question on GnRh before surgery to shrink fibroids

Hi.
went to see a new gyn. today who gave me a range of options.
I had thought that a vaginal hyst. was going to be possible but he has doubts that it woudl work and feels abdominal is more likely.

he says I could try GnRh for 3 months to shrink the fibroids and then go for a vaginal (again, no guarantees)

Can anyone tell me about their experiences?
Everything I've seen is just plain awful and I'm not sure it wouldn't just be better to go for the abdominal surgery.

The other "conservative" approach he offered is the mirena coil IUD, but it seems that can take 3-12 moths to start working properly and you have actually have heavier periods at the beginning! NOT WHAT I NEED.

on the positive side (very positive actually) he was incredibly nice and polite (even asked my permission to do an internal examination). answered about 100 questions without any impatience and actually behaved just the way I hoped my new doctor would behave..

will REALLY APPRECIATE your replies.
thank you
Cheryl

Again, I am amazed at finding a post which says exactly what I need to hear. I am on the verge of hysterectomy, and just had an appt. where the same options were presented to me (minus the mirena coil). It seems that my fibroid is so large they don't think it will really shrink enough to take it out vaginally but are willing to try to shrink it, and I'm so sick of living with it I don't relish the thought of a three month experiment. Nor do I relish the thought of being under for three hours when it could be one as they slice it and remove it vaginally. I've never had children which makes it more difficult.

However, after reading the thread on abdominal hysterectomy princesses who are tired for up to a year after their surgery, I am beginning to think that a vaginal hyst might be worth waiting for. I, too, am interested in any posts to this thread.

I am also wondering just exactly what GnRh is? My gyns suggested Lupron shots, and I wanted RU486 but they are not allowed to dispense it (this is at Yale New Haven Hospital!) because of its controversial nature. Can you believe it????? Anyway, do your initials refer to either one of those or something else?

Thanks so much for posting.

Gemma

the initials are for my name "Cheryl Anne Sullivan" I often use them for all kinds of things.

I believe Lupron is a brand of GnRH. You can find tons of info by doing a search on the net - there are a lot of side effects - basically you fall into instant menopause. I'm not really keen on that.

I haven't had kids either so I guess that has an impact on vaginal surgery too.

I am sure someone will answer pretty soon - hang in there! If I find anything else in the mean time I'll post here so you can see it.
cheers, (Ha! I feel anything BUT cheery right now).
Cheryl

Hi Gemma
do a search on this site for the
fibroids and lupron entry and scroll down to "Sherri"'s post.
there are tons of sites!
I'm too tired to check now but will have a look tomorrow.
g'night.
Cheryl

My uterus was very large, they stopped counting the fibroid tumors at 30 + (some large, some small). I was bleeding *ALL THE TIME*. I became severely anemic. Birth control pills didn't even faze the bleeding. The dr wanted to do it vaginally if he could. I needed the 3 months to build up my blood anyway. I WAS NOT healthy enough to have surgery at that time.

I was SO tickled not to bleed, I'm didn't give a crap what the side effects were. I had some headaches I guess I could blame on it. I know the hot flashes were because of it. I'm odd I reckon because I welcomed being hot. Being anemic and freezing for so long...the flashes were kinda nice in a wierd sort of *what is normal* kind of way.

Anyway, I took the three shots and shrunk the uterus. My TVH was 5/5/03. I'm happy as a lark. I wouldn't change any of it. Even if I woke up with a TAH, I still wouldn't have regreted the decision. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I'm not sure what else the Lupron is supposed to be blamed for. There is a bone density concern so I doubled my calcium. I didn't change my personality, my head didn't spin around, I still had very active enjoyable sex.

As soon as the doctor lets me - I'm gonna get back into shape. I have a pasture full of (pet) livestock that miss me...I have weedwacking calling my name...yeck my hubby mows the yard in circles (I have a pattern I follow).

Keep asking and searching, you'll find the right decision for you. This is just one womans story.

Take care, Mary

Hi CAS

I was on prostap s.r injections last year for 3 months (which is aGnRH analogues) c/o endometriosis but can be given to women suffering from fibroids (to shrink them) prior to surgery.

