Fibroids!

a_sav

Samanthag: there is a post in this section on the coil/fibroids which may put your mind at rest, from my exp abalation is the best thing ever!! still using pads from Oct when I had the procedure. Feel great now no bloating,bleeding.Even my hair is growing back
Pills did not work for me did not stem the flow just made me paranoid.
To all there is lots of hope out there just pester your doc
All the best of girl power to all

dramaqueen1973

Fingers crossed we will all get through this! After reading peoples experiences, they have all come out of the other side and feel so much better!

Lets hope postie brings some sort of letter tom or I get a phone call from doctor! I suppose I had scan worst possible time....just before Easter Bank Holiday so everything delayed!!

xxx

patchwork_cat

I have gone down the route of seeing the consultant about a hysterectomy for a 5 cm diameter fibroid, but deccided to try a different route and have got my final appt with another consultant next week witha view to uterine artery embolisation.

I too felt that hysterectomy was drastic and wanted something less drastic that might work. If your uterus is not distorted by the fibroid has anyone offered Mirena?

D and C is not offered for fibroids anymore and some fibroids might be suitable for endometrial ablation, but not all.

I am currently on Tranexamic acid and Mefanemic acid. http://www.britishfibroidtrust.org.uk/

dramaqueen1973

I have been on those and it does not ease anything at all! To be honest I had endemetrosis 15 years ago just before I had the kids and they found some adhesions then! I was all clear until the last couple of years and my periods have been horrendous so they have tried tablets to ease them and to no avail. Also Im not keen to delay any further now, too many embarrassments and too much pain! Fed up of arranging my life around my periods!xx

patchwork_cat

I know what you mean, but I keep chickening out! I have found that the mefanemic acid helps me more than the tranexamic, but not enough. I am having second thoughts about the UAE now though. I think I would be quite happy just to go through the menopause!(never thought I would say that!)

I hate hospitals and operations and even though the stastics of death for the UAE are very low I just wonder about risking my life for a benign condition. Mind having said that last year I got to the point were I was thinking I am going to kill myself if I have to have another period like this!

Basically I can't go back to work until this is sorted as my flooding means many embarrassing incidents.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

UAE is often a useful treatment, sometimes in conjunction with 3 months of zoladex first - but you may need to push for this in terms of the health authority funding it. If you don't like the insistence on tah or vh, you can get referred to someone else - consultants don't often like recommending something they aren't experienced in, as it makes them feel inadequate.

TAH (total abdominal hysteractomy), whether or not with bilateral salpingooophrectomy (removal of the ovaries and tubes - indicated where there is a strong history of ovarian cancer or where post menopausal) is often seen as the obvious answer, but this is often a simplistic view of a solution from a male dominated profession (and very few female gynaecologists have children - those that do seem to prefer to adopt, for some reason). Not everyone is prepared to accept the loss of fertility without a care in the world, and that is not anything to be ashamed of, anymore than those who have found the procedure to have changed their lives for the better.

It is OK to say you wish to consider alternatives first, sometimes the consultant will refer you on, sometimes you have to go back to your GP for this.

(My reference point: far too many years working for Lead Consultant Gynaecologist)

patchwork_cat

Jojo you mention a GnRH agonist like drug? I think, and that you might have to push to get this. Can I ask what would be the advantage of this drug in the UAE instance? I was told I had to have this if I wanted to go ahead with LVH, only ask as I wonder if it is something to ask for next week?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Jojo you mention a GnRH agonist like drug? I think, and that you might have to push to get this. Can I ask what would be the advantage of this drug in the UAE instance? I was told I had to have this if I wanted to go ahead with LVH, only ask as I wonder if it is something to ask for next week?

I cannot give definitive medical advice, obviously, but as I remember, some gynaes used it to stop the hormone surges and the consequent feeding of the endometrium/the fibroid itself. The intention was (as the boss explained it to me when I worked there) that this reduction in blood supply could cause the fibroid to shrink slightly and was also hoped to reduce blood loss during the procedure. The ladies I spoke to who had a course of it said they basically entered a temporary menopause - flushes, sweats, etc, but that everything came back afterwards, which had the usual advantages of reducing risks of osteoporosis, etc, which are the common reasons for retaining the ovaries in a younger woman's hysterectomy.

I hope that helps.

patchwork_cat

Thank you Jojo obviously I understand the no medical advice, it is just something that this consultant hadn't mentioned, but previous with the laparascopic hysterectomy had. I was just wondering if thinking logically if you temporarily shrink the fibroid before teh UAE and then cut of the blood supply then you will get an enhanced shrinkage as it wouldn't be able to regrow. I am concerned that a 20% reduction in my fibroid may not be enough for me to have a subsequent Mirena if as I fear I also have dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Sorry, I'm out of my depth now, but I can remember some fibroids being passed by ladies. Other than that, I think you're best off talking to the doctor about it now, as you could get onto discussing progesterone implants/depot injections and a million and one other things, and I'm just not qualified to do this (I don't even know if progesterone implants are still around, as health authorities hated them because they cost £260 compared to the Mirena and people kept asking for them to be removed before the end of their useful life to have more babies).

You are entitled to understand what you are being asked to undergo, so please, exercise your right to have people explain it to you before making a decision.