FKA Twigs Reveals She Had Fibroid Tumors Removed From Her Uterus: ‘It Was Like Being 6 Months Pregnant’
Dealing with a painful health condition is hard enough, but that pain (and the recovery process) can also make you feel isolated and out of touch with your body. Singer FKA Twigs revealed this week that she recently had surgery to remove several fibroid tumors, and found herself relating to her body in a different way.
“I have gone back and forth in my mind whether to share that this year I have been recovering from laparoscopic surgery to remove six fibroid tumors from my uterus,” she wrote on Instagram. The singer described the tumors as “pretty huge”—two were the size of apples, three were the size of kiwis, and the rest were the size of strawberries, she explained. “A fruit bowl of pain every day,” she continued. “The nurse said that the weight and size was like being six months pregnant.”
Twigs said that she “tried to be brave but it was excruciating at times” and “started to doubt if my body would ever feel the same again.” The singer had surgery in December, which she said made her feel scared and alone. “My confidence as a woman was knocked,” she added. Now, she is feeling like herself again, but it took time.
“I know that a lot of women suffer from fibroid tumors and I just wanted to say after my experience that you are amazing warriors and that you are not alone. You can get through this,” she said.
Uterine fibroids are muscular tumors that grow in the wall of your uterus.
They're probably more common than you realize. More than 70 percent of women will develop uterine fibroids at some point in their lives, according to the Center for Uterine Fibroids, a joint research effort between the Mayo Clinic and Brigham and Women's Hospital. However, black women have a greater risk of developing fibroids than white women, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says.
The symptoms fibroids cause depend on where they're located, Taraneh Shirazian, M.D., an ob/gyn with NYU Langone Health, tells SELF. However, she says, abnormal bleeding during your period is probably the most common symptom that women experience. It's also possible to have fibroids without any symptoms.
What classifies as “abnormal” bleeding or pain during your period can be a tough thing to figure out on your own. But if you have a heavy flow that lasts for a long time (more than seven days), you're bleeding through a tampon or pad an hour, and/or you're experiencing excessive pain and crampiness, those are signs that something isn't quite right, Jonathan Schaffir, M.D., an ob/gyn at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF.
Also, periods typically have a heavy day or two of bleeding and then taper off. But that’s often not the case with fibroids, which can cause heavy bleeding most of the time you have your period, Jessica Shepherd, M.D., a minimally-invasive gynecologist at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, tells SELF.
Other major symptoms include frequent urination, back pain, and pelvic pressure, Dr. Schaffir says. Pain during sex can also happen with fibroids, depending on the size and location, Dr. Shirazian says.
Unfortunately, many women write these symptoms off as normal period issues.
Fibroids grow slowly, so symptoms tend to build gradually, and some people simply get used to them over time. “Women will accommodate these symptoms,” Dr. Shirazian says. Others assume their fibroid symptoms are being caused by something else. “They may think they’re putting on weight, are bloated, or need to exercise more—that’s probably the biggest thing I see," she says.
Periods also tend to get heavier and crampier as we age and after pregnancy, Dr. Schaffir says, so fibroids may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you notice a change in your flow.
However, some people do know about fibroids and suspect they have them but may be anxious about actually treating them. “Some women feel that the only option may be surgical, like a hysterectomy, because they heard of a family member who had one because of fibroids,” Dr. Shepherd explains. Although surgery does help some people, it isn't the only option and it may not be right for you.
If you have symptoms that could be related to fibroids and they aren't going away, it's crucial to ask your doctor about them.
If you're bleeding heavily or for more than seven days, or if you're using tampons and pads together and still bleed through your clothing, talk to your doctor, Dr. Shirazian says.
They'll probably do a pelvic exam to see if they can feel anything, followed by an ultrasound, MRI, X-ray, CT scan, or hysterosalpingogram (a procedure that involves injecting dye into your uterus and taking pictures) to assess what’s happening inside your uterus.
Depending on the size of your fibroids and how much they’re bothering you, your doctor may recommend that you go on a low-dose birth control pill or hormonal IUD to help control your bleeding. They might also suggest a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist to shrink your fibroids or radiofrequency ablation of the fibroids, which is a procedure that uses heat to get rid of them. Or, they might recommend a myomectomy (aka surgery to remove fibroids), Dr. Shepherd says.
For more severe cases, a hysterectomy may be considered, but Dr. Shepherd stresses that there are many other treatment options you can try first.
If you think that you might have fibroids, or if you're noticing that your periods are especially painful or heavy for any reason, check in with your doctor to find out what's going on sooner rather than later.
Related:
