Uterine fibroids are well-treated using naturopathic medicine.

Uterine fibroids, also called fibromyomas, leiomyomas or myomas, are noncancerous growths of the uterus that often appear during your childbearing years. They are often asymptomatic, and contrary to popular belief are not associated with increased risk of uterine cancer, but may affect fertility.

It is unclear what leads to the development of uterine fibroids, but hormones including estrogen, progesterone and insulin-like growth factor appear to promote their growth.

Seek professional healthcare if you experience persistent pelvic pain, painful menstrual periods, spotting or bleeding between menstrual periods, pain during intercourse or difficulty urinating or moving your bowels.

Seek emergency medical care if you experience sudden:

• Severe vaginal bleeding
• Sharp pelvic pain

Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids

Possible symptoms of uterine fibroids include:

• Heavy menstrual bleeding
• Prolonged menstrual periods
• Bleeding between menstrual periods
• Pelvic pain
• Back or leg pain
• Frequent urination
• Constipation 

Treatment of Uterine Fibroids at Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of uterine fibroids treatment are to decrease or eliminate pain; and balance hormones to regulate menstrual bleeding, shrink existing fibroids and prevent development of new fibroids.

Conventional treatment for uterine fibroids may include surgery, and a variety of medications, including gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, androgens, oral contraceptives and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These treatments may have short- or long-term side effects.

For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to shrink your uterine fibroids and manage their symptoms.

Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves:

• Identifying specific treatment goals
• Development by your naturopathic doctor, of a thorough understanding of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors
• Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
• Implementation and maintenance of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment

At Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine a typical approach to treating uterine fibroids may be to:

• Identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., poor diet) that may be contributing to development of uterine fibroids
• Reduce pain using hydrotherapy, acupuncture, botanical (herbal) medicines or Bowen Therapy
• Shrink and prevent recurrence of fibroids by correcting hormonal imbalances using metabolic detoxification protocols or botanical (herbal) medicines

Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:

• Nutritional counseling
• Nutritional supplements
• Metabolic detoxification protocols
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Acupuncture 
• Homeopathy
• Bowen Therapy
• Suikodo™
• Hydrotherapy
• Exercise prescription
• Relaxation (meditation) training
• Lifestyle medicine and counseling

Treatments provided by naturopathic doctors are covered by most extended healthcare plans.

References

Uterine fibroids [Internet]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; [cited 2009 Feb 18]. Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/uterine-fibroids/DS00078.