Fundal Fibroid

I'm 35 years old and I found out through ultrasound I had a focal mass and then went for MRI and it was a 5mm fundal fibroid. I need a little advice because I'm nervous.

Hi there! I'm sure you're shocked by the diagnosis... but fibroids are really common (like 75% of women have them) and 99.9% of the time they are benign, so don't worry. Describing yours as a "fundal" fibroid just means it's in the upper part of your uterus (e.g., nothing special or scary about it... just a directional term). It's great that you had an MRI so you can have much better info on the size and location (ultrasounds are usually not super accurate, but MRI is very accurate).

There are a lot of ways to treat fibroids, from minimally invasive to hysterectomy. You can learn about the methods on this web site.

If you would like to avoid a hysterectomy (most women do want to avoid it since there can be serious side effects), please ask your gynecologist or primary care doctor for a referral to an Interventional Radiologist. This type of doctor specializes in Uterine Artery Embolization aka Uterine Fibroid Embolization.

The UAE/UFE procedure is minimally invasive, fast, easy recovery, and very safe with very low likelihood of side effects. It preserves your uterus and just treats the fibroids, which causes them to slowly shrink over time (usually see results starting in a few months to a year).

The best thing about UAE/UFE is that you can go back to work or your normal lifestyle in just a few days to a week (everyone is different... I've had it twice and was back to work in a few days both times).

Good luck and don't forget that YOU are the only one who can decide what's best for you. It always helps to get a second opinion and do your research, so you can decide with confidence.

Thank you so much. I'm just nervous because I don't know what's next. I have my Doctors appointment Thursday and I'm just ready to know what's going to happen.

Well, what's going to happen is whatever YOU want to happen! Remember that you are in control of the decisions about how you go about treating your fibroid. Only YOU have to live with the outcome, so you need to be at peace about the decision. With fibroids, there is rarely ever an urgency to have any procedure, so take your time to decide and don't let anyone push you into something you're not comfortable with doing.

A 5cm fibroid is sizeable, but way smaller than a lot of ladies you'll read about on this site. Most of the time the symptoms are bladder or bowel pressure and often heavy bleeding/anemia. If you're not anemic, there is no rush.

But on the other hand, don't wait too long because fibroids do tend to grow over time and it just gets harder to treat them if you wait. But still... take a few weeks to settle on the treatment you feel comfortable with!

I chose UAE for my 9cm, intramural fibroid because I thought hysterectomy was too drastic. I was 10 years older than you when my fibroid was diagnosed and was only offered hysterectomy. I refused this and was told for now we would watch and wait. Optimistically I reasoned if I cleaned up my eating, exercised hard, tried every medicinal it would shrink but my fibroid got bigger. I was also offered Depo Provera shot but this too was refused as I have read of huge weight gain. I was also offered birth control pills but adding a synthetic hormone to the mix didn't make sense to me. I hate hormones. The Provera was an option offered for bleeding. You may be offered ablation ( very bad for fibroids in the muscle) , hysteroscopy with resection for fibroids in the uterus, and myomectomy. There are a lot of options including Accesa and focused ultrasound.

Gather as much information as you can. Research your doctor too. Are they modern in their approach to treating fibroids? It was hard to find a doctor who supported my position to keep my uterus. I worked with a couple. I chose UAE because it was the least invasive and most effective. It was covered by insurance too. I found the highest rated IR and had it done. It was very easy with little pain. My fibroid has shrunk 90%. UFE/ UAE is easy compared to major surgery and in my opinion is a great first step.

Thanks so much for helping me understand ladies. I will keep everyone posted after my appointment.

I had my appointment and the MRI really wasn't clear but they wanted me to try birth control meds and I have already done all types of birth control so I decided that I wanted to go ahead and get a hestorectomy cause I don't want to wait and my fibroid grow and multiply. Any advice ladies?

I declined birth control because many on another board saw their fibroids grow and advised against it. Adding a synthetic hormone to the mix really didn't make sense to me when fibroids produce the enzyme Armataese (sic). I was not going to be a guinea pig.
I wanted a solution to resolve the fibroids. Eventually UAE was offered and I selected it because it was least invasive with the best success rate. If you are deadset on a hysterectomy than so be it and good luck however if you are on the fence than try embolization. It's a great first step. Fibroids rarely "grow back". Truth is they were probably not embolized fully. The key to success is an excellent IR. My fibroid has reduced by 90%. I was told over and over it would shrink up to 50% max. Nope. Not true. There a lot of misinformation which is the reason I remain on this board.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Toycancer I had my appointment and the MRI really wasn't clear but they wanted me to try birth control meds and I have already done all types of birth control so I decided that I wanted to go ahead and get a hestorectomy cause I don't want to wait and my fibroid grow and multiply. Any advice ladies?