They sound alarming. For most women, they turn out to be one of the quietest, most common things a body can do. Here is what fibroids actually are, why they form, and when they are worth a conversation.
⏱️ 7-minute read · Words by Chiara Ugozzoli · Updated June 2026
Picture a friend leaning across the cafe table, voice low. “The doctor said I have fibroids.” Her face does that thing faces do when a word lands heavier than it should. You reach for something reassuring, and you realise you are only half sure what the word even means.
You are in good company. Fibroids are one of the most common things that happen inside a woman’s body, and many of us carry them for years while feeling completely well. Let us walk through this gently, the way you would talk it over with someone you trust.
TLDR: Fibroids are common, benign growths in or around the womb. Plenty cause barely a flicker of symptoms. When they do speak up, it is usually through heavy periods, pelvic pressure or back ache, and there are real, well-trodden options to ease things. The move that helps most is naming what you feel and taking it to a doctor.
So what exactly is a fibroid?
A fibroid is a growth made of muscle and fibrous tissue that develops in or around the womb. The word “benign” matters here: these growths are non-cancerous. According to the NHS guide to fibroids, they mainly affect women who are still having periods, and anyone with a womb can develop them.
Their sizes range enormously. Some stay as tiny as a seed and you would have lived your whole life unaware of them. Others grow larger, to the size of a plum or beyond. They can sit inside the muscular wall of the womb, bulge outward, or press inward toward the cavity. Where they sit shapes what, if anything, you notice day to day.
Here is the part that tends to settle nerves: fibroids often stay completely silent. Many women learn they have them by surprise, perhaps during a pregnancy scan or a routine check for something else entirely. So if you have just been told you have one, take a breath. Having a fibroid is closer to common than to rare.
Picture this. You are forty-one, your periods have always been your own quiet business, and one ordinary Tuesday a scan for something unrelated mentions a fibroid the size of a grape. You spend the drive home bracing for the worst. Then your GP explains it has been sitting there peacefully, asks how your periods feel, and you realise the answer is “honestly, fine.” Sometimes the scariest word turns out to be the calmest news.
What might tip you off that they are there?
When fibroids do make themselves known, they tend to do it in recognisable ways. The NHS lists the signs many women notice, and it helps to know them so you can tell ordinary from worth-mentioning.
- Heavy periods, or periods that turn painful
- A dragging ache or pain low in the tummy
- Lower back pain that lingers
- Needing to pee more often, or feeling a sudden urge
- Bloating, or discomfort when you go to the loo
- Pain or discomfort during sex
- Trouble getting pregnant, in some cases
Heavy bleeding is the one that brings most women to a doctor, and it deserves attention for a practical reason. Losing a lot of blood month after month can leave you low on iron, which the NHS describes as iron deficiency anaemia. That is often the real culprit behind the bone-deep tiredness, the pale tinge, the breathlessness on the stairs. If your periods have crept heavier and your energy has quietly drained away, those two things may be holding hands.
The honest takeaway: many of these signs overlap with everyday life, which is exactly why a doctor’s view is worth having. You deserve a clear answer in place of a private worry.
Why do fibroids form in the first place?
Here is where we stay truthful: the exact cause of fibroids remains unknown. What researchers understand is that they appear to be sensitive to hormones, oestrogen in particular, which is part of why they tend to grow during the years you are having periods and often shrink after the menopause, when those hormone levels fall.
The NHS notes several things that make fibroids more likely. You are at higher likelihood if you are still having periods, if you have a close relative who has had fibroids, if you are from a Black or Asian background, if you carry extra weight, or if you have high blood pressure or diabetes. Family history is a strong thread here, so if your mother or sister mentioned fibroids, it is reasonable to keep the word in your own vocabulary.
Notice what is missing from that list: blame. Fibroids form for reasons largely outside your control. They are part of how some bodies are built, woven into genetics and hormones. You did everything right and they can still appear. Let that quiet any guilt before it starts.
How does a doctor actually check?
If you bring symptoms to your GP, the first steps are gentle and familiar. The NHS describes a doctor asking about your symptoms and offering a physical examination, which may include feeling your tummy and a pelvic exam.
When fibroids seem likely, the usual next step is a referral for an ultrasound scan. That scan is the clarifier: it can show whether you have fibroids, how many, where they sit and how big they are. With that picture in hand, you and your doctor move from guessing to knowing, and knowing is where good decisions live.
What are the options if treatment helps?
Here is the most reassuring fact of all: treatment is only needed when fibroids cause problems. If yours sit quietly and your life feels normal, watchful waiting is a perfectly valid path, and many women stay on it for years.
When symptoms call for action, the NHS sets out a clear ladder, starting with the gentlest steps. For pain and heavy bleeding, options include everyday painkillers such as ibuprofen, naproxen or diclofenac. To ease heavy flow specifically, a doctor may suggest tranexamic acid or a hormone medicine like the combined pill. Plenty of women find that medicine alone settles things enough to carry on comfortably.
When medicine falls short, or a fibroid grows large, the conversation moves toward procedures. The NHS describes several:
- Surgery to remove the fibroids while keeping the womb, called a myomectomy
- Surgery to remove fibroids and the womb together, a hysterectomy
- A procedure using heat to treat the womb lining, called endometrial ablation
- Uterine artery embolisation, a non-surgical option that blocks the blood supply feeding a fibroid so it shrinks
One detail matters enough to say plainly, because the NHS flags it too: some of these treatments affect fertility. If you hope to have children, say so early and clearly, and ask your doctor to walk you through which options keep that door open. This is your future to steer, and a good clinician will happily talk it through.
Try this tonight: Grab a notes app or the back of an envelope and start a two-cycle period diary. Jot the days you bleed, how heavy it feels (a few words will do), any pain, and how tired you are. The NHS suggests tracking for at least two menstrual cycles, and it turns a vague “something feels off” into something a doctor can read at a glance. Future you, sitting in that appointment, will feel calm and prepared.
When is it time to see a doctor?
Trust the simple test the NHS offers. Book an appointment if you have symptoms of fibroids, if those symptoms reach into your everyday life, your work or your relationships, or if ordinary painkillers leave you struggling. You deserve a proper look and a proper plan.
And please hold onto the bigger reassurance: fibroids are usually benign and frequently silent. For the women who do feel them, the path forward is well mapped, from a gentle tablet to a planned procedure. Many women find that simply understanding what is happening turns the volume down on the worry.
The gentle takeaway
Fibroids are part of the ordinary landscape of many women’s bodies. Most stay quiet. Some speak up, usually through heavy periods, pressure or ache, and when they do there are clear, kind options to choose from. The single most useful thing you can do is notice what your body tells you and bring it, plainly, to someone who can help. Track a couple of cycles, name what you feel, and let a doctor turn the unknown into a plan. You get to feel informed and in charge, which is exactly where every woman deserves to stand.
If anything here echoes something you have been feeling, talk it over with your GP or pharmacist. Carrying the worry alone is the one part you can set down today.
References
- NHS. Fibroids. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fibroids/
- NHS. Iron deficiency anaemia. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/iron-deficiency-anaemia/
- NHS. Tranexamic acid. https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/tranexamic-acid/
- NHS. Hysterectomy. https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/hysterectomy/
PrettyWell is a women’s lifestyle and wellbeing magazine. This article shares general information and wellbeing perspectives to help you ask better questions and feel more in charge; for anything about your own health, please speak with a qualified healthcare professional.
