- Go to a hospital at once
- MedlinePlus lists severe pain or very heavy bleeding that needs emergency surgery among the problems fibroids can cause. Our advice: for severe pain or very heavy bleeding, go to a hospital at once, whether or not we are open.
- Book a visit
- See a doctor if fibroid symptoms affect your daily life, work or relationships, if what you take for the pain is not helping, if your periods are very painful, or if you bleed between periods or after sex. The NHS says your periods may be heavy if, for example, you change a pad or tampon every 1 to 2 hours, pass clots larger than about 2.5 cm, or bleed for more than 7 days. Rarely, heavy periods can be a sign of womb cancer.
- Anaemia
- Heavy bleeding can leave you short of iron (iron-deficiency anaemia), with tiredness, shortness of breath and paler skin than usual. A blood test confirms it; British guidance advises one for every woman with heavy periods. It is usually treated with iron tablets, taken for about 6 months; keep them away from children, because an overdose can kill a young child. Left untreated, the NHS says, anaemia may raise the risk of problems with the heart or lungs. When tablets have not worked or cannot be taken, Oshun gives iron by drip. It is not used in the first three months of pregnancy, and later in pregnancy only if clearly necessary. Rarely, a severe allergic reaction to it can be life-threatening or fatal, so read that page's warnings.
- Pregnancy
- Most women with fibroids have normal pregnancies, the US Office on Women's Health says. Fibroids make some problems more likely, including a caesarean, a breech baby and an early birth, so tell whoever looks after your pregnancy that you have them.
- After the menopause
- Fibroids usually shrink after the menopause, the US Office on Women's Health says, though US research finds this less likely in Black women. Any bleeding after the menopause should be seen, even a small amount, even once.
- Cancer
- Fibroids themselves are almost never cancer. But a cancer called a sarcoma can look like a fibroid, and there is no reliable way to tell before surgery. The US Food and Drug Administration estimates that about 1 in every 225 to 580 women having surgery for fibroids turns out to have one. A fibroid that is growing fast needs prompt investigation.
