Traveling to the beat of a different drummer I have always been part of a “small minority” that forever included a sampling-of-possibilities , belonging to various and sundry cadres, with unusual tags. Example: I’m a long-straight-blond-haired Jewish vegetarian woman ((nursing each of her kids for 3 yrs.!))  happily living ((41 yrs.)) with my ((non-Jewish)) high school sweetheart AND I love doing manual labor, caring a pat00tie what my silly nails look like!! Surely, somewhere within that declarative list, I qualify for a “small minority” category status?!!
But, alas, I also belong to a classification that I clearly despise having membership to ~~ the symptom-experiencing  25 Percenters!! Oy, not a pleasant “society” at ALL!
Nearly 80% of all women have fibroids…80%, WOW!! But, only 25% of us ((a small minority!)) are afflicted with awful awful symptoms…ugh! Hence, one of the treatment choices when a fibroid diagnosis becomes official, is to simply watch and wait, because 75% of the time, it just exists status quo! Not so lucky was I…sigh!
That tiny pebble-sized fibroid grew and grew and grew to a lovely boulder within a 6-7 year span. With that fabulous look, that of  a 6 month-pregnant-old-broad walking around (barf,) it also included symptoms. As a side note, I despised being pregnant with that gawd-awful activity-hampering behemoth belly. So even if there was NO other pain-and-suffering that accompanied a symptomatic fibroid, I STILL would have been fricken-fracken miserable.
The symptoms can become so severe for some women ((the 25 Percenters)) that the ability to maintain daily activities are impossible…oh…like…leaving the house from time to time!! I found myself in a constant state of planning and plotting my daily comings-and-goings around that beast inside of me AND just what kind of trouble I would be up against for that day.
Here they are, those awful, horrible, no-good, yucky symptoms…a list:

**Extra heavy bleeding which can result in anemia. All throughout my reproductive years, my “friend” ((this term makes me laugh so hard!..some friend)) lasted for only 1 day a month. Being athletic helped with that, until the fibroid decided to become my new “friend,” and then fogetta-bout it…the flood gates opened! Ugh!!
**Pain, pain, and more pain ~~ and for this non-pill-popping person ((moi)) the pain was unimaginable. If a waist-cinching pair of pants was just a scoatch too tight, the pain would have me in a cold sweat that only a quick unbuckling of the offending pants could/would alleviate that crazy crazy pain.
**Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle… making sure that a tinkle-station was within reach had become a part of my built-in radar  adapted with  Darwin-like style, I was the official bathroom detector!! Ta-Da!!
**Rectal pressure…thankfully I escaped this charming symptom. But honestly, between you and me, it is probably because I have such a hi-fiber diet ~~ enough said!!

Symptomatic fibroids are really no laughing matter, and can seriously wreck a life! So if you know of someone in this group of “25 Percenters,” please, have some rachmunous! And if you are an OB/GYN, please, offer ALL of the treatment choices ((especially HIFU)) not just the old slice-’n-dice hysterectomy.If you are a friend of a “25 Percenter,” show that you care, and direct her to this website for help/education.
Thinking back upon those inglorious days, it is kinda nuts just how long I suffered, and half of that time was seemingly needless, forsooth!!
The glorious and wonderful news for women today, however, is that HIFU ((High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound)) is readily available and effective for unburdening and eradicating those frighteningly fierce ferocious fibroids…FOREVER!! Of course you will always be a card-carrying member of the dreaded “25 Percenters Club!”  But, ONLY a previously registered one!!