mrsgaz
01-05-2004, 08:02 PM
Have today been told that I have 2 large fibroids - which explains quite a lot of recent probelms I have been having.
I know not life threatening or anything but what can be done to stop the pain and the heavy periods? This has been affecting my life for 6 months now and I cannot keep going on like this.
Any advice?
Thanks
I know not life threatening or anything but what can be done to stop the pain and the heavy periods? This has been affecting my life for 6 months now and I cannot keep going on like this.
Any advice?
Thanks
Sponsor
stacydl
01-05-2004, 08:46 PM
Have today been told that I have 2 large fibroids - which explains quite a lot of recent probelms I have been having.
I know not life threatening or anything but what can be done to stop the pain and the heavy periods? This has been affecting my life for 6 months now and I cannot keep going on like this.
Any advice?
Thanks
There are a few different treatments for fibroids depending on where they are located, your symptoms, and whether or not you are finished having children. I know how you feel, I just had one removed on friday. My fibroid was the cause of two years of infertility, terrible cramps, and very heavy bleeding which caused me to become anemic.
There are three main types of fibroids. The most common are intramural which are in the wall (not really protruding into the uterine cavity or outward towards the pelvic cavity). These can be removed by laparotomy which is an open abdominal surgery with a recovery time of 2-6 weeks.
Then there's subserosal fibroids which are protruding outwardly toward the pelvic cavity. Sometimes these can be removed with laparoscopy which is a minimally invasive surgery where they go through a tiny incision by your navel and remove the tumor. If that's not possible, then they would do the laparotomy.
Then there's the least common which is submucosal which is protruding inward toward the uterine cavity. If more than 50% of it is in the cavity and less than 50% in the wall, it can be removed with hysteroscopic resection which is a minimally invasive procedure which is done through the cervix and the tumor is just shaved off. No incisions, recovery time of a day or so. That's the one I just had and I feel fine. Can't wait to see how my next period is to see if the bleeding is better. Hopefully it will allow a pregnancy to be possible!
There are other treatments as well such as uterine fibroid embolization where they cut off the blood supply for the tumor. There's not a lot of info as to whether pregnancy is likely after that procedure though. There may be others as well.
Then there's always a hysterectomy which would obviously make pregnancy impossible, but until recently it was the most common procedure done for fibroids.
As far as whether it can get better on it's own or with hormone therapy, most likely not until you reach menopause when your estrogen is no longer produced since they supposedly grow on estrogen. Hormone therapy may help for a short time, but the tumors will just grow again when therapy is discontinued.
If you have any questions, I would be glad to help you answer them, because I have done lots of research on the subject (but I am no doctor so talking to your doc is the best advice I can give.)
Take care and good luck. I know how hard living with all that pain and bleeding is. What a nightmare. Many people with fibroids don't even know they have them because they have no symptoms, but if you are having unbearable ones, there are treatment options out there!
Take care
Stacy
I know not life threatening or anything but what can be done to stop the pain and the heavy periods? This has been affecting my life for 6 months now and I cannot keep going on like this.
Any advice?
Thanks
There are a few different treatments for fibroids depending on where they are located, your symptoms, and whether or not you are finished having children. I know how you feel, I just had one removed on friday. My fibroid was the cause of two years of infertility, terrible cramps, and very heavy bleeding which caused me to become anemic.
There are three main types of fibroids. The most common are intramural which are in the wall (not really protruding into the uterine cavity or outward towards the pelvic cavity). These can be removed by laparotomy which is an open abdominal surgery with a recovery time of 2-6 weeks.
Then there's subserosal fibroids which are protruding outwardly toward the pelvic cavity. Sometimes these can be removed with laparoscopy which is a minimally invasive surgery where they go through a tiny incision by your navel and remove the tumor. If that's not possible, then they would do the laparotomy.
Then there's the least common which is submucosal which is protruding inward toward the uterine cavity. If more than 50% of it is in the cavity and less than 50% in the wall, it can be removed with hysteroscopic resection which is a minimally invasive procedure which is done through the cervix and the tumor is just shaved off. No incisions, recovery time of a day or so. That's the one I just had and I feel fine. Can't wait to see how my next period is to see if the bleeding is better. Hopefully it will allow a pregnancy to be possible!
There are other treatments as well such as uterine fibroid embolization where they cut off the blood supply for the tumor. There's not a lot of info as to whether pregnancy is likely after that procedure though. There may be others as well.
Then there's always a hysterectomy which would obviously make pregnancy impossible, but until recently it was the most common procedure done for fibroids.
