I remember the shock on my face when the doctors told me I had fibroids! I was few weeks into my pregnancy with Bryan at that time and luckily for me, it didn’t grow more than the baby. It did affect my pregnancy at some point, at about 20 weeks, I’ll like to think. I was in so much pain and discomfort for over 2 weeks. I honestly thought I was going to lose him but God had better plans.
According to research, 1 out of 5 woman have fibroid with no clue because they don’t come with flashcards or symptoms! I meannnn, I was one of these women! Having fibroids gave me the urge to read more about it because I’ve only heard it amidst conversations with friends. It just never occurred to me that it was and is a BIG deal! A lot of African women are living with fibroids, with some going through excruciating pain at every menstrual cycle.
So who gets fibroids? According to the NHS “Fibroids most often occur in women aged 30 to 50. Fibroids are thought to develop more frequently in women of African- Caribbean origin. It’s also thought they occur more often in overweight or obese women because being overweight increases the level of oestrogen in the body.”
Isn’t it sad that one has to worry about being overweight and having fibroids at the same time? Some of the symptoms you might look out for includes:
- Really heavy periods or painful periods
- Back and abdominal pain
- The need to urinate allll the time
- Constipation and Pain during sex
- Infertility
- Spotting during periods
If any of these symptoms are getting beyond paracetamol, please see your GP. The more overweight you are, the more you’re exposed to these tumours which may cause you to gain even more weight. Why? You probably are not living a healthy lifestyle and the more you eat without being active, the more weight you gain. Living a healthier lifestyle or being on the LifestyleChangeWithApril may not completely eradicate fibroids but it can slow down the fibroid growth, relive some of the symptoms you might be having and give you a better outlook towards life.