Is it worth it?

Howdy!

I had an ablation last week, and my uterus had a nice little surprise for me; what the doc thought was a polyp turned out to be a fibroid hanging from a stalk. It was 6 cm and filled the entire cavity. She recommended a hysterectomy, partially because she is concerned about it breaking off and causing a hemorrhage.

I feel okay about it. I've already said buh-bye to my fertility. My concern, however, is that I'm taking it too lightly. I haven't had any of the problems of some other posters. My periods have been heavy but never debilitating and the fibroid wasn't causing any problems until I heard about it, now I just want it out. I have had hemorrhaging corpus luteum on my ovaries, which is irritating because it causes spotting when I run.

I am running my first marathon next month and was planning on the surgery after that, which would give me plenty of time to heal and ramp up training before the fall running season.

But... am I rushing into this? Even though I feel emotionally ready, is the recovery too much considering that I am currently not experiencing many problems? I kind of want to just get it over with and not deal with fibroids, spotting, periods, anemia, any of it, but I don't want to just walk blindly into it without hearing from some of my "sisters."

TYIA!

Hi there--

My situation is kind of like yours--though things have been getting worse, my symptoms haven't necessarily been as epic as some described around here.

But, I'm like you--I've got a lot of stuff I want to do, and I just don't want to go too far down the path of "muddling through" if there's an option (especially since menopause seems to be a good ways away). The fact that it would be done laparoscopically and so the recovery time should be less and it would all be less invasive was a big part of my decision.

But I was feeling a lot of guilt about it all, at least until my pre-op appointment yesterday, when the surgeon assured me that I was making a good choice, even with the risks inherent in surgery like this. She even contrasted my decision favorably with "women who come in here for a hysterectomy for I don't know why."

I think if it's what you want to do, and your doctor thinks it's the right course of action, then there's no need to "suffer" more first. Think of how many women end up wishing they had had the surgery years earlier, and here you've got the chance to do just that.

Go in with your eyes open about what the outcomes could be, but if you believe it's the right thing to do, go for it.

Best wishes to you!

Yes. Simply yes. I am miserable. Its been 14 days. But I can tell you alot of stuff I had grown numb too is gone. I had a huge fibroid. It was the size of being 6 months pregnant. Already a lot of pressure and pain ...gone. i found alot of complications I had and never realized I had. Sudden urge to use the restroom ... gone.. so for me. Yes ... 3 months of lupron injections that made me sick. Yes. It was worth it!
Good luck with your surgery.

Mine was worth it! Just like you I had an ablation but 1 1/2 yrs ago. And just like you this hysterectomy thing was a welcome relief and I was happy about it and was telling everyone! Had I known I would have ended up getting a hysterectomy I would have done that first instead of doing the ablation. Don't be disappointed if you can't run the marathon later this year. One thing that a lot of us are finding out is that although we had the "less invasive" surgery, that is for the outside. On the inside it is the same MAJOR surgery and requires the same amount of care and relaxation to fully heal and to heal "right". You may want to plan on taking it easy but you won't really know until you've had your surgery and you see how your body feels. That term "less invasive" is really deceiving. I thought I'd be off work 2 -3 wks but here it is I'll be 6 wks when I go back next week, that's if I get the ok when I go to my post op. Good Luck

Keep reading and you will see that we come to the point of having a hysterectomy for all kinds of reasons. You do not have to have bad symptoms for that to be the right choice for you. One of the things you have to assess and value is the peace of mind you will have not worrying about break / hemorrhaging. i had endometrial cancer and can fully appreciate the desire to "have it out" regardless of what symptoms you are noticing. I would have my surgery again in a heartbeat. Good luck!

You sound like you're ready and willing.... why not?

It is a big surgery, but doable. Do remember most here are here because they need help/advise. Sometimes is does seem like a "heavy" subject due to this. Its hard for us that are doing great afterwards to remember to stop in a visit with the sisters that we needed so much before/during/after surgery. Sad but true.

For me, I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!

I am still waiting for surgery only 4 weeks to go! I am hoping this is my last period. I too have a large fibroid. At first it did not really bother me but I work as a nurse and it has gotten hard to love patients and help patients. I hate being off for 6 weeks. I sometimes thought oh I can hold out! No way bring it on!

Lexi1967, why are you having a hard time with your patients?

I have to lift them as I work in rehab and you can not have light duty. It hurts when I lift 250 pounds.

Well I had pressure, heavy bleeding but I would not do it again they never tell you about the scarring, weight gain. But I had very few problems just irritating. Everyone is different.