Fibroid Bleeding after 50

Hello! I am 54 and as of 2 years ago in 2019 i was not yet menopausal. I am now menopausal (based on hormone levels in blood test) and am having a heck of a time with fibroids that are causing bleeding - would love to hear about experiences from others who have had fibroids bleeding post-menopause. I have a hysterectomy scheduled at the end of Oct - a little nervous about a sarcoma. .... the lead up to where i am now is as follows... they were doing ultrasounds and blood tests to track a complex ovarian cycst on me , starting in 2019.. During 2020 I skipped my regular ultrasound due to covid and since i wasn't having any issues. In March of 2021, i had another ultrasound that showed no cyst but did show a polyp. During the course of the past 2 years the ultrasounds also showed fibroids but no one ever mentioned it to me and nor did i have any issues. I had been having periods on a regular schedule my whole life but (progressively getting heavier this past year). I was working remotely for work form March to June this year but saw a surgeon in jUne for polyp removal. She asked if i was interested in Hysterectomy given my fibroids but i wasn't having any real issues so I said no - just hystereoscopy ... So, i had my period just before the hysteroscopy and it was out of control heavy - they put my on norethindrone - which controlled it immediately. She removed 1 of the polyps but couldn't get to the rest since one of my fibroids had obliterated the uterine wall and it's so stiff and fiberous - she couldn't really 'inflate it' with saline as she would normally. Unfortunately, the bleeding started all over again a week after the polypectomy. The biopsy came back negative for that polyp and she 'tried' a D&C but she said i rea;ly don't have endometrium - my uterous is all fiberous. She tried to get some tissue sample (which she did) which also came back negative. She did some blood tests to confirm if i was post-menopause (apparently i am now, in 2019 i wasn't ) - but oddly i had regular 'periods' up until June - & the out of control bleeding started. She also ordered a more recent ultrasound which shows that my 3 larger fibroids are still growing . The larger one grew by 25% since march and is now at 4cm (which i realize is not as big as many) . Given my post menopausal status, and ongoing bleeding that has evolved over the last 60 days and new discomfort (cramping and peeing all the time), I am feeling ok about hysterectomy. I am controlling bleeding with the norethindrone and have my hysterectomy scheduled for the end of Oct. It will likely be LAVH - everything but ovaries. I don't have uterine cancer in the family but a little worried given my 50+ and post menopausal status... and that the fibroids are still growing! Would love to hear any similar experiences and insights....!

Fibroids will continue to grow when they have a blood supply. It’s not all that unusual as there is no magic cut off point. My fibroids were bleeding profusely at 50. Finally at 51 I was embolized with a procedure called UAE. After I was embolized I never bled again. Two years later fibroid has shrank by approximately 90%. I’m not sure if I was post menopausal or not as I never had hormone testing but I was definitely middle aged. It was interesting to me that I never had another period though so maybe I was? Sarcomas are very rare. Odds are it’s a benign fibroid with an established blood supply. UAE blocks blood from being routed to the fibroid and thus it shrinks. I’m not recommending as it’s a personal decision how far one will go to spare their uterus although I was surprised how successful it worked in my case.

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Originally Posted by Fibroid Jane Hello! I am 54 and as of 2 years ago in 2019 i was not yet menopausal. I am now menopausal (based on hormone levels in blood test) and am having a heck of a time with fibroids that are causing bleeding - would love to hear about experiences from others who have had fibroids bleeding post-menopause. I have a hysterectomy scheduled at the end of Oct - a little nervous about a sarcoma. .... the lead up to where i am now is as follows... they were doing ultrasounds and blood tests to track a complex ovarian cycst on me , starting in 2019.. During 2020 I skipped my regular ultrasound due to covid and since i wasn't having any issues. In March of 2021, i had another ultrasound that showed no cyst but did show a polyp. During the course of the past 2 years the ultrasounds also showed fibroids but no one ever mentioned it to me and nor did i have any issues. I had been having periods on a regular schedule my whole life but (progressively getting heavier this past year). I was working remotely for work form March to June this year but saw a surgeon in jUne for polyp removal. She asked if i was interested in Hysterectomy given my fibroids but i wasn't having any real issues so I said no - just hystereoscopy ... So, i had my period just before the hysteroscopy and it was out of control heavy - they put my on norethindrone - which controlled it immediately. She removed 1 of the polyps but couldn't get to the rest since one of my fibroids had obliterated the uterine wall and it's so stiff and fiberous - she couldn't really 'inflate it' with saline as she would normally. Unfortunately, the bleeding started all over again a week after the polypectomy. The biopsy came back negative for that polyp and she 'tried' a D&C but she said i rea;ly don't have endometrium - my uterous is all fiberous. She tried to get some tissue sample (which she did) which also came back negative. She did some blood tests to confirm if i was post-menopause (apparently i am now, in 2019 i wasn't ) - but oddly i had regular 'periods' up until June - & the out of control bleeding started. She also ordered a more recent ultrasound which shows that my 3 larger fibroids are still growing . The larger one grew by 25% since march and is now at 4cm (which i realize is not as big as many) . Given my post menopausal status, and ongoing bleeding that has evolved over the last 60 days and new discomfort (cramping and peeing all the time), I am feeling ok about hysterectomy. I am controlling bleeding with the norethindrone and have my hysterectomy scheduled for the end of Oct. It will likely be LAVH - everything but ovaries. I don't have uterine cancer in the family but a little worried given my 50+ and post menopausal status... and that the fibroids are still growing! Would love to hear any similar experiences and insights....!

Thank you @sisterduke for your insight!

I think UAE is definitely something you should look at as a viable alternative. A hysterectomy is major surgery which takes a number of weeks to recover from initially, and full recovery taking longer.

I had a single fibroid which remained at 5cm for 16 years after the birth of my daughter. After I got off the BC pill, it doubled in size in 5 months and acquired a bunch of rowdy roommates. I was 53, had no idea if I were menopausal because bleeding came anywhere from 2-6 weeks apart. It was heavy and unlike previous periods. I had my hysterectomy at age 54, and the doctor lost count at 15 'broids.

Your surgery is far enough out that you may wish to get a second opinion and investigate the UAE - we encourage getting a second opinion for an alternative treatment. If you're not a candidate or simply wish to be done with it, we'll be here for you pre- and post-hysterectomy.