Fibroids affect millions of women, yet symptoms like heavy bleeding, painful periods, fatigue, anemia, and pelvic pain are still too often normalized or dismissed.

In this powerful episode of Health Starts With Her, host Dr. Tara Shirazian, OBGYN and Gynecologic Surgeon, sits down with Academy Award-winning actress and author Lupita Nyong’o, recently seen in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and Dr. Lauren Mims, Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology at NYU, for an honest conversation about their personal experiences with uterine fibroids.

Lupita shares how she spent years believing painful periods and cramping were simply “normal” — until worsening symptoms led to a fibroid diagnosis and surgery. Ten years later, when her fibroids returned, she began asking deeper questions about prevention, research, treatment, and why women are still left searching for answers.

Lauren shares her own journey from severe fatigue and iron-deficiency anemia to multiple surgeries, recurring fibroids, and finally finding an approach to care that considered not just her diagnosis, but her quality of life.

Together, they explore the questions so many women are asking:
• What are the early signs and symptoms of uterine fibroids?
• When are heavy periods, blood clots, fatigue, and anemia a sign that something is wrong?
• Why are women’s pain and bleeding so often normalized or dismissed?
• Why are Black women disproportionately impacted by fibroids?
• Can fibroids be detected and treated earlier?
• What fibroid treatment options exist beyond major surgery?
• How do medications, myomectomy, radiofrequency ablation, and other treatments differ?
• What role can lifestyle, stress, vitamin D, and ongoing monitoring play in fibroid care?
• Why are second opinions and shared decision-making so important?

This conversation is about more than fibroids. It’s about learning to listen to your body, challenging the idea that debilitating periods are “normal,” understanding your treatment options, and advocating for care that considers your entire life — not just your diagnosis.

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Special thank you to our sponsors for this episode that are helping support conversations about women’s health:

Hologic
Learn more about Sonata here: https://gynsurgicalsolutions.com/know...

Sumitomo Pharma:
https://www.us.sumitomo-pharma.com/
https://www.uterinehealthguide.com/

Saving Mothers: https://savingmothers.org/

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Chapters:
00:00 Why Women’s Pain and Fibroid Symptoms Are Dismissed
01:20 The First Signs and Symptoms of Fibroids
04:09 Lupita Nyong’o: Why I Thought Painful Periods Were Normal
08:29 When the Medical System Dismisses Women’s Pain
11:35 Lauren Mims’ Fibroid Diagnosis and Journey Through Surgery
17:40 Lupita Nyong’o on Her Fibroid Diagnosis and Search for Answers
21:14 The Emotional Toll of Living With Fibroids
22:24 Can Fibroids Be Prevented or Detected Earlier?
23:41 Lupita on Fibroid Recurrence and Taking Control of Her Health
27:01 Black Women, Stress and the “Strong Black Woman” Expectation
29:17 Why Fibroids Are a Chronic and Recurrent Disease
29:59 Fibroid Treatment Options Beyond Surgery
31:22 Lupita and Lauren Share Their Experiences With Medication
34:28 Radiofrequency Ablation for Fibroids Explained
38:42 Why Long-Term Fibroid Care Matters
40:21 How to Know When Your Period Is Not Normal
42:23 Know Your Options and Get a Second Opinion
43:19 The Power of Sisterhood, Community and Advocacy