Women’s Health: Support for Women with Uterine Fibroids

The incidence of fibroids in women has risen exponentially in the last 20 years. Approximately 80 percent of women will develop at least one uterine fibroid at some point in their lives. Some women are never made aware that they have a fibroid, and because of its relatively small size, never have symptoms. Other women are faced with heavy menstrual bleeding, prolonged periods, severe cramping, bladder problems, low back pain, and may even be prevented from carrying a pregnancy to full term. The average fibroid size is somewhere between a walnut and a lacrosse ball.

The overall consensus in the medical and alternative healthcare fields is that the causation of fibroids is related to hormone imbalance in the body. Specifically, the most commonly accepted hormone imbalances that may cause uterine fibroids are estrogen and progesterone. Since, the endocrine system is interconnected with many different organs and glands, it is not far-fetched to assume the possibility that imbalances in organs such as the liver (which breaks down estrogen) can also play a role in the imbalance of the body. The adrenal glands, thyroid, pituitary, ovaries, and hypothalamus may also play a role in uterine fibroids should any of these endocrine glands not function at their optimal level.

Many medical doctors have become more open to a wait and see approach before taking action to remove a fibroid. They will monitor it and see if it is growing before they make any medical recommendations. They understand that fibroids can come back, so removing them may be a temporary solution. A really good medical doctor may even encourage changes in lifestyle, nutrition, nutritional supplements, and alternative therapies before they recommend removal.

Conservative success with fibroid reduction varies widely among women but is important to try to balance the body and its hormones before making the decision to go forward with any invasive procedure. All women that have fibroids should do the best they can to eliminate endocrine (hormone) disruptors, as these chemicals mimic hormones and disrupt the bodies normal processes. BPAs, dioxins, phthalates, atrazine, arsenic, and TPHP are common endocrine disruptors.

Here are some tips for women with fibroids:

• 1. Get rid of bleached tampons and bleached toilet paper. They contain dioxin that is a known estrogen disruptor. You can find unbleached tampons and toilet paper at health food stores (Whole Foods/Whole Body), etc.

• 2. Get rid of your toxic nail polish and remover. Use only water based non-toxic nail polish and remover. A new study from Duke University and The Environmental Working Group cites that women who paint their nails with products that contain TPHP had a byproduct of it called DPHP in their blood 10 to 14 hours after application. “It is possible that TPHP is now being used in nail polish as a replacement for phthalates, which also have endocrine-disrupting properties and are toxic to the reproductive system,” principal investigator Heather Stapleton, Ph.D., associate professor at Duke University, said in the news release. “However, it’s not clear that TPHP is the better alternative. There is growing evidence suggesting that TPHP may affect hormone regulation, metabolism, reproduction, and development.”

• 3. Get rid of plastic water bottles. Water is important to drink but lose the plastic water bottles. Get a good quality water filter and carry around a glass, stainless steel, or at the very least a plastic container that doesn’t have BPAs. BPA is another endocrine disruptor.

• 4. Get rid of the chemical hair dyes. Use hair dyes that contain less or no toxins. Organic Salons like “HALE” in New York City offer alternatives to chemical hair dyes. 

• 5. Use Castor oil packs. They have been used for centuries to draw out toxins, shrink masses and help to heal the body. You can purchase a castor oil kit online or at any health food store. Dip the cloth in castor oil and put it on your abdomen. You can cover the cloth with a piece of plastic wrap and put a heating pad or hot water in a water bottle, and lay it on top of your abdomen. Leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes.  Do this for at least six weeks. (Some need to do it for many months.) Many people do it twice per day while others only once per day. I can muscle test you to figure out the duration and frequency. 

• 6. Use other forms of birth control besides the pill and an IUD. The pill is a synthetic hormone, so doesn’t it make sense that if your hormones are all screwy you would want to eliminate something that may be contributing to hormone imbalances? The IUD (whether it has a synthetic hormone or not) is a foreign object placed near the area where you have an abnormality; this can contribute to an imbalance, so lose that as well.

• 7. In your diet, eliminate sugars, processed foods, and soda. Eat foods without pesticides/organic, and get off the foods to which you have sensitivities.  I have spoken about this time and time again. This is an important step to reduce inflammation in your body.

• 8. Balance your body through nutritional supplementation and herbs. There are many herbs and nutritional supplements out there, and most women are left guessing. Muscle testing is an important tool to figure out which nutritional supplements to use to support individuals with fibroids. Some of the supplementation that I test for that help support women with fibroids are dong quai, shepherds purse, false unicorn, endovan, rosemary, blue cohosh, red clover, shatavari, maca, white peony, schisandra, smilax, hemoguard, chaste tree, endopath-F, evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, wild yam, chickweed and many, many others. The right combination of supplements is always the most important factor in whether something will have an effective result. 

Dr. Louis Granirer is a leading NY Holistic Chiropractor who specializing in Nutrition Response Testing as a way finding natural remedies to chronic health issues. Learn more by visiting his website at www.holisticchiropracticcenter.com.