Dealing with pain, bloating, and emotional distress

I came here to ask about bloating. Last ultrasound a month ago showed 2 fibroids that had grown rapidly, and at my age that's unusual and a concern. My abdomen has been swelling for a couple of months but in the past week it seems as if I've just expanded so much. I can barely fit into pants that were previously loose. I'm now wearing drawstring pants to work. I can barely eat or drink anything.

My hysterectomy isn't scheduled yet. I've got a vacation planned and wanted to wait until after that. Doing a D&C 2 days from now to stop the bleeding (5 weeks now) and check for cancer. I'm going to ask for an ultrasound too - I want to know if the fibroids are even bigger.

Today my boss sent me home from work because someone said I looked so bad. My husband was worried enough to call the doctor, who said they might be able to do the hysterectomy sooner if I will cancel the vacation. I may have to, even though it was to visit my FIL who is 90.

I wish this had happened back in May, when I had nothing planned. Right now dealing with pain, bloating, and emotional distress just seems too much.

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Originally Posted by kj503 I came here to ask about bloating. Last ultrasound a month ago showed 2 fibroids that had grown rapidly, and at my age that's unusual and a concern. My abdomen has been swelling for a couple of months but in the past week it seems as if I've just expanded so much. I can barely fit into pants that were previously loose. I'm now wearing drawstring pants to work. I can barely eat or drink anything. My hysterectomy isn't scheduled yet. I've got a vacation planned and wanted to wait until after that. Doing a D&C 2 days from now to stop the bleeding (5 weeks now) and check for cancer. I'm going to ask for an ultrasound too - I want to know if the fibroids are even bigger. Today my boss sent me home from work because someone said I looked so bad. My husband was worried enough to call the doctor, who said they might be able to do the hysterectomy sooner if I will cancel the vacation. I may have to, even though it was to visit my FIL who is 90. I wish this had happened back in May, when I had nothing planned. Right now dealing with pain, bloating, and emotional distress just seems too much.

I've been feeling the same as you. Bloating gets worse everyday. I wasn't told I have fibroids though. Just possible adenovirus and endometriosis.

I am just over 3 months post op and I can tell you YES the bloating goes away. A lot of it is from the fibroids and the enlarged uterus, and I think the rest is from inflammation in the general area due to your body being irritated with things going wrong in there.

BUT you might not find relief right away. The uterus and fibroids will be gone so you may notice a slight reduction, but the inflammation from surgery will keep your belly swollen for a few more weeks to possibly a few months. It may come and go too. I found that eating foods I have sensitivity to (like gluten) and overdoing it (trying to be more active than I was ready for at that stage of healing) would make my belly swell up. It may be flatter in the mornings but puffy by bed time.

Don't worry it goes away with time- mine is pretty much normal now- and your should notice organs inside will feel relieved to get that uterus out of there. My bladder was particularly happy to not be constantly squished anymore! There was a noticible difference in my bladder capacity and no urgency to pee all the time anymore- I noticed this the day after my surgery, I would have to remind myself to go pee every few hours because the urge to go was so mild after what I'd been used to!

As far as weight loss I actually wouldn't worry so much- make healing your ultimate goal and worry about getting any weight off after you feel fully healed. Eat healthy, be as active as you feel able, and get lots of sleep. Don't starve yourself or try to exercise too soon/too hard to try to drop weight- that will only hinder your healing.

I had huge fibroids and while my belly is now swollen from the surgery, it is nothing like the fibroids. The post-surgery swelling is just fluid, not those gigantic rock like things that were pressing on my organs and nerves and sometimes causing pain. In fact, now that I am starting to get active again, I can do yoga binds that I could never do before because I don't have to try to get my arms over an enormous lump.

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Originally Posted by kj503 I came here to ask about bloating too. Last ultrasound a month ago showed 2 fibroids that had grown rapidly, and at my age that's unusual and a concern.

What do you mean by "at my age"? It is normal for fibroids to grow very rapidly during perimenopause.

I feel your pain. I am also dealing with the same issues. The pain at times is unbearable with or without my period. I am scheduled for a LAVH on 9/2/15...and I am hoping I can make it. I sometime rely on pain meds to get through the day. I am having anxiety big time. I believe these fibroids have ruined my bowels. Everything hurts and I am crying more. Joining this site has given me hope that things will improve. I wish you all the best

I had a bunch of fibroids removed before getting married, and just had a hysterectomy for a ginormous one (9 cm at widest part) and it was creating horrible bloating and pain. I literally had to sit in a chair with a heating pad on my ovary with my swollen stomach.

Your poor little body is dealing with that fibroid and it can cause serious problems with your tummy and digestive system. I was amazed at how much better it was after my myomectomy recovery (still recovering from hysterectomy ), I used to get really bloated and either constipated or have the runs.

Good luck!!!

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Originally Posted by rider99 I feel your pain. I am also dealing with the same issues. The pain at times is unbearable with or without my period. I am scheduled for a LAVH on 9/2/15...and I am hoping I can make it. I sometime rely on pain meds to get through the day. I am having anxiety big time. I believe these fibroids have ruined my bowels. Everything hurts and I am crying more. Joining this site has given me hope that things will improve. I wish you all the best

Rider,
I hope your LAVH will give you relief from your symptoms, I know it's hard but try not to get too anxious - I found my anxiety made everything worse with digestive issues. If it helps, my myomectomy helped a whole bunch with my digestive issues for a long time. My bowels were not permanently damaged with the fibroids.

(Hugs)