Fibroids...

[Corie]

Fibroids. I have them but my gynecologist said that they aren't in my uterus
so they can't be surgically removed. Does that sound right? I've been on my period forever.
It's getting really old.

[AngB]

Fibroids, by definition, are in the uterus. If it's not in the uterus, it's not a fibroid.

That said, it's not typical for them to ever remove them either. If a patient has a really big one and has difficulty getting pregnant, sometimes they will (it's called a myomectomy). But I have never heard of a doctor removing them for non-childbearing reasons. They also wouldn't typically affect your period unless maybe it's in your endometrium (still a part of the uterus-- it's the part that "sheds" every month to give us periods..)

Most often with patients with really bad fibroids, especially if they are done having kids, I see ob/gyn's recommending hysterectomies.

[meggie t]

That does seem odd, although there are some fibroids that are harder to remove than others. I would research a fibroid specialist in your area.

[JBaxter]

My friend just had a hysterectomy due to heavy prolonged bleeding from fibroids. Hers was done vaginally and recovered really quickly She actually had a myomectomy in her 20's also.

[essnce629]

Fibroids, by definition, are in the uterus. If it's not in the uterus, it's not a fibroid.


Fibroids can be inside the uterus in the cavity, in between the uterine walls, or on the outside of the uterus. Maybe that's what she means, that they're on the outside of her uterus?

I was a horribly heavy bleeder which led to low iron. I eventually went to a gyn at the suggestion of my family doctor. She did an ultrasound and found a large golf ball sized blood filled cyst on my ovary (endometrioma). After trying to shrink it medically for months with no change we decided to remove it surgically (laproscopically). We also decided on an exploratory lap to look for any endometriosis or fibroids that could be causing my heavy periods. She didn't find any endometriosis while in there but did find a larger walnut sized fibroid inside my uterus and 2 smaller ones on the outside of my uterus (1 of which I was always able to feel while pregnant). She thought that the larger one was probably contributing to my heavy periods, but not the smaller outside ones. She removed all 3 of them. Hysterectomy was never discussed because I was 33 at the time and still hopeful for a thrid child. After having the fibroids removed my periods did slowly decrease in heaviness over several months times. I went from having 2 days of extremely heavy periods to only having a heavy flow for a few hours or not at all anymore. But, light periods are also a symptom of hyperthyroidism which I was diagnosed with 3 months ago, so I think both were affecting my periods. Women with small fibroids probably won't ever have symptoms, but other women with fibroids may suffer from heavy or painful periods, abdominal pain, lower back pain, frequent urination, pain or discomfort during sex, or constipation.

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[Corie]

Fibroids can be inside the uterus in the cavity, in between the uterine walls, or on the outside of the uterus. Maybe that's what she means, that they're on the outside of her uterus?



Yes to this. Thank you for explaining it better than I did.

[Corie]

My friend just had a hysterectomy due to heavy prolonged bleeding from fibroids. Hers was done vaginally and recovered really quickly She actually had a myomectomy in her 20's also.

I've had a heavy prolonged period for a couple months.

[carolinacool]

Oh fibroids. Story of my life.

I had a myomectomy when I was 31. That was about five months before I got married. I’m 43 now, and in May I had a procedure called Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE). This is a procedure where they use some sort of pellet to shrink them. Even though I’m done having kids, I wasn’t really ready for a hysterectomy. The UFE helped some but I think things are still sorting themselves out. They said it could take several months.

Fibroids run in my family and are pretty common in black women. Nearly everyone of my family has had some procedure or hysterectomy to deal with them

[marinkitty]

I had increasingly heavy periods and looked into an ablation to curb them. When we did an u/s we found a very large uterine fibroid. My GYN would have removed it, but it was large enough that it would have required two or three procedures and then I still might have needed the ablation if the bleeding didn't settle down enough after the fibroid was out (assuming that was the issue). So I opted for a hysterectomy. Mine was done robotically - I have a small incision in my belly button (they took everything out vaginally after they cut the ligaments etc. robotically) and that's it. Tubes, cervix and uterus all out. Left the ovaries because no family history that is worrying and that way I wasn't thrown into menopause. It is amazing, amazing, amazing to have no more periods. I needed about a week to recover and I feel great now (1.5 years later) - absolutely no ill effects at all. Best decision I ever made.

[Kestrel]

Not be be rude, but how old are you?
Since I am close to menopause, my GYN put me on hormonal birth control, and I take it so I only have two periods a year. They're still miserable, but only twice a year, and my symptoms otherwise have greatly reduced. She said fibroid problems are generally much lessened after menopause, and we're hoping to limp me along for the next couple of years until full menopause without having to have any kind of surgery.

[marinkitty]

Not be be rude, but how old are you?
Since I am close to menopause, my GYN put me on hormonal birth control, and I take it so I only have two periods a year. They're still miserable, but only twice a year, and my symptoms otherwise have greatly reduced. She said fibroid problems are generally much lessened after menopause, and we're hoping to limp me along for the next couple of years until full menopause without having to have any kind of surgery.

Hi. Not sure if you were asking me, but if you were - I was 46 when I had the surgery. Based on family history, when I started my period, and how things were going for me in terms of pre-menupausal symptoms (none, really), my GYN felt menopause was likely to happen between ages 53-56. I also do not do well on hormonal birth control (migraines) - I haven't taken any since we first tried to get pregnant back in 2002 so I really wasn't interested in trying that route. We travel a ton and I'm very active so the simplicity of just having it over and done with in one go was very attractive to me.

[Kestrel]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like we were about the same in symptoms, but you made different choices. I'm always curious about the "road not traveled"! As I thought, we're about the same age (I'm 47)... but I've been having pre-menopause symptoms for many years - very early for my age. (The cause of most of our fertility issues.) I've got to admit, the idea of just being done is appealing, but surgery terrifies me! So, we're hoping to avoid it.
I'm glad you're happy with your choice, but it's not the one for me. We may still end up there, though. (I really am glad it worked out... sometime that can sound snarky when you type it, I don't mean it that way!) :)

[marinkitty]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like we were about the same in symptoms, but you made different choices. I'm always curious about the "road not traveled"! As I thought, we're about the same age (I'm 47)... but I've been having pre-menopause symptoms for many years - very early for my age. (The cause of most of our fertility issues.) I've got to admit, the idea of just being done is appealing, but surgery terrifies me! So, we're hoping to avoid it.
I'm glad you're happy with your choice, but it's not the one for me. We may still end up there, though. (I really am glad it worked out... sometime that can sound snarky when you type it, I don't mean it that way!) :)

No worries! I'd never had any major surgery so I was nervous but it all went so well. My DH and mom were both surprised I jumped at having surgery but it just felt like the right thing and thankfully it was.