Re: UAE - Looking for experiences

[Guest guest]

Laurieg:

I had a UAE in Nov. and it was not bad at all as far as medical procedures.

My pain was never more than a 5 and I really could have gone home that same

day, but My IR keeps everyone overnight for observation and pain management.

I needed about 1 week to be back to almost normal. By 2.5 wks, I was great.

My gyn didn't recommend UAE to me, but was supportive when I finally decided

on it. I found the IR myself through the Society of Interventional

Radiologists on the internet. I made my own appt. to met with the IR. He

was at the same hosp. as my gyn, so it was fine.

Research all your options. That was what I did and I am so glad I did. I

felt confident in my decision for me to do UAE. Good luck to you.

[Guest guest]

There is another Yahoo group devoted entirely to UAE. It is at this

address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/embo/

> Hi

>

> I am 49 years old and have a fibroid the size of a 14-week

pregnancy. I am recently beginning to experience discomfort (but no

bleeding). I am not interested in trying to have children at this

point in my life but would like to avoid surgery and be more

comfortable (the way things are going it's clear to me I'm going to

need to do something sooner rather than later.) Based on family

history, menopause is probably 4-5 years away. I probably can't

ride this out. I am trying to find out what people have been

through:

>

> * evaluating whether or not to have Uterine Arterial Emolisation

or any other interventional radiological procedure and

>

> * finding a good radiologist

>

> and most importantly,

>

> * if you did this procedure, what were your post-op experiences

both short-term and long?

>

> thanks so much for any substantive information anyone has to

share....

>

> bfn

>

> laurieg.

[Guest guest]

I just got a UAE brochure from the local IR here. He likes for all his patients

to go to:

www.scvir.org or call toll-free 1- for info.

Maybe this will help you and others.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Cecile.... does that mean that no one shares experiences in this group

unless they have had or are considering surgical options?

cecile572001 wrote:

There is another Yahoo group devoted entirely to UAE. It is at this

address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/embo/

[Guest guest]

I have to say that the more I read and hear, the less frantic and anxious I

become. Three weeks ago I thought I was looking down the barrel of a

hysterectomy! Thanks for sharing your experience!

laurieg

[Guest guest]

Laurie,

My gynecologist recommended a hysterectomy or looking into UAE for my 8 cm

fibroid that was giving me urinary problems. I was 45 at the time. He gave

me the name of an IR in my area (northern Va.), and I did research on the

Internet about this IR as well. He checked out very good and I was

impressed with him after consultation, so I went with him. And my gyn told

me that in his experience, women who were uncertain about which procedure to

choose became definite one way or the other after consultation with an IR.

I don't know about that, but definitely the more you read and learn about

options for fibroid treatment, the more you start to lean towards a specific

procedure for yourself.

I had the UAE 2 years ago, on March 30, 2001. I am one of those who had an

excellent result with UAE. My symptoms disappeared almost immediately

including back pain, which I didn't know was due to the fibroids but

apparently was. I did not have extraordinary pain afterwards, and what I

had was controlled with the pain meds. I did get very nauseaus from the

pain meds and had to spend an extra night in the hospital on IV. (However,

my procedure started very late on a Friday, and I was okay by Saturday

night - just not when the doctor came to examine for release around noon on

Saturday.) I stayed out of work for a week, but could have gone back

earlier. I was more tired than normal that week, though, so it was nice to

stay at home and rest. Even with a good result, a lot of women seem to need

at least two weeks to recover from UAE, and I think this is pretty normal,

too (this is just my opinion - I am no doctor).

Many of us who have had UAE (or are contemplating having it) are members of

both the uterinefibroids list and the " embo " list, which is also on

. They are both extremely informative. There are a few IRs who

are members of the Embo list and will respond to questions. Also, both

lists have extensive archived messages that you can access and read

experiences to your heart's content! Every conceivable situation is on

there.

Two years out, and I am doing great. I still have regular periods, 28 days

apart, but they are lighter than before and almost cramp-free. I am

starting to have perimenopausal symptoms (night sweats, mood swings), but

since I am 47, I consider this due to my age and not the UAE.

Good luck in your research. You will find a lot of support here, and I

recommend the Embo list in addition to this one if you are interested in

UAE.

B.

UAE - Looking for experiences

.....

I am trying to find out what people have been through:

>

> * evaluating whether or not to have Uterine Arterial Emolisation or any

other interventional radiological procedure and

>

> * finding a good radiologist

>

> and most importantly,

>

> * if you did this procedure, what were your post-op experiences both

short-term and long?

>

> thanks so much for any substantive information anyone has to share....

>

> bfn

>

> laurieg.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Not at all, just another source of information, especially since UAE

is the focus of the embo group.

>

> There is another Yahoo group devoted entirely to UAE. It is at

this

> address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/embo/

[Guest guest]

Not at all, just another source of information, especially since UAE

is the focus of the embo group.

>

> There is another Yahoo group devoted entirely to UAE. It is at

this

> address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/embo/

[Guest guest]

Not at all, just another source of information, especially since UAE

is the focus of the embo group.

>

> There is another Yahoo group devoted entirely to UAE. It is at

this

> address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/embo/

[Guest guest]

Thank you, . This is so very encouraging at this point. I especially keyed

in on the 'urinary problems' part since this is the area that's pushing me to a

decision.

You did mention that you had checked out your IR on the Internet & I'm just

wondering what you did to do that. There is an IR at Yale (which is closest to

me geographically) and I'm really interested in learning all I can about him.

I'm so grateful for discussion groups like this, I can't imagine going through

this process alone!

bfn

laurie

Browning wrote:Laurie,

My gynecologist recommended a hysterectomy or looking into UAE for my 8 cm

fibroid that was giving me urinary problems. I was 45 at the time. He gave

me the name of an IR in my area (northern Va.), and I did research on the

Internet about this IR as well. He checked out very good and I was

impressed with him after consultation, so I went with him. And my gyn told

me that in his experience, women who were uncertain about which procedure to

choose became definite one way or the other after consultation with an IR.

I don't know about that, but definitely the more you read and learn about

options for fibroid treatment, the more you start to lean towards a specific

procedure for yourself.

[Guest guest]

Laurie,

I just put his name in the search line in various search engines and came up

with several hits...read those - they were all positive. I checked him out

on the AMA website and the Virginia Board of Medicine - good educational

background, no complaints against him. He was known to Dr. Lipman of the

Embo group, who wrote me (as he did you) and recommended him. He is the

lead investigator for the CIRREF registry at the hospital where I had my

UAE. He has lectured at SCVIR conventions on patient suitability for UAE.

He was listed as a co-author of a few published works on UAE that I found.

I just never found anything negative...and then when I met him, he went

farther than my gyn did to assure that it was the fibroid causing the

urinary problems and not something else. He was cautious in recommending

UAE until the MRI was done and other urinary testing was complete.

I see that you joined the Embo group. You can also do a search in the

archives of both lists to see if others have had experience with them. Good

luck!

B.

----- Original Message -----

> You did mention that you had checked out your IR on the Internet & I'm

just wondering what you did to do that. There is an IR at Yale (which is

closest to me geographically) and I'm really interested in learning all I

can about him.

[Guest guest]

Hey

I am going to do that, too. I actually messed myself up a little bit by

mispelling the name of one of his associates (Jeff Pollak) and not getting a hit

and wondering how effective using the web was going to be. Obviously these

groups are the best source to find out what people's experiences are. I talked

with the nurse-practitioner yesterrday to set up my appointment and that was one

of my more positive medical interactions I've ever had.

I just continue to be so impressed by what a great resource this group is!