Feeling pushed into a hysterectomy for fibroids--any suggestions?

i have a 16cm and a 9 cm one and i am being pushed towards a hysterectomy. I feel like there is no other option being explored. I am 40 and don't want to have children so they say that a myomectomy is more complicated and not usual unless you want kids. I have been told that i can keep my ovaries so won't go through the menopause yet, but read somewhere on here that the ovaries can die anyway when you have a hyster due to lack of blood supply.
ps i have no bleeding at all - 2 mirena coils then 6 months of depo injections so no period since 2005 - even with these huge fibroids. I am in a lot of pain with them though and not great bladder control.
Any suggestions?

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Originally Posted by siobhantt i have a 16cm and a 9 cm one and i am being pushed towards a hysterectomy. I feel like there is no other option being explored. I am 40 and don't want to have children so they say that a myomectomy is more complicated and not usual unless you want kids. I have been told that i can keep my ovaries so won't go through the menopause yet, but read somewhere on here that the ovaries can die anyway when you have a hyster due to lack of blood supply. ps i have no bleeding at all - 2 mirena coils then 6 months of depo injections so no period since 2005 - even with these huge fibroids. I am in a lot of pain with them though and not great bladder control. Any suggestions?

Hi Siobhan, where are you located? I would strongly suggest that you consider a myomectomy by a reproductive surgeon, NOT a gynocologist. I had my myomectomy when I was 35 by a repro endo surgeon as I had wanted children at the time and did not want to lose my uterus. He did a wonderful job. I would strongly suggest you at least get a second opinion from someone like that.

Every woman is different. Don't let us or anyone else dictate to you what you should do but trust your instincts after you talk to everyone you value and then listen to your body. It will tell you what needs to be done.

i don't want to sound stupid - but what is a UAE (apart from middle eastern country) is it an embolisation? To the lady who asked where i am - i am in the UK. My gyne is a specialist in non invasive stuff and i will be asking him to review all my options. I am not going to jump straight into a TAH (worked that one out!!) without making sure it's right for me.
I am seeing him a week today so will let you know what he says. Some of the comments on here about aliens and problems with the UAE are really making me think that some type of hyst is necessary though. S

Sorry, Sibhan. Yes, UAE = Uterine Arterial Embolization. AKA UFE, Uterine Fibroid Embolization.It's a less invasive approach to taking care of fibroids. To see if you are a good candidate, they require an MRI, and the procedure is not done by a obgyn but rather an interventional radiologist.

They go in through the groin and up the arteries to the main arteries that feed the uterus and then inject some sort of substance to block the arteries, cutting off the blood. It can reduce the fibroids by 50%. I tried to be open to it but it just seemed that if it fails, you have to do the hyst anyway so why bother for a reduction that takes time and may not solve the problem. Apparently former Sec State Rice had the procedure done and it gets glowing reviews as one approach. It's not good if you want to try to get pregnant later (not my concern, but I thought I'd mention it).
Please don't rule it out just because of our stories here. I'm sure there are lots of good stories too. I also read that in the UK they are doing things w/lasers that has been successful with smaller fibroids.

We are all unique and have unique situations/concerns/constraints. Keep your mind open and check all your options. And ask questions here!

Thanks Weiser - for pulling my threads together. Really helpful.

Thanks for your reply Nekochan. It feels really nice to be able to talk to people who have been there and got the t shirt as it were. So i can at least bounce my thoughts, feelings and fears on here to you.

I have been recommended a gyne by my doctor who is a specialist on non invasive stuff, although i did speak to a woman last night who has been to see him for endometriosis and said that he lacks appropriate e bedside manners for someone who spends his working life at a girl's coal face! Oh well - i will see how we get on.

I will let you know what is said next Wed. The other thing about the UEA that i heard was that it can be painful and the thought of something dying inside you is a bit gruesome!!

Please be sure to explore all of your options so that you feel comfortable with the treatment option that you decide on. I was in a similar situation in 2002... I was 35 at the time and knew I didn't want children, but I also knew that I didn't wang a hysterectomy. I felt very strongly about keeping my uterus, and found a skilled ob/gyn to do a myomectomy.

The surgery was successful, and 14 fibroids were removed. Some were small, and one was grapefruit-sized.

I had also had a multiple myomectomy via abdominal incision in 1998, as well as a hysteroscopic myomectomy in 2000.

Each time, the doctor discussed my options, including hysterectomy. By the time I had surgery in 2002, he recommended a hysterectomy. I did NOT want that at that time, so went with the myomectomy.

