Ladies...What can you tell me about uterine fibroid tumors???

mum4jenn

<font color=purple>My dd is the love of my life!!<
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Apr 3, 2000
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I have them and the Dr has been concerned with the size. He did another pelvic today and also an ultrasound. He showed me that I have one on each side and one is the size of a grapefruit and the other a little smaller. I am to go back in 4 months and he will measure again and then we will discuss our "options".

Does anyone have any experience with this and what "options" did you take?

I am 47 (48 in April) if that makes a difference.
 


i was diagnosed with fibroids at age 32. the options are many, much more than when i first began dealing with them. (I'm now 46.) :)

at the time i had been married only a few years, and we had not yet started a family. fibroids can affect fertility, so my doc advised me to get started! :rotfl:

there are drugs that can help shrink the fibroid (depo provera), which we did in preparation for a myomectomy, surgical removal of one of the fibroids. there is also a procedure called embolization, which is much less invasive and basically cuts off the blood supply to the fibroid, causing it to shrink.

A few years after the birth of our 2nd child i had a hysterectomy; there were lots of fibroids in there, large and small, and i was tired of dealing with them and the horrible menstrual cycles i was having. i have to say it's been nice to be pain-free every month! don't regret it one bit. :thumbsup2
 
Thanks. The Dr gave me a brochure to read that listed all the treatments. THe one that really scares me is the one blood to the blood vessels are closed off.

I have one child with NO plans for another!! I have high blood pressure as well so I don't know if that limits my options or not.

I would be fine with a hysterectomy as I would loving getting rid of the monthly visit.

I guess I will do some more reading and wait and see what happens in the next 4 months.

Thanks for your info!!
 
I had the Uterine Fibroid Embolization last year. Don't be scared! It wasn't bad at all. I chose this treatment over the others because it was much less invasive than hysterectomy. Now that scared me! I didnt' want to go on Depo Provera since that was only to be used for 6 months max, going on the pill or taking progesterone were the other options given to me, but since they seemed to be temporary I didn't want to go that route either.

My fibroid was about the size of a softball. I began having unbearable, heavy periods. Like huge gushing bleeding that came out of nowhere, huge clots, lots of bad cramping etc. One particularly bad night, I had to go to the ER because I went through like 6 pads in about 30 minutes and showed no signs of stopping. I had the UFE about 10 days later.

The UFE really wasn't bad at all. What is it that scares you about UFE? When I had it done, it was one night in the hospital. They gaveme twilight type sedation, threaded a catheter thorugh the femoral artery (same type procedure done for cardiac catheterization), where they then were able to inject the embospheres to block off the blood supply to the fibroid. I was given some type of pain block after the procedure then sent upstairs with a pain mangement pump for the night(I always forget what those are called...where you press the button yourself for more meds)Sent home the next day with prescriptions for Vicodin and 800 mg Motrin. Took the Vicodin for the first day or two then switched to Motrin (Motrin seemed to work better for me) Took it easy for a couple weeks afterwards.

Knock wood, I haven't had any bleeding like that since the UFE. At my 6 month follow up MRI, the fibroid showed to have shrunk by at least half. :thumbsup2

If you have any questions, please ask away. Fibroids are no fun :sad2:
 
My DW had the same thing. go to www.novasure.com. That's the procedure she had. Minimal time (in & out of hospital in 4 hours), discomfort or side effects. And it worked.
 
I just found out I had a uterine fibroid tumor in December.
I was getting the Essure birth control process done which involves putting coils in each fallopian tube. The Dr was unable to get one side in and it turns out a big tumor was in the uterus.
I had an outpatient procedure to remove the tumor on a Saturday. The next Friday (only 6 days later) we tried the Essure again and the Dr said the fibroid tumor was already trying to grow back.
We discussed options and as I am 43 and want no more children (or a period for that matter) we decided on a partial hysterectomy. The ovaries stay intact but cervix and uterus were removed.
I really struggled because it was not technically critical for me to have the hysterectomy and if something went wrong I would feel terrible. I was not having miserable periods but they were heavier.
Well 4 weeks ago today I had the hysterectomy. It was done laproscipally and was EXTREMELY easy!
I was actually intibated (put on a ventilator) and catherized but both were done after I was asleep.
I woke up 3 1/2 hours later not in pain but very restless. I just could not get comfortable. They gave me something a couple of hours later that made me sleep for 3 hours. I woke up feeling perfectly fine.
I went home the next morning and have felt great ever since. I have not taken so much as an aspirin since I left the hospital.
I still cannot lift more than 4 pound which is a huge inconvenience but I could drive after 2 weeks.
I am sooooo very happy I had the hysterectomy. I feel so free not having any birth control or periods! :thumbsup2
 
