At age 46, after years of problem-free periods, Denise suddenly started experiencing extreme bleeding every month, “enough that I would have to wear a heavy pad and a tampon, and change them every hour or two,” she recalls. A sonogram revealed uterine fibroids; a blood test confirmed anemia. The recommendation: hysterectomy. “But that seemed overkill to me,” Denise says. “I did some research and found that estrogen feeds fibroids. Being so close to menopause, I figured I should try to find a stop-gap treatment until my estrogen dropped naturally and the fibroids would shrink on their own.”

Uterine fibroids—benign tumors that grow inside or outside the uterus and that range from tiny and unnoticed to enormous and problematic—affect up to 80 percent of women, most commonly between age 30 and 40, and are the reason behind nearly 39 percent of all hysterectomies, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “The jury’s still out” on why fibroids form, says Svetlana Kogan, MD, a holistic internal medicine specialist in New York, but several factors may contribute, including genetics, diet, and excess or “misappropriated” estrogen.

While it’s nearly impossible to eliminate fibroids entirely without surgery, natural therapies, such as reducing or balancing estrogen, improving circulation, and managing stress, can mitigate symptoms. “Knowing what a normal, healthy menstrual cycle looks like is the first step,” says Aimee Raupp, New York–based licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and author of Chill Out and Get Healthy (Penguin, 2009). Then, keep track of changes, such as abdominal cramping, heavy menstrual bleeding, dizziness, palpitations, unusual fatigue, lack of sexual drive, or painful intercourse. If you experience something out of the ordinary, see your doctor. “A lot of fibroids caught earlier on can be dealt with quite easily, but often they’re not identified until they’re too big and causing issues,” says Raupp.

“Hysterectomy should be used as a last resort for women who have tried everything under the sun alternatively,” adds Kogan. “If all else fails and a woman is losing a lot of blood, and if that woman already has a child or knows she doesn’t want a child, then she could consider it. Fortunately, only a very, very small percentage of people belong to that category.”

See a qualified complementary and alternative medicine practitioner for therapies specific to your case, and keep in mind that gentle, natural treatments are not quick fixes—but they can work over time to bring your body into balance and health.

Next page: Eat organic, and limit estrogen-mimicking chemicals