Cramping But No Period: How Fibroids Might be Causing Pain

Cramping but no period? You aren’t alone. Uterine fibroid sufferers make up around 26 million women between the ages of 15 and 50 in America. About 15 million women experience the symptoms and health concerns fibroids bring. Fibroid treatment can be challenging to discover if fibroid cramps aren’t correctly diagnosed, leaving you in pain. While many different things can cause cramps, it’s no mystery that fibroid symptoms often manifest through intense, painful, and menstrual-like cramping.

Knowing how fibroids cause cramping and what treatments are available is the first step to reclaiming your health and moving toward a pain-free future.

What are Fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow in, on, and connected to the uterus. These growths are composed of muscle and connective tissue cells that range from tiny to large masses. Fibroids can often start as cancerous tumors, but once they’re benign, they can no longer be carcinogenic.

Common fibroid symptoms are heavy menstrual bleeding, abdominal pain, bloating, inflammation, frequent urination, and cramping. The exact cause of fibroids remains unknown despite well-researched studies. Many times, fibroids stem from genetics, hormones, and age.

What is Cramping?

Usually, uterine cramping is caused by menstrual bleeding. This kind of pain is called primary dysmenorrhea and stems from too many prostaglandins being produced. These chemicals cause the muscles in your uterus to tense and relax, a function that ultimately causes the cramps you suffer from.

Studies have found that most women experience primary dysmenorrhea, the most commonly reported menstrual disorder. Cramps caused by menstruation often begin when your period begins and ends a few days after it stops. However, this can be different for each woman. Primary dysmenorrhea is not the only cause of uterine cramps—fibroids can be another.

How Do Fibroids Cause Cramping?

Fortunately, uterine cramps won’t lead to other reproductive health concerns that can physically affect you. However, cramping indicates you may have a condition associated with more uterine complications. Fibroids are an example of one such condition.

As a result of conditions such as endometriosis, cancer, and uterine fibroids, cramps only get worse and may continue past your menstruation period. And, because fibroids can lengthen your period, you may also experience the buildup of blood clots. Eventually, when you pass these blood clots, the movement can cause painful cramps. When fibroids are large enough, they may press onto the uterus, causing cramps in the abdomen, legs, back, bladder, and surrounding areas.

How Do Cramps Affect Health?

Fortunately, uterine cramping does not cause other conditions that can affect you. However, cramping indicates you may have a condition associated with more uterine complications. Fibroids are an example of one such condition.

Women who suffer from fibroids are at risk of infertility, depression, fatigue, heavy periods, weight gain, and more. Cramping itself, as a symptom of fibroids, interferes with one’s life, decreasing the time and ability to do the things you love, go to work, and meet with friends. Studies have found that women reported a decreased quality of life when experiencing extreme cramps and pain, impacting work, relationships, and family.

What Can You Do?

Dealing with fibroids and secondary dysmenorrhea can be stressful. In most cases, women take over-the-counter pain medication to deal with prolonged or extremely painful cramps. However, some solutions might be better if you are looking for permanent change. Secondary dysmenorrhea can also be treated by applying a heating pad, resting, staying active, and changing your diet to decrease caffeine and alcohol. 

In situations where fibroids alter the quality of your life, removing them through a myomectomy, a procedure that keeps your uterus intact, can bring relief. A hysterectomy is another option, however, in this case, the uterus is removed surgically. This prevents future pregnancy. Non-surgical treatments such as Uterine Artery Embolization, transcervical frequency ablation, and endometrial ablation stop the symptoms of fibroids by shrinking them non-invasively and leaving your uterus intact.

Women with fibroids often suffer from painful and debilitating cramps that affect their ability to enjoy their lives to the fullest. Dealing with fibroid pain is hard, but there are solutions out there that can help with the worst of uterine cramps. Take control of your pain by finding the right treatment for you and the cramps you’re experiencing.

If you are interested in finding out more about fibroids and the treatments available, schedule your fibroid consultation here.

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