Fibroids Growth

I had my pre-op appointment yesterday and I forgot to ask my doctor how long it takes for fibroids to grow to really big sizes?

Hi There!

From reading posts on this site, I believe that the rate of fibroid growth varies from patient to patient. It seems like some members have said theirs were fast-growing, while others have fibroids that sit around for years and don't do much growing at all.

There are over two dozen links to articles and websites about fibroids in our Resources department located here. I hope you find the answer you are seeking.

Best wishes for a successful surgery and uneventful recovery!

s,

HI Dijoi:

I was fairly asymptomatic through my 30s and only had 1 fibroid until I hit 39 then I found out I had three about the size of a walnut ( Using fruits and nuts because it'll give you a good idea of sizes). In a year and a half I've gone from three to seven.

The original walnuts grew to an apple and two lemons, I picked up two more walnuts and externally grew two pendaculated (spelling?) stalk fibroids each the size of an apple. Plus I became very anemic because I was now fully symptomatic with heavy bleeeding, cramps, back pain, etc. I'm clear on pathology tests but wow.

It does differ from one person to another on sizes and amounts.

Lots of women have fibroids for years and never even know it. I have no idea how long mine were there before I started having symptoms. The first couple years that I knew I had them they didn't change much at all. The last few months before my hysterectomy they grew quite a bit.

So really, there's no way to answer your question because everyone has different experiences.

Mine grew during both of my pregnancies and shrunk after the pregnancies, but they kept multiplying in number all along.

I had just a few when dd was born in 1988, and the biggest was the size of a golf ball. When ds was born in 2000, the largest was the size of a softball, and they had invaded the uterine wall at that time, too. By the time I had my surgery in 2004, I had over 30 identifiable fibroids, but none of them were over 3.5 cm. My uterine wall was almost completely involved.