Treating Fibroids and period pain with Chinese herbs?

[Sandra1984]

Hi MNetters,

I’m almost 50 and still getting my periods every month like a Swiss watch, problem is I have a uterine fibroid the size of a golf ball, this causes period pains, big blood loss and puts pressure on my bladder (which involves 3 trips to the bathroom every night). My OBGYN wants me to get a hysterectomy as the fibroid is inside the uterus wall and cannot be removed without tearing my uterus. I have no plans to have children so getting rid of uterus is not a big deal (my ovaries will stay as they are quite healthy), however…. Before I go under the knife I wanted to consider other “alternatives” so went to a Chinese doctor in London. Apparently Chinese medicine has a traditional great cure to shrink fibroids (there’s a lot of western studies to back this), some herb called "Guizhi Fuling" (I believe they are poria pills but not too sure?).

I went to this great Chinese doctor, he did an assessment on me and gave me the herbal teas. So far so good, problem is after two days of drinking the tea my period has come unexpectedly when it’s not supposed and I believe this tea is really messing with my hormones so I got scared and stopped taking it.

My question is: has anyone had any experience with Chinese medicine treating fibroids? I’m a bit reluctant to continue taking this teas as I feel it’s really messing with my hormones. Any feedback is Wellcome.

Thanks every body.

Sandra

Wowsers. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. You don't know what's in it or the impact it might have on you.

If you don't want children, I'd absolutely go for the H.

I'm 55 and haven't had a period now for 9 months. I've never given birth (became a mum through adoption due to dhs infertility) so had never had an ultrasound till about 2 years ago for a stomach problem. During the ultrasound they found 2 large fibroids in my womb. Goodness knows how long I'd had them for but previously I'd had extremely heavy periods for a short time that I'd just "lived with". By the time I had the ultrasound my periods had started to decrease and were much lighter and on a previous visit to the GP she'd mentioned me eventually going on HRT. However, after finding the fibroids I was told I was unsuitable for HRT as the hormones could encourage them to grow in size. I was told that If I started to get really heavy periods again then there was some medication I could try to shrink the fibroids, before they would even think of surgery. I was told, because of my age and the fact my periods were now lighter and would probably stop soon that they hoped the fibroids would shrink naturally and to wait a while and see how I went on. I then did a lot of research myself and read that taking vitamin D could help shrink fibroids. I've been on it ever since but when I saw your post I thought there may be something else I could try as well. I completely understand you wanting to explore other options before resorting to surgery but I would be worried if something I was taking brought me on my period early, I'd be wondering what effect it was having on my hormones and ultimately the fibroids.

Absolutely not you could be taking anything, if herbs could shrink fibroids the NHS would be using them as would be a damn site cheaper than surgery.
I had a couple of fibroids and suffered from the same symptoms as you... 8 years ago got my first mirena coil and never looked back, no periods no pain and the fibroids have shrunk to next to nothing.

If you don't fancy a coil then take the hysterectomy, you're lucky to be offered one as it's usually a last resort.

This exactly . I’d go for the hysterectomy like a shot , my periods were very regular until I was 56 so that is a long way off for you .

Please be really careful with any herbal medicine. I have suffered kidney damage through taking herbal medicine from a licensed practitioner and there were no signs other than raised blood pressure. I now have less than 15% of kidney function and am on medication for the rest of my life.

Wow 😮(runs to kitchen and throws those herbs to the rubbish)

The Chinese doctor also wanted to treat my anxiety with accupunture so I lied on the table while he started putting needles on me, I swear to god I looked like than character from the Hellraiser movie, half way through the session I was so stressed with all those needles on my body that I thought I was going to have a panic attack and told him to remove them. Accupuncture is not for me clearly so I'll still to yoga, thank you.

I'm all for trying alternative methods to our western medical practices but I think Chinese medicine is just not for me.

Thanks for everybody's feedback 🙏

You absolutely do not know that the 'herbs' you took were just those herbs or full of other ingredients.

Chinese medicine was very popular for ezcema in people who wanted to avoid steroids- and then it was found that the reason it worked was they had packed the Chinese creams with steroids.

No way would I be taking anything that wasn't subject to quality control and regulation.

Louisa what were you taking if you don't mind me asking and for what?

I have a slightly different view - did you know that when fibroids are shrinking they can cause pain and bleeding?

Chinese medicine is very well respected and the NHS offers certain Chinese medicine treatments such as acupuncture for certain conditions (eg migraines).

Sadly also just because the NHS doesn't provide it doesn't mean it doesn't work. Herbs are not pharmaceuticals therefore a lot of businesses make less money, therefore there isnt much research on these kind of things

I'd go back to the practitioner and mention it to them

I am surprised by a lot of the messages here! There are heaps of excellent quality studies into how effective acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine are for fertility, fibroids and just about every other condition out there.

I work in the NHS but my partner is trained in TCM and there are plenty of things better treated by conventional medicine but on the other hand plenty that are treated far more gently and effectively by herbal medicine.

If the fibroid is large the only option could be surgery but the a combination of acupuncture herbs in TCM can improve blood flow and healing in a certain area and bolster the body's healing response.

For those of you saying you don't know what's in it - have you ever taken it? It's usually whole herbs that you boil or a dry granule extraction of said herb. The dosage is such that the side effects are very minimal. I think rather different from a lot of the stuff that we prescribe (and works in many cases) in the NHS.