“Drinking alcohol, particularly beer, may make you more prone to developing uterine fibroids,” Dr. Gohar says. “According to evidence gathered from the Black Women’s Health Study, there is a link between consuming alcohol, particularly beer, and the development of uterine fibroids in Black women,” he says.
The takeaway: “If you’re concerned about fibroids, you might want to reduce your alcohol intake, especially beer, to once a week or less,” Dr. Gohar says.
When to Seek Medical Treatment for Fibroids
If your fibroids are affecting your quality of life, you shouldn’t just grin and bear it. See your doctor whenever you experience one or more of the following symptoms, Dr. Gohar says:
- Heavy bleeding
- Painful menstrual cycles
- Pain with sex
- Pelvic pressure or bloating
- Pelvic pain and discomfort
- Frequent urinary symptoms
“It is a common misconception that you must have all these symptoms to qualify for treatment when, in fact, you only need one significant symptom to benefit from expert medical management,” Dr. Gohar says.
“One should also seek the guidance of a medical professional if they are planning to get pregnant, as fibroids can sometimes impact that as well,” he adds.
Types of Treatment for Fibroids
If you require more than simple lifestyle changes to manage your fibroids, there are many therapies available, depending on your case and its severity. Here are the treatment options:
1. Fibroid Hormone Treatment
“Fibroid hormone treatment targets the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle in order to shrink fibroids and slow their growth,” Dr. Gohar says. “When hormone production decreases, fibroids shrink, and symptoms improve.”
2. Uterine Fibroid Embolization
“Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) is a minimally invasive, nonsurgical procedure for the treatment of fibroids that has been performed successfully for over two decades,” Dr. Gohar says. “It is an effective alternative to surgery and hormonal treatment, and those wishing to avoid a hysterectomy should discuss this option with their doctor.”
3. Radiofrequency Ablation
This minimally invasive treatment heats fibroids to shrink them and, ultimately, relieve your symptoms, according to Weill Cornell Medicine.
4. Laparoscopic/Robotic Myomectomy
“Laparoscopic/robotic myomectomy may be chosen as a treatment option if you have smaller and fewer fibroids,” Dr. Gohar says. The procedure is minimally invasive, “keeping the incisions as small as possible, which leads to less pain, fewer complications and a much faster recovery.”
5. Hysteroscopic Myomectomy
Also called a vaginal myomectomy, “a hysteroscopic myomectomy is a minimally invasive procedure to remove submucous fibroids or endometrial polyps found in the uterine cavity while leaving the uterus intact,” Dr. Gohar says. “When hysteroscopic myomectomy is performed, no incisions are used, so the recovery is quick, and the complications are very rare,” which makes this option especially advantageous for people in their childbearing years, he says.
6. Open Myomectomy
“Open myomectomy is a surgical procedure that is often reserved for larger fibroids and involves the excision of the fibroids from the uterus and subsequent repair of uterine tissue,” Dr. Gohar says.
7. Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of a person’s uterus.
“While hysterectomy is the second most common surgery performed on reproductive-age women in the U.S. after cesarean section, it’s estimated that 20 percent of all hysterectomies are unnecessary,” Dr. Gohar says.
That’s “because physicians are under-utilizing alternative treatments” and less-invasive methods to treat benign fibroids, such as UFE, he explains.
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