I have them and the Dr has been concerned with the size. He did another pelvic today and also an ultrasound. He showed me that I have one on each side and one is the size of a grapefruit and the other a little smaller. I am to go back in 4 months and he will measure again and then we will discuss our "options".

Does anyone have any experience with this and what "options" did you take?

I am 47 (48 in April) if that makes a difference.

I forgot to mention that my Dr told me uterine fibroind tumors hardly ever turn out to be cancerous. Mine were all benign.
Forgot to mention earlier- if you are 47 I would DEFINITELY have a hysterectomy. If they leave the ovaries you should not need hormones or go into early menopause.
 
I have them and the Dr has been concerned with the size. He did another pelvic today and also an ultrasound. He showed me that I have one on each side and one is the size of a grapefruit and the other a little smaller. I am to go back in 4 months and he will measure again and then we will discuss our "options".

Does anyone have any experience with this and what "options" did you take?

I am 47 (48 in April) if that makes a difference.

I had a complete hysterectomy 6 years ago at age 46 almost 47. I had the fibroids, quite large also, with the heavy bleeding, thick uterine wall and my ovaries had stopped working like they should.My insides were quite a mess. My DR. suggested the hysterectomy and although I was scared to have the surgery I went ahead and have not regretted it.
 
Let me tell you my fibroid story:

When I was pregnant with DS17 (my oldest) I could feel his head. I would rub it and say, "Hi! This is Mommy! I love you!"

Turns out it wasn't his head, but a large fibroid. A large, well-adjusted fibroid that knew its Mommy loved it.

And so it came back every time I was pg, causing more problems every time.

I eventually had so many problems from them (HEAVY clotting, pressing on my bladder, etc.) that I had a hysterectomy. By that time I was in my 40s and done having kids. I have never regretted it, especially now that I never have periods ever again.
 
My DW had the same thing. go to www.novasure.com. That's the procedure she had. Minimal time (in & out of hospital in 4 hours), discomfort or side effects. And it worked.


This is what I had done, too. And it also worked fantastic. I cant recommend it enough. *Most* womens cycle's completely disappear - I, of course, was not that lucky - however I finally have a NORMAL cycle.


Turns out it wasn't his head, but a large fibroid. A large, well-adjusted fibroid that knew its Mommy loved it.
.


Sorry - but :laughing: . You made me giggle.
 
My DW had the same thing. go to www.novasure.com. That's the procedure she had. Minimal time (in & out of hospital in 4 hours), discomfort or side effects. And it worked.

This is what I had done, too. And it also worked fantastic. I cant recommend it enough. *Most* womens cycle's completely disappear - I, of course, was not that lucky - however I finally have a NORMAL cycle.
.

I was told I could not have Novasure done. I wonder if it has to do with the type of fibroid you have (submucosal, intrauterine, pendunculated etc) Mine was intrauterine and also submucosal and very large. Maybe it works better for lots of smaller ones vs one or two larger ones? :confused3
 
I was told I could not have Novasure done. I wonder if it has to do with the type of fibroid you have (submucosal, intrauterine, pendunculated etc) Mine was intrauterine and also submucosal and very large. Maybe it works better for lots of smaller ones vs one or two larger ones? :confused3

That I do not know. I know I had 5 little ones, all quarter to half dollar sized.

Maybe it is a size thing.

I'm sorry. It was such an easy solution.
 
