I've recently been diagnosed with a single large fibroid (over 15cm) which has caused some urinary/bowel changes - primarily having a much lower tolerance to how long I can hang on - and general discomfort due to abdominal pressure. That primarily manifests as not being able to lie on my front, bloating and some reflux as top of my uterus pushes up on stomach.
In addition, my periods have become slightly haphazard - mid-cycle spotting, every few periods being very heavy then barely there. I'm 47 and GP is struggling to say with whether the symptoms are peri-menopausal or fibroid-related. I've had very occasional insomnia (2-3 nights per month) but as I'm also going through a redundancy situation and have noisy neighbours, that could be coincidental.
I've got a few cyclical symptoms - new rosacea flare-ups, tooth-ache/headache - that seem to occur mid-cycle but that could be due to higher oestrogen due to the fibroid. It's so hard to know.
My consultant has advised having a partial hysterectomy as due to the size of the fibroid, some of the other medical and minimal access surgeries aren't available to me. I've got a few more questions but am likely to go ahead with this despite the 'yikes' factor. Even with menopause looming, there's no guarantee that it will shrink my existing one to be asymptomatic and if I wanted to take HRT, that would just extend its growing time!
The NHS information on fibroids
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fibroids/ is a useful starting point but your treatment options probably depend on how multiple they are, their location, how large they are and your age. Some of the treatments will stop them growing and should shrink them - but don't stop new ones forming. And the location is key too - some smaller ones in awkward spots can be more disruptive than larger ones. Assuming that post-scan, you've got a referral to see a gynaecologist to get some specific options?