10 years later, the fibroids returned with a vengeance, and I was leaning toward a myomectomy yet again. I've relocated to a different state since my prior surgeries, so I had a new doctor who I liked, but she wasn't keen on performing a myomectomy. She discussed my options as 1) UAE, 2) watchful waiting, or 3) hysrerectomy. When I asked about having another myomectomy, she gave several "reasons" that it wouldn't be a good option for me.... "very bloody surgery..." that "would probably end in a hysterectomy anyway...". I got the sense that she either wasn't very experienced in performing myomectomies, or that she viewed a hysterectomy as truly the best option if I decided on surgery.

I practically RAN from her office and found another doctor who was recommended by others. He is a skilled surgeon and was willing to do a myomectomy if I opted for surgery. But I was also considering a hysterectomy by this point, due to having had so many surgeries in the past and wanting to be "done" with all of this.

After much research (and soul searching) I decided on a hysterectomy. I'm 4 weeks post-op, and so far things are going well. However, looking back over the years, even with the recurring fibroids and multiple surgeries, I wouldn't have changed a thing along the way. Each decision I made was based on what felt was the right thing for me to do at the time.

It sounds as though you are exploring all your options in order to make the best decision for you. I'm glad that you're doing your own research, instead of allowing your doctor to pressure you into his preferred treatment option. Just follow your head as well as your heart, and know that we're here for you.

Do a lot of research for alternate methods because surgical menopause is hell on earth! I was lied to and thought I was just having a mass removed from my ovary and woke up with a TAH and both ovaries removed. I have pain, depressed, cant sleep at night and no desire for sex. please do research and have a family or friend with you as a witness when you talk to your doctor!

Thanks both Sunny44 and Waterbearer35.

Waterbearer - why did they remove your ovaries - unless there was something wrong with them as that forces you into the menopause. Is the 35 part of your username your age? That is so wrong that you weren't part of that decision. My husband is coming with me so we are going to make the decision together. I am so glad i found this site to help evaluate the pros and cons of each potential option, with various ladies having done them all.

Sunny44 - i will let you know what the gyne says on Wednesday, and perhaps you can let me know your thoughts. That would help a lot in my decision making process. I only know one lady who has had a TAH and she is 25 years older than me and had it decades ago, so it is really useful to talk to someone with more up to date information. It seems that back in the 1970s and 1980s they pushed a lot of woman towards TAHs as the "solution for all"

Dear All

Feeling quite positive after my meeting with the gyne yesterday. He examined me and agreed that the fibroids are large and noted that i was in unusually high levels of pain (my main symptom). He asked what i wanted and i replied that i want a solution that i can cope with - it doesn't have to be perfect but would prefer if at all possible that i don't have the full monty hysterectomy with a big scar (nb - it's not the scar that is the problem for me, its the recovery time and time off work).
So i am having a full MRI on Monday so that he can see fully the 2 fibroids. The one that is causing the most amount of pain is outside my uterus, over my right ovary, is pedunculated (on a stalk) and that is twisted, hence the pain. He thinks that he may be able to remove that one laparoscopically. The larger (16cm) one is inside and is the one pressing on my bladder - it is painful but not the stabbing pain that i get from the other side - he thought (subject to the MRI) that may be possible to perform the UAE on that one (depending on blood supply and how it is attached).

This was all on the basis that i could stand the pain for the next 14 days until i can get the MRI done and back to see him for his next consultation. If not, i have his mobile and email and he will schedule a surgery.

So all in all quite impressed at this point with him, and pleased that he isn't jumping straight to hysterectomy, and understands the nature of my job and the other stresses on my life.

If anyone has any thoughts, particularly on the UAE, that would be very helpful for me - i know that a few of you have had bad experiences with them. Are your experiences common, or have you been the unlucky one?

I'm 46, I had the UFE procedure in July 2011. My experience with the procedure and pain management was good. I was at normal activities within a few days, and didnt require pain medicine once I left the hospital. I had several fibroids, one the size of a baseball. My uterus had grown to a 5 month pregnancy. The UFE procedure would have been a high success and a highly recommended procedure from me, IF it had worked. My GYN says they grew (not shrunk) a little, and is still pushing/recommending a hysterectomy. I don't have pain, but I do have discomfort/swelled belly. My period this month was practically nothing. Now I'm left with questions, did this surgery put me in menopause (which it could in 1-5% of women)? Is a hysterectomy now a moot point? What will happen with these fibroids?