Re: Digest Number 2563 - advice on UFE

April 27, 2004

To PM

You already have a thoughtful reply from one of the other women who posts both

here and on the embo group. I just wanted to reiterate that you ought to join

embo as everyone there has either had or is scheduled to have, or is researching

UAE as their solution.

I had my UAE 11 months ago for bulk symptoms (mostly urinary problems and other

related discomforts.) My largest fibroid was about 10cm but there were other,

smaller ones. I never had much problem with bleeding. I'd qualify the recovery

period in this way:

Need to be in bed and on pain meds = 1 day

Need frequent naps and shouldn't overextend & need to take anti-inflammatories &

possibly stronger meds = up to 4 weeks (in my case 2 weeks)

Back to work = 4 days to 2 weeks (in my case 4 days)

I was cleaning my closets between naps the days after the procedure and back in

the gym on day 5 or 6. That ought to give you some idea about the recovery. I

had intermittent cramping (nothing an Aleve or the ocassional Vicodin couldn't

fix) for about a month. I had immediate symptom relief (2 hours post op) of the

most bothersome of my problems and the rest took about 4-6 weeks. I had (like

many others) several months where my hormones and my periods were erratic, but

nothing was that bad. Not everyone expels fibroid, I didn't, but I think my

shrinkage has been very good. Underneath my too-much-chocolate stomach it's

flat where I used to stick out like a 14-week pregnancy.

Oh, and sex is definitely more comfortable without the fibroids in the way, with

no loss of intensity and at least in my case, more ease with intimacy since the

fibroids had been making me feel fearful (of pain) and generally icky. My

husband and I resumed having intercourse after about 1 month. According to the

IR it could have been sooner, but I felt kind of fragile and waited until I felt

more comfortable. I was nervous about it the first time but got a very happy

surprise since intercourse was more comfortable than it had been in years (I had

not realized the gradual impact of the fibroids until it was gone.)

anyway, come on over to embo and talk to some more women. This is very viable

procedure to consider - and you can get a lot of the anecdotal information you

might need to help with the decision process - whatever that decision turns out

to be.

best,

laurie g.

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