I have a hysterectomy date! (fibroids, heavy bleeding, no bladder space)

I'm finally scheduled...Nov 4th is the big day. So now I have two months to stress about all this. There are times I feel like a big wimp, I mean, there are others with a lot worse symptoms than mine.

For background, I've been struggling with heavy bleeding for the past few years, just thought it was the aging process. I finally decided to see the doctor when I was stressed about having an embarrassing accident when flying back from vacation and I decided it's time to stop letting my period run my life. So...I got diagnosed with fibroids (lucky me!) and we tried an IUD. The heavy bleeding stopped, but now I'm running to bathroom on a regular basis. A good workout now is not having to interrupt my cardio for a bathroom break.

So, like I said, I feel like a wimp, but I'm just so tired of letting this control my life, I'm ready for it to be done. But I'm worried that I'm changing one set of problems for another.

Thanks for letting me rant a bit

Susan

Hi SusanBrad to HysterSisters!

You are not a wimp, and it is very understandable that you do not want this controlling your life! No one would want that.

Having a hysterectomy is MAJOR SURGERY and should be considered carefully. Talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of having this surgery. You can also get another opinion on your options.

We have numerous articles on fibroids and their treatment. Hopefully these will provide some information for you.

I know this is an overwhelming experience. Know you are not alone in this, and we are here to help and support you. You need to make the right decision for you.

Hi Susan, and welcome.

Our situations sounds similar. I had very heavy bleeding from fibroids, which had been getting increasingly worse over the years (I am 43 and probably 8 years away from menopause). I also had back pain that was getting worse every month with my periods. There were 2 days per month that I felt I could not even leave the house with all the bleeding. I was buying the biggest tampons and pads on the market (Playtex LOVED me)... and I noticed that I was depleting my supply of tampons/pads more and more quickly ... I finally just "Had enough" and made an appt to with my PCP to discuss it (until that point, my PCP was doing all my well woman exams, I had never seen a gyno since I had never had kids).

The night before my PCP doc appointment I talked to my Mom about this too. I had not told her about any of this. She said, "Oh, I had the same problems at your age.. from fibroids.. which is why I had a hysterectomy in 1978." At that moment, I KNEW I must have fibroids, and sure enough... an ultrasound proved it. I had 3 of them... the largest being 4.3 centimeters. My uterus was about 75% full of fibroids.

My PCP wanted to put me on the pill, and I did try it for a little while.. but my gyno (hired after the fibroid diagnosis) explained that estrogen from the pill will actually promote growth of fibroids. After 3 mos on the pill, she did an ultrasound and - low and behold - they did grow. We talked about all of the other options (ablations, IUD, etc. etc).. but she sincerely believed that these options were not possible with the size of my fibroids, and/or if they did work for a little while.. they would eventually stop working because the fibroids would continue to grow. She said if wanted to remain "fertile" we could discuss some options like myomectomy, but that if I had no need for my uterus (no plans for kids), it was better just to get it out (along with the growing, symptomatic fibroids).

After talking to friends and reading many stories on HysterSisters.. I decided to go for the hysterectomy. I really didnt see any other option, and I was borderline anemic. The one common thread I was hearing and reading from other hyster sisters was, "I wish I had done it sooner."

When I was filling out my FMLA paperwork at my job, the first question they asked was whether or not this medical procedure would save your live or signifcantly improve the quality of your life. I answered this with a resounding "YES" and have not looked back.

I had my surgery on 9/4 (TLH)and I am really looking forward to a life without periods.. and hoping to have more energy because I was slightly anemic from all of the blood loss. Oh, and by the way... my gyno also wanted to get the hysterectomy DONE sooner than later because if I had waited much longer the fibroids would have grown even larger, and if they get too big... the laparascopic surgery becomes very difficult.

