Giant Fibroid--Good Riddance!!!!!

My hysterectomy is also scheduled for Feb 4th, so we are in this together! I have dealt with fibroids for many years as well, tried natural remedies, when slowed the bleeding, but the fibroids continued to go, causing severe anemia. I will be 46 next month & just kept thinking that menopause was just around the corner, maybe I could buy time... but it could be years away & I have had enough.

I always got a watery discharge at the end of every period (it is much better now that I am on birth control pills) that lasted for at least a week. Has anyone else with fibroids experienced this?

Also, I have been on various hormone treatments since last July in an attemot to control my bleeding. First I was on some type of shot, then we decided to try birth control pills alone. Since then I have noticed that my stomach is getting bigger & intercourse is more uncomfortable. I am thinking that the hormones are causing my fibroids to grow. Has anyone experienced that?

Laurie

Wow...

It is amazing how similar stories we all have. I am scheduled for surgery 1-20-05. We know I have at least 2 fibroids, both over 9 cm each. When the doctor told me a newborns head was 10cm, I thought to myself, great... I've always wanted twins...

I've known about my surgery for 2 months and haven't been nervous yet, impatient would sum it up better.

I'm 42 and need to get on with my life.

I hope all goes well for all of us.

Suzy

The doctor put me on BC pills as well as the lupro (sp?) shot and let me tell you, the pills were a nightmare for me. In the beginning, I had a period for 4 weeks straight until I took over the dosage! The doc kept telling me to take more pills, up to 3 a day if necessary to stop the bleeding. I finally discovered that in my case, one stopped the bleeding and when I took the second one, it started up again. I can only imagine what would have happened if I had taken 3 a day! I stopped taking the pills because they were giving me raging headaches. The worst part of the headaches was that they were brought on BIG time every time I started to orgasm! OMG talk about the best & worst of both worlds all at once! I decided in Dec that I wasn't going to have the hyster, so I didn't get the scheduled shot & instead went on a different BC pill. So far, no headaches, but as I mentioned in another post, I think they are making my fibroids grow. I decided last week to go through with the surgery and my only concern now is the pain of recovery!

Laurie,

I am also on BCPs to control bleeding, and am trying to hang on until surgery on 1/28. Since 1/1 I have been bleeding even while on the pill continuously with no break. I do believe that the pill can make fibroids grow and know I have read that somewhere on the Web. Also, to add insult to injury, taking iron supplements and eating meat with hormones can make fibroids grow, both of which I had in great quantity over the last year to combat the anemia I slipped into over and over again. So, here we are fixing one thing (the anemia), then we worsen another (the fibroids). My fibroids have more than doubled in size in the last year. I really believe its from these factors. Hang in there!

Hi,

My first thought on waking from surgery was that the pain was gone. By pain I mean the golf ball size fibroids on the giant uterus (adenomyosis) pushing into my bladder and rectum.

The five inch incision didn't even bother me that much but that may be because my skin was stretched due to a variety of reasons. The doctors removed one of the fibroids first so the rest of the uterus could fit through the incision. At my request a photograph was taken but the film hasn't been developed yet.

I am trying to take it easy while still getting in a small walk before the snow hits.

Someone asked about a clear discharge. I have had this all my life, starting around the 5th day of a period. I've read it is from the cervix and also that it is something to be discussed with one's doctor. I never did, but was still worried that there might be some undetected cancer. My uterus was cut into many tiny pieces and found to be benign.

God bless to all of you waiting and deciding.

