New Pod Girl here...

[Guest guest]

Hi...i'm a 46 y/o white woman, childless, who just THIS YEAR found

out i have fibroids. several large ones....uterus enlarged to 4-5mos

pregnancy size. I only have one ovary, too, having had one removed at

age 13 due to ruptured cyst.

My GYN (a young woman) offered me the following options: UAE (Uterine

ARtery Embolism), Lupron, or a traditional hysterectomy. I will have

to have the old fashioned " zipper " incision, due to the enlargement

factor--vaginal, bikini she says is not an option.

Evidently i'm also not a candidate for the new balloon procedure, due

to the enlargement and size of the fibroids.

Right now I'm coming off 3 weeks of heaving bleeding, this is week 4

and thank god it's tapering off.

The other thing i'm wondering about is Uterine Cryomyolysis.

Any comments or suggestions welcome.

mars

[Guest guest]

Dear Mars,

WHY is myomectomy not a valid option? This is a question you

need to adress with your doctor. Having had a myo for a VERY

large fibroid (though not the largest on this board...mine was

only 19cms plus a smattering of smaller ones--you can look at

the pics on the yahoo site if you're curious) I can't understand

why your gyn wouldn't at least discuss this option. If your

fibroid(s) is/are as large as you say (and assuming its one or

only a few), then a UAE wouldn't be a good option as you might

not have sufficient shrinkage. If they are all submucosal, then

you might have very few options but the discussion should have

at least taken place as to why myo is NOT an option.

I'm sorry if I sound terse. i'm getting really sick and tired of

hearing gyns refer women for procedures such as lupron and

hysterectomy. Excuse me, but did the doctors just forget their

education in med school or were they too busy learniing how to

make money? Did they leave their learning behind once they

graduated?

With what doctors are paid today, it seems to me they have a

PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATION to be up to date on EVERYTHING,

including current research and procedures, in their area of

expertise.

It really makes me wonder what doctors do after they get the

" DR " in front of their names. Just buy big houses, fancy cars and

a membership to the exclusive golf club?

I had to vent. God help the poor women out there who have only

small medical facilities for treatment. Must everyone go to a

large city for treatment?

I'll step down from my pedestal now. But I do it with a bit of anger

at the medical profession and the sooo many doctor's out there

with a total lack of " professionalism " .

If I have to stay up to date in my proffession with emerging

technologies, and I make alot less than they do, I expect doctors

to have to do the same.

Best wishes,

PS The worst gyn I ever saw was a woman. AND she was

pregnant at the time!! I mention this as there has been a lot of

comments on female doctors. Oh...and while in pre-op for my

myo, the female surgical assistant tried to talk me into agreeing

to a hysterectomy!

My gyn was a male and understood that unless cancer was

found, no go, myo or nothing. So much for " women "

understanding " women " . And yes. I was not pleased to have that

conversation just prior to going under for surgery. Thankfully, I

have a wonderful gyn and trust him completely. Honestly, if she

had been my gyn, I would have left pre-op in my nightfgown, my

bare tushie for the world to see!

>uterus enlarged to 4-5mos

> pregnancy size. I only have one ovary, too, having had one

removed at

> age 13 due to ruptured cyst.

> My GYN (a young woman) offered me the following options: >

UAE (Uterine

> ARtery Embolism), Lupron, or a traditional hysterectomy.

[Guest guest]

At 08:05 PM 8/10/2002, sbolles432 wrote:

>I'm sorry if I sound terse. i'm getting really sick and tired of

>hearing gyns refer women for procedures such as lupron and

>hysterectomy.

At my appointment on Thursday, my doctor offered me a shot of lupron and I

accepted. Exhausted and anemic from 12 days of bleeding and having been

told I'd likely continue to bleed, I had quite a melt down in her

consultation room. The lupron is a stop gap until we can get my myomectomy

approved, scheduled and performed (this doctor has never offered

hysterectomy as anything other than a last resort). I've read about the

side effects and I think I can deal with them. I can't be any more moody,

depressed and fatigued than I have been over the last month. I'll admit,

though, that my mother's glowing recommendation for lupron (she had a 6

month course) swayed my opinion.

Was it the right thing to do? I hardly know any more. But the incredible

blood loss and enormous clots can't be right. The loss of my vitality and

interest in life can't be right.

