How far am I from menopause?

[BRS629]

I have a large fibroid that is impacting upon my bladder.  It also causes copious bleeding monthly.  I am just becoming irregular.  My doctor has suggested that I consider a partial hysterectomy to take care of the fibroid. How can I know how far I am from Menopause.  Also, how quickly will the fibroids shrink with the onset of menopause?

[PerimenoWorried]

Your doc can do some bloodwork to test for FSH and LH levels to see where you are but, cannot tell you when you will stop having periods.  I know that waiting for menopause to hit so that the fibroid will shrink is what we all want to do but, there's no guarantees that it's going to happen soon or that shrinkage will be enough to alleviate the symptoms.  

If you're not feeling comfortable with this doc's evaluation or recommendation, perhaps a second opinion would be worthy of a try.  If both docs concur on the treatment being a partial hysterectomy, then you'd have to make up your mind as to what you want to do one way or the other.  Certainly, heavy bleeding and bladder intereference is not something that you want to live with for very long, is it?  

Sometimes, there are surgeries that can remove the fibroid or minimize it to give you some relief from the symptoms without removing the entire uterus but,, that depends on where it is, how large it is and really, once you're under anesthetic, unless you're trying to preserve fertility, is it really worth it to try to preserve the uterus?  Only a doc can answer these questions.  I know it's hard to get a specialist to talk enough to help get answers but, certainly it's worth going through another consult with that doc or another to decide what to do.  

This is YOUR body!  You have to be your own advocate which I can see that you're trying to do by asking this question here.