Bottom line.. you are NOT a wimp. You are trying to improve your quality of life.. no one can fault you for that!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by rockymtn1971 Hi Susan, and welcome. Our situations sounds similar. I had very heavy bleeding from fibroids, which had been getting increasingly worse over the years (I am 43 and probably 8 years away from menopause). I also had back pain that was getting worse every month with my periods. There were 2 days per month that I felt I could not even leave the house with all the bleeding. I was buying the biggest tampons and pads on the market (Playtex LOVED me)... and I noticed that I was depleting my supply of tampons/pads more and more quickly ... I finally just "Had enough" and made an appt to with my PCP to discuss it (until that point, my PCP was doing all my well woman exams, I had never seen a gyno since I had never had kids). The night before my PCP doc appointment I talked to my Mom about this too. I had not told her about any of this. She said, "Oh, I had the same problems at your age.. from fibroids.. which is why I had a hysterectomy in 1978." At that moment, I KNEW I must have fibroids, and sure enough... an ultrasound proved it. I had 3 of them... the largest being 4.3 centimeters. My uterus was about 75% full of fibroids. My PCP wanted to put me on the pill, and I did try it for a little while.. but my gyno (hired after the fibroid diagnosis) explained that estrogen from the pill will actually promote growth of fibroids. After 3 mos on the pill, she did an ultrasound and - low and behold - they did grow. We talked about all of the other options (ablations, IUD, etc. etc).. but she sincerely believed that these options were not possible with the size of my fibroids, and/or if they did work for a little while.. they would eventually stop working because the fibroids would continue to grow. She said if wanted to remain "fertile" we could discuss some options like myomectomy, but that if I had no need for my uterus (no plans for kids), it was better just to get it out (along with the growing, symptomatic fibroids). After talking to friends and reading many stories on HysterSisters.. I decided to go for the hysterectomy. I really didnt see any other option, and I was borderline anemic. The one common thread I was hearing and reading from other hyster sisters was, "I wish I had done it sooner." When I was filling out my FMLA paperwork at my job, the first question they asked was whether or not this medical procedure would save your live or signifcantly improve the quality of your life. I answered this with a resounding "YES" and have not looked back. I had my surgery on 9/4 (TLH)and I am really looking forward to a life without periods.. and hoping to have more energy because I was slightly anemic from all of the blood loss. Oh, and by the way... my gyno also wanted to get the hysterectomy DONE sooner than later because if I had waited much longer the fibroids would have grown even larger, and if they get too big... the laparascopic surgery becomes very difficult. Bottom line.. you are NOT a wimp. You are trying to improve your quality of life.. no one can fault you for that!

Dear rockymtn1971 and Susanbrad my story pretty much mirrors yours. Been dealing with long, heavy periods and outrageous cramping for the last two years. The last six months or so, I have nearly no bladder capacity. Was tired of being told by the people at the clinic that it was just my age, so I made an appointment at a real OB/GYN. An ultrasound showed I had very little room in my uterus with all the fibroids, so we tried a D&C last month. Unfortunately, I still have three 4cm fibroids left in there because they are very vascular and bled too much. Thing is, the doctor told my husband that if I had come to him sooner, the D&C probably would have been much more successful. Though I am nervous about the surgery, every time I get up in the middle of the night with what seems like a painfully full bladder, or deal with day after day of cramping during my cycle (honestly it feels like someone has my insides in a vise) I am reminded that I am making the right decision. I am having an LSH on Oct. 7th.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Midnight1960 Dear rockymtn1971 and Susanbrad my story pretty much mirrors yours. Been dealing with long, heavy periods and outrageous cramping for the last two years. The last six months or so, I have nearly no bladder capacity. Was tired of being told by the people at the clinic that it was just my age, so I made an appointment at a real OB/GYN. An ultrasound showed I had very little room in my uterus with all the fibroids, so we tried a D&C last month. Unfortunately, I still have three 4cm fibroids left in there because they are very vascular and bled too much. Thing is, the doctor told my husband that if I had come to him sooner, the D&C probably would have been much more successful. Though I am nervous about the surgery, every time I get up in the middle of the night with what seems like a painfully full bladder, or deal with day after day of cramping during my cycle (honestly it feels like someone has my insides in a vise) I am reminded that I am making the right decision. I am having an LSH on Oct. 7th.

