Can My Diet Affect Fibroid Growth?
The food you eat can fuel your support, help you maintain a healthy weight, and even contribute to your mood, but can your diet affect fibroids? Yes! Read on to learn more.
Navigating Fibroids with Infertility: The Fertility-Preserving Treatment Options
Fibroids, especially submucosal fibroids, account for infertility in 3% of women. If you’re dealing with fibroids and struggling with infertility, you’re likely on the hunt for a treatment that can help eliminate fibroid symptoms while improving your chances of conceiving.
Well, there’s good news: You can do both with fertility-preserving treatment options.
Here, our Fresno Fibroid Center team explains how fibroids affect your fertility and what fertility-preserving treatment options are available at our Fresno, California, location.
How fibroids affect your fertility
Fibroids can affect your fertility in several ways. Depending on their size and location, they might block your fallopian tubes, interfere with the implantation of a fertilized egg, or cause uterine changes that make pregnancy difficult.
Symptoms like heavy bleeding, pain, or prolonged periods can also add stress to your fertility journey. Stress can wreak havoc on your entire body, so it’s no surprise that it can also contribute to fertility issues.
Fertility-preserving fibroid treatments
Many fibroids can be treated while keeping your uterus intact and your fertility options open. Treatments include:
Medication
Certain medications can help control fibroid-related symptoms such as heavy bleeding or pain. GnRH agonists (gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists) are sometimes used as a short-term treatment to shrink fibroids or manage other conditions like endometriosis while preparing for conception. However, they’re not typically taken while actively trying to conceive because they temporarily suppress ovulation and lower hormone levels, which prevents pregnancy during treatment.
GnRH agonists are usually prescribed for a few months to reduce fibroid size or manage symptoms before other fertility-preserving treatments like myomectomy or assisted reproductive technologies (e.g., IVF).
Once treatment is complete, ovulation and hormone levels typically return to normal (although not necessarily immediately), so you can try to conceive.
Minimally invasive surgery
Minimally invasive surgeries are designed to remove fibroids while preserving your fertility. A common option is a myomectomy, a procedure that removes fibroids from your uterus without affecting the surrounding tissue.
Techniques like laparoscopic or robotic-assisted myomectomy allow for faster recovery, less scarring, and a greater chance of a successful pregnancy in the future.
Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE)
UFE is a minimally invasive treatment that treats fibroids by cutting off their blood supply. Here at Fresno Fibroid Center, our team uses the radial artery in your left wrist to access your fibroid.
The team inserts a catheter through your artery and maneuvers it until it reaches the blood vessels that feed the artery. Dr. Balfour, Dr. Pruett, Dr. Ng, or Dr. Tower inserts small spheres called embolic material to cut off blood to the fibroid.
The process takes about two hours, and you can go home the same day — without any incisions or surgical wounds to worry about! This minimally invasive procedure is an alternative to surgical options like myomectomy.
While UFE is often used to shrink fibroids, it’s not typically recommended for women actively trying to conceive. You’ll need time to heal and time for the fibroid to shrink. On average, women who undergo UFE treatment conceive within 2-22 months.
All in all, about 59.5% of women who wanted to conceive were able to do so after UFE.
Partner with a specialist who knows fibroids
If fibroids are impacting your fertility, you don’t have to navigate the journey alone. Working with our team of specialists who understand the complexities of fibroids and fertility can make all the difference.
We can diagnose fibroids and adenomyosis, which can cause similar symptoms, and help you find the right treatment for your needs.
To find the fertility-sparing fibroid treatment that’s right for you, give us a call at 559-216-0746. You can also book your appointment online.
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