Uterine Fibroids...A long kept secret for many!

For years I have known of friends and family members that have uterine fibroids.  Some women have such a complex case of uterine fibroids that they are not able to have children or they begin to look pregnant due to the excessive growth related to some uterine fibroids.  Along with causing visible bloating, uterine fibroids can inconvenience many and make social gatherings very uncomfortable.  I have had numerous friends who have to consider EXCESSIVE bleeding episodes when preparing to attend social functions.  Meaning, they need to wear dark clothing, they need to wear close to 3-4 maxi pads along with a tampon, in fear of standing up and having blood expelled profusely.  In addition to the visual symptoms, women also experience symptoms related to anemia due to the drastic and excessive amount of blood loss.

I decided to write this blog post because I have family members and friends who have been living with this medical condition and the additional medical conditions that accompany it for years.  And yet, it has never really been a topic of conversation for most, at least until recently with the presentation of a more advanced treatment for uterine fibroids.  This new treatment is called uterine artery embolization/uterine fibroid embolization.  But before we get into this specific treatment let's grasp a basic understanding of what a uterine fibroid really is.

So, what are uterine fibroids exactly?
They are benign tumors composed of smooth muscle in the uterus of women.

The uterus with uterine fibroids of different classifications 

What's their prevalence?
75% of women battle with uterine fibroids, and 50% of African American women have uterine fibroids.

Can they become cancerous?
Less than 0.1% of the fibroid tumors become malignant (or cancerous).

How do the fibroids develop?
A genetic predisposition exists, and the tumor develops from an overgrowth of smooth muscle and connective tissue in the uterus.  Both estrogen and progestin receptors are present in fibroids and elevated estrogen levels may cause fibroid enlargement.

What causes uterine fibroids?

• Genetics
• Hormones - estrogen and progesterone are two hormones that stimulate the growth of the uterine lining during each menstrual cycle in preparation for pregnancy, and promote the growth of fibroids.  Thus, fibroids tend to shrink after menopause when our hormones decrease.

What are the risk factors?

• Heredity - if your mother or sister has fibroids, you chances are increased
• Race - African American women are more likely to have fibroids.  AA women have fibroids at a younger age, and they are more likely to develop more and larger fibroids
• Size - obese women are at a higher risk of developing fibroids
• Other factors - onset of menstruation, having a diet high in red meat and low in greens and fruit.  Drinking alcohol, including beer tends to increase the risk of developing fibroids.

What should we be looking for to know if we have uterine fibroids?

• Most produce no symptoms
• Abnormal/heavy menstrual period
• Prolonged menstrual periods (7 days or more)
• Pelvic pressure or pain
• Frequent urination
• Difficulty emptying your bladder
• Constipation
• Back ache or leg pains

What size are uterine fibroids?

The size can range from the size of your thumb nail to a size so large that the woman begins to look pregnant.

The varying sizes of actual uterine fibroids

An actual very large uterine fibroid

Cynthia Bailey Before (picture on right) and After (picture on left) Uterine Artery Embolization

When should you contact your doctor?

• Pelvic pain that doesn't go away
• Overly heavy or painful periods
• Spotting or bleeding between periods
• Pain consistently during intercourse
• Enlarged uterus and abdomen
• Difficulty emptying your bladder

What can be done to relieve uterine fibroids?

• Hysterectomy - the surgical removal of the uterus.  This method can be the only effective method in some cases.
• Myomectomy - the surgical removal of the uterine fibroids from the uterus.  This method is preferred for women who would like to become pregnant.
• Laparoscopy - a surgical procedure that utilizes a laparoscope (a thin lighted tube with a camera at the end) that is inserted into the abdomen through a small incision.  The laparoscope allows the doctor to view the pelvic cavity, and other tools are inserted through the laparoscope or inserted through other small incisions in the abdomen in order to remove the fibroid
• Uterine Artery Embolization - this procedure can be performed by a radiologist, and this procedure cuts off the blood supply to the uterine fibroids, starving the fibroid thus causing shrinking.  This procedure is minimally invasive and less aggressive than the removal of the uterus.  This procedure is effective, but not recommended for women who wish to become pregnant.
• Medications - anti-estrogen medications such as progesterone, but too much progesterone can cause menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis.  Meaning, hormone therapy should not be a long-term treatment option.

