I'm currently reading an interesting book about menopause. The author states that studies show that women with fibroids tend to enter menopause later than those without them. Has anyone else heard this? I certainly HOPE that's not the case!

Anna in Texas

I read the opposite some where on line yesterday.

I have never heard nor read of any connection between fibroids and menopause - I know that estrogen causes fibroids to grow - so menopause shrinks them - but I doubt there is any correlation between fibroids and menopause. We would of heard of it by now.

Lara Falcon

If estrogen causes fibroids to grow then it kind of makes sense that women who have fibroids, or have bigger fibroids, go into menopause later because they have higher estrogen. No ?

I heard that fibroids can cause bleeding AFTER menopause and that they may not go away due to menopause (as I had previously believed)

Seriously, if that's the case, I don't know what I'll do...

My sister has fibroids, I didn't. The timing of our permenopausal issues, and the cessation of our periods were almost identical as far as our age when we experienced them. Even down to the fact that each of us went 9 months, no period, then had a period, then had another 12 months to wait be post menopausal.

Geez....I hope this is not the case too!!!

TJ

It probably would make more sense if stated this way, I would assume. "A late menopause means that estrogen is still being produced, which tends to stimulate fibroid growth"

It is probably the other way around. Not that fibroids cause you to go into late menopause but late menopause stimulates fibroid growth. Makes sense.

I can vouch for this! I went 15 months w/o a period and bloodwork in 9/08 indicated I was menopausal. Then, I started spotting in mid-February. Had ultrasound in March and lining was 3mm which is good, but it also showed 2 small fibroids. Doc didn't seem to think they were a problem. Well, in early April, started with pre-menstrual symptoms (tender breasts, cramping, etc.) all indicating I had either ovulated or had an increase in estrogen. Sure enough, a real period started in mid-April and I spotted for 3 weeks. Second ultra showed the lining had grown a bit - again all pointing to estrogen level being up. Apparently, it's not at all unusual for such things to happen even after a year or more w/o periods!!!

Technician showed me where fibroid was pushing against the uterine lining and she felt it was causing my prolonged spotting. To be on the safe side, doc did a biopsy this past Monday. He said tissue looked all normal and healthy, but we still need to get microscopic results to be sure. If all is ok, he wants to take a "wait and see" approach to the fibroid. He feels menopause will make it shrink, assuming my hormones quiet down for good. Hmmmm. I guess time will tell. I think the fibroid was there for awhile, but it recently grew due to the same hormonal fluctuation that gave me a period in April and that caused the lining to grow. Most recent bloodwork (just before the biopsy) showed my estrogen level has dropped again to menopausal levels, which is no surprise since my breast tenderness and cramps have disappeared).

I've had previous fibroid surgery (in 1994) and don't want to go thru that again, if I can avoid it.

Anyway, you can definitely have fibroid problems during menopause, if your hormones go wacky for a month or two, as mine did.