I need some advice I recently had
emergency surgery for to have my appendix
removed and the surgeon reported to my
after that I have three to four small
fibriods on my uterus. He said they were
on the outside -- I am scheduled to have a
trans vaginal ultra sound next month- I am
worried though because I am just ending my
period and this month it seemed to be more
painful as far as cramps go. I just need
to know if anyone else has ever had this
happen.
Please let me know.
Heather
|
juniper
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 65 Location: Southern California
Posted: 11-28-04 21:46pm
Fibroids are benign tumors, made up of
uterine muscle and collagen. Called
uterine myomas, they're dense and can sap
a lot of blood to build themselves but
they are mostly harmless. They are not
cancer.
Some estimates say that 40-60% of all
women of child-bearing years have
fibroids. And in most women they don't
cause any trouble.
But they can grow and push on other things
and cause cramps and heavy bleeding in
some women.
There are options to remove them or
minimize them. Some are fed by estrogen
so balancing your hormones with
progesterone might help. A lot of women
find relief with either surgical removal
of the fibroids (myomectomy) or a
combination of lupron (which turns off the
ovaries for 3-6 months to shrink the
tumors before surgery) and then surgical
removal. There is also uterine fibroid
embolization which uses small pellets to
block the arteries that feed the fibroids
which chokes them off and they shrink and
dissipate. There are other newer
therapies also that use mris.
They can grow quite large unchecked and a
wait and see approach is good, since they
don't always cause problems, but there are
more options for treatment while they're
small.
I had 12 and they totalled about 1.4
pounds when I had a hysterectomy earlier
this summer to rid myself of them once and
for all. The largest fibroid ever was 140
pounds (yes, the woman was overweight who
had it removed).
Consult with your doctor for options, but
don't be talked into a hysterectomy (the
most common recommendation by
gynecologists) without fully exploring all
the options.
