Uterine fibroids are noncancerous (benign) tumors that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus. Although fibroids do not always cause symptoms, their size and location can cause problems for some women, including pain and profuse bleeding. They typically improve after menopause, when the levels of estrogen (the female hormone circulating in the blood) drop dramatically. Either way, menopausal women who take estrogen (hormone replacement therapy) may not experience improvement in symptoms.
Fibroids vary in size from very tiny to the size of a melon or even bigger. In some cases, they can cause an increase in uterine size until a pregnancy of 5 months or more. Fibroids can be located in various parts of the uterus. There are three primary types of uterine fibroids: Subserosal, submucosal and intramural fibromas.
Uterine fibroids are very common, but sometimes they can be very small and do not cause problems and 20 to 40% of women 35 years of age or older have fibroids of significant size. African-American women have the highest risk for fibroids, 50% of them have fibroids of significant size.
Do Uterine Fibroids Cause Fatigue?
Uterine fibroids cause prolonged menstrual periods and unusual monthly bleeding, sometimes with clots in some cases, which leads to anemia, a condition that makes the patient feel fatigued. That is why this disease should be diagnosed and treated on time, it is vital to avoid the complications for the patient.
Depending on their location, size and number the uterine fibroids may cause the following symptoms:
-Prolonged menstrual periods and unusual monthly bleeding, sometimes with clots. This frequently leads to anemia.
-Pelvic pain.
-A pressure or pelvic heaviness.
-Back or leg pain.
-Pain during sexual intercourse.
-Pressure on the bladder that leads to a continual urgency to urinate.
-Pressure in the intestine, leading to constipation and abdominal distension.
-Abnormal enlargement of the abdomen.
Another general symptom that can be caused by fibroids with heavy menstrual periods, is a ferropenic anemia, which can also eventually be accompanied by cardiovascular disorders.
An anemia develops due to persistent and heavy hemorrhages. The skin is pale and symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, fainting, and headaches may appear. Sometimes there are changes of character that manifest as irritability, disinterest, sadness and depression.
Anemia is defined as a low concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. It is detected by a laboratory analysis in which lower than normal level of hemoglobin in blood is discovered. It may be accompanied by other altered parameters, such as a decrease in the number of red blood cells, or a decrease in the hematocrit, but it is not correct to define it as a decrease in the number of red blood cells, since these blood cells can vary considerably in size, sometimes the number of red blood cells are normal and nevertheless there is anemia.
Anemia is not a disease, but a sign that can be caused by multiple causes, one of the most frequent is iron deficiency, either by insufficient intake of this mineral in the diet, or excessive losses due to bleeding.
Anemia due to lack of iron is called iron deficiency anemia and is very common in women of childbearing age due to periodic blood loss during menstruation, being more frequent in women with fibroids due to the higher blood losses.
This anemia is related to the location of the myomas, being the myomas of submucosal localization and the intramurals those that give more problems for hypermenorrhea and metrorrhagia (abnormally profuse or prolonged menstrual flow, and uterine bleeding at irregular intervals, respectively).
Uterine fibroids are usually diagnosed during an internal gynecological examination. Your doctor will conduct a pelvic exam to feel if your uterus is enlarged or not. The presence of fibroids is most commonly confirmed by ultrasound. Fibroids can also be confirmed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and tomography (CT). Ultrasound MRI and CT are painless diagnostic studies. The proper treatment depends on the size and location of the fibroids, as well as the severity of the symptoms.
In conclusion, the uterine fibroids can cause one to feel fatigued as per the aforementioned conditions like anemia, etc.
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