Tests before surgery??

I am schedule to have surgery on March 8. I spoke to my gyn on Jan 31. On Feb 3 I got this letter from his nurse telling me he thought I needed to see a gastro-intestinal physician and have a EGD and Colonoscopy before the surgery. I"m confused! My enlarged uterus (the cantelope size) and fibroids (all pear size) have been confirmed by a CT scan and ultra sound. I had my gallbladder removed last July since the CT scan found the gallstones & it was bothering me. I have been treated by my famiily doc for many yrs for reflux (I take Nexium now) and she always said I had IBS for which I haven't found really anything to help that but GasX and Imodium AD.

Please give me your thoughts on this!! I am thinking I should wait till after the surgery (I have endo, too so everything is going..uterus, cervix, ovaries & tubes) and then see how things recover. Doc said to stay off any hormones for 30 days because of my endo. So I figure it will be several months before I get back leveled out again & this would be with my digestion, too.

I would really appreciate anyone's feedback on this! Thanks.

Sierra
LAVH & BSO but might have to do the TAH & BSO...enlarged uterus, fibroids, endo everything is squishing my bladder. Had Lap w/laser in '96 for endo...hole poked in my uterus during this surgery. Hematoma/fistula from uterus to bladder. Suppose to be gone now! I think doc might get SURPRISED when he looks under my hood! )

Hi Sierra - I know that I, and quite a few of the sisters had various gastro-intestinal problems which ended up being 'cured' by the removal of the fibroids. I had nausea, almost all the time in the last months before surgery - and none since.

I think as you look around the site and also do some searches, you'll see alot of posts about this. For that reason, I would certainly want to wait, if it was me, until after surgery - and then pursue any of those kinds of problems that still remain - if any!

I have also seen that when the sisters mention the possibility that the fibroids are the cause, quite a few of their Doc's have never heard of this, or just dismiss it out of hand. But WE know differently!

See if you can discuss this with your Gyn before they schedule the tests - see what he says. I happen to think your intuition about this is right. You might need to be firm, but it's your right to do that - it's your body.

I'm sure some endo sisters will jump in, but 30 days seems a very short time to be off hormones, based on what I've read here. (All this is my opinion only - not medical advice!) Have you considered getting a second or third opinion from another Doctor?

Good luck!
joano

Joana,

Thanks for the advice! I too had wondered if 30 days was enough to get rid of all the endo. I have an appt next week with my female family doc and am going to ask her opinion, too. I've known her for 15+ years. The male gyn doc seems to be sort of weird cautious about somethings and then the other extreme on others! For example, when I asked him about restrictions while recovering he told me there wasn't any! He said I can do stairs, clean, fix meals, etc. He said that I shouldn't lift anything over 20 lbs!! I thought that seemed a little out there even for a LAVH. Heck with my gallbladder surgery that surgeon told me not to lift anything more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks! I had to clean out my purse just so I could carry it! Yeah, I carry around the kitchen sink even in my purse. Always like to be prepared for anything!! ha ha I've learned more from reading this site and know I"m not going to follow his advice on this recovery thing but take it easy so I don't wide up with complications or an even longer recovery time.

Thanks again for giving me feedback!

Sierra