FKA (given name Tahliah Barnett) says she debated whether or not to share her ordeal publicly.
Singer FKA Twigs took to Instagram Wednesday to reveal some shocking news about her health: The singer secretly had six uterine fibroid tumors removed back in December 2017.
FKA (given name Tahliah Barnett) says she debated whether or not to share her ordeal publicly. "I had surgery in December and I was so scared, despite lots of love from friends and family I felt really alone and my confidence as a woman was knocked," she wrote.
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But she decided to go public after hitting the dance studio with her choreographer and realizing she was finally starting to feel like herself again-six long months after surgery.
"I know that a lot of women suffer from fibroid tumours and I just wanted to say after my experience that you are amazing warriors and that you are not alone," she wrote.
dear friends, I am a very private person as u all know and I have gone back and forth in my mind whether to share that this year I have been recovering from laparoscopic surgery to remove 6 fibroid tumours from my uterus. the tumours were pretty huge, the size of 2 cooking apples , 3 kiwis and a couple of a fruit bowl of pain everyday. the nurse said that the weight and size was like being 6 months pregnant. I tried to be brave but it was excruciating at times and to be honest I started to doubt if my body would ever feel the same again. I had surgery in December and I was so scared, despite lots of love from friends and family I felt really alone and my confidence as a woman was knocked. but... today whilst dancing with Kelly at the choreography house I felt like my strong self again for the first time in a while and it was magical. thank you precious body for healing, thank you for reminding me to be kind to myself, you are a wonderful thing, now go create and be other once again <3I know that a lot of women suffer from fibroid tumours and I just wanted to say after my experience that you are amazing warriors and that you are not alone. you can get through this. and with this I let go of the pain... love always twigs \uD83C\uDF31
A post shared by FKA twigs (@fkatwigs) on May 8, 2018 at 10:29pm PDT
What are fibroid tumors?
Fibroids are abnormal uterine muscle tissue growths-and they're actually super common. Around 70 percent of women will have one at some point in her life, Taraneh Shirazian, M.D., a gynecologist at NYU Langone Health specializing in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, previously told WomensHealthMag.com. (BTW: They're two to three times more common in African-American women.)
While most women never even know they have fibroids, if these benign (that's right-fibroids are not cancerous) tumors grow large, they can be crazy painful.
FWIW FKA says her fibroids were freaking huge-the size of two apples, two kiwis, and a couple of strawberries, according to her post. She described them as "a fruit bowl of pain everyday."
They were also making her bloated AF. "The nurse said that the weight and size was like being 6 months pregnant," FKA wrote.
Fibroid symptoms
Needless to say, fibroids can be super disruptive to your life. FKA says, "I tried to be brave but it was excruciating at times and to be honest I started to doubt if my body would ever feel the same again."
Some common fibroid symptoms include:
- Your pelvis feels heavy
- Your periods are longer or heavier than normal
- You're fatigued
- You're super bloated
- You have to pee all the time
- Or, you can't pee-or poop
- Your pelvis, legs, or back hurt
- You're feeling pain during sex
Fibroid treatment
While fibroids are the leading cause of hysterectomies (surgery to remove the uterus), there are plenty of other ways to treat these suckers, including hormone treatments, ultrasound therapy, or myomectomy (surgery to remove the fibroid while leaving the uterus intact).
FKA said she's grateful to be feeling better after her ordeal and is ready to "let go of the pain."
"Thank you precious body for healing, thank you for reminding me to be kind to myself, you are a wonderful thing, now go create and be other once again," she wrote.