Uterine Artery Embolization

• Minimally invasive
• Less aggressive
• Cuts off blood supply for fibroids, leading to fibroid shrinkage or death
• Very effective, but not for everyone.  Your doctor has to decide given your health picture, if you are a great candidate fro this procedure.  Reasons for not choosing this procedure include having:
• A history of pelvic radiation
• A history of kidney failure
• Possible pelvic cancer
• An active, recent, or chronic pelvic infection
• Poorly controlled diabetes
• Inflammation of the blood vessels
• An untreated bleeding disorder
• A severe allergy to contrast material containing iodine
• Symptom relief usually within the first three months after your procedure
• Menstruation can return within a few months after the procedure, but some women actually go into menopause after this procedure.  Studies have shown that going into menopause after this procedure is highest among women 45 years of age and older.
• The impact on fertility are due to:
• subtle ovarian damage = making getting pregnant difficult
• increased risk of pregnancy complications
• however, there is a percentage of women who have successful pregnancies after this procedure.

In a few months, one of my close relatives will be having this procedure done, and this works out well for blog participants, as I will post her progress, her biggest concerns or problems, and complications.  Also, an actor of Atlanta Housewives, Cynthia Bailey has had her own struggle with fibroids, please take some time to check out her story as well through this link Cynthia Bailey's 14 Year Struggle with Uterine Fibroids, and Cynthia Bailey's Uterine Fibroid Treatment.  Please keep in mind that your doctor should go over ones candidacy for this procedure, and once the candidate in properly informed it is then the candidates decision to proceed with the procedure.  I hope this post helps shed some light on a health condition that women cope with, but don't actually get to talk about often.  Please feel free to comment or ask questions.  Until next time...

Superfoods...

This week I came across a few items that have been deemed as superfoods.  If many of you are like me, you are probably wondering what constitutes being a "superfood", and is the usage of this word just a marketing technique?

After a bit of research it became apparent that there is actually no legal or medical definition for the word "superfood".  However, it appears as if we have begun to use the word "superfood" to describe any food that has more positive attributes than negative attributes as it pertains to our metabolic health.  In other words, if a food is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals with less saturated fat, additives, artificial ingredients, and contaminants; it can be considered a "superfood".  In my opinion, it sounds as if foods that have been considered in the past as just plain "healthy" for us to eat are now being called "superfoods".  So does that mean that at some point, a majority of our foods that are not processed will be considered superfoods?  It is also interesting that the usage of the word superfood has grown with the usage of the words or phrases that imply the ability to "decrease free radicals", or are "cancer fighting" such as antioxidants.

I'm not against the usage of the word superfood, but I am uncomfortable with the usage of the word in a medical sense that implies significant health outcomes when placed on specific foods, without having a legal definition for the word, while leading a large population to believe that such a definition exists and that such definition makes a food more than healthy, i.e. "super".

Getting back to the items I found, they were all pretty interesting, and they are as follows:

• Watercress - has a special mustard oil (also called PEITC) that has anticancer properties, decreases blood triglyceride levels (fat found in the blood that can cause heart disease), and increases blood levels of lutein and beta-carotene (decreases the incidence of cataracts and macular degeneration).

 

• Kimchi - a traditional Korean dish made of red fermented cabbage mixed garlic, salt, vinegar, chile peppers, and spices.  It is full of dietary fiber with a low calorie count.  It is loaded with vitamins A, B, C, and lactobacilli (great for digestion, preventing yeast infections) that we usually get from yogurt.  There are also claims that it can help reduce cancer.

• Macadamia oil - comes from the macadamia nut, and is composed of omega-3 fatty acids (effective in treatment and prevention of cardiac disease, stroke, and Alzheimers), and it has a high tolerance so it can be used for frying instead of olive oil, which can only be heated to a certain temperature before its considered to lose its benefits.

• Black rice - full of antioxidant rich bran, and carries a very significant antioxidants anthocyanins, purple and reddish dye (have been linked to decrease cardiac disease and cancer, and improvements in memory).

I'm sure at some point, I will try these items with my family.  If you have tried them or know of anyone that utilizes them on a daily basis, please feel free to comment or let us know how they worked out.

Shaun T's T25 Focus

I'm sure everyone has heard of Shaun T's new workout program named T25 Focus, and I am a huge Shaun T fan!  After pregnancy, I used his Hip Hop Abs program along with Zumba to lose what we call "the baby weight".  Using those two programs I was able to eliminate close to 60 pounds, and after my body became accustomed to those two workouts I switched to Jillian Michaels, Tracey Anderson, and different variations of new Zumba Xbox 360 Kinect games.  However, these days my time allowed for working out has decreased and I definitely needed to find a workout that was intense, but short timewise.  So, I finally decided to purchase the T25 program last year, but due to the holidays and everything that comes along with it I was not prepared to be dedicated to a workout program.  Instead, I started the program on Monday, and let me say "it is AWESOME"!  Shaun T has developed new effective moves, and managed to construct a program that concentrates on your core, cardio, strength training, and stretching into a 25 minute session...incredible!  On each dvd there is an additional 2 minutes of stretching/cool down, but your body is dying to cool down after 25 minutes of an intense workout, so the additional 2 minutes are actually beneficial.

