Fibroid tumor symptoms are often blamed on other causes. Sometimes, the symptoms of fibroid tumors are not even noticed, while other times the quality of life is affected every day. Fibroid tumors are non-cancerous growths that form in the uterus. Fibroid tumors often grow in groups, and they can be as small as a pea or as large as an egg or even a grapefruit. Fibroid tumors afflict nearly 80% of North American women. About 40% of women will develop fibroid tumor symptoms during perimenopause, which is the age before menopause.
Here are the leading symptoms of fibroid tumors:
1. Pain - especially lower abdominal pain or pain and irritation in the bladder area. The pain can come and go or it can be somewhat constant. And pain with sexual activity can happen if the fibroid tumors grow in proximity to the vagina or become large enough to cause the vaginal walls to protrude.
2. Pressure on the bladder or lower abdomen - this pressure can result in having to urinate often. Also, you can feel a sense of urgency to urinate before you normally would expect to have to go. In rare cases, one can lose the ability to urinate.
3. Menstrual cycle problems - heavy bleeding or painful periods, sometimes bleeding between periods. Women with fibroids sometimes have periods that last 8 days or longer. If frequent or heavy bleeding occurs, the excessive blood loss can result in an anemic condition.
4. Increase in waist size and shape - even though there is no significant weight gain, your clothing no longer fits around the midsection.
5. Pressure on the rectum - the result is constipation and/or the development of hemorroids.
6. Depression, irritability - constant pain can wreak havoc with ones state of mind.
7. Infertility and pregnancy complications - a fertilized egg cannot implant in the uterus if that wall is already occupied by one or more fibroids leading to miscarriage. When fibroid tumors are found near the fallopian tubes, the passage may be partially or totally blocked. This usually means that the egg cannot come down and the sperm cannot go up, so the egg and the sperm can never meet and pregnancy cannot occur. When a fertilized egg does implant in the uterine wall with a fibroid tumor located near the implantation site, the fibroid may continue to grow, demanding both space and nourishment needed by the fetus. The result may be miscarriage.
Fibroid tumor symptoms are the #1 reason women in their thirties or forties have hysterectomies in the USA each year. 1 in 4 women will have complaints serious enough to seek medical treatment for the symptoms of fibroid tumors.
Fortunately, only about 1% of fibroid tumors are malignant. Physicians with patient health in mind will advise that hysterectomy should be performed only in the event of malignancy or other life-threatening condition such as heavy uncontrolled bleeding. That means far too many hysterectomies and removal of the uterus are used as a fibroid tumor symptoms treatment. Some women with fibroids have no symptoms of fibroid tumors other than the fibroid itself. Other women will have one or more of the symptoms listed above.
Why do fibroid tumors develop? There are several known factors that cause fibroid tumor growth and fibroid tumor symptoms in women. And instead of submitting to hysterectomy surgery, there are effective alternative treatments for symptoms of fibroid tumors. Learn as much as you can about this common medical condition affecting so many women today.
Copyright 2005 InfoSearch Publishing
About The Author: Olinda Rola is a leading authority on womens health, President of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com - a popular website on womens health. For information on fibroid treatments that work, visit http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com/uterine-fibroids.html to learn more.
How to eat all you want and still lose weight
How would you like to eat all you want and still lose weight, or maintain your trim figure?
Sounds impossible?
Have you seen those skinny young women who eat like horses, with plate after plate of food at the buffet table without putting on any weight?
Ok, so some of them may be bulimic. You know, the sort who eat all they want, then go to the toilet to throw up everything they just ate. Not only is that disgusting, it is very unhealthy. That damages your body in the long run.
No, I'm talking about the girls who just cannot seem to gain weight. Probably due to a very high metabolic rate. They burn off all the calories they consume, effortlessly. Not every skinny girl is bulimic or aneroxic or even on a stringent diet. Some are just naturally thin. I know. In my early twenties, I was one of them.
When you are young, your metabolic rate is high. As you get older, your metabolism would naturally slow down. Also, back in my skinny days, I walked a lot. As a student, I was underweight. Yet I could out eat any guy at a buffet table. That was because I walked a lot. I was on my feet walking around the campus when not at class. I had to climb a hill several times a day as the hostel where I stayed was on the top of the hill. As a young adult, I walked a lot. I'd go shopping for hours after work. Walking at least 3 hours each day, browsing from shop to shop.
