Understanding the Mystery of Uterine Fibroids: A Powerhouse of Estrogen

Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous muscle tumors of the womb, and in addition to symptoms due to size they are actually production plants for estrogen. Uterine fibroids actually arise from a single uterine muscle cell called a myocyte. If a woman has a number of uterine fibroids, and they have different characteristics they each has developed into a fibroid from a separate cell that evolved. The evolution of a fibroid actually stems from a gene defect. Since 80% of women will have a uterine fibroid prior to menopause, most are not symptomatic in most people. Uterine fibroids do begin to develop in early reproductive life. Treatments depend on the size, the location, the goals of the patient, the amount of menstrual bleeding.

Uterine fibroids are hormone sensitive, and they literally are powerhouses of estrogen. . All uterine muscle cells have receptors for estrogen and progesterone. Thus a uterine cell s stimulated to grow by these hormones. A uterine fibroid tumor has a greater density of these receptors than in the case of most uterine cells. In pregnancy this is a very effective strategy, hormones trigger growth as a pregnancy progresses. But in the case of uterine fibroid, the excessive growth is the source of many of the complications of fibroids.

The hormone sensitivity of uterine fibroids also produces a estrogen excessive environment. This is a situation where the uterine fibroids adhere (also known as binding) to the estrogen molecules. Thus there is more estrogen and this can be responsible for many of the associated symptoms. Not only that but the fibroid cells are able to manufacture estrogen from other molecules. This also responsible for the powerhouse of estrogen. Obese women, or women with other high estrogen conditions like PCOS are more likely to have uterine fibroids.

Oddly women who smoke have lower risk of fibroids do to the fact that their estrogen levels are lower.

If your fibroid has grown or changed, it is important to get accurate ultrasound measurements measurements, to determine if this is true. It is equally important to know if you have other reasons for excess estrogen so that you can try to mitigate the side effects.. Generally the largest fibroid present in a uterus grows about 35% per year! It has never been shown that birth control pills or even other estrogen hormone treatments cause fibroids to grow. It is not clear why this would be so. It could be the types of hormones, the dosage, or the fact that local and genetic factors are so dominant that supplemental hormones don't have an effect. Since a uterine fibroid is a powerhouse of estrogen it is probably possible to alter that fact and help to shrink the fibroid. That is where all the new research is going. Antiprogesterone and other new hormonal therapies do however help to shrink fibroids. If you are interested in participating in a clinical research study of uterine fibroids call Women's Health Practice, 217-356-3736.

Post-Endometrial Ablation Syndrome

If you have had an endometrial ablation and have developed symptoms of pelvic pain you might have post endometrial ablation syndrome. What is post-endometrial ablation syndrome? It is a constellation of symptoms due to entrapped blood or tissue within a uterus that has previously undergone an endometrial ablation. We are able to diagnose this at Women's Health Practic e but occasionally other conditions are causing similar symptoms. Other complications of endometrial ablation include pregnancy, risks from pre-existing conditions such as a polyp or fibroid, an infection of the uterus, or a pregnancy. If you have had a tubal ligation then it is possible that the condition could be post-ablation tubal sterilization syndrome. The ablation procedure is designed to destroy all lining tissue, but in fact there is no way to confirm the completeness of the ablation. It is thought that either residual or regrowth of the tissue is producing the symptoms of post-endometrial ablation syndrom...

Passing Your Uterine Lining, Menstrual Period Norms

Decidual Cast Periods can be fairly easy, passing some tissue at a time, or off can come the whole lining in one piece called a decidual cast. Generally the lining of the uterus is only 6-8 mm thick at the time of the menstrual period, and it is shed gradually, a few cells at a time. The decidual cast is when the entire lining passes spontaneously. It's not uncommon, but it usually both uncomfortable, and alarming to some. But us women are designed to have some sort of periods Or Not? We have to pass tissue each month. Or Not? Are they good for us? Or Not? Do we want them? Or Not? Is this something that is individual? Or Not? It's a complex topic that I will be discussing a lot over my time in this blog. So lets start with basics: How much do we bleed and what are we loosing, and just what was this that the patient passed? And another basic: track your periods, and the Women's Health Practice site http://www.womenshealthpractice.com/media/pdf/menstrual_chart.pdf you...

You Have an IUD: But a Positive Pregnancy Test

Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...

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