As far as whether it can get better on it's own or with hormone therapy, most likely not until you reach menopause when your estrogen is no longer produced since they supposedly grow on estrogen. Hormone therapy may help for a short time, but the tumors will just grow again when therapy is discontinued.
If you have any questions, I would be glad to help you answer them, because I have done lots of research on the subject (but I am no doctor so talking to your doc is the best advice I can give.)
Take care and good luck. I know how hard living with all that pain and bleeding is. What a nightmare. Many people with fibroids don't even know they have them because they have no symptoms, but if you are having unbearable ones, there are treatment options out there!
Take care
Stacy
jaamoo
01-08-2004, 12:42 AM
Stacy,
You are a wealth of info... I am glad to have found your reply!!! I have not been diagnosed with fibroids, but I am almost certain I have something like this going on inside.
My mom had some problems where her fibroids burst and she bleed for 9 months straight. She went from doctor to doctor with no luck. Finally the last one she went to found out what was causing the bleeding and did a partial hysterectomy (she kept her ovaries), and shes been great since.
well, I have been having these horrible abdominal pains, having a hard time going #2 in addition to heavy cramps and passing huge clots. So I asked my mom exactly what her symptoms were since she didn't really talk about it (typical mom!) and she described exactly what I have been going thru. I told her this, and she told me to be seen asap! I do not have ins at the moment, but after some searchiing I found a sliding scale clinic in my area.
I just wanted to say thanks for all your info, just your above post alone was very helpful to me.
I had endometriosis about 4 years ago, and had a laproscapy, so I am not fearful of the surgery. Do these two unterine problems have a connection that you know of?
I'd to keep in touch with you...
Thanks again,
Ja
You are a wealth of info... I am glad to have found your reply!!! I have not been diagnosed with fibroids, but I am almost certain I have something like this going on inside.
My mom had some problems where her fibroids burst and she bleed for 9 months straight. She went from doctor to doctor with no luck. Finally the last one she went to found out what was causing the bleeding and did a partial hysterectomy (she kept her ovaries), and shes been great since.
well, I have been having these horrible abdominal pains, having a hard time going #2 in addition to heavy cramps and passing huge clots. So I asked my mom exactly what her symptoms were since she didn't really talk about it (typical mom!) and she described exactly what I have been going thru. I told her this, and she told me to be seen asap! I do not have ins at the moment, but after some searchiing I found a sliding scale clinic in my area.
I just wanted to say thanks for all your info, just your above post alone was very helpful to me.
I had endometriosis about 4 years ago, and had a laproscapy, so I am not fearful of the surgery. Do these two unterine problems have a connection that you know of?
I'd to keep in touch with you...
Thanks again,
Ja
stacydl
01-08-2004, 01:51 PM
Hey Ja, I am glad that the info might have helped a bit. I am sorry to hear about your pain! I don't believe that endo and fibroids have any connection to one another except that they both can have some symptoms which are similar to each other. Hopefully when you see a doctor they will be able to tell you if your symptoms are from endo coming back or from fibroids. I actually thought for sure I had endo and I begged the docs to do a laparoscopy which they did. Turns out it wasn't endo and if they had just done an ultrasound before the surgery they would have seen that I had this huge fibroid taking up my whole uterine cavity causing all those symptoms. It's so annoying that you practically have to be your own doctor sometimes. I am so thankful I finally found a good doctor. I think that the most important test you could ask for when you see your doc would be a vaginal ultrasound because that would be able to tell you if you have any fibroids. If they determine that you do, they may suggest a sonohysterogram which is an ultrasound with your uterus filled with saline. The saline shows up as black on the ultrasound so that they can see the inside of your uterus outlined to see if any fibroids are protruding into the uterine cavity. Often, a submucosal fibroid on the inside of the uterus causes really heavy bleeding. I had major clots as well. It's just no fun!
My mom also had fibroids and ended up being so anemic from bleeding so much that she needed a hysterectomy too. Best thing she ever did! Since your mom had them, you are more likely to get them because I think they can run in families. Lucky us!
I hope to keep in touch. Hope you get to see a doc soon so that you can start to feel better!
Take care!
Stacy
My mom also had fibroids and ended up being so anemic from bleeding so much that she needed a hysterectomy too. Best thing she ever did! Since your mom had them, you are more likely to get them because I think they can run in families. Lucky us!
I hope to keep in touch. Hope you get to see a doc soon so that you can start to feel better!
Take care!
Stacy
skycloud
01-08-2004, 04:32 PM
Hi Ladies,
I am recovering from an abdominal myomectomy to remove a golfball sized fibroid from the top of my uterus that was protruding into the endometrium. I had bled for over a month, was anemic and went ahead with the surgery as soon as I could.
