Fibroid: A rising scourge amongst Nigerian women 

By Tumininu Ojelabi Hassan

A growing number of women in the country are now contending with one situation of fibroids condition or the other. Previously associated with middle age and older women, some of who are already done with child bearing, the incidence has now spread to young and unmarried women yet to begin the process of child bearing.

Uterine leiomyomas, commonly called fibroids, are benign tumors of uterine myometrium composing of smooth muscle with variable amount of connective tissue. It is the commonest tumor of the female pelvic organ. These common tumors are clinically apparent in 20% of women of reproductive age and may be present in as many as 70% of uteri removed at hysterectomy.

Based on BH findings, about 70% of women develop fibroid at the age of 50 and beyond. One in five women within the 30-50 age range are most likely to be diagnosed of fibroid. Fibroid is one of the common reasons women undergo surgery. The major causes of fibroid are unknown, however, according to research, it’s attributed to hormonal and genetic factors.

A survivor of fibroid narrated her experience and healing process. Modupe Ojelabi, a 56 year old businesswoman shared her story with BH. “It started in October 2018, I was bleeding profusely. I was confused because I had reached menopause, so I wasn’t expecting my period any longer. Also, I had water discharge, severe back ache and lower abdominal pain. After 3 days, the bleeding didn’t stop, it got worse. It got to a point, I couldn’t use sanitary pad anymore because within 1 hour, the pad got full due to the blood clot. I suspected it was fibroid but I hoped it wasn’t.

“I was introduced to a gynecologist, who owns a hospital at Ijede, Ikorodu. The doctor carried out an ultrasound scan, then he said the fibroids were three and I needed to undergo a surgery because it was directly at the entrance of my womb. He prescribed some drugs to reduce the bleeding,” she said.

“The cost of the surgery was N350,000, which doesn’t include the cost of drugs. During this period I was going through a financial crisis. I could barely feed. I was depressed because I knew there was no way I could raise N350,000. I couldn’t go to church, I stayed at home to avoid any form of embarrassment as a result of blood stains. For months, I was indoors. The loss of blood and water weakened me. I kept on using the drugs prescribed by the doctors while trying to raise funds for the surgery.

“Along the line, a friend of mine, who is also a survivor of fibroid, introduced me to a fibroid specialist located at Masha Kilo, Surulere. The specialist had treated many cases of fibroid with herbs successfully, so I decided to give her a trial. After spending about N50,000 on herbs,the blood stopped coming. Since then till now, I haven’t experienced any blood flow, water discharge, stomach ache or any other symptoms associated with fibroid,” she added.

Speaking on treating fibroid medically, Modupe advised women to first of all go to the hospital to find out what the problem is instead of assuming.

“Once a woman notices any abnormality in her body, it’s best to go to the hospital for check up. I opted for herbs because I couldn’t afford the surgery fee. A lot of women are in this situation. It’s safe to speak out, when I had fibroid I reached out to women who have survived fibroid and one of them introduced me to the specialist.

“I’m not saying undergoing a surgery isn’t good but in a situation where you can’t raise the funds within a short period of time, using herbs isn’t a bad idea in my opinion, you just have to be sure the person giving you these herbs knows his/her onions in this field,” she advised.

She talked about this belief that fibroid is hereditary. “In my own case, no woman in my family has ever had fibroid. I was startled when I was diagnosed of fibroid because to the best of my knowledge, there’s no history of fibroid in my family. When I met the doctor, I wasn’t told a particular thing caused it. The only thing the doctor said was that it was due to hormonal factors,” she said.

Mojisola Tanimowo, a 45-year old Ogun state resident shared her story with our correspondent. She gave details on how she survived fibroid in 2021.

“Before I had fibroid, my period used to last for 3-4 days. All of a sudden, I noticed I started bleeding and I used to have my period every two weeks which would last for 15 days. In a month, I won’t bleed for just 3 days.

“/Another thing I observed, aside the bleeding, was that I was losing weight. My immediate elder sister noticed how lean I was and asked me what the problem was. I told her I was bleeding for 15 days in a month. She recommended a doctor who owns a private hospital. Initially, I registered at the General Hospital in Abeokuta but I couldn’t withstand the stress, so I decided to use a private hospital.

When I visited the hospital, an ultrasound scan was done and the fibroid was discovered. It had developed, it was about 150cm. The doctor advised me to undergo hysterectomy. The reason was that, if only the fibroid is removed, there’s a high tendency of a reoccurrence,” she explained.

“In addition, she spoke on the surgery and her healing process. “I was bleeding till I entered the operating theater. Surprisingly, two fibroids were removed. The fibroid wasn’t one which the scan showed, it had grown into two. I didn’t wake up until 10 hours after the surgery, at that time, I had stopped bleeding.

“Blood transfusion was done because I lost a lot of blood due to the severe bleeding, I was given two pints of blood. Afterwards, the doctor prescribed drugs., I was advised to take blood tonic, vegetables and fruits. I recovered within two months,” she said.

Also, she explained that aside the bleeding and weight loss, another symptom she noticed was that the fibroid moved in her stomach like when a baby is kicking a pregnant woman. She knew she wasn’t pregnant but she never thought it was fibroid.

She spoke about the cost of the treatment, “The cost of treatment including surgery fee, drugs and blood transfusion, amounted to N320,000.

According to a medical expert, who discussed with our correspondent, the causes of fibroid is uncertain.

“The development of fibroid can be linked with the woman’s estrogen levels. During the reproductive years, estrogen and progesterone levels are higher. When estrogen level gets high especially during pregnancy, the fibroid develop, while low estrogen level causes the fibroid to shrink. It can also be caused by genetic factors, for example having a family member with fibroid can increase one’s risk of developing fibroid,” he said.

Speaking on complications caused by fibroid, infertility may occur in cases where the woman has a large fibroid, this also depends on the location of the fibroid. That is, if the fibroid is located around the fallopian tubes, however other underlying issues in the woman’s body could contribute to infertility besides fibroid. Also death can occur as a result of heavy bleeding and inadequate treatment,” he stated.

He highlighted some symptoms of fibroid, “The common symptoms of fibroid include, heavy and prolonged menstruation, lower abdominal pain, anaemia, pain during sexual intercourse, otherwise called dyspareunia, lower backache, frequent urination, constipation and/or bloating.

He spoke on the treatment of fibroid, “Hysterectomy isn’t the only way to treat fibroids, it’s only suitable for women, who are done with childbearing not women who still want to have children. The introduction of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) system in Nigeria has guaranteed the treatment of fibroid in an incision-less and zero-bleeding manner, also the woman’s uterus and fertility will be preserved. It minimizes complications, such as loss of blood, slip of tissue leading to death and reoccurrence of fibroid tissue,” he added.

“It’s advisable to maintain a moderate weight by engaging in physical exercise and eating healthy foods, which can help keep the estrogen level in moderation, which may reduce the risk of developing fibroid,” he suggested.