Scared to death

I'm new to this site. I'm 40 years old and I'm scheduled for a hysterectomy on January 14, 2007. I was diagnosed with fibroids after several months of pelvic pain. My primary care physician told me a hysterectomy was not an option for me because I'm overweight and to just wait until I reach menopause for the fibroids to shrink. (Huh?) After a couple of more months I went to see another doctor for a second opinion who informed me that my fibroids are about the size of a football and will only get bigger and my only option is to have surgery. Needless to say I am feeling many different emotions right now. Mostly, I'm afraid. Any words of encouragement or advice?

I imagine your PCP was concerned about your weight going into surgery...being overweight does make it riskier, depending on how overweight you are. However, there are lots of other options and other types of surgeries, and seeing a specialist (gyn) is a smart move. There's no need to suffer needlessly, and fibroids don't go away until menopause, and even then may not shrink much. Since the average age of onset of menopause is over 50, you've got a long time to go.

If you're concerned about surgery, consider seeing a gyn who can give you more information about options that don't include surgery. There is a section on this forum about alternatives as well.

I delayed my surgery for almost 9 months because I was going to lose the extra weight. I lost 30 pounds and was so very proud of myself and for some strange reason have put about 15 of those back on since the beginning of November. I am going on the 14th of January with you, Sunshine. I sure hope that I can lose some weight between then and now but my history is very much against me.

Downyocean

Hi Sunshine
I'm due in surgery tomorrow, and have been where you are. Too much information, often conflicting, from the experts...and not knowing really what to do. Fear of the unknown, fear of letting people down, kids, family, partners....

I've got fibroids too, and am having a total abdominal hysterectomy, because they are too large and growing into the uterus wall, to be removed any other way.

Hormones feed fibroids, so until menopause when your hormone levels change, they will probably keep growing and that could be 10 or more years.

If your in pain, then something has to be done.

I burst into tears when my doctor told me I would have to have surgery, and that I was looking at taking months off work - I'm a teacher and couldn't even imagine what I was going to do..but somehow it has all come together..


I've spent alot of time reading and asking questions on this site, and have found amazing support from women who have been there and done it..making the decision is hard, then the waiting..but I feel calm now, and ready to feel better.

You will be too!

Take care x

Please don't be scared about the surgery. I know it is easier said than done, but trust me, you will feel soooo much better once it is done. I also had a TVH due to fibriods and heavy bleeding. In addition to anesthesia my doctor gave me a spinal with morphine. I had no pain at all for the 1st 24 hours. He gave me 30 percocet for when I got home, and I only took a total of 3. I only had mild cramping the day after my surgery, and was fine after that. Just enjoy the time you have to rest and let someone else take care of you!!!!! Good Luck
Theresa

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement. It's reassuring to know I'm not in this alone. I'm so glad I found this site so I can talk to other women who can relate to what I'm going through. My fibroids too have caused my uterus to be enlarged so much so that they can't see my ovaries. The doctor won't know if my ovaries will need to be removed until the day of surgery. I'll try not to worry about it too much for now and just enjoy the holidays. Thanks again.

Sunshine.....I'm sorry that you're scared, but you've found a great forum to ask questions and hopefully put your fears to rest.

I'm having a TVH because of large fibroids, heavy bleeding & clotting, extreme pain (almost debilitating at times) and periods that last about 10 days. My fibroids are varying in size from a group of them which are the size of small grapes, to one that is the size of an egg to the largest of them which is the size of a softball. My sister wanted me to wait and deal with the symptoms until I go into menopause. Well that could be another 5-10 years, so waiting was not an option for me. I really didn't want to have surgery, but after all the research I've done, I honestly feel that I will be happy once it's over and done. Sure, there's those first couple of days and weeks that I'll have my doubts, but from everything I've read and researched, I don't think I'll have any regrets.

My surgery is less than a week away. I'm trying not to dwell on it too much, but everyone at work keeps asking me if I'm nervous......well, not until you keep bringing it up.....LOL!!!!!

I had my surgery due to a huge fibroid - 26 weeks in size. One of my ovaries had not been seen for years and the alien was causing me pain and a range of other issues like reflux and high blood pressure.

It's now over 4 months later and I can't believe how wonderful I feel - and I can't emphasise that enough with words. I feel like singing and dancing in the street and if I wouldn't be at risk of being dragged off by men in white coats, I would. I think it's one of those things where I didn't realise how bad I was feeling until I started feeling fabulous and I can't believe I left it for so long. Now I realise this is how life is SUPPOSED to be! This is going to be the best Christmas in a long time!

I am also overweight, but it didn't seem to be an issue for my surgery. I would suggest talking to your surgeon about it to see whether they see any need for you to lose weight beforehand. Would have thought they would have mentioned it straight away if it was that big a deal.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by helga_t I had my surgery due to a huge fibroid - 26 weeks in size. One of my ovaries had not been seen for years and the alien was causing me pain and a range of other issues like reflux and high blood pressure. It's now over 4 months later and I can't believe how wonderful I feel - and I can't emphasise that enough with words. I feel like singing and dancing in the street and if I wouldn't be at risk of being dragged off by men in white coats, I would. I think it's one of those things where I didn't realise how bad I was feeling until I started feeling fabulous and I can't believe I left it for so long. Now I realise this is how life is SUPPOSED to be! This is going to be the best Christmas in a long time! I am also overweight, but it didn't seem to be an issue for my surgery. I would suggest talking to your surgeon about it to see whether they see any need for you to lose weight beforehand. Would have thought they would have mentioned it straight away if it was that big a deal.

Thanks, I did speak with my surgeon about the issue of me being overweight. He said from his experience some of the patients he had couldn't breath after surgery and had to be placed in ICU for a couple of days. Yikes! But he didn't seem to be too concerned about my weight and surgery.

Sunshine, My advice is to do lots of research. I was told at age 23 that I needed to have a hysterectomy. I cried and cried. After only having one child, I knew I wanted more. I did EVERYTHING under the sun for alternatives. After my third child was born, there was nothing left to try. I'm 2 weeks post-op, and even though I'm dealing with surgery pain I feel fabulous! The surgery really isn't as bad as it seems. I'm taking a VERY small dosage of estrogen. Even at 30 years old, I'm doing great on just that little bit. This is a great site. These women really helped me through the pre-op stage. Hugs.

Stephanie
30 years old, TAH/BSO 11/26/07--endo, adeno, pelvic congestion