Fibroids?

I am now 60 & just TAH 10 days ago. I was told I had fibroids at age 50 & went on to get 3 opinions, with one yes & 2 wait & see as the "average woman goes thru menopause by age 51". Well I did not stop having periods until age 58 & many heavy periods that I built my life around my periods. Now at age 60 they decided they had grown & after ultra sound & MRI which did not agree on number & size of fibroids my dr said your fibroids & uterus are large & growth at this age becomes somewhat questionable & the size of them they will never shrink much. i went onto gyn=onocologist & he too confirmed they needed to come out of there as damage they were doing to other organ & there being question of cancer. He did my surgery 12/27 & here I am 10 days later & went out for lunch today. Oh yes I had pain & gas & constipation & afraid I am going to be having constipation again but it really has not been as bad as expected & this web site helps you keep your sanity & know what you are experiencing is normal & life will return to normal. I now wished I had had surgery earlier & not put up with those horrible heavy clotting periods,not worth it.

I am 58 and still not menopausal, so the "wait and see" approach to the large fibroids did not work for me. Adenomyosis has caused my uterus to grow to 16 week size.

The last period in September was very heavy, super plus tampon and overnight maxi every half hour. It had been 10 months since the last period.

I've had three ultrasounds and bleeding during the last one (must have pressed too hard with the wand) with enormous clots passed at work. Yuk! I'm afraid of turning my chair into a bio-hazard zone. Also, there has been low level pain since the last test. I think this is called pelvic congestion but am not sure. Uterine biopsies were negative.

Decided to remove the uterus but not cervix or ovaries. This was a hard decision for me but pain is the body's way of saying something is wrong. It has taken me four years to reach this very individual decision.

Good luck with yours. I will pray for you when I get back from the castle (surgery is tomorrow).

God Bless.

Fibroids can sure be pesky!

I'm curious what type of fibroid it is and where it's located. Sometimes, hysteroscopic resection (where they go through the vagina to remove the fibroid) can be done successfully.

My fibroids were very symptomatic, but I wanted to make sure that hysterectomy was the right thing to do. I visited an IR (interventional radiologist) to see if I was a candidate for UFE (Uterine Fibroid Embolization). I was, but was uncomfortable with that procedure. I then visited a Reproductive Endocrinologist who specializes in removing fibroids so women can conceive. I tried numerous types of birth control pills along with an experimental estrogen inhibitor to see if the fibroids would shrink. He was very helpful and did a hysterosonogram where they put saline into your uterus to pinpoint the location of the fibroid. Since my fibroid was embedded into the uterine wall, I was not eligible for resection. He told me, abdominal myomectomy, SAH, or perhaps LSH. I was really interested in the LSH since I only wanted my uterus removed.

My original gyno doesn't specialize in this procedure, but he referred me to an excellent doctor. She examined me and determined that I qualifed for the procedure. Since I was bleeding 20+ days a month and having horrible symptoms, I agreed that this would be the best course of action. I did not want to do the myomectomy and then have to have surgery again if the fibroids grew back, which was highly likely.

I'm 5 days post-op and feel great. I gained a lot of good insight and advice through this site as well as my research I did on my own. It helped to see multiple doctors and get other opinions. I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

Lori

Thanks for all the great comments. I've got a lot to talk to my doctor about. Say a little prayer for me as I see her tomorrow.

I'm glad I have you hystersisters to help me.

Dear dlhavard and all,

Thanks for posting your question. I have learned a lot from the ladies that replied - I appreciated your words of encouragement.

Danamarie