New here -- and thanking you all!

I've been lurking for a few days and finally signed up today for a HysterSisters ID. First of all, I want to thank everyone involved with this website for all the great resources!

I hit perimenopause about 18 months ago. My doctor thinks that I threw myself into it because I lost 40 pounds over an 8-month period, starting when I was 45/going on 46 years old. (I'm now 47/going on 48.) So the sudden drop in body fat messed up my hormone production big-time. I will not put that weight back on just to avoid menopause symptoms though! :-)

For several years now, when I've had a period, it's either been just a couple of days of spotting OR a 4-day heavy flood. A couple of weeks ago, I bled so much that I nearly fainted several times. I took myself to urgent care where the doc said, "Hmmm, your uterus is enlarged and lumpy ... you should get an ultrasound to see what's going on in there." (I was also borderline dehydrated and anemic, but not bad enough to get thrown in bed with an IV.)

The ultrasound turned up 10 fibroids, the largest of which is somewhat bigger than a golf ball. A couple are deteriorating, which accounts for the heavy bleeding. My uterus is the size of a 12-week pregnancy. Everyone says I'm on the road to a hysterectomy.

I've got an appointment for a consultation with a gyn surgeon in a couple of weeks, so right now I'm way WAY pre-op since I don't even have a surgery date scheduled. My posting here may be somewhat premature but I'm hoping to hear from those of you who have been here before me. I thought that fibroids were supposed to go away as estrogen production dropped, but apparently I'm still carrying this bag of marbles and golf balls around.

What intelligent-sounding questions can I ask the doc when I go in for the consult?

I am 47 and had been suffering from perimenopausal symptoms for 5 years. I went from one Gynocologist to another one for some help with the irregular and flooding periods, never miond the hot flashes, the migraine headaches,backaches and cramps. One dr told me to deal with it, it was part of aging ( I never went back to her), and the next gyno put me on birth control pills, which did help somewhat for about 10 months. But it was the morning I woke up hemorraging that scared me. I was soaking overnight pads and passing clots that looked like chunks of liver ( sorry to be so graphic) every 15 minutes. I called my gyno and he had me take a months worth of birth control pills over the course of that week,which stopped the bleeding. But he could not fit me in for a checkup to see what was happening for at least a month. I found another dr who could see me in a week and he was a godsend. Not only did he find out my uterus was the size of a 4 month pregnancy and I was full of fibroid tumors but due to the bleeding I was also seriously anemic. He offered several options for me, the last one being a hysterectomy. I called for the hyst with no hesitation, I had dealt with these problems for so long I wanted a permanent solution. He said since I had 3 children vaginally I could have an LAVH/BSO. Surgery was done March 12 and not only do I no longer have any periods, I also have no headaches, cramps or backaches. I am on the V-dot hormone patch for now and I have no problems anymore. I feel like I have been given my life back.
There is a link here on Hystersisters that can help you with the questions to ask. It's located under "pre-op articles" and can be found at https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/hsa...hp?s=&id=96847". I also suggest you check out the other articles on that site,it's located on the left side of the home page. I got lots of good information there.

Hi!

Welcome to HysterSisters! There's tons of info, support, advice, and s when you need them!

It is believed that menopause will shrink fibroids somewhat, they don't go away however.

I had fibroids and was on Provera for 2 1/2 years to control the bleeding, hoping to make it to menopause. Stopped doing it's job, and by then they had grown considerably - when they were first diagnosed my uterus was the size of a 16 week pregnancy, when I had my hyst my uterus was the size of a 16-18 week pregnancy.