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hello . last week i went to dr for a normal smear test.the doctor told me i have a big uterus she told me to go back for an ultrasound. she told me it could be a fibroid.i have been feeling some pian in my lower back and side for the last 2 months . i am only 27 years old is it normal for my age. i have 2 children . so dont know if i want more but can i have any more children.

Hi Cole 18,

I can understand your fears. I had two large fibroids and never even really knew I had them until I went for my annual gyneo exam.

Don't worry. There can be several directions you and your Dr. can take. First is a ~wait and see~. Get the ultrasound results and see what size fibroid it is. I read in pre-op that up to 40% of women will have fibroids and many ladies do not do surgery.

Second is - you might look into a UFE (Uterine Fibroid Embolization). It is a procedure that helps to shrink fibroids and leaves the uterus intact.

Thirdly, if surgery is needed, you might comtemplate a myomectomy, removal of the fibroids only. My younger sister had a myomectomy in her early 30's for a grapefruit sized fibroid and she went on to have two daughters after.

And last...a hysterectomy. Until then...just weigh all your options and give yourself time to make the decsion on what to do. Drs give us options and WE make the final decision.

Mary

Hi there!

When I had my dd at age 28 (it was an unplanned, but not an emergency c-section), the doctor rather offhandedly remarked that I had "some" fibroids, and that the largest one was about the size of a golf ball. He said they were nothing to be particularly concerned about, and that most women have them. My mom (who was right there as he told me this) concurred, and I knew that she had a hysterectomy at the age of 40 in part because of fibroids, but only after having three children.

When I had ds in 2000, my doctors had trouble doing amniocentesis because, as the technician said, there were fibroids "everywhere". When ds was born, my OB/GYN said that the largest fibroid was the size of a softball.

But it wasn't until 2004 that I ended up having a hysterectomy, at which time I had "more than 30" fibroids (I guess they stopped counting?) and none of them were over 3.5 cm. in size.

Moral of the story: While sometimes fibroids interfere with fertility or the ability to bear children, it's not a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination. I wasn't even a high-risk pregnancy with either of my kids.

Also, the size of the fibroid doesn't matter nearly so much in terms of discomfort or symptoms as its location or type... i.e., a fibroid deep in the uterine wall might cause more trouble than one that's hanging by a stalk, but it's all very individual.

You're in the right place to find plenty of information about what you may or may not be facing along the road. Welcome to you.

thankyou so much for you repliys and suport i realy do need some one to talk to. thank you .

I had a 4 month size uterus with fibroids (one the size of a grapefruit) when I was 30. I had no children.

I had a myomecotmy and had two wonderful sons who are now 9 and 13. 15 years later, I finally had a hysterectomy.

One thing that helped me keep the fibroids at bay was the birth control pill. For the 15 years, when I was off the pill, the fibroids would grow and when I was on it they would stop.

The doctor said my hormones were out of wack and the pill kept them in check.

Best of luck

When I was 26 they found a 10 cm fibroid near my cervix and said if I wanted more children I better start trying. Well, it took two years (the fibroid acted as a natural diaphragm) but in 2005 I became pregnant with a beautiful little girl. During my pg the fibroid shrunk and grew and after my c-section I elected to have a myomectomy (at that point it was 18cm ) Unfortunatly I didn't listen to my Dr.'s advice and way over did things and ended up ripping the incision on the inside. I had a hyst Feb. 8.

Long story short, while some woman become infertile due to fibroids it is not the norm. I do recommend regular u/s scans to check for growth and location but if they aren't bothering you I wouldn't do anything. Just my opinion.

i have to say i love you friends for your support. i just have to wait for my next app. and go from there,is there any diet or something not to eat or its just does not mater. just asking dont know any thing about fibroids. thankyou so much.

The only advice I will give you is the birth control pill until you want to get pregnant. I went 15 years after my myomecotomy and if I was not on the pill I would not have gone that long.

Talk to your doctor. I have been plagued by fibroids my entire life. My estrogen is just off. I also started getting ovarian cysts. The pill helped those too.

You could try an integrative medicine practice. I did and they put me on fish oil. Truethfully, I think they caused my fibroids to grow but I felt it was so good for me I continued.

Your doctor may have many options for you. I was very concerned when I was diagnosed at 30, now I see it was not near as much of a problem as I thought.