new here....

[Guest guest]

Hi all.

As the subject line says, I'm new here. I've been avidly reading

everything that has come my way, and I have to say I have found it

all to be very enlightening.

I was told after a routine exam last Feb that I probably had

fibroids, but unless it was a problem I didn't need to worry about

it. Well, my period has been insanely erratic for about 4 years now,

and after that, things just got nuttier, if that was possible. In

June I went for the ultrasound.

My doctor's office nurse called me a few days later and told me I had

one small fibroid and I didn't need to do anything about it. Well,

that sort of annoyed me... it was phone call lasting less than a

minute and she was gone. I felt as if I had been blown off. I called

a couple of days later, trying to get hold of the doctor. He was on

vacation. I called the week after, was told he'd call me back, and

then the stupid office lost my info. I called the next day, which is

his regular day off (otherwise he does work six days a week, I don't

begrudge him the time off). The week after that, I went on a vacation.

Since then, I let it ride. I didn't have any insurance anyway at that

point, so there wasn't much I could afford to do on my own, and I

decided that I would just take the wait & see approach for a time.

Since then, my period has become incredibly heavy (it was always

heavy, now it's ridiculous), lasting anywhere from 7 to 14 days with

the average being 10, and also including blod clots that would make

me think I was having a miscarriage if that were possible (it isn't,

I had my tubes tied many years ago). I have serious back pain, feel

bloated constantly, and ovulation is now accompanied by severe

soreness in my breasts. Also, the interval between cycles is anywhere

from 16 to 30 days, and there is no way to guess when it is going to

come. The only real clue to my period coming is that I have to run to

the bathroom even more... In short, I'm miserable.

I tried to make an appointment with the doctor on Friday, and because

of the snow the office was closed. So, first thing tomorrow morning

I'm calling and raising all manner of trouble until I can get some

attention. Oh, and the insurance thing is no longer an issue,

thankfully, so I won't have to sell my son to pay for treatment.

So, my question is this: given that my family history gives me reason

to believe menopause isn't likely for another 15 years (I'm 43 now)

and that I absolutely under no circumstances want another child, and

the whole situation is driving me mad, is there any reason

to " preserve " fertility that I don't want in the first place? I mean,

I'm not using this organ and it is making me miserable. Why keep it,

under these circumstances? I can look forward to a great many more

years of pain and I'm not at all happy about that idea.

Kim