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Tuesday 8 January 2013

Alcohol and its effects on Fibroids


I have just spent my first dry Christmas, well at least since I was in my late teens and to be honest it wasn’t all that difficult.  I stopped drinking all alcohol last summer and certainly didn’t think I would make it all the way to Christmas let alone through the festive holiday.

Why?  Well my research into fibroids and alcohol consumption threw up some quite disturbing revelations and I like many other women enjoy a glass or 2 of wine.  I used to drink everyday and for me one glass of wine was never enough.  

More often than not one glass would lead to 2 and 3 and so on until before I knew it I had finished the bottle!  So cutting down alcohol consumption for me would be quite difficult and so I decided to stop altogether and see what effect if any it would have on my fibroids and menstrual cycle. 

But before I post my experiences let’s look at the affect alcohol can have on our bodies:


  • Women have a different response to alcohol intoxication to that of their male counterparts. Studies have shown that acute alcohol consumption tends to cause increased levels of testosterone and estradiol - estradiol is the primary fibrosis driving estrogen with testosterone being a close second. 
  • Our reproductive system is controlled by a delicately balanced mechanism called the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Alcohol can interfere with the working of all three areas. 
  • We all know that alcohol is stressful to the liver and estrogen is metabolized or broken down by the liver. If your liver is unable to perform this function higher levels of estrogen can build up in your body!
  • Alcohol also depletes B Vitamins and minerals like magnesium.  If you deplete your store of B vitamins and magnesium with alcohol, it can worsen the cramping during your menstrual cycle
  • Regular drinking can disrupt a woman’s menstrual cycle and ovulation. In one study, half of ‘social’ drinkers who drank three to four drinks a day over three weeks experienced abnormal menstrual cycles, including a lack of ovulation. 
  • When women don’t ovulate they don’t produce progesterone which will create an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone within your body.
  • The good news is that many of alcohol’s effects on our bodies are temporary and the reproductive system will return to normal if you stop drinking. 

I’m firmly of the belief that just by stopping drinking it has had a measurable affect on my fibroids and their symptoms.  It took a couple of months for the effects to be really noticeable but my menstrual cramps were greatly improved, my periods were certainly lighter and shorter in duration.  I also lost some weight and my quality of sleep has greatly improved and I rarely now suffer from fatigue during the day.

If you have fibroids and suffer from their symptoms try cutting out the drink for a couple of months.  It doesn’t have to be forever but if it helps it has to be worth it.

If you like the ‘keep calm’ poster head over to  Keep Calm and Posters and create your own mantra.

4 comments:

  1. the article is very informative, even the recent study has shown that drinking with smoking is more harmful.

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  2. Just found your blog and love all of the information. I have 2 fibroid tumors that have been getting progressively worse over the past year. My OB wants to try a third birth control pill to try to get the bleeding under control. I am not hopeful this will help. The next step will be surgery, hysteroscopy, to try to remove the tumors. I feel so helpless and frustrated. The bleeding is completely out of control, so many blood clots. Sex is becoming less frequent and when we do have sex, I always bleed after. I drink wine in the evenings but after reading more and more information about estrogen and the liver from your blog and other sites, I am motivated to cut out drinking and hope this helps! Thanks for all of the information you share here!

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  3. I have a small fibroid (must be badly placed!) and can't drink during periods. If I do I'm violently sick. This just indicates how the body understands it as toxic. I do drink when not on my period though, in moderation.

    The one good thing about ageing physically is that fibroids usually decrease during and after the menopause. I never wanted to have an operation, and now at the age of 47 my fibroid symptoms are decreasing, I only take about 4 ibuprofen a day during the tow worst days of my period.

    Also, they say there's a correlation between fibroids and people who are overweight, they also say that African women are more prone. Well I'm white and slim, so they need to work on that part of their research! I haven't had kids though, and they say that can have an effect on fibroids.

    I've found most doctors and specialists (male and female) to be completely useless. They've been disparaging, patronising and unsupportive, until recently when I found a good female doctor.

    I also feel that if I wasn't freelance it would be extremely difficult to manage a typical working day on my period if I was on a salary. My complete sympathy if you have fibroids and are suffering from some of the worst symptoms. Change your doctor if they're not helpful and research online for tips on diet and lifestyle changes that can help

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  4. Thanks for the info. GOd bless you. :)

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