fibroids

[Angelrdh]

Hello has anyone had to have an abdominal myomectomy due to uterine fibroids I was diagnosed last year and my surgery is in less than 2wks I'd like to get info on others experience pros n cons

[Breezy300]

A fibroid was also found in my uterine wall about a year ago. The surgeon said that if I have any hope of ever carrying a baby, I need to get it removed. I was pregnant twice the year before and miscarried twice. She said the placement of the fibroid could've definitely been the cause of not only the m/cs but also of why I was having so much trouble conceiving. She also said that fibroids are generally slow growing and that the REs should've noticed mine sooner. (In fact, they never noticed it. It wasn't until I bled 18 days straight that my gynecologist sent me for an ultrasound and it was detected. What's really crazy about this is that I was finally considering going to donor eggs and that my RE had JUST told me that my uterus was in perfect shape for carrying a baby. Boy, I've really lost a lot of trust in doctors through this process).

Anyway, I have a single fibroid that's partially attached to the muscles of my uterine wall. For that reason they can't fully remove it, but can only shave it down to make it flush with the wall. I was told that aside from possibly wanting to carry a baby, there is no reason for me to get the surgery (unless the bleeding and cramping caused by the fibroid gets to be an issue), that the fibroid will likely go away on its own once I hit menopause. However, if I do want to carry a baby, she said it's imperative that I get the surgery. She also said that there is a chance that the fibroid will grow back. When I asked her how quickly it could do that, she said it could happen as fast as a year or could take longer (or might not happen at all).

Well, I considered getting the surgery, but a year ago I felt I'd had enough. One RE insisted I had a hypothyroid and wanted me on meds for it. Several other doctors have said I don't have an issue with my thyroid. I don't know who is right. I also had problems with a doctor giving me an unnecessary pap DURING a miscarriage, which likely led to the total blockage of one of my fallopian tubes and the partial blockage of another (this depressed me beyond belief--I still can't think about it too much or I get incredibly angry). For that reason, I don't know if an egg can even make it through my one partially open tube (I did have a second pregnancy AFTER the blockages, but my RE felt that it was ectopic). For those reasons, I decided, reluctantly, to let go, to look at alternative ways of creating a family. I rescued and adopted an adorable Maltese named (Milou). I looked into surrogacy with a donor egg in India (am still considering this).

But I keep thinking about the fibroid and I keep thinking, "What if?" Even if we don't throw ourselves back into TTC as we were before (I did acupuncture, Chinese herbs, loads of supplements, etc.), maybe we would just "accidentally" get pregnant. It's happened to the friends of several women I know--many older than I am now (45)!

For my surgery, the surgeon said she would have to go through the cervix and basically shave the fibroid down. I don't really know what to expect in terms of healing, but I'm now thinking seriously of doing it. I don't even know what I'm posting. I guess I just wanted to say hi and tell you guys that I have a fibroid too. Hope you're both doing well--I see it's been a year since this thread was active.  

[Angelrdh]

Thanks for the info ,d yes its pretty large originally we were goin to do laproscopic and due to my recent films I now have to have the myomectomy I'm both nervous and excited!

[Sherri90049]

I actually just had my fibroid surgery on 8/16. (via laparoscopy) I had 3 laparoscopies previously (for endometriosis). This one was definitely harder than those. My recovery took longer than I expected. I naively thought I'd be up and around and working in 2-3 days. It actually took me almost two weeks and I will still sore for a while after that. I guess that is normal, but I hadn't planned on that much time off. Also, I had four small incisions but had only been expecting two. My fibroids were on the outside of my uterus so I guess I was lucky there.

So just make sure they explain everything to you. When you say abdominal, I guess that means no lap? Where they make an incision and go straight in through your abdomen? If so, then you must have a pretty good sized fibroid(s). Good luck with your surgery! I'm sure it will go fine! Just make sure and really take it easy after the surgery. That was probably my biggest screw up, was trying to do too much too soon afterwards! I kept thinking it was no big deal to just walk to the kitchen or the living room, but it was! I think I made my recovery take longer just because of that kind of thing.