...and I hear you on the tampons and pads. I wear two at night, and I always have to wear one even if I use a tampon. I use to like the ultra thins, but had to go with the big overnight maxi matresses.

Thanks everyone for the support. I know I'm making the right decision. My fibroids actually grew in the three months since I first found out so my dr actually wants to go in sooner. so now I'm scheduled for October 20 and I'm alternating between calm and freaking out!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by SusanBrad Thanks everyone for the support. I know I'm making the right decision. My fibroids actually grew in the three months since I first found out so my dr actually wants to go in sooner. so now I'm scheduled for October 20 and I'm alternating between calm and freaking out!

Probably better that you are going sooner. Less time to stress about it. I originally thought I would be going in December, but I am less than two weeks out (Oct. 7th). I think I would drive myself nuts if I had to wait till December.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by SusanBrad Thanks everyone for the support. I know I'm making the right decision. My fibroids actually grew in the three months since I first found out so my dr actually wants to go in sooner. so now I'm scheduled for October 20 and I'm alternating between calm and freaking out!

Mine grew in 3 months time as well. Better to get it done sooner than later in my mind. Better to put this behind you. Fast forward to Christmastime... you're going to be much happier that you got this overwith sooner.

So since I wrote my original post I went for my 2 week post op appointment. As it turns out, my path report shows that I actually had 1 fibroid (not 3) and only 2cm. What I did have was undiagnosed adenomyosis, which was probably causing most of the bleeding! I'm reading that adenomyosis is commonly misdiagnosed as fibroids and the only cure for it is a hysterectomy. This medical stuff is all very interesting to me!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Midnight1960 ...and I hear you on the tampons and pads. I wear two at night, and I always have to wear one even if I use a tampon. I use to like the ultra thins, but had to go with the big overnight maxi matresses.

LOL! Matresses. Exactly! I was staying at a friend's house once about 2 years go and I was bringing in my overnight bag.. and dropped one of my "mattresses" on the floor by the entrance unknowingly #unused and wrapped#. My friend's little girl picked it up later and brought it to her Mommy and said, "Mommy, what is this?" My friend dropped her jaw and said #to me#, "Is this thing YOURS? Are you wearing Depends now? What the heck?" She then laughed at me for about 15 minutes and teased the heck out of me. I was actually pretty hurt. #This friend has 1 day periods and uses a total of 2 tampons per cycle... arrrrrgh#.

It was really at that moment that I started to think, "Maybe my periods are abnormally heavy. Maybe I shoudl talk to my doc about this."

	Quote:
Originally Posted by rockymtn1971 LOL! Matresses. Exactly! I was staying at a friend's house once about 2 years go and I was bringing in my overnight bag.. and dropped one of my "mattresses" on the floor by the entrance unknowingly #unused and wrapped#. My friend's little girl picked it up later and brought it to her Mommy and said, "Mommy, what is this?" My friend dropped her jaw and said #to me#, "Is this thing YOURS? Are you wearing Depends now? What the heck?" She then laughed at me for about 15 minutes and teased the heck out of me. I was actually pretty hurt. #This friend has 1 day periods and uses a total of 2 tampons per cycle... arrrrrgh#. It was really at that moment that I started to think, "Maybe my periods are abnormally heavy. Maybe I shoudl talk to my doc about this."

Depends were suggested to me for nighttime, but I just couldn't bring myself to go and buy them, even if they were just for nighttime use. I sleep with an old towel underneath me. It was mean of your friend to laugh at you. Just because she has it easy doesn't mean everyone else does. My life revolves around my period. I have to plan things way ahead of time.