I had a really hard post op course in that I had a huge amount of vomiting in the hospital due to the narcotics used to control the pain.
I'm 23 days out, still sore as hell, have a hard time standing up straight and the pain in my groin is excruciating. The surgery went well, very little blood loss (at that point, I don't think I had enough blood to have much blood loss), but my post op course, set me back about 6 or 7 days I suppose.
Good news is that my bleeding has stopped. And I can't express how wonderful that is. I had been living with that problem for way too long and just hoping it would go away.
I also must say that while alternative treatments are wonderful for healing the body, there are fibroids that definitely require surgical intervention. As a yoga enthusiast and having had acupuncture, I can tell you that sometimes, those alternative treatments can serve to bring real issues to the surface that must be dealt with more aggresively as in my case. And remember that medicine also seeks to serve.
In my case, hormones were out of the question as they affect my mental health quite drastically.
One more thing, fibroids can impact endometriosis. Any time blood gets backed up through the uterus/fallopian tubes, or as a result of clots at the time of surgery, there is a risk of increased endometriosis.
Skycloud.
I am recovering from an abdominal myomectomy to remove a golfball sized fibroid from the top of my uterus that was protruding into the endometrium. I had bled for over a month, was anemic and went ahead with the surgery as soon as I could.
I had a really hard post op course in that I had a huge amount of vomiting in the hospital due to the narcotics used to control the pain.
I'm 23 days out, still sore as hell, have a hard time standing up straight and the pain in my groin is excruciating. The surgery went well, very little blood loss (at that point, I don't think I had enough blood to have much blood loss), but my post op course, set me back about 6 or 7 days I suppose.
Good news is that my bleeding has stopped. And I can't express how wonderful that is. I had been living with that problem for way too long and just hoping it would go away.
I also must say that while alternative treatments are wonderful for healing the body, there are fibroids that definitely require surgical intervention. As a yoga enthusiast and having had acupuncture, I can tell you that sometimes, those alternative treatments can serve to bring real issues to the surface that must be dealt with more aggresively as in my case. And remember that medicine also seeks to serve.
In my case, hormones were out of the question as they affect my mental health quite drastically.
One more thing, fibroids can impact endometriosis. Any time blood gets backed up through the uterus/fallopian tubes, or as a result of clots at the time of surgery, there is a risk of increased endometriosis.
Skycloud.
robste
01-11-2004, 01:14 AM
Have today been told that I have 2 large fibroids - which explains quite a lot of recent probelms I have been having.
I know not life threatening or anything but what can be done to stop the pain and the heavy periods? This has been affecting my life for 6 months now and I cannot keep going on like this.
Any advice?
Thanks
Mrsgaz, sorry to hear that you have 2 fibroids. I was diagnosed a few months ago with 4 fibroids...I had no idea I had them, but had become anemic, and had all kinds of other tests done to rule out internal bleeding, then lastly went to my gynocologist.
It also depends on where the fibroids are located as to whether or not you can have any procedure to remove them (short of a hysterectomy). In my case, I just want to have them removed, but I was told by my dr. that it's too risky to remove them. Luckily they are not causing any pain problems. My periods are heavy, so my dr. put me on low dose birth control pills...this probably won't do anything for the fibroids, but will hopefully get rid of my anemia. You didn't mention if you were anemic or not, but birth control pills can help that.
I don't want to have a hysterectomy...most drs. nowadays don't recommend one unless there's absolutely no other option...there are alternatives.
I know not life threatening or anything but what can be done to stop the pain and the heavy periods? This has been affecting my life for 6 months now and I cannot keep going on like this.
Any advice?
Thanks
Mrsgaz, sorry to hear that you have 2 fibroids. I was diagnosed a few months ago with 4 fibroids...I had no idea I had them, but had become anemic, and had all kinds of other tests done to rule out internal bleeding, then lastly went to my gynocologist.
It also depends on where the fibroids are located as to whether or not you can have any procedure to remove them (short of a hysterectomy). In my case, I just want to have them removed, but I was told by my dr. that it's too risky to remove them. Luckily they are not causing any pain problems. My periods are heavy, so my dr. put me on low dose birth control pills...this probably won't do anything for the fibroids, but will hopefully get rid of my anemia. You didn't mention if you were anemic or not, but birth control pills can help that.
