Dr Rosemary

MEDICAL ADVICE COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR

QI FOUND out I had fibroids when I was going through the menopause because my tummy was big. I was told by my GP that they would shrink away when I finished the menopause which was three years ago. I am now 59 and I’ve noticed no change so far. What is your opinion?

AFIBROIDS are balls of muscle and fibrous tissue that develop in the wall of the womb. They can vary in size and although most are about the size of a pea, in some women they are as large as a grapefruit.

They grow in response to the hormones oestrogen and progesterone and as levels of these fall after the menopause, fibroids shrink.

It can be many years after your periods stop before the tummy returns to its normal size though.

The only way to find out whether your fibroids have shrunk is to go back to the doctor. A simple manual examination may be enough but if there is any doubt an ultrasound scan will confirm whether you have an enlarged womb. It may be that your womb has shrunk but your stomach muscles have been stretched and weakened and need strengthening with exercises.

I AM a 74-year-old male and for some time I have had a problem with my testicles which my doctor will not believe. During the night, they shrink but return to normal size once I’m up and about. I am not imagining this. Is there any way you could confirm this situation is possible, to put my mind at rest?

AIT would be very unusual for the testes to change size at night-time. What I suspect is happening is that your scrotum, which is the sac that holds the testes, appears smaller at night.

During the day, gravity pulls the testes downwards and as the ligaments that hold the testes in place gradually become slacker with age, many older men feel their testes hang lower than they did in their youth.

At night-time when you are lying down, the gravitational