Re: Digest Number 2332

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Hi, this message is for who just had her UFE. The first thing I want to

tell you is that you should join and post on the 'embo' group here on yahoo

because it can provide you access to women who have had UFEs as well as those

who are considering it. Between this group and that one you can get great info

and support.

I had mine in May for different reasons than yours - not bleeding but

bulk/pressure problems that finally got so bad I had to do something and this

seemed the best option. It has worked out extremely well for me.

I have to say that it sounds as though you did not get extremely good prep or

aftercare in terms of what you went through with your procedure. It should be

standard protocol for women who undergo UAE to have an MCA pump (for

self-administered pain killers of one type or other) post-op. Most women

experience the greatest discomfort in the hours just after the procedure and

with the right drugs, this is not hard to get through. To make you wait an hour

for relief really sounds like the crew where you were did not understand what

you needed.

In terms of what you've experienced post-op in terms of spotting, that sounds

normal based on other women's experiences. Having a bad-smelling discharge

might also be normal (if you are convinced that you were not having an

infection!). If you are sloughing the fibroids (or some percentage of them) you

would experience some heavy clotting too. Having some heavy bleeding only a few

weeks after your UAE is not a sign that the procedure failed!!!

(BTW, the bladder infection thing is pretty common as a side effect of

catheterization. Not all IRs use a catheter and I was happy that my IR was not

in favor of them.)

Most women find that it takes a few months for everything to get to some degree

of consistency. In my case, my symptoms were totally resolved within a few

weeks, but it took about 3-4 months before my periods were predictable. I

skipped a couple of times and had one bad bout of PMS; and my flow was either

shorter or on-and-off in odd ways. This is consistent with the experience of

other women I know who've had the UAE.

And I guess that's the message I'd like to send. It seems as though your IR did

not provide you with enough info about what to expect after the procedure. I

personally think that as more gynos become more accepting about this, and more

women realize they can do this, then more IRs will realize they can be

successful in their business by providing this service. Unfortunately this does

not mean that women will be well-served.

Anyway, I hope your situation becomes more comfortable and you can get more

information and that will help too!

best,

laurie g.