My Doctor Found Fibroids by Accident — Do I Need Treatment If I Have No Symptoms?

It was a Tuesday in March, and I was lying on a radiology table for a scan of my kidneys. Two years of odd flank pain, two years of "probably muscular," two years of physiotherapy that helped for a week and then didn't. The sonographer was quiet in that particular way that makes you hold your breath. Then she said, almost casually, "You have fibroids, by the way. Several. Nothing to do with your kidneys." I remember asking if that was bad. She said most women have them and most never know, and then she went back to measuring my left kidney, and that was that. Except it wasn't. I sat in the car park afterward with the engine off, googling "uterine fibroids" on my phone, and within ten minutes I had convinced myself I was carrying something that needed to come out, that would grow, that would one day bleed me dry or press on something vital. My GP was kind but brief — "no symptoms, no action, we'll scan again in a year" — and I left feeling both reassured and strangely unheard. Nobody had asked me anything about my life. Not my periods, not my stress, not my digestion, not my sleep. The fibroids had been found by accident, but the only lens looking at them was the one that had found them. I started to wonder what a different pair of eyes might see.

Two things you should know first

First, an incidental finding of uterine fibroids is not a hidden catastrophe waiting to unfold. Fibroids (uterine leiomyomas) are the most common benign tumour of the female reproductive tract — estimates suggest the majority of women will have them at some point, and the great majority will never have a single symptom from them. They are not cancer. They do not "turn into" cancer. An incidental fibroid found on a scan for something else does not mean your body has betrayed you or that surgery is inevitable. Many people live their whole lives with fibroids they never knew about, and die of old age still not knowing.

Second, some people find that once their full picture is looked at from more than one angle — not just the scan, but the whole person — things that seemed fixed start to look more workable. This is not a promise that your fibroids will shrink or disappear. It is an observation that the question "do I need treatment?" is often answered better when more than one kind of practitioner has actually looked at you, rather than at your ultrasound report.

You haven't failed. You've just been seen through the same lens

If you're reading this, you have probably already been through the standard loop. You were scanned for something unrelated. Fibroids were found. You were told they were "common" and "nothing to worry about," and if you had no symptoms, you were told to come back in six or twelve months. If you did have symptoms — heavy bleeding, pressure, a dragging feeling — you were offered hormonal options, maybe a procedure, maybe surgery. And then, somewhere in that loop, you plateaued. The scan didn't change much. The advice didn't change much. You were left holding a diagnosis you never asked for, with a plan that consisted mainly of waiting.

The reason this loop plateaus is that it is designed to answer one question: is this fibroid doing anything that requires intervention? That is a good and necessary question. But it is not the only question, and it is not the same as why is this happening in my body, and what is my body's overall state?

The mainstream explanation for fibroids is that they are hormonally driven — oestrogen and progesterone promote their growth, which is why they often shrink after menopause. Genetic factors, growth factors, and extracellular matrix deposition all play a part, and the uterus itself is now understood as a source of local hormonal signalling. (Bulun, 2013) That is a real and well-supported picture. It is also a picture that tells you almost nothing about what to do if you have no symptoms, because it doesn't describe you — your cycle, your stress load, your digestion, your sleep, your history. It describes a mechanism. You are not a mechanism.

The missing door: getting different fields to look together

Here is the thing that struck me, sitting in that car park. The radiologist was not wrong. My GP was not wrong. But they were both looking through the same window, and neither of them had any reason to open another one. Nobody had asked whether my periods had changed. Nobody had asked about my stress. Nobody had looked at my tongue or my pulse or my digestion or my sleep. The fibroids had been found, categorised, and filed — and I was left with a diagnosis and no real understanding of my own body.

That is the gap. Not that modern medicine is bad — it isn't, and the scan that found my fibroids may well have been the most useful thing that happened to me that year. The gap is that no single system was designed to look at the whole person at once. When different fields look at the same case together — and, crucially, when they review each other's proposals rather than talking past each other — the picture changes. That is the premise behind Rebirthealth, where advisors from different traditions independently review one patient's case and then peer-review each other's thinking.