As far as I am aware there are quite a few different brands on the market but all aim to stop ovulation and allow endo deposits to regress and die and for fibroids to shrink.

Unfortunately they put the body into a pre-menopausal state - mine started within 5/6 weeks. I mainly experienced hot flushes, insomnia, and severe headaches, which compared to the endo pain (which did not reappear until 5 months later) was a piece of cake


I had a TVH in march by spinal block (meaning I was awake through-out the op) although my recovery, compared to others I have spoken to who had TAH, was quicker with hardly any complications - there is no difference in the precautions you have to take to ensure you do not over do things

I am now 9 weeks post-op and do not regret making the decisions that I have made over the past 12 months - I have not yet returned to work, rest and sleep when my body tells me to, am now driving my car, light housework, light gardening, shopping, swimming and feeling much better

Other side effects can be from GnRH's

loss of sex drive
nausa
loss of bone density
dry vagina
weight gain
fluid retention
emotional lability

Many women experience NO side effects, you may experience only one or two, it is very rare to have all of them - every woman is different

I hope the above helps, please search the forums, you will find others who are or have experienced the same

Take care

The above is based on my own experience and not to replace medical advice

CAS,

My doctor gave me a lot of information prior to me deciding on a TAH. The final decision was mine because I am 33, never married, and no kids. She gave me two great web sites to check out for the following options: Lupron, Myomectomy, Uterine Artery Embolization and Hysterectomy (with the pros and cons of each type of hys). I found the web sites to be very informative and decided on the TAH because it gives the DR the opportunity to take things out and touch and see everything to ensure they get everything that needs to come out.

I am 3 weeks post-op today and I feel great. Yes, I am a little tired, but that's because I am not working so I am staying up later than usual to read and watch t.v. and then I take a nap during the day which I can't do when I work and it just makes your body and mind tired. Plus, I find I am more tired when I am bored! I have already read 3 books and too many magazines to count.

The two web sites you might want to try are: obgyn.net and acog.org (or .net but I can't remember which one it is). There was a lot of great info on the sites and since my DR recommended them I didn't mind paying attention to the advice. I also work with two DRs and two nurses at my job so I had a lot of people to talk to pre-op.

Good luck!

Hi CAS and ladies,

I suffered with endo for 22 years and had a laparoscopy in Feb. 2002 because the doc thought he could go in a do some repairs and help the pain and problem. (Along with the endo was severe pain, 3 week periods in a 24 day cycle, heavy bleeding and lots of clots, diarrhea, etc.). After the lap he told me that I was so full of endo everywhere that it would take weeks of surgery to clean it out. I had had an endometrioma and ovary rupture which spewed the stuff all over my innards (sp?) as well as had endo growths all over reproductive system as well as bladder and bowel. I also had a ton of small fibroids.

We figured I may need a hyster some time so he put me on Zoladex one of the GnRH meds, to shrink the growths and the endo. He said he chose this instread of Lupron because it is stronger. It is a pellet injected into the abdomen by the belly button - every 28 days. I was on it for 8 months in total before my hyster. I had some menopausal symptoms - mainly hot flashes - but they weren't bad at all. The bonus was that the periods stopped and the pain stopped! I was also taking a low dose of estrogen through this time to counteract the side effects of bone density loss and vaginal dryness.

When I had my hyster, my doc was going to clean out all of the remaining endo and growths. He was so thrilled that almost all of everything was gone. He only had to take of one "nasty" patch of endo from the tissues and organs around my left ovary. He said that the Zoladex had done a great job for me and he was very pleased with the results (as was I).

Although I took the Zoladex and it worked, I still needed the hyster because of the endo and damage and other stuff going on inside me from 22 years of the disease. No regrets (yet and hopefully never). I am 38 with no kids.

I hope that this info on my experience is helpful to you.

,
Sandra

to all of you who have taken the time to reply.
Between getting feedback from women who've "been there, done that", and checking out sites here there and every where I'm starting to get a better feel for the implications of this treatment.
thank you for your support and encouragement! I'll post again later when I've come to a decision .