I had surgery to remove ten fibroids, five years ago, at age 47. Two were the size of grapefruits. I did not need a hysterectomy, just the fibroids were removed. My recovery was about 4 weeks because they were too big to be removed laproscopicly (SP?). I had a c-section incision. Due to being in the early stages of menopause they did not grow back (well, just a couple of tiny cysts which don't bother me). I would get a second opinion if the doctor says you need a hysterectomy.
 
That I do not know. I know I had 5 little ones, all quarter to half dollar sized.

Maybe it is a size thing.

I'm sorry. It was such an easy solution.

yeah, I was sorry too, when they told me I could not have it done! It seemed like a good choice, but I had the UFE done instead and I'm happy with the results just the same. Now my SIL has horrible periods, no fibroids or anything...the Dr told her to just live with it :sad2: I told her to get another Dr and ask for Novasure. There's no reason for anyone to suffer with horrible periods
 
yeah, I was sorry too, when they told me I could not have it done! It seemed like a good choice, but I had the UFE done instead and I'm happy with the results just the same. Now my SIL has horrible periods, no fibroids or anything...the Dr told her to just live with it :sad2: I told her to get another Dr and ask for Novasure. There's no reason for anyone to suffer with horrible periods



Your SIL is an *ideal* candidate for Novasure. That is exactly what it's made for.

I agree with you! New Doctor!!!
 
I also had uterine fibroids. I first had the novasure procedure done and it didn't help. On 3/17/08 I had the laproscopic hysterectomy done the dr. removed my uterus and one ovary. THE BEST THING I have ever done for myself! :thumbsup2 Really wish I had done it sooner. (We have kids 9 & 14 and I am 49 so no plans for more children)

The pain and discomfort is gone, I got rid of all my pads and tampons, and, well, let's just say that dh likes that I got it done too! ;)

Jill
 
About three years ago, my OBGYN told me I had a fibroid about the size of a four month pregnancy. I had no idea because I had no pain, no symptoms whatsoever. I opted to do nothing. No probelms for about a year and a half and then I started experiencing horrible pain. I went back and ultrsound revealed that it had grown to about the size of a soccer ball and was compromising all the surrounding organs. To look at me, you never would have known. I was still wearing my size 3 jeans so i don't know where that thing was hiding! Needless to say, he scheduled an abdominal hysterectomy within a week. When he opened me up, he found it had completely consumed one ovary. Pathology said that the tumor weighed 11 pounds!:eek: I was the talk of the hospital! :rotfl:

Long story short (oops, too late! ;)) it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I had no idea how much pain I was in until it was gone. Recovery was a breeze. Just took it easy at home for a few weeks, no post op problems at all.

Don't wait like I did. They can and do grow very fast and can cause lots of unneccesary pain. Fix it now!
 
I had fibroid removal suregery in the summer of 07. It was non symptomatic unless you count heavy periods which i didn't realize, cause mine had never been light. Basically the same surgery as a Csection, and the Dr. said it was the size of a pineapple and weighed 6lbs. 6wk recovery time and hten bakc to work no problems.

Definitely don't wait I am sooo glad i had it done. Sex is sooo much better with Dh since the surgery. And with luck it won't grow back.
 
Most fibroids aren't cancerous -- but can be. I had 2 one year, went in the next and I had 6 -- one the size of a grapefruit. Since I had already gone through menopause, this was a red flag that something "iffy" could be going on, so I had a total hysterectomy. The only problem I had was a little pain in the small of my back (due to the fibroids), so was unaware things were going on.

I had thought about keeping my ovaries but my doctor said, "If we remove them, you'll never have to worry about ovarian cancer." Sounded good to me!

My doctor gave me an epidural (or spinal -- I don't really remember which) prior to the surgery (and they'd given me Verset -- twilight sleep -- prior to that). When I woke up, I knew I would be numb from the waist down for about 24 hours. By the time I un-numbed, the pain was manageable and that was a relief!
 
I had two, one the size of a lemon, and one the size of a grapefruit that had basically taken over one of my fallopian tubes. They made my periods exruciating. Last March I had laproscopy and had both of them removed and it has made life much less painful!

Ftr...I tried 3 different kinds of birth control to shrink them but they just weren't budging...
 













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