Susan

Wow - the same experiences!
I am 51 and have dealt with fibroids since 1996. I refused to have a hyster. and tried every diet, herb, whatever trying to shrink them and make them go away (wishing). I had a uterine artery embolization procedure done in 2001 and I think it helped but they didn't really shrink - I just didn't bleed as heavily (think hemmorage!) Now I have 2 really bad days and about 2 bad weeks of all the symptoms but no pain. I have a uterus the size of a 3 month pregnancy and no matter how much I diet and exercise, my waist and ab measurements stay the same. It really looks like a pregnancy. I also have the watery discharge for a week or so after my period, so it is pads, pads, pads, I have every size and type. I could join a gym with the money I spend on pads and tampons! LOL And of course every month or so I am in Victoria's Secret buying a new set of underwear! I feel pressure and wonder what normal is like because I have lived like this for so long. Just stubborn.
Anyway - my date for surgery is 2-8-05, TVH with a doctor I feel really good about and trust and I am looking forward to a new life! I have a question that I don't see answered anywhere on the boards but I am new and haven't read a lot. I know there is swelling after the surgery, but does your waist and abdomen stop looking pregnant after the surgery? Do we ever have flat abs again or doomed because of the fibroids we have lived with. Has anyone measured before and after and seen a significant difference? Thanks for reading my long post and being here!

My tagline below pretty much says it all... I cannot even begin to tell all of the horror stories I have from embarrassing period moments... But that's a thing of the past! 9 months out--I had a "better than textbook" surgery and recovery. I am feeling great and have no regrets! I wish the very same for you!

It presses on my bladder more than any other organ, so it's the bathroom for ME every 1/2 hour. Somebody mentioned the bladder spasms? I get them, too, not painful, almost like a "bladder orgasm." EEK! But if they start, then it's almost impossible for me to PEE! TMI, I know.

My surgery is 2/15, but the constant CRAMPING and now BLEEDING is getting old FAST. All they will give me is Rx-strength Aleve (hey, didn't the FDA have something to say about that recently?) while I daydream about morphine drips!!!

TAKE IT OUT ALREADY! My doctor is hoping that I'll keep my ovaries and cervix, but won't know until she gets in there, since during laparascopic surgery for infertility ten years ago (done by a different doctor) he saw VERY old scar tissue, especially around the left ovary and fallopian tube. I had some sort of pelvic infection when I was NINE that rendered me infertile! Luckily he got the right tube open and I got pregnant with my daughter six weeks after the surgery!!!

Good luck to all you hista sistas!!! OUCH! Reading about all these lemons, golf balls, and melons is making both squeamish AND hungry!

It really is amazing how similar the stories are. I just had surgery Wed 1/13 and I guess this is now day 5...

I found out over 3 years ago I had a grapefruit sized fibroid and a hyst was suggested at that time but I wasn't having any of the terrible symptoms like pain or bleeding so I decided to wait. My Dr. told me to take 2 cycles of bc pills (6 weeks on) then 1 week off to try to shrink them. I was 45 years old at the time on the downhill slope to menopause as it turns out.

Fast forward to last fall when I realized the fibroid must have actually been growing not shrinking. I had been having trouble zipping my pants most of the year and was having trouble sleeping when laying on my right side the fibroid was crushing my appendix and when standing it was pressing on my bladder.

I agreed to have the hyst in Jan and even though it's only been a few days I already feel better. It turns out the fibroid had grown to cantelope size and Dr. said he removed about a 3 pound mass. Since I'm now almost 49 years old we decided to remove the ovaries as well. Dr. told me after the surgery he believes they had stopped functioning a while ago and I probably wouldn't even suffer much with menopausal symptoms either! Woooowhooooo!

You will have a bit of pain (not bad if you stay on top of it) and discomfort for the first couple of days but by day 5 you should be feeling alot better! I sure am!!



The best tip I can offer since you still have a few weeks left is to try to get into the best physical shape you can with the time you have left. eat healthy and drink lots of water - you body will really thank you for it!!

Good luck, feel free to PM me if there is anything else specific you would like to know.

Hi, After reading the other stories mine is about the same. Cantelope size fibroid, peeing all the time, lots of heavy feeling. Wearing pads all the time! I know every bathroom between here and where ever I'm going....which ones are clean and which to avoid at all costs. I had a vaginal hyst and bladder repair on 1-5-05. I had a spinal and felt no bad pain at all, during or after. Here 2 weeks later the worst pain I've had is about a 2-3 on the pain scale. Tylenol takes care of it. Now the pressure is gone and no pads needed. I do feel achy in the eve. if I've done too much during the day. My bladder must still be adjusting to it's new home, because I still run to the bathroom quite often. Good luck, you'll feel so much better afterwards, you'll wish you had not waited so long.