子宫肌瘤患者的感受…谁也是医生

莫希塔Kumar医学博士了解子宫肌瘤引起的日常负担:她自己处理条件。

“You think that’s just the way you are,” she says.

One day, Kumar’s boss took one look at her ghostly-white complexion and told her, “You need to go home. You don’t look right.”

Kumar followed her boss’s advice. When she arrived home, she collapsed onto the floor and passed out. A few hours later, she woke up, light-headed, and knew the time had come to talk with her OB/GYN about her bleeding and other symptoms.

Her doctor ordered an ultrasound and that’s when the diagnosis came: uterine fibroids – non-cancerous masses of uterine tissue that made her normal menstruation a nightmare.

What surprised Kumar the most was that she had missed it: Kumar, herself, is a physician.

“I think doctors can be some of the most non-compliant patients in the world,” says Kumar, a physician and AbbVie researcher. Also, she admits she loves her work and doesn’t like taking time away for extra doctor’s visits.

But she believes there’s another reason she underestimated the problem.

“You’re told by your mom and your aunts, ‘Oh, this is normal,’” she explains. “You come to believe this is just what having a period is like. So you don’t make a big deal about it. And women don’t talk about their periods, in general.”

所有的症状有:月经疼痛和出血。疲劳。贫血。但莫希塔Kumar习惯于岩石每月每月的“时间”…。

“你以为这只是你的方式,”她说。

一天,库马尔的老板看了一眼她般的白色肤色,告诉她,“你需要回家。你看起来不正确。”

Kumar跟着她老板的建议。当她到家时,她倒在地上,晕了过去。几个小时后,她醒了,头晕,知道时间已经和她说说话妇产医院对她出血等症状。

她的医生下令超声波和诊断时:子宫肌瘤发生大量的子宫组织,使她正常的月经一场噩梦。

什么让Kumar最惊讶的是,她错过了:库马尔,自己,是一个医生。

“我认为医生可以在世界上一些最不一致的病人,”Kumar说,医生和AbbVie研究员。同时,她承认她喜欢她的工作,不喜欢花时间去额外的医生的访问。

但她认为还有一个原因她低估了问题。

“你告诉你的妈妈和你的阿姨,哦,这是正常的,”她解释说。“你相信这仅仅是拥有一段是什么样子。所以你不要把一个大问题。和女人不谈论他们的时期,一般。”

Kumar has noticed some myths that patients have been told:

\r\n
• It’s “just” a heavy period, nothing serious.
\r\n
• Since it runs in the family, there’s nothing you can do about it.
\r\n
• Doesn’t everyone have period issues like this?
\r\n
• If I get pregnant, it will get rid of my uterine fibroids.
\r\n
• Just have a hysterectomy after your kids are born. You’ll be fine.
\r\n

“While it’s true that uterine fibroids could be hereditary, it’s not true that women have to suffer in silence,” Kumar says. “And a hysterectomy is not the only treatment option.”

“There are other choices, like medication or certain procedures,” Kumar says. “You don’t have to endure this until after your kids are born.”

Uterine fibroids can be a major health issue. Kumar says her period has lasted up to 19 days. She drinks 2 gallons of water every day, a habit that started as a way to keep her blood pressure up.

Anemia is a constant concern for Kumar, due to her heavy menstrual bleeding. Heavy periods lead to a greater loss of red blood cells, which deliver oxygen throughout the body. Without enough oxygen, the body suffers, leading to the potential for issues such as weakness, fatigue, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, irritability and headaches.

Sateria Venable, founder of The Fibroid Foundation, a nationwide advocacy group for uterine fibroid patients, had such severe problems with fibroid-related anemia that her doctor warned her she could pass out while driving.

“That was an eye-opener for me,” she says. Before treatment, Venable’s hemoglobin fell as low as 5.6 milligrams per deciliter; the normal level is at least 12 mg for women.

子宫的肌肉组织,子宫肌瘤可以形成子宫内部或外部。他们可以比一个小豌豆或大于一个足月的婴儿。女人也可以有一个子宫肌瘤或多个肌瘤。每个女人来说是独一无二的。

Kumar已经注意到一些神话,病人被告知:

• “只是”一个沉重的时期,没有什么严重的。
• 因为它运行在家庭,没有什么可以做。
• 不是每个人都有段这样的问题?
• 如果我怀孕,它将摆脱我的子宫肌瘤。
• 你的孩子出生后只有一个子宫。你会没事的。

“虽然没错,子宫肌瘤可以遗传,这不是真的,女性不得不陷入沉默,”Kumar说。”和子宫切除术并不是唯一的治疗选择。”

“还有其他的选择,如药物或某些程序,”Kumar说。“你不必忍受这直到你的孩子出生。”

子宫肌瘤可以是一个主要的健康问题。Kumar说,月经已经持续了19天。她每天喝2加仑的水,开始习惯来保持她的血压。

贫血是一个常数关心库马尔,由于她沉重的月经出血。沉重的时间导致红细胞的更大的损失,提供氧气到全身。没有足够的氧气,身体受损,导致潜在的弱点等问题,疲劳、头晕、心跳加速、易怒、头痛。

纤维化基金会的创始人Sateria小学,一个全国性的组织对于子宫肌瘤患者,有这么严重的问题与fibroid-related贫血,医生警告她,她可以开车时分发。

“这对我来说是大开眼界,”她说。在治疗之前,小学的血红蛋白跌至5.6毫克每分升;女性的正常水平是至少12毫克。

“Many women carry a backpack full of super tampons, pads and a change of clothing,” she says. “Many say their bleeding and pain keeps them in bed several days every month or forces them to miss work.”

