Table 3.
Example Quotes Regarding the Impact of Uterine Fibroid Symptoms as Reported by at Least 20% of Women with Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Associated with Uterine Fibroids (n = 30)
| Impact according to concept | n (%) | Example patient quote |
|---|---|---|
| Activities of daily living impacts | ||
| Stopped doing daily activities | 24 (80.0) | When I had to clean the house and I was on my period, I wouldn't do it. I would just wait until the week after, because it would make me […] feel so horrible. |
| Change the way daily activities are done | 19 (63.3) | When I'm on my period or when I know I'm going to have my period I have to shift my whole life around. I definitely don't plan any events during my week of hell. |
| Negative impact on leisure activities | 13 (43.3) | When I'm on my period, I don't do any leisure activities. …I don't do anything fun. I just lay in my bed and wait for it to be over. |
| Emotional impacts | ||
| Feel embarrassed | 14 (46.7) | I think the biggest thing is the embarrassment surrounding it. It's really embarrassing to bleed through your clothes in public. |
| Feel worried/anxious | 11 (36.7) | I am always worried that it is going to get worse and I'll be even more limited than I already am. |
| Feel sad/depressed | 11 (36.7) | I would get depressed because I couldn't really do anything. I didn't understand what was going on in my body. |
| Fear of bleeding through clothes | 10 (33.3) | I was afraid that I'd get blood all over myself in public and that they would notice I was bleeding. |
| Feel angry/irritable | 8 (26.7) | I would be—get angry, so I'm constantly irritated. And I was always irritable. … irritable because I'm spotting, like this will not go away. |
| Financial burden | ||
| Negative impact on finances | 14 (46.7) | Financially the cost of buying a lot of pads and not just pads but Depends a and Poseys a —the Poseys and going through all that pain medication and iron tablets and vitamins—yeah, it affected me. |
| Physical impacts | ||
| Tired/fatigued | 26 (86.7) | You could get a good night's sleep, and you'll just still feel drained all throughout the day, and you'll just feel like you want to go lay down and go sleep. You're just constantly tired. |
| Negative impact on physical functioning | 16 (53.3) | You can't make any kind of sudden movements. Standing up hurt. Walking hurt. Sitting down is uncomfortable. |
| Negative impact on exercise | 15 (50.0) | Yeah, because of the bleeding, I cannot exercise during my period, because then the flow ends up being heavier, and I practically have to break and change. … the time I'm on my period, I'm not doing any exercise, I'm not doing any heavy lifting, I'm not doing any of those things. |
| Sex-related impacts | ||
| Negative impact on sex life | 20 (66.7) | And sex is out of the question when I'm on my period. … I'm bleeding so much that I won't let anyone near me during that time. It also has hurt in the past when I've tried so I just choose to avoid sex when I'm on my period. |
| Negative impact on romantic relationships | 6 (20.0) | Yes. I would have to say I'm not in a relationship because of my uterine fibroids because I don't care to have sex because it's painful. |
| Sleep impairments | ||
| Difficulty staying asleep | 21 (70.0) | But I would have to get up in the middle of the night and change my pad because I messed up my bed. … So, my sleep is interrupted, because I'm not sleeping through the whole night, you know, because I got to go change and—change sheets, change bed, you know, all that kind of stuff. |
| Social impacts | ||
| Negative impact on social activities | 20 (66.7) | Like if I wanted to go out with family or friends, I wouldn't go, because you would be scared if you would mess up your clothes. |
| Work/school impacts | ||
| Loss of productivity or limited at work/school | 15 (50.0) | I mean before when I would go into work, I certainly wasn't as efficient. I like to think I'm good at my job. When I'm on my period, it gets in the way of me being able to do my job. |
| Miss work/school | 12 (40.0) | That's what the very severe when it came to where I wouldn't be able to go to work sometimes because I be in so much pain. |
a
Brand names of sanitary products.