[Guest guest]

mars,

stress leads to heavy and prolong bleeding. try to relax a bit. i know it's

hard with our hectic lifestyle. but our body is calling us to pay attention

to it and take good care of it.

vt

[Guest guest]

At 10:51 PM 8/11/2002, vangietan@... wrote:

>mars,

>

>stress leads to heavy and prolong bleeding. try to relax a bit. i know it's

>hard with our hectic lifestyle. but our body is calling us to pay attention

>to it and take good care of it.

I'm experiencing heavy and prolonged bleeding RIGHT NOW, but the only

stress I'm experiencing is from the bleeding. My body isn't calling on me

to relax. I've done little more than sleep for the last two weeks. The

bleeding is caused by the 3 submucosal fibroids that have invaded my

uterus, not stress.

Jen

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

There is definitely a place and time for both lupron and

hysterectomy as options. What is not appropriate is offering

either without going over all of the options and potential side

effects. its important too to know what steps do you take if

something doesn't work. Doctors who just offer lupron or

hysterectomy as a " fait accompli " with no information do their

patients a great disservice.

Clearly your doctor offered lupron as part of an overall treatment

plan. But what if lupron was all you were offered with no

additional information or guidance? Its when this happens, and

it does--sometimes on a first visit with little consultation or

testing, that my heckles start to rise up.

I do hope the bleeding is coming under control and that you are

doing better.

Best wishes,

PS My earlier email was written on a bad day and I was a little

more cross with the bureaucratic world than usual. I apologize

for posting generalizations. I didn't intend to demean any one's

treatment choices.

> >I'm sorry if I sound terse. i'm getting really sick and tired of

> >hearing gyns refer women for procedures such as lupron and

> >hysterectomy.

>

> At my appointment on Thursday, my doctor offered me a shot

of lupron and I

> accepted. Exhausted and anemic from 12 days of bleeding

and having been

> told I'd likely continue to bleed, I had quite a melt down in her

> consultation room. The lupron is a stop gap until we can get

my myomectomy

> approved, scheduled and performed (this doctor has never

offered

> hysterectomy as anything other than a last resort). I've read

about the

> side effects and I think I can deal with them. I can't be any

more moody,

> depressed and fatigued than I have been over the last month.

I'll admit,

> though, that my mother's glowing recommendation for lupron

(she had a 6

> month course) swayed my opinion.

>

> Was it the right thing to do? I hardly know any more. But the

incredible

> blood loss and enormous clots can't be right. The loss of my

vitality and

> interest in life can't be right.

>

>

[Guest guest]

re: lupron

I did took 2 shot, was happy cause it stop my period for 3 -4 months. can't

be happier. but after i read in christian norhtrup book that it can cause

alhzeimer, i got scared. and shun from it

[Guest guest]

At 08:11 PM 8/12/2002, sbolles432 wrote:

>There is definitely a place and time for both lupron and

>hysterectomy as options. What is not appropriate is offering

>either without going over all of the options and potential side

>effects. its important too to know what steps do you take if

>something doesn't work. Doctors who just offer lupron or

>hysterectomy as a " fait accompli " with no information do their

>patients a great disservice.

With this, I absolutely agree. It is unfortunate that we, as patients,

must try to become informed about treatments just to protect ourselves from

doctors. I'm intelligent and well educated, but I have no medical training

and feel uncomfortable telling doctors what to do (well, I'm getting

better!).

>Clearly your doctor offered lupron as part of an overall treatment

>plan. But what if lupron was all you were offered with no

>additional information or guidance? Its when this happens, and

>it does--sometimes on a first visit with little consultation or

>testing, that my heckles start to rise up.

Agreed again. But lupron seems to be looked down upon around here and I

guess I'm feeling defensive about my choice to try it. I mean, there's a

lupronvictims.com, but no lupronlovers.com!

>I do hope the bleeding is coming under control and that you are

>doing better.

I'm getting there. :-)

>PS My earlier email was written on a bad day and I was a little

>more cross with the bureaucratic world than usual. I apologize

>for posting generalizations. I didn't intend to demean any one's

>treatment choices.

I hope your days are getting better, too!

[Guest guest]

re lupron, an update here on my own experience. i am nearly four weeks into my

first injection and my side effects have been minimal and therefore bearable.

my period has continued as a trickle and i've had some minor hot flashes, a

couple of bouts of spaciness and fatigue, but not much else to speak of. one

group member's account of the second month on lupron sounded harrowing. i'm

hopeful of otherwise! we'll see. second injection on 8/15. myomectomy on 9/6.

robin