Understanding the UFE Recovery Timeline: What Patients Report
Wondering how long it takes to recover from uterine fibroid embolization (UFE)? Here's what to expect during the first few days, weeks, and months after your procedure.
When Fibroid Pain Disrupts Your Life: Nonhormonal Solutions
Are painful periods forcing you to plan your life around your cycle? Maybe you’re missing work, skipping workouts, or canceling plans because of pelvic pain and cramping. Or perhaps the pressure from your uterine fibroids has become something you feel every day.
Hormonal medications can help some women manage fibroid symptoms, but they aren’t the right choice for everyone. In fact, medication isn’t your only option.
At Fresno Fibroid Center, we specialize in uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) and are happy to help women find lasting relief from painful fibroid symptoms without major surgery. UFE offers a minimally invasive, nonhormonal way to treat fibroids by cutting off the blood supply they need to grow.
This month, Dr. Ashkan Behzadi, Dr. Benjamin Pruett, Dr. Sean Tower, and Dr. Brian Ng explain why fibroids cause so much pain and the nonhormonal treatment options that can help.
Why do fibroids cause so much pain?
Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus. Some are tiny and cause no symptoms at all. Others can grow large enough to change the shape of your uterus and put pressure on your surrounding organs.
Depending on their size, number, and location, fibroids can cause:
- Painful menstrual cramps
- Pelvic pain or pressure
- Heavy or prolonged periods
- Lower back pain
- Pain during sex
- Abdominal fullness or bloating
- Frequent urination
Fibroid pain can also change throughout your menstrual cycle. Hormonal fluctuations may contribute to symptoms, but that doesn’t mean hormones are your only treatment option.
3 non-hormonal solutions to help with pain
Surgery is rarely the first line of defense against fibroids; in fact, you have several nonhormonal, nonsurgical treatment options to consider.
1. Start with everyday ways to manage fibroid pain
When your symptoms are mild, simple measures may help you get through painful days. This can look like using a heating pad on your lower abdomen to help relax tense muscles and ease cramping. Light exercise, adequate sleep, and stress management may also help you feel better overall.
Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen or naproxen, may help relieve menstrual cramps and other fibroid-related pain when they’re safe for you to take.
These strategies can make symptoms more manageable, but they don’t shrink or eliminate the fibroids themselves.
2. Nonhormonal medications can help with heavy bleeding
For many women, pain isn’t the only problem. Heavy menstrual bleeding can leave you exhausted and interfere with work, family activities, and everyday life.
Dr. Behzadi, Dr. Pruett, Dr. Tower, and Dr. Ng may recommend tranexamic acid, a nonhormonal medication taken during your period that helps reduce menstrual blood loss.
Like pain relievers, however, it manages a symptom rather than treating the fibroid itself. If medications aren’t giving you enough relief, you may be ready for a treatment that addresses the fibroids directly.
3. UFE treats fibroids without hormones
Compared with pain-relief medication, UFE doesn’t just address pain.
Fibroids depend on a steady blood supply for oxygen and nutrients. UFE targets those blood vessels rather than altering your hormones or surgically removing your uterus.
During UFE, our team guides a tiny catheter through the radial artery in your left wrist all the way to the arteries supplying your fibroids. At that point, we inject tiny particles into those vessels, which then block blood flow to the fibroids.
Without that blood supply, the fibroids gradually shrink. As they get smaller, symptoms such as pain, pressure, and heavy bleeding typically improve.
There’s no large abdominal incision, and your uterus remains in place. Because UFE is minimally invasive, recovery is generally much shorter than recovery from traditional fibroid surgery.
What to expect after nonhormonal, nonsurgical UFE
You may experience cramping, fatigue, or discomfort during the first few days as your body responds to treatment. Over the following weeks and months, the treated fibroids gradually shrink, and your symptoms, such as heavy bleeding and painful periods, improve.
When is it time to consider UFE?
You may want to explore UFE if fibroids are causing:
- Persistent pelvic pain or pressure
- Heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding
- Painful periods that interfere with your routine
- Frequent urination from pressure on your bladder
- Abdominal fullness or bloating
- Symptoms that haven't improved enough with medication
You might also consider UFE if you have multiple fibroids. Because treating each fibroid individually isn’t always practical, UFE blocks the arteries supplying the fibroids throughout the uterus, allowing multiple fibroids to be treated during the same procedure.
Take your life back from fibroid pain
If you’re struggling with fibroid pain, it’s time to schedule a consultation and learn more about your nonhormonal options. You can also call us at 559-216-0746.
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