I don't want to have a hysterectomy...most drs. nowadays don't recommend one unless there's absolutely no other option...there are alternatives.
stacydl
01-12-2004, 06:26 PM
I think bc pills have estrogen and estrogen makes fibroids grow. I just didn't know if being on the pill would cause fibroids to get even bigger. I totally believe that being on the pill for 6 years made my fibroids grow really big. Before going on the pill for fibroids I would ask my doc about that.
skycloud
01-12-2004, 08:28 PM
I would get a second opinion on this. Is there a particular reason why he won't do a myomectomy?
I gotta say that it's been 28 days since mine, and so far the best part is to have gone almost 4 weeks without spotting at all. I didn't even think that was possible. It's been a really hard surgery, and I think I tore a muscle that runs from my hip to my groin from the vomiting, but even so, I have to say that I'm thrilled to not be bleeding all the time.
Talk to another reputable Gyn. A good way to find one is to ask your GP, or if there's a good university teaching hospital nearby, check with them. Usually there's a senior faculty member, or a faculty member that specializes in myo's.
skycloud
Mrsgaz, sorry to hear that you have 2 fibroids. I was diagnosed a few months ago with 4 fibroids...I had no idea I had them, but had become anemic, and had all kinds of other tests done to rule out internal bleeding, then lastly went to my gynocologist.
It also depends on where the fibroids are located as to whether or not you can have any procedure to remove them (short of a hysterectomy). In my case, I just want to have them removed, but I was told by my dr. that it's too risky to remove them. Luckily they are not causing any pain problems. My periods are heavy, so my dr. put me on low dose birth control pills...this probably won't do anything for the fibroids, but will hopefully get rid of my anemia. You didn't mention if you were anemic or not, but birth control pills can help that.
I don't want to have a hysterectomy...most drs. nowadays don't recommend one unless there's absolutely no other option...there are alternatives.
I gotta say that it's been 28 days since mine, and so far the best part is to have gone almost 4 weeks without spotting at all. I didn't even think that was possible. It's been a really hard surgery, and I think I tore a muscle that runs from my hip to my groin from the vomiting, but even so, I have to say that I'm thrilled to not be bleeding all the time.
Talk to another reputable Gyn. A good way to find one is to ask your GP, or if there's a good university teaching hospital nearby, check with them. Usually there's a senior faculty member, or a faculty member that specializes in myo's.
skycloud
Mrsgaz, sorry to hear that you have 2 fibroids. I was diagnosed a few months ago with 4 fibroids...I had no idea I had them, but had become anemic, and had all kinds of other tests done to rule out internal bleeding, then lastly went to my gynocologist.
It also depends on where the fibroids are located as to whether or not you can have any procedure to remove them (short of a hysterectomy). In my case, I just want to have them removed, but I was told by my dr. that it's too risky to remove them. Luckily they are not causing any pain problems. My periods are heavy, so my dr. put me on low dose birth control pills...this probably won't do anything for the fibroids, but will hopefully get rid of my anemia. You didn't mention if you were anemic or not, but birth control pills can help that.
I don't want to have a hysterectomy...most drs. nowadays don't recommend one unless there's absolutely no other option...there are alternatives.
skycloud
01-12-2004, 08:30 PM
I wouldn't be surprised. The heavier dose estrogen that I took in the early 90's may have had something to do with it. Or maybe just that there's an imbalance in the system to start with. You know, the Yin/Yang.
I think bc pills have estrogen and estrogen makes fibroids grow. I just didn't know if being on the pill would cause fibroids to get even bigger. I totally believe that being on the pill for 6 years made my fibroids grow really big. Before going on the pill for fibroids I would ask my doc about that.
I think bc pills have estrogen and estrogen makes fibroids grow. I just didn't know if being on the pill would cause fibroids to get even bigger. I totally believe that being on the pill for 6 years made my fibroids grow really big. Before going on the pill for fibroids I would ask my doc about that.
stacydl
01-12-2004, 08:34 PM
I wouldn't be surprised. The heavier dose estrogen that I took in the early 90's may have had something to do with it. Or maybe just that there's an imbalance in the system to start with. You know, the Yin/Yang.
Yeah, I believe that's what made mine grow. I agree with you about getting a second opinion. I have done a lot of research on the subject and I read that myomectomy is an option in almost all cases even when there are multiple fibroids. Mine was submucosal so my myomectomy was hysteroscopic and only day surgery. Best thing I did so far!
Take care!
stacy
Yeah, I believe that's what made mine grow. I agree with you about getting a second opinion. I have done a lot of research on the subject and I read that myomectomy is an option in almost all cases even when there are multiple fibroids. Mine was submucosal so my myomectomy was hysteroscopic and only day surgery. Best thing I did so far!
Take care!
stacy