When I let a more sedentary lifestyle after marriage, I really gained weight. Staying home, watching tv instead of walking for hours in the malls let to serious weight gain. Even though I was eating far less than before.
The gist of this is that your weight depends on the amount of calories you burn as well as the calories you consume.
Consume more calories than you burn and you end up gaining weight. Burn more calories than you consume and you lose weight.
So if you seriously want to eat all you want and still lose weight, you have to make a serious effort to burn those calories you consume.
Just ate a big mac?
That is worth 485 calories.
Playing tennis for an hour burns 450 calories.
Scrubbing the floor for an hour burns 440 calories.
Try doing that to offset the calories you consumed from that big mac.
When I run on a treadmill, uphill with the slope set to the max at 15, and speed at around 6.5 for 35 minutes, I burn about 410 calories.
So if you want to lose weight and eat Big Macs, or other high calorie foods, you have to be prepared for some serious exercise.
Likewise, the snacks you might eat while watching TV, or in the office all contain serious calories. Take note of what you eat, how many calories they contain and burn those off through exercise.
The good news is the plain water, contains no calories, yet you can feel rather full by drinking plenty of water. Try drinking a large glass of water before you eat anything.
Feel like snacking? Drink 1 large glass of water first before proceeding with your snack. Drink another large glass of water as you eat your snack. That would reduce the amount of snacks you eventually eat.
Drink 1 large glass of water before your meal, and drink another glass of water with your meal. You'll probably eat far less than normal during the meal even though you eat to your heart's content.
Next, get your body to burn off as many calories as possible.
I like The Firm's Transfirmer system as not only does it burn off the calories in that one intense work out, it boosts your body's metabolic rate, so you continue to burn calories at an accelerated rate for the rest of the day, even while you sleep.
Basically, muscle burns more calories that fat. Muscle looks very much better than fan. If you want a serious workout, check out Billy Blank's Bootcamp. Billy is a reknown martial art's champ. His training program delivers. Not for sissies though.
So you see, you can eat all you want and still lose weight, provided train your body to burn off all the excess calories. I never said it was going to be easy though.
:-)
The writer is the new webmaster of aerobic total body fitness. A resource to help you get in shape through aerobic exercise.
The True Meaning of Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine is a type of therapeutic practice that is not considered to be a part of traditional or conventional medical treatment. People use alternative medicine instead of using traditional medical treatment. This is often because they feel it is a natural way to get better.
There are many types of alternative medicine. Some are covered by medical insurance, but most are not. Some forms of alternative medicine that may be covered are chiropractic and osteopathic therapy. These forms of alternative medicine are widely used.
There are other forms of alternative medicine that are not as widely used, but are becoming more popular by the minute. These are: massage therapy, therapeutic touch, folk medicine, herbal medicine, special diets, homeopathy, music therapy, aromatherapy, naturopathy, faith healing, and new age healing. There are also some non-western forms of alternative medicine such as: Chinese medicine, gi gong, reiki, and ayarveda.
There are some less commonly practiced forms of alternative medicine as well. One is called biofield therapy. This is a form of alternative medicine that works with your so called "energy fields" to heal you. Another is bioelectrical magnetic therapy. This alternative medicine uses pulse and magnetic fields to heal you.
Alternative medicine is quite popular for people who are terminally ill. Many AIDS and cancer patients prefer it. An example of this is a cancer patient who uses alternative medicine instead of receiving traditional chemotherapy or radiation therapy. People also use alternative medicine to heal ailments such as back pain or migraines. Instead of traditional painkillers, the patients would use aromatherapy, sound therapy or herbal therapy. Alternative medicine is even used on animals. Have you ever seen the movie "The Horse Whisperer?" That was about a form of alternative medicine used on an animal. Acupuncture, herbal therapy, and others have also been used on animals.
The last thing you should know is that there is no scientific evidence that alternative medicine is effective. There have been no scientific studies to prove if they are safe or if they work for the diseases or ailments they are used for. Before using an alternative medicine, talk to your doctor, make sure your doctor feels it is safe and will not harm you.
There are many different kinds of alternative medicines to choose from. Now that you understand it a bit better, you can decide if it is right for you. For more information talk to your doctor or research it online. With careful research, you may find one that is right for you.
About The Author:
Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.info-meds.info a blog focusing on the Medical, resources and articles. This site provides detailed information on medicines. For more info on medicines visit: http://www.info-meds.info
