complex hyperplasia with atypia

I am new here. All very confusing and I hope I am in the right place to post. I am just barely 38. About three days ago I had my first experience with a d & c due to my uterine biopsy reading of complex hyperplasia with atypia cells. I think I will know in a couple of days the results. I just moved to a different state just about 4 months ago and I have met this obgyn when I was in the state 10 years ago when I had pre-term labor and my regular ob was delivering or something. He is very nice, that is all I know. I had the best obgyn in my last residence because I worked in maternity and I knew who was the best in the area. I am not working here and hopefully I have one of the best.

My recovery from my d &c is strange. Creepy crawly feelings in my abdomen and feeling that the elevator in my head isn't going to all the floors yet.

My doctor wants to do a hysterectomy for sure if the results come back cancer and I don't have a problems with it. He wants to do one anyways just for the complex hyperplasia with atypia cells without cancer. I can't find too much alternatives other than surgery. I find this out of my league and I am getting sick just thinking about a hysterectomy. I am not ready for these kinds of decisions. I am a huge advocate for childbirth and breastfeeding issues and know that medicine has a place, but those issues lean towards the natural side more than medicine. So I am lost when it comes to this issue. Any insight would be great! And nice to meet you all.

Hi Darebear,

I do not have any experience with a D & C so hopefully someone who has will be along soon.

As far as the hyperplasia and the possibility of cancer, usually the hysterectomy is all that is need in the early stages.

I am sure you are an advocate of natural medicine, yet, when it comes to cancer or the potential of cancer, this is not the time to mess around. Visit our Cancer Concerns forum and ask questions there regarding the hyperplasia and possible cancer diagnosis. You will find there that when faced with this kind of diagnosis, it is fairly common to want to take care of this right away and to want to do what is necessary to remove all cells for the best outcome and long life.

s
Jane

Hi Darebear,

I hope you are feeling better soon! I am in the same boat as you w/ the atypia except I am 'slightly' older....45. I had an endometrial biopsy a month ago which came back with atypical hyperplasia. Most I talked to said the biopsy would barely be noticeable...at the time it was, but I felt crampy and bled for 10-12 days after...felt pretty rotten for a couple of weeks.....so sometimes I think the whole hyperplasia 'not quite right' uterus is a little more vulnerable to being tweaked. After the biopsy, my OBGYN wanted me to begin progesterone treatment 2 wks/month for three months and re-biopsy. A GYN ONC recc. hyst. as he didn't hold out much hope of that helping long-term, but being pre or peri-menopausal, I\m really not all that anxious to jump right into surgery. After reading and conversing on these boards, I am going to ask my OBGYN for a D&C w/ scope and probably try the progesterone for a while (using prometrium vs provera which made me feel AWFUL....haven't started prometrium yet). I'll private message you also....perhaps we can talk offline and compare notes. So far, being your own advocate is a very necessary tool.....I'm doing what I can to rule out underlying cancer and am considering giving the progest. a try for a while, although for my age bracket, I haven't heard of too much long term success. The anesthesia can make you feel pretty loopy for a while I'm sure. Feel free to PM me or email...I have quite a few medical journal articles on this topic I can share.

Hi Darebear - I can understand where you are coming from. I'm a lot older then you (57) but I had hyperplasia 3 years ago (first simple and then a year later complex), however I did not have the atypia. This is a very scary situation. Have you consulted a oncologist/gyn? That is who you really want to do the surgery should you decide to do that. They are the experts when it comes to female cancer. After I consulted with 3 drs(2 gyns and 1 oncol/gyn) I was going to have a gyn do the surgery and he told me that if there was any malignancy (he would ask for a frozen section during surgery) he would not be able to sample the lymph nodes and that would need to be done so it would mean a second surgery. So please consider getting an opinion from an oncol/gyn.

Good luck and please keep us posted on your progress.

Mary

Thanks. I don't know my results yet but my doctor did say exactly that he wanted to see the lymph nodes through abdominal incision if indeed the biopsy showed cancer. I will talk to him at my next appointment or next phone conversation.

I was diagnosed with complex endometrial hyperplasia with atypia in October '06. I had been feeling fine, but mentioned to my doctor that I was experiencing bleeding mid cycle, usual brought on by exercise. He sent me to an OBGYN for an endometrial biopsy (much more crampy and spotty this time than the first time I had one). This was followed by an ultrasound and a hysteroscopy (day surgery) to determine severity and if it had progressed to cancer. I DREADED the thought of surgery due to difficulty with general anaesthetic during my TL in '99, so initially I asked to be put on progesterone therapy. For a number of reasons though (high risk of this condition developing into cancer and a family history of cancer, side effects of prescription drug (Megace), my age (45), need for frequent follow up biopsies) I rethought my decision and went back a few weeks later and opted for the surgery. I think my GYN was relieved to see me back. I underwent a VAH hysterectomy 2 1/2 weeks ago and have been quite amazed at how well my recovery is going so far, although I seems to be more "post-op" now that I was 10 days ago. Now I just have my fingers crossed that I DON'T get a call from my Gynie before I see him in 3 weeks for my post op appointment.

Hope you are going ok. I think the most important thing is finding a gynae doctor you feel completely at ease with and who listens to your concerns. Like you I am a strong advocate for 'mind-body' health. I am also a nurse and breastfeeding/ home birth advocate. I think ultimately, as long as we don't feel rushed into decisions or ill-informed regarding our health it is all holistic, surgery included, but it took me a while to get my head around that. I have had a few people I know say some pretty thoughtless and ill-informed things in the last few months (in the natural therapies police!)but confidence comes with a sound knowledge of our options, outcomes and of our own bodies.
Good luck with everything
raggy

Sorry, duplicate message. See below

Thank you to everyone for giving and offering me support. Raggy I think you said it ALL regarding holistic medicine. This is what I have struggled with the most. I had someone tell me that they have "essential oils" that will just do the trick. I thinking I am dealing with a cancer scare and she thinks that these "oils" are going to cure my diagnosis? Why have doctors and conventional medicine if these oils can cure any ailment? I have had friends tell me I better research my options because doctors do hysterectomies way to often and blah blah blah. I feel when it comes to atypia and possible cancer, hands down, thank heaven we have educated ladies here and competent doctors out there who have exact experience in my particular situation and knows what works and what doesn't.

I also want to add, that I have gotten my D & C uterine biopsy report back. It had no trace of the atypia cells. My doctor thinks they are still in there and mentioned that pathology reports are sometimes inconsistent. He wants to still treat me as "worst case scenario" because of the first report. My doctor and I discussed going ahead with prometria daily and then supplement with "natural" progesterone for the next 6 months and then redo another biopsy and go from there. We shall see. My doctor has ended up being pretty competent. Very thorough and pro active. I also have my dad who is a pharmacist and one of his specialties and interests are hormone replacement and he insists that I take a quality "natural" progesterone and my doctor is cool with it.