4 Lifestyle Habits You Should Adopt During Menopause
Menopause can be a real trial-and-error situation as you figure out what does and doesn’t work for you to manage symptoms. Here are a few habits that can help make your life easier.
Overlapping Symptoms of Ovarian Cysts and Fibroids
Are you having problems with your reproductive system, but your doctor hasn’t been able to narrow down the possibilities yet? That’s because some symptoms of common women’s health issues overlap across multiple conditions.
At Women’s Health Care Center of Houston, with two locations in Houston, Texas, our team of women’s health and reproduction specialists offer help for women with uncomfortable and painful symptoms by differentiating between conditions like ovarian cysts and fibroids so we can offer the correct treatment.
Fibroid or cyst?
Ugh. Your lower abdomen is wracked with unhappy symptoms. Do you have fibroids, ovarian cysts, or is something else going on? The fact that you can have symptoms that point to several different conditions can cloud the issue.
If your primary doctor is stumped, that means it’s time to see a specialist. Here’s what you should know while waiting for your appointment.
Overlapping symptoms
Common symptoms of both fibroids and ovarian cysts include:
- Bloating
- Frequent need to urinate
- Lower back pain
- Spotting in between periods
However, there’s where most of the similarity between fibroids and cysts ends. Take note of additional symptoms to talk about with your provider.
Additional fibroid symptoms include:
- Heavy bleeding during periods
- Pain during and/or after sex
- Anemia
- An enlarged lower stomach area
Additional ovarian cyst symptoms include:
- Severe abdominal pain on one side or the other
- Unexplained weight gain
- Tender breasts
- Difficulties emptying the bladder or bowels
Any other symptoms you may have, even though you might think they are unrelated, should be reported to your provider. Examples include fatigue, brain fog, pain in other areas of your body, etc.
Treatment for fibroids or ovarian cysts
Fibroid treatment usually starts with low-dose birth control or an intrauterine device (IUD) to control bleeding and cramping. If you’re done having children and your symptoms are severe, we can perform ablation to reduce blood flow to fibroids or a hysterectomy to remove your uterus and the fibroids together.
If you have ovarian cysts, hormone treatment plus pain medication may help, and the cysts may slowly shrink and go away. Alternatively, you may need laparoscopic surgery to remove either the cyst or the entire ovary (usually done only if you aren’t planning children).
The importance of an accurate diagnosis
Getting a diagnosis is important, even if the course of treatment would be the same in either case. Symptoms that overlap with cysts or fibroids can also overlap with early signs of ovarian cancer.
Make sure you’re getting routine women’s health checkups, including Pap smears, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, and mammograms to check for precancerous conditions. Catching cancer early greatly increases your chances of survival.
Many reproductive cancers show up in the same group of women, so if your family has any history of any type of cancer, make sure your provider knows.
Need help unraveling your symptoms? Get in touch with our team by calling 713-365-2900, or visit our contact page to make an appointment today.
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