Fibroids and Myomectomy

Women's health
1

Hi ladies, so I am scheduled for surgery in late June to removed 16 fibroids biggest being around 7 cm, they are all over my uterus unfortunately. I am 26 years old with no children. I found out I had fibroids last year in Decemeber after getting an ultrasound due to pain on my left ovary, ohh and I also have an ovary cyst (dermoid) about 2cm *sigh...

My periods have always been heavy but not as heavy as other women who have them. I would say I am a full 7 day bleedings with 3 first days heavy bleeding and the rest nromal bleeding. I am not anemic and I really don't have high symptoms only thing I have noticed lately is that I am peeing a lot but then again I drink alot of water. I have noticed that I did gained weight and I very bloated seems as if I am 3 months preganant due to having so many. Other than that I have no pains or crazy symptoms. My doctor did tell me that with out surgery it will be hard or even imposble to get pregnant because there isnt space in my uterus I am dreading this surgery so much one because a great job oporutnity have presented itself and most likely I will not be able to take it because of my surgery. My doctor told me that it is not necessary for me to get surgery at this moment since I do not have any crazy symptoms but I hate the fact that these things are in me. Also I am not planning getting pregnant right after my surgery I am thinking of  trying in 2 or 3 years so getting pregnant right away isnt one of my priorities at the moment but I do wnat to become pregnant later on of ocurse. Has anybody exprience something similar to my situtation? as much as I want these things out of me I am scared that they will grow bck whenever I am ready to have babies... 

Also have anybody with these many fibroids had successful pregancies and were able to give birth to their babies?

Thanks in advance ladies!

2

Hello,

I am 26 years old also and had my open myomectomy nearly 11 weeks ago. I had 5 fibroids. I had crazy bleeding with continuous clots before I had the surgery so surgery for me was a must.

recovery from the operation hasn't been as painful as I thought. I was in hospital for two nights and up and walking about the day after surgery. It's more of a severe tightness across your stomach and things significantly improve after a number of weeks.

I still suffer from heavy periods post op and am waiting to discuss that with my consultant. However I did suffer severe bleeding before hand, and coming off the medication I was on beforehand, I am in a different boat to you so doubt will you experience this.

One of my fibroids went through my womb wall(this didn't show up on any scans) so my womb wall was cut into. The surgeon did say it meant if I decided to have children in the future I could not have a natural birth. But glad I had the surgery when I did as otherwise this particular fibroid would have done more damage to my womb.

If you aren't suffering severe symptoms then it is possible to leave the operation a

3

*little longer but like you have said I was so happy just to know they were gone and not doing further damage

4

Your doctor is right. If you have not got any major symptons and are not wanting to plan a pregnancy in the next year then you can postpone the surgery.  After a myomectomy you are normally adviced to get pregnant within a year and that is because fibroids can regrow back especially for young people who have multple fibroids removed.  What you might want to do is have your fibroids monitored for the next 2 years to see if they are getting bigger, as bigger fibroids can cause problems by leaning on bladder and surrounding organs.

5

Hi Stephanie,

I'm in a somewhat similar boat to you (as we all are). I have one 12 cm fibroid and my uterus was last scanned at 20cm, between 20-22 weeks. I'm just about to turn 31 and want kids in the future (though still need to find the man ).

I tried Esmya for 3 months and there was no difference in Fibroid size and my uterus continued to grow during the treatment. I was waiting for a neck injury to get better before I did the surgery. Based on a previous discussion with my gyno about whether I'd try Esmya or a GnRH Agonist, I thought if the Esmya didn't work I'd just go straight in to remove the fibroid. 

After months of suffering from the fibroid and a severe neck injury I was finally feeling a bit of relief that finally I could get one issue sorted. I was almost excited about the surgery. Now he wants me to go on the GnRH medication for a few months pre-op so it's delaying the process even more. I feel like I've lost a year of my life. I'm struggling emotionally so bad to get through. 

My gyno gave me a really straight talk today; I guess they're obliged to. A myomectomy is massive surgery. Recovery takes months. Many of us need blood transfusions and we'll have to have a C-Section to give birth. He has previously advised that while we can still have kids post surgery, at least in my case, I'll most likely need to do IVF. But I know there are countless success stories of pregnancy post surgery and I think it's the very unfortunate few that can't.

He basically said there are 3 indicators for deciding whether to go ahead with surgery:

1. Whether we want to remain fertile and have kids

2. Whether we're bleeding excessively and it's not controllable (e.g. thru meds) 

3. It's causing pain. 

For me, I tick all 3 and even more than that, I can't handle having these things inside of me. So what you said resonated with me. It's driving me crazy. I feel like I can't move on with life. It's just so huge, sucking the life out of me. I can't keep them in me. 

He did say there's radiology that we can do that will stop the growth but not shrin it as the alternative. 

He kept asking me if I wanted to do this (surgery) and I would respond with "well there's no other options are there?", to which there are not. 

It's a scary, hard thing we're dealing with. The emotional toll for me is too much. It's been 8 months since I learned about them and I've just been in limbo the whole time... waiting for Esmya to land in Australia, waiting to see if it's working, now waiting for more months on medicine. It's a horrible way to live (for me) and I can't keep at it. That's why I know for me i have to do the surgery. 

But yes, you can wait and not do the surgery now, especially if you're not experiencing severe symptoms. It doesn't mean you can't change your mind later and you can also consider trying Esmya (Fibristol) to see if it works for you before you go ahead with surgery. It just depends on how you're coping emotionally, and how you'll be emotionally in the long term if you don't remove them. Some women may be fine and just move on with life. Some might just be torturing themselves. 

There's no rush for you to decide. Take your time, consider your options, think about how you'll feel if you do or don't do the surgery.

Sorry for the rant, but today's been yet another emotional day of baddish kinda news. But I understand how you feel and I hope this has helped a little bit too x 

6

Hi Jess,

Thank you so much for taking the time and share your story. Yes, these things have definitely affected my emotional well being but I am

Grateful I am able to endure it.

Currently I am in pain on my left side which I believe is my ovary (my cyst most likely) is causing me some annoying pain. It usually doesn't but I am about to start by period so I think that's why. I have an appointment with my doctor this Friday to further discuss my situation. I will keep everyone updated, most likely I will

Not have my surgery after all though.

Sending so much positivity your way, take time to practice self-care because I know how much these things can affect not only our bodies but also our mental health. Be well

7

Hello,

Thank you so much for your feedback! I hope you are feeling so much better now!

Be well

8

Thank you so much for your feedback!