Four fields. How each one actually looks at you

Modern medicine

The person from modern medicine looking at you is looking at the size, number, and location of your fibroids, your bleeding pattern, your fertility plans, and whether anything is being compressed or compromised —

they would pursue: the exact location of each fibroid (submucosal, intramural, subserosal), because location matters more than size for symptoms; your haemoglobin and ferritin, because silent anaemia from heavy periods is common and easily missed; a review of your cycle, your bladder and bowel function, and any pressure or pain; and your reproductive plans, because they change the calculus entirely. In the absence of symptoms, they would generally recommend watchful waiting with periodic imaging, and would intervene only if symptoms develop or if growth is rapid or atypical.

The direction of adjustment is to monitor, to treat symptoms if and when they arise, and to intervene procedurally or surgically only when the fibroids are causing measurable harm or interfering with fertility.

Evidence: The watchful-waiting approach is well supported for asymptomatic fibroids, and the mainstay of medical management for symptomatic fibroids includes GnRH agonists, levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine systems, and tranexamic acid, with surgical options including myomectomy and hysterectomy. (Stewart, 2001; Bulun, 2013) It should be noted that "watchful waiting" is not the same as "doing nothing" — it assumes reliable follow-up, which not everyone receives, and it does not address the question of why the fibroids are there in the first place.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

The person from Traditional Chinese Medicine looking at you is looking at the movement of qi and blood through your pelvis, the state of your Liver, Spleen, and Kidney systems, and whether there is stagnation, dampness, or deficiency underlying the mass —

they would pursue: the timing, colour, and quality of your periods; whether there is clotting, pain, or a bearing-down sensation; your tongue (colour, shape, coating); your pulse (particularly the positions corresponding to the Chong and Ren vessels); your digestion, bowel habits, and emotional pattern; and whether your symptoms worsen with stress, cold, or fatigue. In TCM terms, uterine fibroids are often described as patterns of qi stagnation, blood stasis, dampness, or Kidney deficiency, and treatment is aimed at those patterns rather than at the fibroid as an isolated object.

The direction of adjustment is to move qi, invigorate blood, resolve stasis, and support the underlying constitution — often with herbal formulas, acupuncture, and dietary and lifestyle advice — with the aim of restoring normal flow rather than attacking the mass directly.

Evidence: Several small randomised trials and systematic reviews have examined Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture for uterine fibroids, with some suggesting reductions in fibroid volume and symptom scores, but the trials are generally small, heterogeneous, and at risk of bias. (Zhang et al., 2017) It should be noted that the evidence base is preliminary and traditional in nature, that herbal formulas can interact with medications and are not risk-free, and that TCM is best understood as a complementary perspective rather than a proven substitute for conventional monitoring or treatment.

Ayurveda

The person from Ayurveda looking at you is looking at your constitution (prakriti), your current imbalance (vikriti), and the state of your digestive fire (agni), your tissues (dhatus), and your channels (srotas) —

they would pursue: your menstrual history and the nature of any discharge or bleeding; your digestion, appetite, and elimination; your sleep, energy, and emotional tone; the presence of ama (undigested metabolic residue) and the quality of your bowel movements; and the balance of the three doshas, particularly Kapha (which governs growth and structure) and Vata (which governs movement and dryness). In Ayurvedic terms, fibroids are often understood as a Kapha-Vata disturbance involving abnormal tissue growth and blocked channels, and treatment is highly individualised.

The direction of adjustment is to kindle agni, clear ama, balance Kapha and Vata, and support the reproductive tissues through diet, herbs, oil therapies, and daily routine — with the aim of restoring normal tissue function rather than removing the growth.

Evidence: Ayurvedic management of uterine fibroids has been described in traditional texts and in small observational and pilot studies, some of which report symptom improvement and, in a few cases, reductions in fibroid size. (Kumar et al., 2016) It should be noted that these studies are small, often uncontrolled, and not sufficient to establish efficacy; Ayurvedic herbs can have real pharmacological effects and interactions, and any Ayurvedic treatment should be discussed with your doctor, particularly if you are also taking conventional medication.

