fibroid up high

Hello,
I am scheduled for surgery on 12/7. I have an enlarged uterus with a basketball size fibroid. I asked the doc for an epidural since I don't want to be put out. He said that since it was so high up on the abdominal that I could not have this option. Well my queston is has anyone had surgery high up like that. I can actually see the shape of my ball right at he top of my stomach under the breasts.
Has anyone ever elected to just have the fibroids removed and kept their uterus? I am 41 so I figure menopause is around the corner and if one were to grow back it would shrink at that time.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.



Report this post to a moderator

Yes, I'm gong this route. After seeing five doctors I finally met one who suggested myomectomy as an option. He stated that a hysterectomy would certainly fix the problem and it wouldn't be the wrong course of treatment, but electing to keep the uterus is a woman's very personal choice. My only symptom is pressure on my bladder causing my stress incontinence to worsten. I'm 44 years old and I'm going this route (myomectomy) because I have no other symptoms and there is absolutely no history of cancer anywhere in my family tree--and like you, I'm hoping I make it to menopause without further problems from fibroids. My mother and three of my older sisters have all had hysterectomies for fibroids and all have said that they are doing fine. My mother has high blood pressure, my oldest sister has heart disease (used HRT), another sister constipation (kept ovalries), and the final sister just had her surgery this past spring (kept ovalries) and all is going well for her. Is there a relationship between removing the uterus and these other conditions? Who knows? Hopefully, we will have better answers in the future; for now, I have to gather information and do what is best for me. No one can or should make that final decision for you.

If you seek advice from a myo doctor make sure you find out about his tract record; you want someone who is highly trained, one who knows how to control bleeding and one who hasn't had to turn a myometomy into an emergency hysterectomy.

Good luck with your research.

There is no iron clad guarantee that a fibroid will shrink
enough after menopause. There have been sisters here
who required surgery after menopause. There may be some
connection between fibroids and estrogen. If so, then
if you go into menopause and start HRT, the estrogen could
have negative influences on the fibroid.
I really wanted to wait it out until meno. to see if there
would be shrinkage, but my hemorrhaging was too
severe to wait. It was either stay on depo-provera indefinitely
or have the surgery. I had the surgery, and for me it was the
best decision. There have also been sisters here who had
a myomectomy, and the fibroid grew back. A myomectomy
also cannot give you a 100% guarantee that the fibroid
will never grow back.
BTW, I had general anesthesia because my doctor
would not give me the option for an epidural.

I wish I had better statistics on fibroid growth after myomectomy. Are there any long-term myomectomy success stories out there. I'd like to hear from woman who feel like they beat this thing. After all, statistics for non-problematic fibroid regrowth seems to fall somewhere below 50%. I'd also like to know your theory, if you feel you beat this thing, on how you managed to have a possitive outcome. I know when we talk about myomectmy the issue becomes complicate by women seeking fertility; to me, this is a separate medical condition with a different set of rules. I'd like to hear from women who underwent myomectomy in their 40s and 50s who weren't seeking fertility but just wanted to keep their organs or other reasons.

Herethe2001, I hope you receive some positive experiences
from others who had the myomectomy. I suspect that
those who were successful with their myomectomy may
not be hanging around here anymore since this is the
hysterectomy support board. You might be more
successful on some other boards that support myomectomies.
I really don't know where they are, but a google search
might assist you. Delphiforums seem to have various
support boards.
Good luck! I hope you are able to have a positive
outcome with your decision!!!!

locki. Thank you for responding to my post. I've visited many sites but currently there seems to be a lot of people seeking UAE advice because it's a less invasive alternative for those not worried about fertility. Not to mention the advertising that these folks are putting out there to raise awareness about the procedure. I interviewed an Intervention Radiologist about that procedure but I didn't feel I would experience a good outcome because of the size of my fibroid. Also, I was concerned about shutting down the uterine artery and what the long term effects of that might bring. Anyway, I'll keep searching and hopefully I'll find what I'm looking for, thanks so much! It's a good thing that this site exist, it's the first site I found when my doctor suggested hysterctomy and it was through this site that I was able to learn that alternatives existed. I think the final goal for all of us going through this is to find inner peace with the decisions we make after considering all the options.
Thank you hystersisters for providing this forum.

Hi, I'm 43, married, with two sons 10 and 13 years.
I went to the doctor last Tuesday for constant pain and pressure in the lower and left pelvic regions. I had tripped and fallen three months ago hitting with my left hip, three days later severe pelvic pain hit on the left side, then traveled lower. I bled for 24 hours, then it stopped. The pain persisted continuously for the remainder of the next two months. If I would just lie down, it eased up. (was still there, but not bad) When I'd just vacuum the carpets or grocery shop, I'd be in severe pain and be exhausted for the next day or two. I figured I tore some ligaments in my uterus or something. The pain and pressure seemed to center to the left, and very low in my pelvis, the pubic area, and into my vagina. It feels like something is trying to fall out--like bearing down pains. I've had only two months, with only one day each, of bleeding between periods, and since the pain and pressure are always present, I had ruled out fibroids. All of the women I talked with, or read about said they mostly had bleeding, and the pain would be severe at that time, but not constant. However, the doctor said my uterus was where it should be--I didn't knock anything down. He said he felt what he thinks are fibroids, and that my uterus was very enlarged and tilted to the left, and said he didn't doubt I was in so much pain in the areas he touched. He thinks I may have had a cyst on the left ovary that ruptured, according to my description of the pain that followed the fall. I am scheduled for an ultrasound Dec 12. He said something about making sure there wasn't any mass, and something about the endometrium, which I totally forgot, the minute I walked out the door. Of course, I was scared to death, at even the mention of a mass. But, then, realized it's just a routine thing to make sure there isn't one present. I'll know what kind(s)and how many fibroids there are, after my ultra sound, I guess? I was surprised he said my uterus was so enlarged, as my lower abdomen isn't very swollen. lol I guess, I expected it would look really big or something! I'm 5ft tall and weighed 95lbs a month ago, although, I weighed 98 on the doctor scale last Tuesday. I weighed myself on my sister's scale (the one I got weighed on a month ago--don't own one, since my boys were little and took ours apart. lol), and weighed 98 on hers, as well. My belly had swelled since last month, but I just figured I'd put back on the weight I'd lost at the end of summer after my dad's death. Maybe, it's the enlarged uterus? Anyway, the doctor said he'd discuss details and treatment alternatives, after he confirms his diagnoses, which made sense. I was surprised he scheduled the ultra sound so soon, but I'm glad he did. The pain is horrible, and waiting would probably drive me nuts!
I found a club at Yahoo dealing with fibroids, and one of the members had a Myomectomy, so you might want to check it out. Just go to Yahoo Clubs, and type in "fibroid support" The club will come up in the search results. (The only one) Good luck!

Annabella, I am one of those sisters here who had
a very large fibroid, enlarged uterus, flooding, and
adenomyosis. My pain would be when I would be
bleeding during my period. However, I also started
having bleeding inbetween periods.
You are fortunate that you will have your ultrasound
this week with some definitive answers. Whatever you
find, there are sisters here who have had prolapse,
fibroids, ovarian cysts, etc. We seem to cover all the
bases. After you have some results, if you post on
a new topic, I think you will find many supportive
sisters here who will give you much information. Good luck!
P.S. I see that Nicollette, the original poster, has had
her surgery on Dec. 7th.! I hope everything went well for her!