Exact Answer: 30 days
Various methods have been found to treat fibroids; Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is one of the advanced techniques used for treating fibroids in women’s bodies. These untreated fibroid tumors can lead to more bladder pressure and cause heavy bleeding pain during the menstrual period.
These grow in the uterus or womb of a woman with non-cancerous nature. Today most patients prefer UFE on other surgical procedures to treat their fibroids. This treatment takes very little time and you will be discharged on the same day of treatment. The success rate of UFE is 90% as fibroids shrinks and die. You will feel overweight with extra fibroid tissues.
How Long Do You Bleed After UFE?
Vaginal bleeding normally varies for each individual. Few women have this vaginal discharge for almost weeks to months. This is the common side effect of the treatment which indicates the working of UFE therapy. In rare cases, these non-cancerous fibroid tissues pass for almost 3 months.
It is nothing but, when fibroid breaks down, it slowly passes down and takes a longer time to get out of the body. But, this bleeding will be less than your regular menstrual bleeding if you have been undergoing UFE for heavy menstrual bleeding problems. Heavy periods become very much lighter and even there is a chance of missing your period for almost two months. In the case of submucosal fibroids, you may pass clots and a few fibroid tissues during the periods.
This procedure does not cause any additional side effects and you may not feel much discomfort. Few experience nausea after the procedure for one to two days. People prefer UFE due to its minimally invasive nature and to treat the uterine fibroid tumors that cause pain. Normally, fibroid tumors are non-cancerous and in very rare cases, the cancerous fibroid is found which also can be cured.
A study found that women suffering from fibroid tumors are between 25 to 35 years of age. All the tumors are not diagnosed as they are too small. You may experience the most pain after 2 – 6 hours of the procedure because of uterine cramping. You will be provided with medication to get rid of this pain which can be continued for longer.
| Size of Fibroid | Recovery Rate | Bleeding period |
| largest diameter <10 cm | 86% | 22-30 days |
| largest diameter >10 cm | 81% | 40 days |
Why Does it Bleed for That Long After UFE?
Pelvic pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, and swelling in the abdomen are the signs of uterine fibroids. The side effect like bleeding reach the peak within a day and get back to normal nearly after a week. And during the second week, most of the women stated that they completely recover and feel like a normal day. They even return to their routine or regular activities after 8-10 days of treatment.
Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) works to block the artery or the way by which blood reaches the fibroids to shrink it as far as possible. This leads to a clot of blood that blocks the blood supply. When there is no blood supply, the fibroid gets shrunken. Bleeding occur for several weeks and in few cases goes beyond a month as it takes time to respond to the medication of UFE treatment and remove the unwanted tissues like fibroids via vaginal discharge.
UFE is preferred by those women who have symptoms of non-cancerous fibroid tumors and wanted to avoid major surgical treatment like hysterectomy, but the risk involved in both is the same. It is proven to be more beneficial for those women who have fewer fibroids as well as many fibroids, without concern about the size of the fibroid, whereas other treatments concentrate only on few fibroids.
There will be no issue related to pregnancy after UFE treatment. There are no restrictions for regular medicines which were taken before UFE, but it is best to avoid few medications which are used for thinning of blood before a week of treatment.
Conclusion
UFE does not use any major surgery techniques and tends to recover faster than other relevant surgeries. There is no requirement to stay in the hospital. You should not consume pain medicines like aspirin to get relief as these increase the bleeding. Always make sure to take only prescribed medicine for faster recovery.
You will expertise tired in the first few weeks after the UFE procedure but this gradually heals and you can gain your strength back. Try to avoid strenuous activities, a few yoga asanas, and also the activities which increase the bleeding after the treatment. To avoid constipation, intake plenty of water and fluids including fiber.