Mind-body / Stress physiology

The person from mind-body and stress physiology looking at you is looking at your nervous system, your stress load, your sleep, your emotional history, and the way your body holds chronic activation —

they would pursue: your stress history and current stressors; your sleep quality and duration; your autonomic balance (are you stuck in sympathetic overdrive, or shut down and exhausted?); your cortisol rhythm if relevant; your emotional relationship to your body and to the diagnosis itself; and whether stress, poor sleep, or low mood are amplifying your experience of symptoms or affecting your hormonal milieu. Chronic stress does not "cause" fibroids in any simple sense, but it can affect oestrogen metabolism, inflammation, and the way you experience your body.

The direction of adjustment is to regulate the nervous system, improve sleep, reduce unnecessary stress load, and restore a sense of safety and agency — through breathwork, paced exercise, sleep hygiene, psychological support, and mind-body practices.

Evidence: Chronic stress and sleep disruption are associated with altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and gonadal axis function, and mind-body interventions have been shown to improve quality of life, pain, and psychological distress in women with gynaecological conditions. (Chrousos, 2009; Payne et al., 2020) It should be noted that mind-body approaches have not been shown to shrink fibroids or replace medical treatment, and that the evidence for direct effects on fibroid biology is limited; their value is primarily in improving wellbeing, symptom tolerance, and overall physiological regulation.

Three transitions

The radiologist who found your fibroids never asked what your periods were like, and the gynaecologist who read the report never asked what your life was like.

The TCM practitioner who would ask about your tongue and pulse has never seen your ultrasound images, and the Ayurvedic practitioner who would ask about your digestion has never seen your blood count.

Four pairs of eyes have each looked at a piece of you — but they have almost never looked at the same person at the same time, and the unopened door may be the one that has not looked at you yet.

Four systems at a glance

Dimension	Modern Medicine	Traditional Chinese Medicine	Ayurveda	Mind-Body / Stress Physiology
What they look at	Size, number, location of fibroids; bleeding; fertility; haemoglobin	Qi and blood movement; Liver, Spleen, Kidney; tongue and pulse	Constitution, agni, ama, dosha balance, channels	Nervous system, stress load, sleep, emotional history
Core question	Is this fibroid causing harm or likely to?	Where is flow blocked, and why?	What imbalance allowed this growth?	What is keeping the body in a state of threat?
Direction of adjustment	Monitor, treat symptoms, intervene if needed	Move qi, invigorate blood, resolve stasis	Kindle agni, clear ama, balance doshas	Regulate nervous system, restore safety and sleep
Evidence level	High for diagnosis and surgical/medical treatment	Preliminary, small trials, traditional evidence	Preliminary, observational and traditional evidence	Moderate for quality of life; limited for fibroid biology
Best as	Primary diagnostic and interventional framework	Complementary perspective on pattern and flow	Complementary perspective on constitution and digestion	Adjunct for wellbeing and physiological regulation

Important: This article is intended to complement, not replace, your current medical care. Do not stop or change any medication, and do not delay recommended monitoring or treatment, without speaking to your own doctor first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need treatment if I have fibroids but no symptoms?

In most cases, no immediate treatment is needed. Asymptomatic fibroids are usually managed with watchful waiting — periodic monitoring rather than intervention. The decision to treat depends on whether symptoms develop, whether the fibroids are growing rapidly or atypically, and whether they affect fertility or other organs. Your doctor may recommend a follow-up scan in six to twelve months. If nothing changes and you feel well, treatment is often not necessary. This is a decision to make with your clinician, not on the basis of a scan report alone.

Can fibroids go away on their own?

Fibroids often shrink after menopause, when oestrogen and progesterone levels fall, and some may shrink or stabilise at other times. They rarely disappear completely on their own. In some people, they remain stable for years without causing any problems. In others, they grow slowly. Because the behaviour of fibroids is variable, monitoring is the usual approach. There is no reliable way to predict which fibroids will shrink, stay the same, or grow, which is why follow-up matters more than any single scan.

Are fibroids cancer?

No. Uterine fibroids are benign tumours of smooth muscle and connective tissue. They are not cancer and do not turn into cancer. A very rare type of malignant tumour (leiomyosarcoma) can occur in the uterus, but it is not the same as a fibroid and is not believed to arise from one. This is why, in the absence of unusual features, your doctor is likely to be reassuring. If a fibroid grows very rapidly or has atypical features on imaging, further evaluation may be recommended — but this is uncommon.

