Fibroids, Just what is too big.

[Tigger1]

This is the best place I have found for advice of all sorts in the past 15 years
on the internet. This time its not about a Disney vacation

Dr. said my fibroids are as large as a grapefruit. Cause of frequent trips to restroom and low red blood cells.


I am at the age that menapause should start soon. That should cause fibroids to shrink down. Dr says sometimes that they do not shrink all the way down and I could have bleeding forever. I do not want that. I also do not want a surgery if I can avoid it with menapause.

Any advice?

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

At age 48 my gyn kept telling me that my fibroids (multiple, largest softball size) would shrink down at menopause. However, I was bleeding so much that my primary Dr. wanted to put me into the hospital because my hemoglobin was so low!
I found a new gyn who simply asked me if I wanted to continue as is, or do something about it. Had my hysterectomy within 2 or 3 months and it was the best decision I ever made!

 

[DebbieB]

This is the best place I have found for advice of all sorts in the past 15 years
on the internet. This time its not about a Disney vacation

Dr. said my fibroids are as large as a grapefruit. Cause of frequent trips to restroom and low red blood cells.


I am at the age that menapause should start soon. That should cause fibroids to shrink down. Dr says sometimes that they do not shrink all the way down and I could have bleeding forever. I do not want that. I also do not want a surgery if I can avoid it with menapause.

Any advice?

That is really big. Mine were golf ball size. How old are you? I'm almost 53 and have gone about 6 months with nothing, so I still have a little more time before it's officially over. I went 6 months another time and it came back.

A friend of mine who was around 52 had grapefruit size and she went for a hysterectomy, she said it was the best move she ever made. Before the surgery, she was hospitialized in Las Vegas on vacation because of heavy bleeding. The only problem was she had bad hot flashes for a long time afterwards.

 

[pat fan]

Another grapefruit girl here.

I was not near menapause, and I was having so many problems (I won't describe) that we did go the surgery route. I had laproscopic surgery, and it was awesome. 3 little incisions, one in belly button, one over each hip, kinda sorta, and recovery was pretty quick.

We all have our own opinions, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. They left my ovaries and just took the uterus. Not sure what your Dr. is advising, or where your fibroids are, but if I can be of any help at all, just let me know. Good luck!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I have a small fibroid that doesn't seem to cause any problems. My sister, however, had one that was so big she could see it poking out when she was lying on her back. She was also having frequent bouts of heavy bleeding. She had a hysterectomy about a year and a half ago when she was 49. She was able to keep one ovary (the doctor said the other one looked "funky"). She's very happy that she had the surgery. The bleeding is gone and she just feels better overall.

 

[crashbb]

My largest was about the size of a large orange, but I had 11 of them all together (most were closer to a golf ball or even a marble). I had surgery but had a myomectomy rather than a hysterectomy (I was in my early 30s and hadn't ruled out the possibility of more children).

I didn't really have a choice - because of where the big one was, it was starting to cause kidney damage, but like Pat Fan, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again (even it wasn't "needed"). My surgery was also laproscopic, but I had four incisions (plus the belly button), because the 11 fibroids were spread out and couldn't all be reached from the initial incisions.

 

[cepmom]

I had a softball sized fibroid in 2007. I was 38 and done having kids but wasn't sure if I wanted to go through a hysterectomy. I had to do something because of awful heavy bleeding. I chose to do uterine fibroid embolization, which is a procedure that blocks the blood flow to the fibroid so it will then shrink. My fibroid did shrink about 50% and my issues resolved.

Last year, right about 4 years after the UFE, I started having the same bleeding problems, had an ultrasound and discovered the fibroid had started growing again. This time I opted for laparoscopic hysterectomy. The dr also found 2 more fibroids in addition to the big one. I kept my ovaries so no instant menopause, just no period. I don't regret it. There's no easy answer though, fibroids just suck!

 

[SweetJoy]

I had 3 fibroids - the largest one being the size and shape of an eggplant. When I lay on my back it looked like a 4 month pregnancy. In fact I thought I was pregnant - but test was negative so follow-up at my doctor found the large fibroid. It also caused me anemia - so much so that I was chewing crushed ice constantly and even broke a tooth in half! After my gno recommended hysterectomy, with ovaries left intact, that's what I did. I was not near menopause age, and the symptoms really weren't unbearable - but faced with a solution of 'we can take care of this right away', I went ahead with it. I was put on Lupron for 3 months to try and shrink the fibroid a bit before surgery (it didn't work - and it made me angry as a bear while I was on it). So I had an abdominal hyst. No regrets! Good luck!

 

[Pooh67_68]

I only had one, but it was large enough that the doctor recommended a hysterectomy because they don't always shrink. Of course i am only 45 so quite aways from menopause, i had my hysterectomy Sept. 24th.

The surgeon used the da Vinci robot. http://www.davincihysterectomy.com/

 

[mhsjax]

Another grapefruit here. I was no where near menopause, but I was bleeding to death every month. Iron was scary low. Dr told me it was a lifestyle decision, it took me about 5 minutes to decide.

