Back To Reality

I am 46. I was told I had large fibroids and would have to have a total hysterectomy.. I paniked !!

After weeks of study and research and listening to advise and having my head spin around and around and driving my poor husband crazy.. I spoke to my ex-gynecologist in the US (I now live in Australia). She is a trustful soul and highly experienced in this field. I want to share this with you. Because of the General Practitioner scaring me and not filling me with info, the surgeon just nodding his head yes surgery or whatever UAE, or whatever you want and no opinion of his own I spent the last 4 weeks a nervous wreck searching for answers thinking my fibroids were huge and growing sooo fast.

I had two ultrasounds.. found out the fibroids are still growing but not as large as I thought (golf ball size - 2 fibroids). I have heavy bleeding 2 days of the month. The gynecologist said
1) get an endometrial biopsy (my GP and surgeon never mentioned this)
2) get a hematocrit check it out to see if it is normal
3) get a second opinion for your peace of mind
but unless symptoms are terribly bad most of the time and disrupt your daily living.. monitor your condition with an ultrasound every 6 months. Wait and menopause will eventually kill the fibroids, or a simpler treatment than UAE will come out.

If you are in a similar situation.. please research as much as you can. Speak to a gynecologist and possibly get 2 opinions or more.

My gynecologist said - hysterectomy should be the last resort.

Hope I was helpful.

Audrey

Dear Audrey,

Thanks for the reminder to get another opinion. Once the hyst is done, there is no turning back, and only YOU must live with the end results (good or bad).

Get smart about your symptoms and your options & make the best choice for YOU.

Sending cyberhugs

Don't forget that if you should be one of the unlucky ones whose fibroids are causing extra heavy bleeding, there's always a myomectomy to consider. And don't let your physician tell you it's somewhat new! I had a myomectomy when I was 29, and I'm almost 44. That's a long time ago!