brand new, fibroids, what to expect at first OBGYN visit?

i'm guessing I'm probably not going to be a candidate for hysterectomy right off the bat, but I'm scheduled to see an Obgyn for fibroids on Oct 3.

My regular doc referred me to Brigham and Womens in Boston. It's kind of a haul and I had to wait for this appointment, but at this rate if I try to find someone local I"ll probably have an even longer wait.

But anyway, I am usually bleeding really heavy most days. There will be some lighter days. I some how got lucky and was not bleeding at all for the transvag. US my regular doc ordered which showed the fibroids. Although I think all the poking and prodding unleashed days of heavy bleeding.

Will the OB do an in-office US if I am bleeding? I really can't imagine just going for a visit to chat and told they can't do an exam because of bleeding and have to reschedule at this point. I swear, I'm willing to bring a tarp and a bag of old towels and lets just get this over with. I'm also wondering, say they recommend something like a embolization or focused ultrasound, how quicky does that generally get scheduled? Again, the thought of having to wait weeks for a return visit is unfathomable.

Also, I've been taking metdroxyprogesterone 20mg a day for about a month now. My doc siad if it stopped the bleeding then stop taking it. Which it did, I thought I was home free and the whole scenario of the past year was some crazy fluke, and two days later - bleeding like a murder scene. So then I went on 20mg a day and it is hard to say if it's doing anything. Once in a while I'll have some really light days, but overall there is still complete fear to leave the house for anything other than a trip to buy more feminine products.

Two weeks ago my doctor suggested I try Camila BCP instead. I immediatley started bleeding and i felt it made me so emotional I cried for 48 hour sstraight. So she ok'ed the progesterone again. Maybe I didn't give the bcp enough of a chance, but I believe in generaly, bcp don't agree with me and increase tearfulness/depression. Maybe it's all in my head since I don't think the progesterone is causing that side effect.

sorry so long. I have no one in real life to ask these questions.

How soon you get scheduled for any procedure really depends on your doctor, how busy they are, where they perform it, etc. I've seen on here that some women get a surgery within a couple of weeks while I had to wait a couple of months, due to the complexity for my doctor.

Not sure if they'll do a US if you're bleeding -- you should call and ask. I know I had to go in for an exam on my heaviest day, just thinking I'd be talking but my doctor wanted to take a look; maybe she thought my idea of heavy was different from hers. I felt awkward about it, but glad she asked to see because my surgery was quickly approved after that (yeah, doc, I wasn't kidding about it being "heavy" lol).

BCP did nothing for me, either; plus, I had to take 4 a day prior to my ablation to stop the bleeding so that I could get the procedure. Who wants all those hormones in her system?

When my doctor knew I wanted a hysterectomy, I made sure to ask her how soon I could get it done (naturally, I wanted it done ASAP) and at first, she said a few weeks but once she examined me and knew I'd be an abdominal case, it turned into a couple of months (she needed to find a date with adequate time).

Best of luck! I had fibroids, too, and know what a pain in the neck they can be.

I agree the wait times for appointments and tests can be frustrating. I am not sure about ultrasound during your period. But I will tell you I had my period for my gynecologist appointment. I thought because of this we would likely just chat. Boy was I wrong thank goodness the heaviest days had passed! I had an internal, cervical polyp removed and endometrial biopsy.
We discussed the possible options I chose hysterectomy because I wanted to be done with my enlarged fibroid uterus and get past the heavy bleeding which caused a roller coaster anemia.I could have tried various options but if they did not work I would be dragging the process out. I was prescribed cyklokapron to slow the bleeding the results were mixed.
Review your options and ask lots of questions. All the best

I was able to get an appointment for a UFE procedure pretty quickly. I first saw my IR on August 20th, had my MRI on August 29th and my procedure is scheduled for October 9th of this year so that's about a six week wait which to me isn't too bad considering some women wait many months to have their UFE procedure. It honestly does depend on the doctor and how booked up they are already. I'm very sorry you are going through all of this. Just know that you are not alone. Sending positive thoughts you way that you get a solution relatively quickly

I have to say, I really did not realize what I was going through is common. Wow...I Wish I had known sooner then later. I had ignored the bleeding problem for over a year thinking it was normal. The pain , the heavy bleeding. I Finally addressed it this year and almost blew off the follow up after already having trans vaginal ultrasound, scraping of uterus for a biopsy. ..etc.

Until I got my monthly last month. ..I was tired of this and went back in for the follow up on ultrasound to check the fibroid etc..

They got me in and within three weeks I'm scheduled for surgery on Oct 8th.

Hopefully yours will go quick and they can get you scheduled.