I had a complete abdominal hysterectomy. They took everything, turns out my ovaries had cysts and tubes had adhesions. I was slammed into menopause. The hot flashes are rough, but I don't have to worry about ovarian cancer anymore. I don't take hormones, they don't do me any good. All in all, I think it was a good decision. They surgery itself was no problem. In one a Wednesday and out Friday mid day. I took my pain pills as I was directed and had plenty of help at home. Frankly it was kind of nice, I had a real excuse not to do anything, I couldn't even walk to dog, something everyone tries to get out of, so the family took care of everything.

 

[Gigi22]

OP, it really depends on you, and what you want. My late mother had a full hysterectomy to fix her fibroids. She was well past child-bearing, and the full operation was the only option available at the time. DSis has bad fibroids, but chose to wait it out for the fibroids to shrink on their own--she didn't want to have any operation, although her gyn. was onboard to give her an ablation (not sure of the correct name), which is less invasive.

 

[daemom]

How big is too big? It's kind of like real estate, "location, location, location"! I have two that are sizable--small cantaloupes. One in the front is right on my bladder, which causes several trips to the bathroom during the day and at least 3-4 trips during the night. The other is in the back--same size but I'm not bothered by it at all. Mine were discovered about 7 years ago because I became anemic. Last year my gyno tried to reassure me that they would begin shrinking soon because I was 49 and thought the changes were coming! When I went back this year, they were larger and he thought that I should have a hysterectomy. I've taken a Lupron shot to shrink everything so that this can be performed laproscopically. I've found some good information on hystersisters.com--kind of the like the Disboards for hysterectomies. It's a tough decision to make for sure! Good luck!

 

[daemom]

Also within a month of taking Lupron I felt relief from the multiple bathroom trips! It made me realize how much these fibroids have taken over. I'm taking two prescriptions meds just because of them.

 

[cabanafrau]

I struggled terribly w/ fibroids in the wake of pregnancy, so much so that my doctor had serious concerns how difficult a second pregnancy might get, yet not wanting to prevent me from having a second child, which I did. The second pregnancy did make the situation much worse & my doctor finally conceded only surgery was going to be able to help. I had a partial hysterectomy before DD was 18 months old while still in my early 30s. I was very fortunate we were completely content w/ two children.

I swear choirs of angels sang with joy for me. I could not have put up w/ how bad things had gotten for very much longer.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Maybe ask your doctor about uterine fibroid embolization? It's not nearly as invasive as surgery but has some degree of success. Although, it will take several months to get the total effects.

I was going to have one but when I met with the surgeon to get a biopsy of the fibroid, he strongly recommended a hysterectomy because they were so large. I had the heavy bleeding, lots of bathroom trips, anemia, difficulty breathing because they were pushing up on my diaphram, oh and I looked 6 months pregnant. I was 43, not interested in childbirth and menopause was too far off to wait. He was able to leave my ovaries so I wouldn't go through menopause early. That was a year ago and I am sooooooooo glad I had the surgery. I don't think my recovery could have gone more smoothly and I felt terrific within a few weeks. I slept better, had more energy, I could catch my breath...I didn't realize how bad I felt until I felt that great. Overall, I regretted waiting.

Good luck with your decision. I know it's really difficult - I was petrified but I am also really glad I went through with it.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

It's not the "size" that matters....it's how they effect you and your daily life. I got sick and tired of the heavy periods that came on without warning. When my period started again after only 7 days off...in the Chancellor's office with a few Deans in a meeting, that was it for me. I was scheduled within 3 weeks and it was the absolute best decision I ever made.

I had it done laparoscopically and had only the uterus removed. I tell my husband it's the best thing I ever did for myself. My OB/GYN walked me through all of the options and told me that it was my decision. He also shared with me that if I was his wife, he would suggest the hysterectomy.

I looked at all the options and just didn't want to have to keep dealing with it...particularly since I travelled internationally for my job at the time.

Good luck!

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I had 2 that were only 1 inch each (among lots of other reproductive problems). Because of them, I started bleeding profusely on August 11th and it didn't stop until February 1st (filled up an overnight-sized pad every 60-90 minutes, iron level dropped to 6.8). Had them removed on May 1st (I was 37 then; I've since passed my 38th birthday).

And apparently, I still can't have children but that's a different thread...

 

[MissManda]

I had a grapefruit sized fibroid and an egg sized fibroid as well. It was ruining my life. There were so many days I couldn't even leave the house becuase I was bleeding so bad. I was 30 at the time, so my doctor wanted to do a myomectomy and try to save the uterus. Due to the size of the fibroid, mine couldn't be laproscopic. They had to make a regular incision and remove it that way. It was incredibly painful and I had a terrible recovery.

Due to how embedded the fibroid was, it left a lot of scar tissue. Unfortunately, even after multiple attempts to get pregant, they have all failed. The doctors think that there is too much scar tissue in the uterus.

Honestly, if I had known then what I know now, I think that I would have just gotten the hystorectomy. Even at such a young age, I think it would have been better than a lot of disappointment we have endured since then.

 

[MariDisney]

I don't want to share TMI, but I recently had a uterine artery embolization to deal with fibroids. I'm having really amazing results. My quality of life has changed dramatically. Feel free to PM me if you want more detail.

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

I would highly recommend the hystersisters website. It was of enormous help to me.