On the fence about whether I need hysterectomy

Hi Everyone,

I've been pondering getting a hysterectomy for a few months now, because of fibroids, which are causing my uterus to be about the size of a 16 week pregnancy. I'm 49 years old and peri-menopausal. The only time I feel affected by these fibroids is during my heavy 2-3 day periods, sometimes crampy, sometimes not, and by the fact that they're causing me to have some mild incontinence. My belly is slightly poochy, but I'm not exactly svelt, so it's not like having the surgery is going to change that. So basically, I'd be having the surgery because of heavy periods that are more of a nuisance. Sure, I'd like to stop having them, and I'd like to stop tricking pee every time I sneeze or cough while walking, but other than that, I have no terrible symptoms.

Thus far, I'm not showing signs of impending menopause, like hot flashes, only that my periods are irregular in when they occur. I even skipped one last month. So it could still be a few years. I'm told the fibroids will shrink once I hit menopause, so there's a part of me that thinks I should just bite the bullet and get through the monster periods for the next few years. Oh, and iron levels are medium low, nothing terrible.

I'm horribly afraid of going under the knife. I have no other options than an abdominal surgery because of the size of these babies. In total, the uterus is about 15-16 cm large, so no vaginal removal for me. Thing is, what if they get bigger. I'd hate for the incision to have to go vertical. It's bad enough to have to have it at all (horizontal) but if I wait, and menopause takes its sweet time, and they get bigger, and she has to go vertical, then the incision is going to take even more time to heal.

Any advice? I know no one has a crystal ball. The fibroids haven't grown at all in 6 months. I'm doing every dietary thing I can to keep them from doing so. I'm vegan (which, btw boosted the iron levels), I eat super clean, plant-based, whole foods diet. I exercise, no caffeine, sleep 8 hours a night. No alcohol. I'm basically a monk.

Doc says it's really my call. There is no medical emergency. I'm right on that cusp. Really don't want surgery. I know. Who does? But if I don't I won't.

???Thanks.

I am in the same boat... Heavy periods with lots of pain and a swelly belly. However I am 43 and don't want to spend the next 10+ years doing this. My surgery date is scheduled for June 10th. I have had 3 c-sections so surgery doesn't scare me.

Is there anything you can take that will shrink the fibroid?

I don't think there is anything I can take since I also suffer from mainly hormonally induced migraines. My sense is the doc wants to steer clear of those things.

I had my one child vaginally, so I've never had to undergo surgery of any kind, which is why I'm so freaked out about the surgery. I just can't imagine having my belly cut open and an organ removed. I keep thinking if it's not really life threatening and not pressing on other organs or causing issues, then why? They are large, though.

But if you're just 43, you could have several years to deal with this. I'm closer to closing time, which is why I think I might be able to just hang on.

When I got close to menapause I started skipping periods. Maybe u are close. Saying that mine did not cause me any symptoms but did not shrink either. I could have lived with them. I had stress incontinence. Again I could have lived with it. I decided to have hysterectomy because my mom just diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was scared. Path showed benign fibroids. I'm having a hard recovery so don't ask right now if I regret it. My gyn said I was driving the train.

Sorry your recovery is hard, and sorry about your mom. Can you tell me more about it? Did you have an abdominal surgery?

I had robotic surgery. I was doing fair until a UTI at five weeks. That knocked me down. My mom is brca pos and I'm not but didn't want to take any chances. My gyn highly advised it and hugged me when I said yes. I did have hyperplasia 7 years ago. All path was benign.

Tatterhood, my fibroids continued to grow post-menopausally. My largest was 8 cm, with 3 smaller.

I am a hiker, & had to run behind bushes all the time to pee! That frequent urination was really my only symptom,other than a feeling of heaviness. So my ObGyn & I agreed if the symptoms weren't bad, we'd wait & see.

Now 13 years after menpause by uterus has shrunk by 1/3 since ultrasound 2 years ago, causing my fibroids to hemorrage for a month straight now. So finally at the age of 63 it has to come out.

A lot of women are lucky & they shrink substantially after menopause. So I waited to give that a chance. But for me it didn't work out.

Hope you have better luck & they shrink soon, as happens with a number of women in menopause.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzy in Texas I had robotic surgery. I was doing fair until a UTI at five weeks. That knocked me down. My mom is brca pos and I'm not but didn't want to take any chances. My gyn highly advised it and hugged me when I said yes. I did have hyperplasia 7 years ago. All path was benign.

Thanks for the information. Hope you feel better soon and that all goes well with your mom.

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Originally Posted by cat3 Tatterhood, my fibroids continued to grow post-menopausally. My largest was 8 cm, with 3 smaller. I am a hiker, & had to run behind bushes all the time to pee! That frequent urination was really my only symptom,other than a feeling of heaviness. So my ObGyn & I agreed if the symptoms weren't bad, we'd wait & see. Now 13 years after menpause by uterus has shrunk by 1/3 since ultrasound 2 years ago, causing my fibroids to hemorrage for a month straight now. So finally at the age of 63 it has to come out. A lot of women are lucky & they shrink substantially after menopause. So I waited to give that a chance. But for me it didn't work out. Hope you have better luck & they shrink soon, as happens with a number of women in menopause.

The incontinence is a bother. I'm okay with a panty liner most days. And most of the time, unless it's allergy season or I'm out playing Frisbee or on a long, long walk, things are fine. I do have a feeling of heaviness and in the morning, I can feel a lump in my lower abdomen, as if I'm pregnant. Other than that, and the heavy periods, there are no problems.

If they don't shrink after menopause and I have to have them out, I will, but it seems I'm just jumping the gun right now.

I'm a teacher, and next year is going to be a stressful year. I was trying to schedule the surgery for early this summer so that I could give myself 10 weeks to fully recover. My doc says that I'll only need 4-6 weeks. I'm reading here that some women need more than they expected. I'll be working with much younger children than I have been working with in recent years, and that will be taxing in many ways. Not sure this is the summer to do this.

We all have to make our own decisions that work with our lives, but I can say that there's nothing wrong with getting a problem dealt with before it gets to be a bigger problem. Small problems grow over time to become large ones, and it might be a good idea to get this one dealt with while you are youngest, healthiest, and in your best shape. The problem will only get worse, and surgery can be stressful. The younger and healthier you are, the better your recovery will be.

And you WILL recover -- TAH recovery takes some time and isn't a picnic but it does happen and time does pass. I'm proof of that. I had mine last Halloween and am feeling excellent right now. I can't strongly advise you one way or another since, like I said, you know what fits into your life best, but I can say that dealing with a problem now is definitely better than passing the buck to yourself at a later date if at all possible.