![]() "What I think is so important about having this conversation is that now there is more and more information coming forth about fibroids," said Chidi, adding that she hopes that means women are getting the "the support that they need" earlier.Ĭhidi said she also hopes people learn from her story to listen to their bodies and to self-advocate at the doctor's office by asking for the testing and imaging they need if there is concern for uterine fibroids. "Just that intense physical labor in your body without a happy ending."Īs many as 80% of women develop fibroids by the time they reach age 50, and Black women are more likely to develop fibroids than white women, according to the Office on Women's Health at the U.S. "For almost two years, I was just walking around everyday feeling very much like a 6-month pregnant person, but without the amazing feeling of pregnancy," said Chidi. This time, Chidi said doctors found 23 uterine fibroids in her uterus, equivalent to the weight of a 6-month pregnancy. The procedure was a success, according to Chidi, but two years later, she said her symptoms of bleeding, bloating and discomfort had returned. The procedure, which targets the inner lining of the uterus, or endometrium, may shrink but does not remove uterine fibroids. which is why I was having so much bloating and also explaining the bleeding."Īt that time, in 2019, Chidi said she chose to undergo endometrial ablation, a "minimally invasive surgical procedure used to treat heavy menstrual bleeding," according to the Food and Drug Administration. "My uterus was stretched to about 10 weeks of pregnancy. "I was really shocked by how many were found," she said. The procedure found 10 uterine fibroids, the largest being the size of a grapefruit, according to Chidi, also the co-host of the Goop podcast. ![]() Though she had been going to her OB-GYN for annual check-ups, Chidi said it wasn't until she pointed out to her doctor a large, hard lump in her stomach that she got a transvaginal ultrasound, an imaging procedure used to examine the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and bladder, according to the National Cancer Institute. Maybe I don't need to talk about it as much, but, for me, I knew how much I was suffering and how much I was struggling and how important it felt to share about that."Ĭhidi said when she first started experiencing symptoms like heavy menstrual bleeding, persistent bloating and cramps and exhaustion around six years ago, she had no idea they were symptoms of uterine fibroids - non-cancerous tumors that grow in or on the wall of the uterus or womb, according to the National Institutes of Health. ![]() "It can be a really lonely journey, especially because fibroids are what I consider invisible obstacles, not something someone can see and have immediate empathy," Chidi, 35, told "Good Morning America." "You can feel like, 'Maybe it's not as bad. Fibroids, noncancerous growths of the uterus often appearing during childbearing years, affect 70 to 80 percent of all women between 35 and 54.Įrica Chidi, co-founder and CEO of Loom, a women's health education platform, is making her private health journey - a six-year battle with uterine fibroids - public, she said, in hopes of making other women feel less alone. ![]()
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