Women searching for a “fibroid specialist near me” find experts in fibroids in our all-female OB/GYN group located in Jacksonville, FL

If you’re searching for a “fibroid specialist near me,” know that FABEN OB/GYN, Jacksonville, FL’s largest all-female physician group practice, has doctors expert in the diagnosis and treatment of fibroids. We specialize in working with you to understand options for the treatment of fibroids fully. If your physician recommends a hysterectomy, we guide you along during hysterectomy recovery. Our offices are located in San Marco, Avondale/Ortega, and Southpoint, convenient to women in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia

What are fibroids?

Uterine fibroids or uterine leiomyomas are noncancerous or benign growths that may remain tiny or grow rapidly and require surgery. They are often found during an annual pelvic exam or other tests and may: 

  • Be attached to the uterus by a stem that can twist and cause nausea and pain because they are growths that form and attach to muscle tissue in the uterus (inside, on the outer surface, or within the wall – so the size varies and growth time may be slowly or rapidly
  • Grow rapidly and start breaking down, causing pain resulting in requiring hysterectomy surgery for removal
  • Rarely are they associated with cancer

Symptoms

Uterine fibroids can occur at any age and are usually found during a routine pelvic exam or from other tests performed. Fibroids are:

  • Most commonly found in women ages 30-40 
  • Found and  growing more quickly in more African-American women at a younger than in White women
  • Often resulting in no symptoms at all

Typical symptoms include:

  • Changes in menstruation, including longer, more frequent, or heavy periods, pain or cramps, vaginal bleeding at times other than the regular period, and possibly anemia from blood loss
  • Pain in the lower back (often dull, heavy and aching, possibly sharp), abdomen, or  during intercourse
  • Pressure, resulting from having difficulty urinating or frequent urination, constipation, rectal pain or difficult bowel movements, and abdominal cramps
  • An enlarged abdomen indicates a possible large fibroid, making it hard to perform a pelvic examination or uterus
  • Miscarriages
  • Infertility (though other causes are more common and should be fully explained) if fibroids are thought to be a cause, many women are still able to become pregnant after treatment)

Diagnosis

As mentioned, your doctor may detect fibroids during a routine pelvic exam, or they may show up as a result of these tests:

  • Ultrasonography is when sound waves create a picture of the uterus and other pelvic organs 
  • Hysteroscopy allows a view through an inserted scope to see inside the uterine cavity
  • Hysterosalpingography is a special X-ray test to detect abnormal changes in the size and shape of the uterus and fallopian tubes
  • Sonohysterography is a procedure that involves a fluid put into the uterus followed by ultrasonography to show the inside of the uterus with a clear picture of the uterine lining
  • Laparoscopy is a procedure using a laparoscope, which is put into a small cut below the navel, to see inside the abdomen, which can define fibroids outside the uterus
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) scans are rarely needed but do help to tract fibroids growth over time

Treatment

Your doctor may decide fibroid treatment is necessary if there is:

  • Anemia is a result of heavy or painful menstrual periods that may disrupt normal activity
  • Bleeding between menstrual cycles
  • Uncertainty if the growth is a fibroid or another type of tumor, such as an ovarian tumor
  • A rapid increase in the growth of the fibroid
  • Infertility 
  • Pain

Medications 

Medications are prescribed as a drug therapy option to reduce heavy bleeding and painful periods. However, this therapy does not prevent fibroid growth. Medications include:

  • Birth Control Pills and other hormonal birth control methods are often used to control heavy bleeding and painful periods
  • Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone (GnRH) Agonists are used to stop menses and shrink fibroids. These may be used before surgery to reduce the risk of bleeding. Due to side effects, these are used only for short periods (less than six months). After this treatment, fibroids usually return to their previous sizes.
  • Progestin-releasing IUD (intrauterine device), is prescribed for women with fibroids that do not distort the inside of the uterus and to reduce heavy and painful bleeding (not used to treat fibroids themselves) 

If Surgery Is Required

Your FABEN doctor will explain why surgery may be necessary to remove the fibroids and leave the uterus in place to have children later. After surgery, the fibroids do not regrow; however, new fibroids may develop, requiring a later surgery. On the advice of your physician, you may choose the following surgical procedure;

  • Hysterectomy or a procedure performed to remove the uterus, ending the ability to bear children; however, the ovaries may or may not be removed

Optional Treatments

There are other treatments to discuss with your FABEN doctor, such as:

  • Hysteroscopy (as above) using a resectoscope to remove fibroids producing into the uterine cavity by destroying fibroids with a laser beam; however, this outpatient treatment cannot remove fibroids deep in the uterine walls, but it can control the bleeding these fibroids cause 
  • Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) injects tiny particles the size of grains of sand into the blood vessels that lead to the uterus, which cut to the blood flow to the fibroid and cause shrinkage; it is usually an outpatient procedure 

If you’re concerned, call FABEN and make an appointment with a fibroid specialist in Jacksonville, FL today to talk about options and pain relief. We’re here to help.