BALTIMORE, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Nearly 28 million women suffer from painful uterine fibroids, and a related condition called endometriosis. Both cause severe period pain and may lead to infertility. Now, there is new hope for those who’ve endured this excruciating pain.
Caitlin Winegrove is an elementary school teacher who one day hopes to have kids of her own.
“In teaching first grade, it’s very important that you move quickly and show up with your energy every day,” Winegrove says.
But with each menstrual period, she’s sitting down from the pain of fibroid tumors and endometriosis.
Fibroids are non-cancerous stalk-like growths inside the uterus. Endometriosis causes tissue to grow outside the uterus.
Mercy Medical Center gynecological surgeon, Latasha Murphy, MD says, “With fibroid pain, people feel very heavy and a pressure associated with it. With endometriosis pain, typically, that’s described as a burning or sharp stabbing type of sensation.”
Dr. Murphy performed Winegrove’s minimally invasive laparoscopy revealing 10 fibroids.
“We were able to remove endometriosis from, about, four different locations in her pelvis,” Dr. Murphy informs Ivanhoe.
Post procedure, Dr. Murphy prescribed a new FDA-approved drug called Myfembree.
“It decreases the brain’s message to the ovaries to create estrogen. Estrogen stimulates endometriosis and fibroids to grow,” Dr. Murphy explains.
Winegrove says with relief, “I haven’t been experiencing, really, any cramping. I’ve had very light periods since starting it.”
Myfembree was approved by the FDA in mid 2022. In addition to treating fibroids and endometriosis, the drug also serves as an alternative to birth control pills.
Contributors to this news report include: Donna Parker, Producer; Kirk Manson, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Source:
https://swhr.org/science/networks/endometriosis-and-fibroids/
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: MYFEMBREE: PREVENTING PERIOD PAIN
REPORT: MB #5218
BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus grows outside your uterus. Endometriosis commonly involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining your pelvis. It’s rare for endometrial-like tissue to be found beyond the area where pelvic organs are located. Endometriosis affects roughly 190 million of reproductive age women and girls globally.
SYMPTOMS: The main symptom of endometriosis is painful periods, but there are other symptoms that you should pay attention to. Those symptoms include pain during or after sex, painful urination, chronic pelvic pain, heavy bleeding during or in between periods, trouble getting pregnant, bloating or nausea, fatigue, and/or depression or anxiety. Symptoms usually improve after menopause, but not always.
NEW TECHNOLOGY: A drug used to treat pre-menopausal uterine fibroids is now being used to treat endometriosis. A drug called Myfembree is now approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of moderate to severe endometriosis pain. “The most common side effects would be anything that comes from dropping estrogen levels. That would be hot flashes, night sweats, sometimes a decreased mood, so depression is a possibility,” said Mercy Medical gynecologist, Dr, Latasha Murphy.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Latasha Murphy
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