This is the daily plan for the Alpha Cycle of T25 Focus

These are the CDs that you are to alternate during the Alpha Cycle of T25 Focus

This is daily plan for the Beta Cycle of T25 Focus

These are the CDs that you are to alternate during the Beta Cycle of T25 Focus

This is the diet plan that accompanies the T25 workout CDs

                                                   

This is the list that details what is included in the T25 Focus Set

Just to be clear, I don't purchase every workout program that is advertised nor do I pretend to know which workout programs will work for everyone.  However, I do know what works for me and my body and I have no problem with sharing that with others in hopes that they will experience the same results.  These workout programs are designed to give participants results in a certain time frame, and what we all need to remember to consider is that we can only perform to a level of which our bodies allow.  Meaning, just because a workout program says you need to follow their workout calendar exactly, does not mean your body can handle the stress of following their workout calendar exactly.  Yes, it can be assumed that our bodies need a shock at times to start to expel fat, but going from not working out at all or working out a little or working out using a regimen that your body has become accustomed to and jumping to working out intensely, and constantly for 25 minutes is a tremendous shock to your body.  Let alone, adding the fact that this new workout regimen is designed to be done 6 days a week.  This drastic change in activity has the potential to result in extreme soreness, pain, and injury.  The bottom line as it pertains to workout programs and any bodily changes is that we MUST know and listen to our bodies.

My body taught me very early, that no matter how similar and exact my workout regimen and body type may be to someone elses (including working out in the gym with friends, etc.), my body's response, recuperation time, and the symptoms related to that of the aforementioned were going to be different.  For example, I used to Zumba with a friend everyday and about 6 hours after my workout I was always extremely sore to the point I had to take Tylenol in order to be able to function for the remainder of the day, and to be able to sleep comfortably.  Meanwhile, my friend would be a little sore but never needed to take Tylenol.  I use this example to say that, whenever I start a workout program I start slowly.  Instead of following the T25 program exactly, for the first week or two I will give my body an initiation period.  During this period I will workout every other day, providing rest days with stretching in between in order to minimize the soreness I get called DOMS (explained in the next paragraph).  Once I reach week three I will start to follow the program calendar as instructed, but at any moment when my body tells me different, I will not hesitate to alter the program calendar to fit my individual health needs.  Will I still get results?  Absolutely!  Will my results be as evident as early as the program may have wanted?  Probably not, but I will get the results in the time frame that is healthy, acceptable, and sustainable for my body and its daily functioning.

It is normal to have soreness after workouts, even up to 1-2 days afterwards and this is called DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness which comes from tears in your muscles caused by muscle exhaustion.  Soreness is normal after any physical activity embarked upon to create bodily changes, or after physical exertion.  However, only you as the individual experiencing the soreness can judge its degree and what measures need to be taken in order to remain healthy and injury free in the long run.  The key to working out is to reach a level of health that is acceptable for you emotionally, physically, and metabolically.  It's not a race, because weight loss that is obtained too fast or prematurely is not healthy or able to be maintained over the long run.  Anything worth having is worth working hard for, and we as women tend to neglect the necessity to take care of ourselves on all levels.  We spend exessive amounts of money trying to cut corners with dieting methods, supplements, make-up and creams.  We even risk our health by constantly placing others and their needs ahead of ours resulting in not getting adequate rest, over-eating, and no time for your body and mind to refuel.

I have only completed 2 days of the T25 workout this week, and the first day focused on my core and felt great...I was energized and in a great mood afterwards, but still sore.  I can attribute the energy and great mood to the endorphins and BDNF protein that are released by my brain in response to the stress of exercising.  Together they kind of reset my body into feeling at ease and euphoric.  The second day felt just as great, except it was more cardio and stretching driven, but I still loved it!  There is just something about being able to feel fully worked out and exhausted after only 25 minutes...INCREDIBLE!

I will be posting weight, progress, and picture updates as I continue with the T25 program.  I would love to hear what anyone else has experienced with Shaun T or any other workout programs, and I hope this serves as motivation and encouragement to many ;)  Please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Remicade Infusion Change

Good Evening Everyone,

I am proud to announce that my Remicade infusions have been prescribed more frequently instead of increasing my actual dose, and they will continue this way through July of this year ;)  So, instead of going every 8 weeks, now I go every 4 weeks, and it has made a huge difference health and lifestyle wise.  Even my level of functionality after the infusions has improved.  I still take my pre-meds for potential allergic reactions, possible body aches, and nausea.  Even still, the pre-meds don't have the same "put me to sleep" effect as it did initially.

Since moving into our new house in November, planning and chaperoning our son's 6th birthday party, along with preparing our first Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, a lot of new topics have evolved.  So, stay tuned for new posts and be sure to check out my new page dedicated to our dry skin journey!