To Anni

[Guest guest]

Welcome Anni,

Oh your descriptions of " living " with fibroids rings so familiar with me. As

I read down your post I found myself nodding my head with understanding of

how we women with terribly symptomatic fibroids have to alter our lives

around their unsettling behavior.

Oh, I hear you about the black pants, the day of clots, and the never

planning long term vacations because of not knowing if you could make it or

not. And when you're going through all of it, it seems that there are no

women close to you who understand. I never knew anyone who had such

difficulties with uterine bleeding before I found the women on this list.

And I found them during my surgical stint to remove all the fibroids (after

I'd been through the worst of it.) So I'm glad you found us while you are

in the middle of the bad stuff so we can help you get through it instead of

you coping alone.

I am surprised that your doc did not find any submucosal fibs during your

diagnostic hysteroscopy. Do you have an intramural fibroid that is growing

through your fundus putting pressure on the uterine arteries? Do you know,

does your surgeon know, or will your abdominal myo be diagnostic as well?

Like you, my prior gyn dx me with adenomyosis. He could only suspect it

because to truly have a concrete dx the uterus has to be dissected after a

hysterectomy. And like you, I was not doing that.

I had an ab myo first. My gyn removed several fibs but he missed the

problematic ones in the uterine cavity. my symptoms did not disappear (like

yours did not after your hysteroscopy) so I lived with them for years until

I could not any longer. I then went to a reproductive endocrinologist who

found where the fibroids were residing. He removed them via hysteroscopic

resection, and now I'm living with three-day/very light periods! And I do

not have adenomyosis.

So it sounds like you and I have been through similar circumstances with our

fibs and our docs. Only your fibs weren't detected through a hysteroscopy

because it sounds like they are in the uterine muscle. So good for you for

having the courage to schedule your ab myo. I will pray that your surgeon

will remove the fibroid and leave you with lighter periods, less painful,

and a better functioning uterus.

I know you are worried about the hysterectomy consent form. I don't know if

you are required to sign it for legal reasons, but I decided I would sign

mine anyway. I made my doctor understand that the only way he would perform

a hyst would be to save my life in case there were any major surgical

complications. And I had multiple large fibs, so that was a possibility.

In your case, if you only have the one fib, your myo should be fast, leave

you with minimal scarring, and there should be minimal bleeding; no reason

for a hyst.

Make sure you ask your surgeon how everything else looks before you go in

for the surgery. How are your ovaries, the tubes, the cervix, etc? Reasons

for conversion of a myo to a hyst are if the surgeon finds large

abnormalities with the uterus that cannot be removed leaving an intact

uterus, or if so much of the uterus is cut through there is uncontrolled

hemorrhaging. This is rarely the case if you have had ultrasounds,

hysteroscopy exams, etc prior to the surgery.

I know you are nervous, that's completely normal. But know, many of the

women here (actually a lot more than many) have had multiple myos and still

have functioning uteruses. I have had two uterine surgeries (one myo, one

ooferectomy of the right ovary) and three resection myos. My uterus is now

in better shape for a pregnancy than it has been since I was a teen. And I'm

only 30. So keep your chin up... you'll come through with flying colors!

If you need more comforting words, feel free to e-mail me personally. But I

know the other ladies here can point out more positive aspects of your

surgery too.

Blessings to you my dear,

:)Sonja

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