Please help- fibroids- seeing surgeon Thursday

Hi everyone,

I am new here and don't know where else to turn. I went to the doctor last month for lower back pain for the last 4 months. I am 43 yrs old, have 2 kids and have had a tubal ligation 14 yrs ago. He ordered a CT scan and that came back with a 3 cm cyst on my left ovary so I then was ordered an ultrasound to investigate further. I just got the results on Friday and was told by my gyno that the cyst shrunk to 1.5 cm and don't worry but they found a 5.4 X 4.5 X 3.7 cm intramural fibroid. My uterus measures 10.9 x 6.7 x 6.2. He gave me an appointment with a surgeon this Thursday and said the surgeon would decide weather to remove my uterus or just the fibroid.
My question is .. 1 - is this causing my back pain? 2 - would you recommend complete removal or just the fibroid ? 3 - is my uterus enlarged and if so what does that mean?

Thank you SO much for any replies!

I am 42 yo, had chronic back pain and a tubal 15 years ago. I did not have a cyst but sufferred heavy bleeding and had and enlarged uterus and numerous large fibroids. My dr. did not want to to the hyst but 2 yrs ago did an ablation on me. This slowed down the bleeding but did not do anything for the back and pelvic pain I was having. I have friends who are RNs and they told me the dr should not do an ablation on someone with fibroids b/c the fibroids are the cause of the problem. I am 4 wks post op today and I truly wish he had done this hyster 2 years ago, all it did was postpone the inevitable. I also had some ovarian pain on my right side, he ended up taking the right ovary and leaving the left, he had not planned on taking them at all but when he was in there found he needed to. Now, other symptoms that my fibroids caused were very intense pain (not just at that time of the month), chronic bladder pressure (I thought I was having UTI's but he told me the fibroids were putting pressure on my bladder), constipation too. I had to have an abdominal hyster b/c the size of my uterus. Not having ever had "major" surgery b/4 I really did not know what to expect but at 4 weeks I am feeling pretty good overall, and have to really watch not to overdo. I don't know what causes the uterus to be enlarged but mine has been since the birth of my 2nd child. I will say I have lost 11 lbs so I don't know if that is what it weighed or if I am just still recovering. My gynecologist did the surgery and was assisted by one of his partners. Just ask lots of questions, and if I can help in any way you can here. I hope my history helps you some. Remember you are not alone. Susan

ask the surgeon lots of questions about whether you can have just the fibroids removed and if you need a hysterectomy, what kind does he suggest. try to do as much research as possible and take your time. a second or third opinion can be very helpful. my second opinion dr offered me something completely different than the first. i was able to have the least invasive type of hysterectomy..i kept my cervix and ovaries (first dr didnt even know how to do it). i had a super easy recovery and have no regrets. i felt very sure of what i was doing because of all the research i did (was scared to death too!). good luck with everything

Hi! I just had a total abdominal hysterectomy on 4/25 (removal of uterus and cervix; kept both ovaries). I had this surgery done after many, many years of suffering from the symptoms of my fibroids and after a previous abdominal myomectomy to remove the first round of fibroids followed by 2 c-sections. Please make sure whatever the surgeon says that you get another opinion (maybe more). Your back pain may or may not be caused by the fibroid. It really depends on where it is located which the surgeon will know. If you aren't having any other problems besides the back pain, don't rush into a hysterectomy before ruling out anything else. Many women have fibroids and don't even know it. If it is the fibroid that is causing your back pain, there are a lot of options. I didn't have those options b/c of the amount of fibroids I had, the problems I was having and my prior history of endometriosis. This is a great site that will give you lots of helpful information. Good luck at your appointment. Ask lots of questions.
Kristin

Hi. I started having very heavy periods with hugh clots. I went to the Dr. and found out I have 2 fibroids. He wanted to do a hysterectomy. Last summer, I started seeing a Naturopathic/Chinese Medicine Dr., and she said "don't have a hysterectomy. I can give you some herbs that will shrink the fibroids." So I gave the herbs a try and the very next period was a lot lighter! Then the 2nd one was even better. I haven't had my 3rd one yet since the herbs. So, I'm here to say that alternative medicine is worth giving a try. It just might save me from another surgery which is traumatic to the body... and the pocket book!

Like others have suggested already, i would go and ask for a second opinion.

The major symptom from a fibroid is heavy bleeding (you need to change pads/tampons every hour, or even more often), it also tends to form a lot of clots. If untreated, it will eventually lead to iron depletion and anemia which can necessitate a blood transfusion and a HYST (thats my case).

I dont think pain by itself is an indication of a fibroid (but i might be wrong), but ovarian cysts can be quite painful though. Like others have said, a lot of women have fibroids and they are totally free of any symptoms.

So if i were you, before i would take a decision, i would bring my test results to another GYN and ask for a second opinion. You want to be sure a surgery is really what you need.

Good luck

	Quote:
Originally Posted by 35latitude Hi. I started having very heavy periods with hugh clots. I went to the Dr. and found out I have 2 fibroids. He wanted to do a hysterectomy. Last summer, I started seeing a Naturopathic/Chinese Medicine Dr., and she said "don't have a hysterectomy. I can give you some herbs that will shrink the fibroids." So I gave the herbs a try and the very next period was a lot lighter! Then the 2nd one was even better. I haven't had my 3rd one yet since the herbs. So, I'm here to say that alternative medicine is worth giving a try. It just might save me from another surgery which is traumatic to the body... and the pocket book!

I agree ,I have a homopath/naturopath GYN. I am going back to him to take herbs and shrink my fibroids... I started taking Estrium Medical Food before to help which he subscribed for me.