Wednesday 31 October 2007

Fibroids, the Mystery

I spent the morning researching uterine fibroids because their absence really bothered me. I'm glad they are gone, but why and where?

I found several medical journals that talked about post menopausal disappearance of fibroids. That's not me...BUT, the why is interesting. Abnormal estrogen can cause their growth. I also had these same growths in my breast tissue 4 years ago. Gone now. Why?

There are several theories:
1) Unresolved anger accelerates growth of tumorous tissues. I certainly had a lot of that 4 years ago. I'm at peace with those issues now, working towards forgiveness, and only get riled up now and then instead of stomping around angry all the time. I still get mad sometimes about the injustice but it is not ruling my life nor calling me every day. I'm not sure that that's why the fibroids are gone though.
2) Added hormones in milk and meat cause, not only early onset puberty in girls and infertility issues in young women, but also fibroid growth. When Lily was born we switched to organic milk, yogurt, and cheese. We've also switched to no hormone chickens and buy our other meat locally. I can't remember the last time we ate a microwaved TV dinner. We opt away from buying convenience foods.
3) Pregnancy and long term breastfeeding adjust hormone levels and normalize the fibroid causing conditions. We certainly did that, long term breastfeeding, Lil'Bug weaned herself this summer. I knew that longer breastfeeding minimizes chances of breast cancer, but I'd never read about the other effects before. Speaking of hormones, I was on the pill for almost 10 years, a low dose estrogen, exactly the hormone that is said to trigger fibroid growth.
4) Exercise. I am certainly more active than pre Lil'Bug. I used to sit at a desk all day and watch a lot of TV or lay around and read books. I was not over weight or lazy per se, but in retrospect I was not very happy or healthy.

I'm not sure if it was one or a combination or all of the above, but the fact is that right now I don't have fibroids. Fibroids complicated my pregnancy with Lil'Bug, hindered labor, and complicated C-Section recovery. Here's to a healthy lifestyle!

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