Re: scheduled for surgery 4/5

[Guest guest]

Hi. What type of surgery are you scheduled for? Myomectomy?

Hysterectomy? UFE? Other? Did you doctor specify the type?

Gerri

> I'm new to this site and I have lots of questions. I read the

book

> by Carla Dionne several times. Studied is more like it. My

uterus

> is 20 weeks now and I have three " large " (approx. 7 cm X 8 cm each)

> fibroids and " several little friends " . I just wanted another

opinion

> about having surgery. I've been to two doctors. Both recommend

> surgery (one last April, another this April). My uterus grew 6

weeks

> in one year. From the book, I read this is fast growing and I'm

> having a lot of discomfort, incontenance, and many other symptoms.

I

> just feel I need to deal with it. I was hoping to communicate with

> someone else who has been in this same position. I will be

looking

> for e-mails and possibly a chat. My time is running out and I'd

like

> to know this is the right thing to do. I'm 45 and had a tubal 19

> years ago so having children is not a concern for me.

[Guest guest]

Hello Deb,

I see no one has responded to you yet so let me welcome you to the

group, it is a great source of information and support!

You don't say what kind of surgery you are considering. That is an

important element of your decision-making process.

I am 48, have not yet hit menopause, and have been in a very similar

situation. I had large fibroid(s) for many years, eventually growing

to 20-week size like yours. My symptoms were bulk symptoms -- bladder

pressure, pressure on the colon, discomfort. No heavy bleeding or

cramping. But it was getting serious enough (and the fibroid was

continuing to grow) for me to start seriously considering surgery. My

regular gynecologist (who I had been seeing for several years for his

well-known reluctance to " slice & dice " ) counseled me that if I

finally needed surgery, he would suggest hysterectomy ONLY, that

myomectomy entailed too much risk of bleeding and would

be " irresponsible " in a woman my age -- what??!! I asked my internist

for a referral for a second opinion, and he sent me to a reproductive

endocrinologist (RE) who offered hysterectomy OR myomectomy, the

choice up to me.

I had abdominal myomectomy with this RE on Dec. 8, 2003 (almost 4

months ago now). It turned out that what appeared to be 2-3 large

fibroids on multipe ultrasounds was actually one HUGE " multinodular "

fibroid, 27 cm (9+ inches). It was growing from a small connecting

area on the outside top of the uterus. The surgery was uncomplicated,

there was virtually no blood loss, and I recovered quickly. Abdominal

surgery is no fun, but it went better than expected and I am very

pleased with the decision.

Keep researching until you feel that you can make a well-informed and

satisfactory decision for YOU. You can learn a lot from women here. I

wanted to keep my uterus for several reasons:

(1) pelvic support -- I already have a somewhat prolapsed bladder and

rectum (eg these organs are somewhat falling into the vagina), and

removal of the uterus carries a high risk of causing/worsening loss

of pelvic support;

(2) even when ovaries are kept in, there is some risk of earlier

menopause, and I want to keep my own hormones going as long as

possible especially since I already have oseopenia (lower than

average bone density but not yet osteoporosis); there is also some

indication, though this is not yet well-studied or -understood, that

the uterus, not just the ovaries, produces important prostaglandins

(hormone-like substances) for bone density and other bodily

functions;

(3) sexual function -- for many of us uterine contractions are part

of the experience of orgasm, and I didn't want to lose that; also,

the medical profession is only now (that's right, only now!)

beginning to look at the effect of hysterectomy in sometimes damaging

pelvic nerves including those related to sexual function. I didn't

want to take the chance.

It seems more typical than not that women here have to go to more

than one (often several) doctors to find one who will offer options

besides hysterectomy, especially if we are past child-bearing age.

Myomectomy is often more complicated surgery and may require skills

that a regular ob-gyn won't have. However, it is NOT riskier in the

great majority of cases with a well-trained and experienced surgeon.

Often RE's have more experience with myomectomy because they remove

many fibroids from women wanting to get pregnant.

You may know a lot of this already from reading Carla Dionne's book,

but just in case...

Hope it is helpful, and feel free to email me private if you like.

Best wishes to you.

Sunny

> I'm new to this site and I have lots of questions. I read the book

> by Carla Dionne several times. Studied is more like it. My uterus

> is 20 weeks now and I have three " large " (approx. 7 cm X 8 cm each)

> fibroids and " several little friends " . I just wanted another

opinion

> about having surgery. I've been to two doctors. Both recommend

> surgery (one last April, another this April). My uterus grew 6

weeks

> in one year. From the book, I read this is fast growing and I'm

> having a lot of discomfort, incontenance, and many other symptoms.

I

> just feel I need to deal with it. I was hoping to communicate with

> someone else who has been in this same position. I will be looking

> for e-mails and possibly a chat. My time is running out and I'd

like

> to know this is the right thing to do. I'm 45 and had a tubal 19

> years ago so having children is not a concern for me.

[Guest guest]

Sunny,

I was just wondering with a fibroid your size, was your abdomen distended and

if it was, did it go away after the fibroid was removed. I have to very huge

fibroids along with some tiny ones that make look to be very pregnant, and I

am hoping that once the surgury is done I will at least look somewhat normal.

[Guest guest]

> Sunny,

>

> I was just wondering with a fibroid your size, was your abdomen

distended and

> if it was, did it go away after the fibroid was removed. I have to

very huge

> fibroids along with some tiny ones that make look to be very

pregnant, and I

> am hoping that once the surgury is done I will at least look

somewhat normal.

>

>

>

>