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Original poster

Fibroids

63 replies

ArabellaScott · 27/03/2023 17:17

I had no idea this was such a big issue.

Apparently fibroids affect 80% of black women, and 70% of white women, by age 50.

'Mr Narendra Pisal, consultant gynaecologist at London Gynaecology, says more awareness needs to be raised.
"I don't think there is much awareness of fibroids, even in the African-Caribbean community," the expert, who has practised gynaecology in London for over 21 years, tells the Mirror.
"I see women and they are often shocked. It does become a taboo, kept a secret, it is a private thing for a lot of women, they won't talk about it.
"The more awareness we increase, the better it will be."
He has called for every woman at the age of 25 to have an ultrasound - which can pick up conditions like fibroids, Endometriosis, and polycystic ovaries.'

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/beverley-knights-battle-fibroids-affects-29542491?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

Beverley Knight's battle with condition that affects 80% of Black women

Fibroids are one of the biggest health concerns for women, an expert says, but little is known about the cause of the condition

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/beverley-knights-battle-fibroids-affects-29542491?int_campaign=continue_reading_button&int_medium=amp&int_source=amp_continue_reading#amp-readmore-target

OP posts:
Original poster
ArabellaScott · 27/03/2023 19:39

noprobbob, I'm really sorry.

An ultrasound scan during pregnancy picked up fibroids.

OP posts:
Gingerkittykat · 27/03/2023 19:10

I had several ultrasounds for ovarian cysts and my fibroid wasn't picked up, it was only when I had a CT scan for another issue that they showed up.

PatatiPatatras · 27/03/2023 18:59

Have fibroids. The mega size type. My sister has same and needs transfusions regularly. We're still told it's nothing serious. Just a woman thing 😳

QueenHippolyta · 27/03/2023 18:39

Had fibroids for years. Was aenemic , in pain etc. But both my male gynos were great and in 2003 I had a laser ablation day surgery (Ireland). It was fantastic. I kept my uterus but the lining was scarred so no more painful periods nor aenemia.

noprobbob · 27/03/2023 18:01

My fibroid almost certainly caused the late miscarriage of my baby at 20 weeks. Had it surgically removed but had to pay privately for a consultation and MRI scan. This was back in 2006 so I can't comment on how things are today but I absolutely felt dismissed and had to fight to get it investigated. Went on to have a healthy baby by CS but was told that it would be too risky to try again due to all the scar tissue, risk of haemorrhaging and the placenta becoming stuck to the scar tissue. Fibroids are really unpleasant.

PlateBilledDuckyPerson · 27/03/2023 17:59

FOJN · 27/03/2023 17:47

I didn't think endo could be diagnosed by u/s scan?

It took me 25 years to get a laparoscopy to confirm what I knew and I'd had lots of u/s scans for various things in the meantime so I knew I had fibroids and also ovarian cysts at different times.

A TV ultrasound picked up my ovarian endometrioma, but not the rest of the very extensive problem.

FOJN · 27/03/2023 17:47

I didn't think endo could be diagnosed by u/s scan?

It took me 25 years to get a laparoscopy to confirm what I knew and I'd had lots of u/s scans for various things in the meantime so I knew I had fibroids and also ovarian cysts at different times.

CaptainMyCaptain · 27/03/2023 17:42

I had mine diagnosed by a scan after seeing my GP, got a consultants appointment quite quickly. He examined me and opened his diary to arrange the hysterectomy. This was the NHS but 23 years ago.

Tricyrtis2022 · 27/03/2023 17:40

anaemic for several years

God yeah, I remember the cravings I used to get for steak the week before my period, I wanted it half raw. Once my periods stopped, the craving went away.

Tricyrtis2022 · 27/03/2023 17:37

I had fibroids for years but they weren't diagnosed until I was 48, two years before my periods stopped. Only when I started gushing blood when not on my period did anyone listen to me. It was agony and the flooding was so hard to deal with but, like many women, I was just told 'It's your age, love'.

RoddyStJames · 27/03/2023 17:31

Given the waiting lists are months long for quite serious gynae issues at the moment, I’d love to know how every woman age 25 is going to get a scan.

I say this as a fibroid and endometriosis suffer (which is diagnosed by laparoscopy). I had to wait over 9 months for my first scan to confirm the fibroids the GP knew I had, I then had to wait 3 years for a laparoscopic investigation whilst they insisted I try medication, the the coil, then a pill, and then a further 2 years before I finally got a hysterectomy for the Endo they found during the laparoscopy.

If men had agonising cramps, flooding so bad they couldn’t leave the house for a week every month and were anaemic for several years there would be a lot more funding for gynae!

Pudmyboy · 27/03/2023 17:24

Women's reproductive health is shockingly underfunded and under researched- fobbed off with 'it's just part of being a woman' 😡

PlateBilledDuckyPerson · 27/03/2023 17:22

I had fibroids but no one realised until I had a hysterectomy and they found them there. My periods had been agony ever since they started. Fobbed off for decades. Completely agree more awareness is needed.