupuncture treatments strengthens the longevity of treatments and improves treatment outcomes. Acupuncture techniques such as the Balance Method, local and distal acupuncture, and auricular therapy treat the microsystem of the body and engage systems that are not otherwise accessible through the basic twelve meridians. Acupuncture is a skillful practice that requires hundreds of hours in practice treating many of the same conditions with repeated success. It is unlikely to get significant results in treating uterine fibroids without specific acupuncture points, herbal formula, and home care treatment protocols.
Alternative Approaches
The body’s hormonal balance is influenced by estrogen and progesterone. Hormonal imbalances are the direct consequence of estrogen overload. Estrogen enables the elimination of waste. Progesterone, a steroid hormone, is an alkaline hormone that maintains estrogen levels and balance in the body. Ovaries and adrenal glands produce progesterone, and when sufficient, balance is sustained.
Hormonal alignment is challenged when adrenal glands compensate by overproducing and, accumulating toxicity in the liver. The body begins to lose the ability maintaining hormonal balance.
When the body does not efficiently eliminate waste buildup, the body must regenerate; one must consume necessary nutrients before rejecting waste which travels throughout the body’s organs for elimination. When the body is in balance, our body functions join forces to rid the body of waste products. When the organs and the body become overwhelmed, the rest of the body pitches in to help. The female body’s alternative exit strategy is the uterus: the uterus can store toxins and eliminate them monthly through menstruation. Heavy, darker-colored menses, vaginal itching are signs of a toxic load.
When the toxic load accumulates, they becomes the norm for weeks or even years; the trade burdens other organs. The liver responds when hormones are out of alignment. Poor digestion, stress, and negative thinking will exacerbate the existing condition.
At this point, the body stocks up the toxins to protect the organs in fat cells. Instead of releasing toxins, the body stores them inside the fat stores until exits become clear enough to remove its toxic load. Toxins are wrapped in fatty tissue, and cysts eventually develop into noncancerous and cancerous tumors. The body can monitor estrogen levels and keep them in check when it has sufficient stores of iodine. Iodine also settles in the breasts, ovaries, and uterus. When iodine levels are depleted, estrogen fills up the unoccupied space. That is how cysts, lumps, and fibroids form. (Gearson, 2018)
Before we can restock our body’s iodine supplies, we need to start cleansing, assimilating, eliminating, and rebuilding the thyroid and the adrenal glands. Detoxifying the body will allow iodine to settle in the breasts, uterus, and ovaries. Once the estrogen is eliminated, breast and lump size will decrease.
Hormonal balance is restoring the health of our digestive system efficiency. Our body’s main secreting organ, the colon, handles 70% of all the body’s waste. A virtual highway with an elaborate digestive network can become polluted when our hormones get thrown off balance.
Consuming a customized diet, juicing the correct vegetables floods the body with nutrients, cleanses the blood, restores hormonal balance, alkalizes the body, and rids it of waste. Waste removal is promoted with coffee enemas, supplements and enzymes to support digestion, and iodine to restore and boost the thyroid.
Complementary medicine, used together with conventional medicine over time has become widely accepted. A Dutch health insurer reported that those who use intergraded CAM services are more likely to live longer. The health cost to integrated clinics is lower than non-intergraded clinics and serves to prevent long-term health problems. (Brewer, 2016)
Community Resources
Gerson Institute guides and assists patients with one-on-one support, distributes educational material, and maintains a list of Gerson-approved vendors. They are a nonspecific treatment that treats many different conditions by healing the body as a whole.
Prognosis
One example of a typical patient living with fibroids is a career woman who works more than 30-40 hrs a week, has a poor sleep and eating habits, has a tough time getting to sleep or staying asleep. Their diet predominantly consists of carbohydrates and prepackaged foods. Lives in a populated city, have painful periods, bleeds profusely during their menstrual cycle, and has painful menstruation. They present with anemia, fatigue, crave certain odors. They have experienced an extended emotionally or physically traumatic history. Intercourse is painful, urination is frequent, and constipation is prevalent.
Based on comprehensive research, the treatment for uterine fibroids is limited in western medicine. Access to information about treating uterine fibroids lacks findings recorded over millennia in East Asian medicine (EAM). Naturopathic medicine and EAM have a clear path for a complementary, alternative, and noninvasive treatment compared to contemporary care methods. EAM provides a variety of avenues for a patient to achieve whole health, and establish lifelong healthy habits and lifestyle practices that lead to the prevention of fibroids.
What are some of the ways you have gotten past Fibroids? Share with us your experience in the comments.
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Resources
“Alternative Therapy.” Uterine Fibroids Treatment Option: Alternative Therapy, www.uclahealth.org/obgyn/alternative-therapy.
Carolyn J. Hildreth, MD. “Uterine Fibroids.” JAMA, JAMA Network, 7 Jan. 2009, jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/183164.
Dalton-Brewer, Nick. “The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the Management of Fibroids and Associated Symptomatology.” Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports, Springer US, 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4859848/.
Levy, Gary, et al. “Biomarkers in Uterine Leiomyoma.” Fertility and Sterility, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 15 Mar. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4209733/.
“Menopause and Women’s Hormonal Health.” Gerson Institute, 21 May 2018, gerson.org/gerpress/womens-hormonal-health/.
“Treating_Fibroids_with_TCM.Pdf.” Scribd, Scribd, www.scribd.com/document/417305497/Treating-Fibroids-with-TCM-pdf.
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