Guest guest Posted September 29, 2002 Report Share Posted September 29, 2002 Margo, You sound asymptomatic and the fear of adhesions pales in comparison to the real and possible long term side affects of a hysterectomy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 29, 2002 Report Share Posted September 29, 2002 Hi Margo, I was just wondering if you had ever researched Uterine Artery Embolization, and why after deciding against myo you thought hyst would be better for you than UAE as UAE doesn't cause adhesions, evolve any surgery, and would go after all 10 fibroids at the same time. You would probably have to still deal with the adenomyosis, but perhaps you could deal with that once the fibroids decrease in size. I don't know that you're " crazy " , but I would certainly take the extra time your doctor is offering you to catch your breath and make sure hyst is really what you want. Maybe it is, but then again maybe it isn't.... Gerri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2002 Report Share Posted September 30, 2002 I'm not the original poster but I can relate to her decision. I'm much older (50) and mostly asymptomatic--no pain, just heavy, long periods and mild anemia. I have several very large fibroids and an enlarged uterus (20-22 weeks pregnancy). I'm still not going through menopause and my gyn says it's highly unlikely my fibroids will shrink at menopause. Given that fertility isn't an issue for me and that myo is surgery like hysterectomy, I'm probably going with the hysterectomy. I know I sound like a whimp, but UAE really scares me, especially the injection of polyvinal alcohol. My Dad had a really bad reaction after a cardiac catherization (a test that involves shooting dye through arteries). I'm sure it's not an analogous procedure, but his adverse reaction is influencing my thinking. I'm getting a second opinion, so I might be persuaded to try an alternative. But that's my thinking right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2002 Report Share Posted September 30, 2002 In a message dated 9/30/02 9:35:22 AM US Mountain Standard Time, rhymom@... writes: > I'm still not going through menopause and my gyn says it's > highly unlikely my fibroids will shrink at menopause. Hi. I'm a few years older than you are and I have adenomyosis, not fibroids. When I thought I had a huge fibroid, doctors were telling me that it would shrink during or after menopause. Did your doctor explain why he didn't think yours would shrink? Cheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2002 Report Share Posted September 30, 2002 I apologize if I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but you really ought to hop over to the embo Yahoo group and look into this option. Also check out www.fibroidoptions.com. I'm 46 and now, three weeks post-UAE, I can't even believe I actually considered hysterectomy as an alternative. UAE is so much less radical, and involves so much less recovery time (plus you get the added bonus of keeping an otherwise healthy uterus), that it ought to be considered in many more cases than it is. Ellen E Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2002 Report Share Posted September 30, 2002 why not consider myomectomy seriously and keep your uterus? that's what i did at 50, pre menopause. >I'm not the original poster but I can relate to her decision. I'm much older >(50) and mostly asymptomatic--no pain, just heavy, long periods and mild >anemia. I have several very large fibroids and an enlarged uterus (20-22 >weeks pregnancy). I'm still not going through menopause and my gyn says it's >highly unlikely my fibroids will shrink at menopause. Given that fertility >isn't an issue for me and that myo is surgery like hysterectomy, I'm probably >going with the hysterectomy. I know I sound like a whimp, but UAE really >scares me, especially the injection of polyvinal alcohol. My Dad had a really >bad reaction after a cardiac catherization (a test that involves shooting dye >through arteries). I'm sure it's not an analogous procedure, but his adverse >reaction is influencing my thinking. I'm getting a second opinion, so I might >be persuaded to try an alternative. But that's my thinking >right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2002 Report Share Posted September 30, 2002 How do you know your bleeding isn't a perimenopausal period? I was getting pretty nervous after a 3 week period, thinking it was my fibroid, when I talked to a doctor who told me it was just menopause. I realize everyone is different but since the average age of meno is 51.8 years.... could you be closer than your doctor thinks? That's interesting too that your doctor thinks your fibroids won't shrink after meno. Is it because your doc figures you'll use HRT? Gerri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2002 Report Share Posted September 30, 2002 At 12:24 PM 9/30/2002, jerzger wrote: >How do you know your bleeding isn't a perimenopausal period? I was >getting pretty nervous after a 3 week period, thinking it was my >fibroid, when I talked to a doctor who told me it was just >menopause. I realize everyone is different but since the average age >of meno is 51.8 years.... could you be closer than your doctor >thinks? That's interesting too that your doctor thinks your fibroids >won't shrink after meno. Is it because your doc figures you'll use >HRT? I also had a 3 week period this summer that didn't seem to want to stop. (The Lupron did it in.) As my gyn described it, some fibroid seemed to have dropped or moved to cause me to bleed like that. I don't know. I was so sick and anemic at the time that I am amazed I was able to stand and I probably shouldn't have been driving at all, so I had a hard time following what the doctor said. At any rate, I'm only 33, so in my case probably years from perimenopause. My mother had a hysterectomy before menopause, at age 53. My grandmother's hyst. was at age 38. I have no idea whatsoever when menopause will come for me. I do hope to meet it with my uterus, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2002 Report Share Posted October 2, 2002 >I've decided that I was going to wait 4-5 months and watch and wait. This of > course didn't make my doctor very happy, but what is > she really going to do . . hehe. Anyway, she actually > suggested (after calming down a bit) a UAE! Margo - On my fourth opinion (i.e., after going to three docs that advised hysterectomy) I actually found a doctor who thoroughly reviewed my records and talked with me about all of my options. Based on my history and my preferences (e.g., keep uterus, avoid major surgery, etc.), she suggested one of two things: watch and wait or UAE. The caveat to watching and waiting was that she felt I should have ultrasounds every 3 months so I didn't unknowingly allow things to progress to a point where I no longer had a choice in the matter. I decided that I didn't want to continue having my life revolve around these alien critters in my body. If you do watch and wait, make sure you monitor things closely and are ready to make a decision if you have to. Ellen E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2002 Report Share Posted October 2, 2002 Margo, Seek treatment now, don't wait like me, I postpone my UAE, and when my fibroid degenerated, the pain was too much, that I ended up with hys. Which I tell you was never my option. I just keep waiting and weighting things, but my fibroid had other agenda. vt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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