Q & A: Herbs for Uterine Fibroids

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I have a fibroid fifteen centimeters in diameter that causes me to urinate very frequently. I would like to avoid a hysterectomy by shrinking the fibroid using herbs or other natural remedies. I have seen mention of chaste tree berry as helping fibroids, but I have not been able to find any information as to dosage and contraindications. I am fifty-three years old and still menstruating.
—B. F., Mountain View, California 

Keville responds: Uterine fibroids are fairly common, especially for women in your age group. It usually demands a devoted regimen to shrink them, but it can be done. You’re off to a good start with chaste berry, also commonly called vitex (Vitex agnus-castus), since it helps regulate your hormonal balance to slow fibroid growth and helps prevent their recurrence. Using herbs such as prickly ash bark (Zanthoxylum spp.), cleavers (Galium aparine), mullein (Verbascum spp.), or ginger (Zingiber officinale) is important to help the lymph and blood system eliminate fibroid tissue from the body as it breaks down. Herbs can also relieve common side effects of fibroids, such as raspberry leaf (Rubus idaeus) for excessive bleeding, yellow dock (Rumex crispus) for low iron, and cramp bark (Viburnum opulus) for uterine cramping. All of these herbs are very safe and can be combined into one formula. You’ll find that a number of commercial products designed to help women’s conditions contain these herbs, or you can buy them individually and blend your own mix. A general recommendation is to drink 1 cup of strong tea, take 1 dropperful of tincture, or down 1 to 2 pills four times a day, but check the labels for specific dosages, because some herbal products are more concentrated than others. I also suggest doing sitz baths a few times a week. A sitz bath increases circulation. To do the bath, place a large container of cold water next to a tub filled with enough hot water to reach just to your navel when you sit in it. Add three drops each of lavender and rosemary essential oils to the bath water. Then alternate back and forth several times between the hot and cold waters, staying in the hot bath for up to 10 minutes and the cold for up to 3 minutes, as tolerated. Do the sitz bath a few times a week. A good diet, acupuncture, and moderate exercise are excellent adjunct therapies to go along with the herbs when treating fibroids.

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