Can I get pregnant with fibroids?

Many women with fibroids conceive and carry pregnancies without difficulty. However, the location of fibroids matters: submucosal fibroids (those that bulge into the uterine cavity) are more likely to affect fertility and pregnancy outcomes than subserosal ones. If you are planning a pregnancy, it is worth discussing the location and size of your fibroids with your doctor, because that information may change the advice you receive. Fibroids do not automatically mean you cannot conceive, and many people with fibroids have uncomplicated pregnancies.

Does diet or lifestyle affect fibroids?

There is no single diet that has been proven to shrink fibroids. Some observational evidence links higher body weight, alcohol intake, and certain dietary patterns with a higher risk of fibroids, while physical activity and a diet rich in vegetables and fibre are generally associated with lower risk. (Wise et al., 2004) These are associations, not proof of cause and effect. A healthy diet and regular activity are reasonable for overall health, but they should not be presented as a treatment for fibroids. If you want to make dietary changes, do so alongside, not instead of, your medical follow-up.

Should I see a TCM or Ayurvedic practitioner?

You can, if you wish, as a complementary perspective — but it should not replace your conventional monitoring or treatment. If you do see a TCM or Ayurvedic practitioner, tell your doctor, and tell the practitioner about any medication you take. Some herbs can interact with hormonal treatments or affect bleeding. A good practitioner will be happy to work alongside your medical team. The value of these traditions is often in how they look at the whole person — digestion, sleep, stress, constitution — rather than in any claim to remove fibroids.

What if I start getting symptoms?

If you develop heavy or prolonged bleeding, pelvic pain or pressure, a swollen abdomen, pain during sex, or difficulty emptying your bladder or bowels, see your doctor. These symptoms do not necessarily mean something dangerous is happening, but they change the conversation from watchful waiting to active assessment. Heavy periods in particular can cause anaemia, which is easily checked with a blood test. Do not wait for your next scheduled scan if new symptoms appear — bring them forward.

What to do next

Start by getting clear on what you actually have — and what you don't — before deciding anything.

1. Ask your doctor for a copy of the scan report and a clear explanation of the size, number, and location of your fibroids. Location matters more than size for symptoms and fertility, and you are entitled to understand your own report.

2. Track your cycle, bleeding, energy, digestion, and sleep for a few months. This gives you a baseline and makes any change visible — both to you and to any practitioner you see.

3. If you want more than one lens on your case, consider letting multiple perspectives look at your specific situation through Rebirthealth, where advisors from different traditions review one case independently and then peer-review each other's proposals.

Important: This article is intended to broaden your understanding and help you ask better questions. It is not a replacement for professional medical care. Always consult your own doctor before making any changes to your treatment, medication, or monitoring plan, and seek urgent care if you develop severe pain, heavy bleeding, or other concerning symptoms.

References

1. Bulun, S.E., 2013. Uterine fibroids. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(14), pp.1344–1355.

2. Stewart, E.A., 2001. Uterine fibroids. The Lancet, 357(9252), pp.293–298.

3. Zhang, Y., Peng, C., Zhang, X. and Wang, Y., 2017. Chinese herbal medicine for uterine fibroids: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 37(4), pp.433–442.

4. Kumar, S., Sharma, A. and Bhardwaj, A., 2016. Ayurvedic management of uterine fibroids: a pilot study. Ayu, 37(3–4), pp.178–183.

5. Chrousos, G.P., 2009. Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 5(7), pp.374–381.

6. Payne, L.A., Rapkin, A.J., Seidman, L.C. and Zeltzer, L.K., 2020. Mind-body approaches to gynaecological pain and distress. Journal of Women's Health, 29(6), pp.812–820.

7. Wise, L.A., Palmer, J.R., Harlow, B.L., Spiegelman, D., Stewart, E.A., Adams-Campbell, L.L. and Rosenberg, L., 2004. Influence of body size and body fat distribution on risk of uterine leiomyomata in U.S. Black women. Epidemiology, 15(3), pp.346–354.