Help?! (long and graphic)

Hi,

I am 44 years old, with three fibroids, one of which is 9.5 cm. I also have an enterocele. I've been wrestling with the thought of having a hysterectomy vs. a myomectomy for the past month; and before that, with the thought of having a hysterectomy alone, since that's all my then-doctor offered me, as a treatment option. I thought I'd finally made my decision, to have a myomectomy, and scheduled the surgery today, for January 5th.

I have been bleeding now, almost non-stop, since November 1st. I have some days when it's light and others when it's extremely heavy (one pad or super plus tampon an hour), like my period, and other days, like now, when I have a heavy, yellowish/clear to pinkish, watery fluid that behaves just like a period - including gushing, etc., with a little bit of blood mixed in. I am also pretty anemic and have been under a hematologist's care for the past two and a half years, for that problem, largely due, I'm sure, to the heavy periods, which were not non-stop until recently.

From time to time, I have had constipation and difficulty, on occasion, urinating, sometimes having to wait until I am able to have a bowel movement to do so. Tonight, it's taken me almost an hour to be able to urinate, a few drops at a time. At one point, I tried lying in the bathtub, to see if I could urinate lying down, since I wasn't, at that point, having any success urinating sitting on the toilet. I even inserted my finger into my vagina to see if there was anything I could move around that might make it easier, since, when I had a urodynamic study a few months ago, the doctor "reduced" the enterocele by pressing his fingers inside my vagina, to open up the urethra, so he could insert the catheter all the way for the test.

Anyway, when I did, I felt something that felt *huge* in my vagina, more or less in the area where the cervix would be. And I've *never* felt anything like that before. And I have inserted my fingers in my vagina before (not recently, though), and have never felt that. I'm not sure if it's the uterus, or the enterocele or what; I couldn't locate the cervix, to try to figure it out, and it scared the daylights out of me.

I immediately called my doctor's nurse, who was on call, and explained it to her, and she recommended a stool softner, to help the constipation, and perhaps an enema, as well as taking something call AZO Standard or Uristat, to help me urinate.

Has anyone else had this problem? The difficulty urinating, the huge whatever in the vagina, etc.? I'm not sure if it's the fibroid that I'm feeling finally, after having it all this time, or what it might be. I was honestly afraid, when I first felt it, that maybe my uterus was prolapsing, which puts an entirely different spin on things, as far as the fibroids are concerned.

Any suggestions? I'm scared, I'm scareder(?) than I've been before; I thought I could just keep my uterus, and I've fought tooth and nail to do so, but if the thing is falling out (or prolapsing), I don't know that it's worth the fight anymore.

Please, any advice, information, etc., would be *greatly* appreciated.

Thanks,

Nana

Nana:

You poor thing!! I read your post and felt so bad for you. The question I'd ask myself is, "Will the myomectomy resolve all of my issues?" I recently asked that myself and determined that it would not. Do you see your doctor soon? He can better determine if that was the fibroid you felt. I wish you nothing but the best!

Hi,

I saw the doctor yesterday, and he agreed that a myomectomy was an option for me. He knew that I had stress incontinence, and I believe I'd mentioned, at our first appointment, occasional difficulty urinating with urinary frequency. He also stressed that I needed to decide which I wanted; that a myomectomy was a major surgery and not to be taken lightly. That was yesterday, when my primary problems were heavy, chronic bleeding and severe cramps, when I have my period. Today, with the large whatever inside, that I could actually feel, plus the difficulty urinating, the picture, for me, is a little different, and I'm not happy about it, but, it may ultimately be for the best.

I know this is probably going to sound really trite, but I was looking for an answer from God, some sort of epiphany, to help me decide, besides just what I felt, and maybe this is just the wake-up call I was asking for/needed. I don't know.

But I do know that if it's prolapsing or anything like that, that a myomectomy will not serve, at all.

Thanks, so much, for replying to my post.

Sincerely,

Nana

I saw the doctor today, and it appears that the problem is the intrauterine fibroid is pushing out, through the cervix. He said it was as if I were trying to give birth to it :-). Obviously, it's a medical emergency, since it was interferring with my ability to urinate. So, I'm having a myomectomy tomorrow morning at 7:30, hopefully, *just* to remove the fibroid, although it may turn into a hysterectomy. He's going to try to remove it vaginally; assuming it's a pendunculated fibroid, he believes he may be able to just twist it until it breaks off, and he can then cauterize the spot where it was attached to the endometrium.

If it turns into a hysterectomy, we may have to argue over whether or not to keep the cervix. I've had two doctors willing to leave it in, and this one, whom I actually like, personally, who insists that it's not that important.

At this point, I'm not in any pain, and I am able to urinate again, although I'm trying not to over-do the fluids, either, just in case.

I'm scared; but it could certainly be worse... I'll write more when I get back, whenever that may be.

Please, guys, if you could keep me in your prayers.

Thanks!

Nana

Hi Nana

Just wanted to wish you all the very best for your surgery tomorrow. Perhaps you did get the sign you've been looking for. Maybe that pesky fibroid took matters into it's own hands.

I ended up ultimately having an abdominal hysterectomy on Friday, 10 December. The doctor attempted to remove the fibroids vaginally, but, apparently, there were many more than he'd anticipated and there was a problem with potential blood loss, so I ended up with a supracervical hysterectomy, keeping my ovaries and cervix.

I'm home now, recuperating :-).

Nana

Glad to hear you're okay. It sounds like the doctor did everything he could before resorting to the hysterectomy. Best wishes!

Nana

Wishing you a smooth and uncomplicated recovery. Be good now!

I'm glad you are ok now. You have been very brave. I'm glad you got to keep your cervix. I hope your recovery goes well. Rest and take care now. A hystersister friend.

Glad you got to keep your cervix and ovaries.

Hope you are doing well. Let us know.




Geez, I hope my body doesn't try to give birth to one of my fibroids.

Still just dealing with all the symptoms as long as I can.

Will be checking with a specialist about the Uterine Fibroid Embolization procedure.