Anesth Trauma/Digestive Probs/Naming 'Broids/Lupron

[Guest guest]

Hi all & happy Friday,

Posting on several topics seen on the list lately:

1. Anesthesia trauma -- someone mentioned Peggy Huddleston's book,

Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster. It comes with a tape. I found it

overall helpful. I believe she writes (and I have seen this

elsewhere) that patients who have effective relaxation training have

up to 50% fewer complications. Some hospitals give this book away

(free) and even have seminars to help prepare patients. Ask!! Being

fearful is normal, but you can do something about it so you are much

more calm.

2. Digestive problems/Fibroids -- every now and then someone posts

the question of whether fibroids cause digestive problems --

diarrhea, constipation, nausea, heartburn. On the GI end -- I've had

two colonscopies & other procedures as well over the years, for loose

stools alternating with constipation, have had more than one

diagnosis but ended up finally with the irritable bowel syndrome

diagnosis (which others have mentioned here, is very common). I

wanted to flag for the attention of those posting on this topic that

Carla posted a study showing that women with IBS have more surgeries,

including hysterectomies, than others. My GI doctor, after performing

what he described as a " very difficult " colonoscopy due to my

enormous fibroid getting in the way, suggested that the fibroid could

only make things worse (but not that it caused the problems). I did

have some resolution of my (generally mild) symptoms after surgery,

especially the constipation. But IBS is VERY common and nobody should

choose ANY kind of surgery because it " might " resolve GI symptoms,

when you are not sure what causes them. Colonoscopy and other GI

tests to rule out something else are much less risky than major

surgery. You don't want to have major surgery thinking it " might "

resolve symptoms only to learn that it doesn't.

3. Naming fibroids: my dear departed, but not missed fibroid was

named Lloyd the 'Broid. He was huge (28 cm.). He just kept " super-

sizing. " He could have had a career in Mc's commercials.

3. Lupron: my doc was fine with removing Lloyd the 'Broid without

lupron treatment first. He does use lupron but said it's most helpful

when someone has non-stop bleeding and/or needs to resolve anemia

before surgery (neither was true for me). As you know if you've read

previous posts, many docs are of the opinion that lupron makes the

fibroids mushy and harder to remove (and can contribute to rapid bone

loss and other not pleasant problems). Plus you don't want

to " shrink " smaller ones so they are missed during surgery, only to

have them regrow later. I wonder if a doctor who insists on Lupron

just because of the size of fibroids is unsure about his or her own

surgical skills.

Sunny