Kumar is no stranger to challenges like these. She has had to plan around social events like weddings or parties. If she’s traveling during her period, she carriers a backpack of her own full of sanitary supplies and black leggings. “You never know when you’re going to stand up and have a gush of blood,” she says.

Too many women endure these symptoms without seeking help, Kumar says.

“As a society, we need to teach our daughters, friends, family about what’s normal and what’s not,” she says. “You’re not supposed to experience heavy periods consistently.”

子宫肌瘤也会使很难正常生活。库马尔已从病人听到骇人听闻的故事。

“很多女性携带背包满了超级卫生棉条,垫和改变的衣服,”她说。“许多人说他们的出血和疼痛让他们每个月在床上几天或迫使他们错过工作。”

Kumar这样的挑战并不陌生。她已经计划在社会事件如婚礼或派对。如果她的旅行她期间,航空公司自己的背包里装满了卫生用品和黑色紧身裤。“你永远不知道当你要站起来,有一个喷的血液,”她说。

太多的女人忍受这些症状没有寻求帮助,Kumar说。

“作为一个社会,我们需要告诉我们的女儿,朋友,家人的,什么是不正常,”她说。“你不应该经历沉重的时期一致。”

“If I were treating women with uterine fibroids, I would want them to be proactive in a conversation,” she says. “I would want them to tell me about the symptoms they’re having, and how fibroids are affecting their lives.”

“Patients should also prepare and bring a list of questions for their doctor to help guide the conversation and make sure their concerns are being addressed,” says Kumar. “It is important that patients have meaningful conversations with their doctor where both sides are engaged, so that when, or if, treatment is considered, everyone feels confident in the treatment approach.”

She adds that there is reason for hope. Researchers are looking at many potential mechanisms that may lead to uterine fibroids. Kumar says hormonal therapy has helped with her symptoms, but new treatment options are also being developed and made available.

Kumar说,这是至关重要的对病人是一个提倡自己和讨论他们的症状和他们对他们的生活影响公开他们的医生不尴尬。

“如果我是治疗子宫肌瘤的女性,我希望他们会主动交谈,”她说。“我想让他们告诉我他们会产生症状,和肌瘤是如何影响他们的生活。”

“病人也应该准备和他们的医生的问题列表来指导谈话,并确保他们的担忧正在解决,”Kumar说。“重要的是,病人与医生有意义的对话,双方都订婚了,所以当,或者,治疗被认为是,每个人都感到自信的治疗方法。”

她补充道,有理由希望。研究人员也在研究许多潜在的机制,可能导致子宫肌瘤。Kumar说,激素疗法有助于她的症状,但是新的治疗方案也正在开发和可用。

Kumar mentions other studies focusing on topics such as:

\r\n
• Genetic risk factors (for example, why fibroids occur more often in African-American women than in Caucasian women)
\r\n
• Angiogenesis – the creation of blood vessels that “feed” fibroids
\r\n
• Signaling pathways involved in the creation and growth of fibroids
\r\n
• Environmental factors and how they may influence the development of uterine fibroids
\r\n

“I was at a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences conference recently on uterine fibroids, and I was blown away by all of the studies going on worldwide,” Kumar says.

More uterine fibroid patients are coming forward to share their stories, as well. Venable says when she started The Fibroid Foundation in 2012, she worked alone. “Now we have 26,000 members in 48 countries,” she says.

“That makes me hopeful,” she says. “When I started out this work, I thought, “I thought, ‘Who’s going to listen to you?’ It turned out to be a lot of people.”

Kumar advises women with symptoms to see a physician immediately, and not to be afraid to be open about their situation.

“You’re not being dramatic or exaggerating when you say, ‘I’m bleeding a lot,’” she says. “Heavy menstrual bleeding is defined by the impact it has on your quality of life. If it bothers you, then the physician should be listening.”

“我们正在做一个更好的工作今天用药物治疗子宫肌瘤的症状比我们过去所做的,”Kumar说。“我们的一些最激动人心的研究侧重于减少沉重的子宫肌瘤患者的月经出血。”

Kumar提到其他研究关注的话题,例如:

• 遗传风险因子(例如,为什么肌瘤多发生在非裔美国女性比白人女性)
• 血管生成,血管的创建“喂养”平滑肌瘤
• 信号通路参与创建和肌瘤的生长
• 环境因素以及它们如何可能会影响子宫肌瘤的发展狗万正网地址

“我是国家环境健康科学研究所发布会上最近在子宫肌瘤,我被风吹走了所有的研究在世界范围内,”Kumar说。

越来越多的子宫肌瘤患者前来分享他们的故事,。Venable说当她开始纤维化基金会在2012年,她独自一人工作。“现在我们有26000个成员在48个国家,”她说。

“这让我充满希望,”她说。“当我开始这个工作,我想,”我想,“谁会听你的吗?这是很多人。”

Kumar建议女性症状立即去看医生,而不是害怕公开自己的处境。

“你不是被戏剧性的或夸大当你说,“我流血很多,”她说。“重定义的月经出血影响它对你的生活质量。如果它让你烦恼,那么医生应该倾听。”

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