Re: Newly diagnosed, questions, concerns

[Guest guest]

Hello

Welcome to the " not so fun " world of fibroids.

You have found a great place to be by being on this group, here you will be able

to get a lot of information from all of the women going through this.

We all help each other out by exchanging information, experiences etc...etc...

I can tell you I have been living with fibroids since 1988 (when I first was

diagnosed) I already had a myomectomy (removal of fibroids only, leaving the

uterus intact) in 1990, but unfortunately they re envaded my uterus and I am now

facing another myo.

I have found in my experience, that many doctors will always suggest a

hysterectomy, especially if the patient has already had her family or is close

to menopause. For me, (and for quite a few women on the list) it's not an

acceptable option, so we go for 2nd 3rd 4th ...opinions until we find a doctor

that will offer us

other options that may be taken.

There are many options out there for the treatment of fibroids, hysterectomy is

not the only way out, I myself was told HYST. is the way to go, but I refuse

to accept it. so on Thurs. I will go for my 4th opinion to a great surgeon that

hopefully will tell me otherwise.

I also had family members and friends with lots of " opinions " but I choose to

make my own choice!

When I was re-diagnosed with fibroids this last January, I was also very

stressed out, I felt lost, and confused, my GYN called me with the news and told

me that I should be going to see an oncologist, I cried for days before my

appointment (fearing the worst) I actually had to breath in a paper bag before I

walked into his office (hyperventilating) and literally sick to my stomach! OF

COURSE he suggested TOTAL HYST. but confirmed that they were just fibroids and

nothing else.

Today, (4months later) I am much calmer about the whole thing, my support is

this group, I don't post a lot but I do read every single msg that comes through

this site and that has helped me enormously. Today I can face the " enemy "

without any fears.

Educate yourself as much as you can on the issue, and you will be able to make

the right choice.

Good Luck!

Marisa

----Original Message-----

To: uterinefibroids uterinefibroids >

Date: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 11:19 PM

Subject: Newly diagnosed, questions, concerns

1. Apparently I have one fairly huge fibroid (22cm).

2. My gyn recommends a hysterectomy (of course), but leave the ovaries and

the cervix.

I think my major problem, concern, question, whatever, is that I

don't know how I FEEL about all of this mess. The doctor says " no

biggie, just some more surgery and it'll be all better " .

[Guest guest]

Hi Chris

Yeah I named my big bad area and since we

weren't sure WHAT he was even the Doctor called him

. Doc Z has a wicked sense of humor.

A HYSTERECTOMY is removing an ORGAN you are supposed

to have. If anyone treats it as no big thing then you

need a new Doc. As with any surgery removal of an

organ it has consequences. And your feelings count.

There are books that talk about the consequences etc

one is something like the Hysterectomy Hoax I think.

As for the suggestion...Becoming deaf is helpful. My

friends and relatives and even strangers and coworkers

all told me what I should do. I had so much " help " it

frequently drove me to tears and depression. You need

to do what is right for you. Think what addresses

your needs, your fears, your hopes and your family and

medical histories then act.

Best wishes

e

--- chrisryan372 chrisryan372@...> wrote:

>Does anybody have any suggestions for communicating with friends and family

>what decisions you've made?

> 3. Did anybody else out there name their

> fibroid(s), or am I just a little nuts by all this?

> I think my major problem, concern, question,

> whatever, is that I don't know how I FEEL about all of this mess. The

> doctor says " no biggie, just some more surgery and it'll be all

> better " .

[Guest guest]

Hi Chris

That is a large fibroid, but there's no harm in window shopping for

information on fibroids and other treatment options as you are

doing. You might also be a candidate for the myomectomy or UAE or

another option, or even a combination of approaches. Some doctors

have patients take fibroid shrinking drugs before surgery and others

don't ...it depends on the case. Every treatment has it's potential

pros and cons. I had the abdom. myo (I want children in future),

which ought to resolve symptom problems caused by the fibroids that

are removed. That might be all of the fibroid(s), but it's worth

checking with the doctor before surgery, as some of us found we had

the myo and still had fibroids in us too. The surgeons have to make

judgement calls. There are some other forums around that will be

relevant to you and you can find their addresses by link

hopping...Yahoo embo group, The Fibroid Place, UK Smartgroups,

Hyster-Sisters, Sans uterii, etc.

There are some great fibroid books around that are worth their

weight in gold. (The contact information is usually American,

but 'Coping with Fibroids' is a UK one.) High street booksellers

rarely have more than one fibroid book, but you could try online

booksellers, fibroid charity sites (Sisterhood network), public

libraries, Charity shops, and health food shops books. Sometimes the

authors have websites of their own, which might explain the books in

more detail and give you an idea of their areas of interest.

With the myo there's a chance you'll get fibroids again or that some

will be left in.

I expect after having a very large fibroid removed, you'll really

feel a lot better afterwards. The hyt and abdominal myo have similar

recovery experiences and time spans.

Aztek