Good luck to you.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by RudyCat i'm guessing I'm probably not going to be a candidate for hysterectomy right off the bat, but I'm scheduled to see an Obgyn for fibroids on Oct 3. My regular doc referred me to Brigham and Womens in Boston. It's kind of a haul and I had to wait for this appointment, but at this rate if I try to find someone local I"ll probably have an even longer wait. But anyway, I am usually bleeding really heavy most days. There will be some lighter days. I some how got lucky and was not bleeding at all for the transvag. US my regular doc ordered which showed the fibroids. Although I think all the poking and prodding unleashed days of heavy bleeding. Will the OB do an in-office US if I am bleeding? I really can't imagine just going for a visit to chat and told they can't do an exam because of bleeding and have to reschedule at this point. I swear, I'm willing to bring a tarp and a bag of old towels and lets just get this over with. I'm also wondering, say they recommend something like a embolization or focused ultrasound, how quicky does that generally get scheduled? Again, the thought of having to wait weeks for a return visit is unfathomable. Also, I've been taking metdroxyprogesterone 20mg a day for about a month now. My doc siad if it stopped the bleeding then stop taking it. Which it did, I thought I was home free and the whole scenario of the past year was some crazy fluke, and two days later - bleeding like a murder scene. So then I went on 20mg a day and it is hard to say if it's doing anything. Once in a while I'll have some really light days, but overall there is still complete fear to leave the house for anything other than a trip to buy more feminine products. Two weeks ago my doctor suggested I try Camila BCP instead. I immediatley started bleeding and i felt it made me so emotional I cried for 48 hour sstraight. So she ok'ed the progesterone again. Maybe I didn't give the bcp enough of a chance, but I believe in generaly, bcp don't agree with me and increase tearfulness/depression. Maybe it's all in my head since I don't think the progesterone is causing that side effect. sorry so long. I have no one in real life to ask these questions.

The first time I had ultrasound due to heavy bleeding, when I wasn't supposed to be bleeding was back in 2001. Didn't know until that fibroids were causing the abnormal bleeding. So yes they can do both types of ultrasounds, even intervaginal when you are bleeding. They did for me, a little awkward but the techs are used to that. My doc didn't do it they sent me to an imaging place.
After I found out I had over 40 small ones and a few larger ones I had a myomectomy to remove the bigger ones. Probably the last 5 years or so I've had heavier and heavier periods, sleeping on a towel, using ultra tampons and pads together on the heaviest days. In 2010 started getting ultrasounds again, there back,the fibroids, bigger than ever. Uterus is size of 5 months preg. Two fibroids orange size,one, baseball, and two plum size. In late August found out I'm anemic. Even though I'm nervous about the surgery, I'm looking forward to having all that get out!

They will most likely recommend a hysterectomy. You will have to clarify if you want ufe, focused ultrasound, acessa or a myo. I was only given hysterectomy as a solution to my bleeding and growing fibroid purely based on age. It was assumed since I was done having children I would want my organs removed however I did not want such a drastic surgery. BCP's and ablation usually make fibroids worse so good idea to avoid those if offered. Avoid any type of hormone as fibroids love all hormones which will only make them larger and bloodier.

I think they can still do an exam even if you are bleeding. Before i was given the green light for embolization I had to have a biopsy. I found this very painful and suggest Advil before hand or something stronger. Since you are driving so far they may want to get this out of the way.

I give embolization very high marks; it literally gave me my life back. My bleeding was immediatly resolved and my uterus has gone back to normal size however over time. UFE was my miracle!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by RudyCat i'm guessing I'm probably not going to be a candidate for hysterectomy right off the bat, but I'm scheduled to see an Obgyn for fibroids on Oct 3. My regular doc referred me to Brigham and Womens in Boston. It's kind of a haul and I had to wait for this appointment, but at this rate if I try to find someone local I"ll probably have an even longer wait. But anyway, I am usually bleeding really heavy most days. There will be some lighter days. I some how got lucky and was not bleeding at all for the transvag. US my regular doc ordered which showed the fibroids. Although I think all the poking and prodding unleashed days of heavy bleeding. Will the OB do an in-office US if I am bleeding? I really can't imagine just going for a visit to chat and told they can't do an exam because of bleeding and have to reschedule at this point. I swear, I'm willing to bring a tarp and a bag of old towels and lets just get this over with. I'm also wondering, say they recommend something like a embolization or focused ultrasound, how quicky does that generally get scheduled? Again, the thought of having to wait weeks for a return visit is unfathomable. Also, I've been taking metdroxyprogesterone 20mg a day for about a month now. My doc siad if it stopped the bleeding then stop taking it. Which it did, I thought I was home free and the whole scenario of the past year was some crazy fluke, and two days later - bleeding like a murder scene. So then I went on 20mg a day and it is hard to say if it's doing anything. Once in a while I'll have some really light days, but overall there is still complete fear to leave the house for anything other than a trip to buy more feminine products. Two weeks ago my doctor suggested I try Camila BCP instead. I immediatley started bleeding and i felt it made me so emotional I cried for 48 hour sstraight. So she ok'ed the progesterone again. Maybe I didn't give the bcp enough of a chance, but I believe in generaly, bcp don't agree with me and increase tearfulness/depression. Maybe it's all in my head since I don't think the progesterone is causing that side effect. sorry so long. I have no one in real life to ask these questions.

What is UFE , I don't understand all the acronyms.

Uterine Fibroid Embolization

It is performed by an interventional radiologist also known as an IR. This procedure spares the uterus but kills the fibroid by blocking it's blood supply. The fibroid dies and you avoid a big surgery and surgical menopause. I did not spend the night when I had it done but most people do. My uterus shrunk from 22-24 week size to 5-7 weeks now. Pretty incredible! The science of interventional radiology is very advanced and has a high success rate and satisfaction factor. A study can be found on Medacape.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by jluvfam52 What is UFE , I don't understand all the acronyms.