Myo scheduled for March

[Guest guest]

Visited an RE Thursday & he advised I have ONE! large

intramural fibroid, which is the size of a 5 month

pregnancy. He wants me to take Lupron to make the

surgery more manageable. I'm against Lupron due to the

many side effects, especially memory loss. I'm single

with no family nearby, so I can't afford to go to work

& not remember what I've been doing for 17 years!

The RE advised he's performed 50-100 myo's in his 10

years of practice; performed 8 last month & 4 so far

in January. He volunteered names of patients whom I

can talk to who've had myo's & taken Lupron. The

doctor advised he can perform the surgery without me

taking Lupron, which is what I want to happen. He did

indicate everyone reacts differently to Lupron.

I was told I would not have a " bikini " line scar as

the fibroid is so large & up to my navel. I will be

cut downward to the pubic bone, in the hospital for 2

days & will have 8 weeks to recover.

Has anyone had a large intramural fibroid removed via

a myo? If so, what was your recovery time? Due to the

cutting of the muscle, how PAINFUL! was it during

recovery? Did your stomach go down after surgery? The

doctor advised my stomach muscles have been pushed out

by the fibroid & I will have to train them (crunches)

to go back to their original position. How large is

your scar & do you have problems with " tingling " where

the incision was made?

This ONE! LARGE! fibroid has taken over my life & I

want to start living again. My symptoms of the fibroid

is frequent bathroom breaks & my stomach pooches out.

I'm ready to regain control of what use to be a very

happy life.

I welcome your comments.

Celeste

[Guest guest]

I have a myo scheduled for March as well so I really can't offer too

much advice. Although, I do have a lot of the same quesions.

I would ask around about the Lupron. I saw three physicians before

deciding on one and all three said Lupron makes the fibroids mushy

and hard to remove. Of course, I have multiple fibroids so that may

be applicable to me. I have heard some physicians like to shrink the

fibriod prior to surgery.

If you are interested I am seeking some pre-surgery natural methods

for a quicker and less painful (so they say) recovery. It is what my

acunpuncturist calls a planned trauma. I am getting acupuncture prior

and taking a homeopathic remedy called Arnica.

[Guest guest]

Hi, Celeste --

I had one 11-cm intramural fibroid removed via abdominal myomectomy

exactly one month ago. My doctor attempted to remove it

laparoscopically but had to change to an open procedure because the

bleeding obscured his view. Also, because the fibroid was

posterior, as well as so large, he had to make a vertical incision

instead of a horizontal bikini-line incision.

After the first week or a bit less, my recovery has been remarkably

good and fast. I was in the hospital for 3 nights (bowels were slow

to get back on track) and stayed mostly in bed for another few days

(during which time I used Percocet and regular ibuprofen for pain),

but by 10 days or so post-op, I was feeling *much* better -- walking

slowly but fairly comfortably, off the Percocet, feeling fairly

alert, etc. Now, one month post-op, I would say I am probably at 90-

95% functionality and energy, and I am returning to work in a few

days (would have liked another week or so, but the new semester

begins on Friday, and I've gotta be there!). Many people have

commented on how quickly I've recovered.

As far as pain, the first 24-48 hours were not at all pleasant

(thank goodness for morphine and its cousins), but each day after

that, the pain was noticeably less. My scar is about 5 inches long

(navel to pubic bone) and is healing nicely. There is some numbness

right around the incision itself; I've heard it may take between a

couple of months to a year for the nerves to regenerate and all

sensation to return. My belly is still somewhat swollen, though

that, too, decreases as time goes on. It's already smaller, though,

than it was pre-myo (damn big fibroid!).

You mentioned constant bathroom use. That was one of my symptoms,

too, and I noticed an almost immediate difference in that.

Seriously, even though I drink tons of water, I'm not in the

bathroom half as much as I used to be! It's great!

I'm sure you'll hear from other women about their experiences --

this list is an amazing source of information, encouragement, and

support. You're welcome to e-mail me directly if you have any other

questions: poptarte at sbcglobal dot net.

Good luck!

[Guest guest]

Hi Celeste,

I took Lupron for 3 months prior to my surgery. I was not thrilled

about taking the drug either and was very worried about side-

effects. The only side-effect that I had was hot flashes and they

were managable. The Lupron did not shrink my fibroids at all....it

did stop my periods which did allow me to build up my iron

count....but I may have been able to do that on my own taking iron

pills.

I had a large vertical incision.....pubic bone....up and around my

belly button....to 4 inches above. NO muscles were cut...they were

moved out of the way...so I am sure they were stretched but my Dr.

assured me that they do not cut your muscle tissue. My fibroids

weighed over 10 pounds...so YES there was a NOTICIBLE decrease in the

size of my belly! My recovery has gone well...I am 6 weeks post-op

and feel better than before. I do not have any tingeling anywhere on

my incision, but it is a little numb around my belly button. As far

as the recovery time....I would say that I felt totally back to

normal at the 4 week mark. I made sure to keep moving everyday and

go on walks from day 2 on and I think that really helped me.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck To You!

> Visited an RE Thursday & he advised I have ONE! large

> intramural fibroid, which is the size of a 5 month

> pregnancy. He wants me to take Lupron to make the

> surgery more manageable.