Uterine Fibroids - Romeo,MI

Fibroids feed on hormones. I had them and both sisters have them. I am 45 and can say from my experience and research that they get worse with age - at all times of the month. Some women have them and have no pain. However, if you are already experiencing pain and other symptoms as a result, chances are it will only get worse and become more unbearable each day. You are not being paranoid. Schedule an appointment to exclude any other problems and find-out the latest in what can be done to treat the fibroids now. hysterectomy may be recommended and while not an option for all keep in mind that quality of life has to count for something. Good luck to you! Hope you are pain-free soon.

Hi B.! I seen your post on here, and although I don’t have Uterine Fibroids, I felt compelled to write anyways because some of what you wrote sounds very familiar to me.

In March of 2006 I started developing what I thought was a UTI (frequent urination and burning while urinating, plus I didn’t feel like I was “going” all the way). Unfortunately the doctor I was seeing at that time wasn’t a very good doctor and after not getting anywhere after numerous appointments, I decided to find a different doctor (which wasn’t easy because I didn’t have insurance).
By the time I got to see this doctor my symptoms had went from those of a UTI, to I didn’t have a clue. I had a lot of swelling and pain in my left hip, as well as pain in my lower back around my sides. When I would eat, I would start bloating to the point that I looked pregnant, which resulted in my eating less and less. I ended up losing about 15 pounds (only weighed 98 to start). My bowel movements eventually became irregular as well as my periods. Everything was turned upside down and I didn’t know why. My new doc sent me for ultrasounds which showed numerous cysts in both ovaries, which I was then given birth, control pills for again.
The second doctor sent me to an Ob/Gyn, who was just as useless as the first doctor I went to. She gave a pelvic on my first appointment, which came back normal. Second appointment I was sent for another Ultrasound, which showed no cysts whatsoever. After discussing my concerns with her, she decided to do an endometrial biopsy, unfortunately she said that the opening wasn’t big enough, therefore she couldn’t perform the biopsy and she directed me to see a gastrointestinal doctor (raised the eyebrows of myself and many doctors since then). After that, along with her never returning my phone calls, I found another Ob/Gyn. (I made recommendations on these doctors on this website also)

It’s been a year now and I’ve seen two family doctors, two Ob’s, an Urgent care doctor, a kidney doctor and a GI doctor. I have given blood and urine sample until I have lost count and in the last two weeks I’ve had an EGD, Colonoscopy, Laparoscopy, D&C and a bunch of others I can’t pronounce, let alone spell.
Come to find out my entire reproductive area in severely infected, and according to the amount of adhesions, it’s been there for quite some time. It’s bad enough that the die test showed that there is no flow whatsoever in one fallopian tube and barely any in the other. I have cysts all over the place and there are adhesions from my diaphragm to my liver. I’ve already been told that I’ll have to undergo surgery again when my husband and I decide to have children to open my tubes (I’ve never had children). Basically my reproductive organs are a mess because of something that could have been fixed months ago, but doctors simply didn’t take the time to look.

So while all this may not apply to your situation directly, please keep in mind that you have to make doctors realize what is and isn’t a concern for you or else they’re not likely to listen. At least in my experience. I strongly urge you to go see your doctor again because you never know when it could be something serious until it’s too late.
GOOD LUCK!!

Hi B. - I went through basically the same thing about 3 1/2 years ago. Besides the fibroids though, I also had endeometrosis. Because I wanted to postpone surgery until my twins were in 1st grade, I opted for 6 months of "Lupron" injections - these slowed the growth and the amount of blood flow on my cycle. I had gotten to the point where my periods were lasting 9 - 10 weeks with 1 or 2 weeks off in between. Because I had both fibroids in my uterus and the endeometrosis - I opted for a complete hysto at 36 years old. I took some hrt for about 6 months but stopped because I really didn't need it. I can honestly tell you that having that hysto WAS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE! I feel sooooooo much better - I am not tired all the time, cranky all the time and so on...and I can swim whenever I want and make love with my hubby whenever we want...LOL...just some nice little bonuses.

You know your body better than any doctor, so please, if you feel that things have "changed" then by all means, contact your doctor and schedule a visit soon.

L.

Hi B., I was in your shoes, 4 1/2 years ago and I was just 39 years old. My problems start out with a little pain, different period cycles, and the doctors keep giving me medicine. Then later the pain came worst everytime my husband and I made Love. And the pain was even worse the next morning. It made our relationship have a big problem cause neither of us knew why the pain hurt so bad. And the doctor says, they will keep an eye on it. I did my yearly exams. But when those fibroids decide to take off and grow like their is no tomorrow I ended up with not one but 2 big grapefruit balls in my body. And when I got to the right ob/gyn he couldn't believe the first ob/gyn didn't take them out. Matter of fact they waited so long I had to have a complete hysterecemy. Go get a second opinon. Most insurance will pay for that 2nd opinion. Your health is top priority, your the woman in the family and the mother no matter how old your kids are. And if you wait its only hard on you, and then it might be to late to just remove the fibroids you may loose all your female organs. And your recovery time will be longer. I felt so much better even after they did the exploratory surgery and found that it couldn't wait no longer and scheduled the final surgery. Its that not knowing information that can keep you stressed. I don't want to say bad things about a doctor because they all have their own opinions, however men doctors and can feel a woman's pain. I finally made it to Dr. O in the Allen building in Bay City. He is great! And his staff will show you and teach you a womans health is 100 the most important. They didn't let my job tell me when surgery will be. They told my job she will be in the hospital and she will have surgery and when I would return. My job said I couldn't have the time off then cause it was the busy season. I'm glad they took care of me. The Dr. told me it could have turned out much worse and my family could have been going on without me. So do you and your family a favor, get a second opinion. They need you a live and feeling yourself and feeling good in health and spirit. I'll say a pray for you! Take care and God Bless You.
J.

I myself haven't been through this yet but a very close friend of mine has. If you go to the doctor and want they want to perform a procedure I would recomend getting a second oppinion with Dr. Ramono at Royal oak Beaumont. My friend had visited 4 doctors before she found Dr Ramono. This doctor is the best.
Good luck

when i had fibroids they seemed to hurt more during and after my monthly cycle. i was put on meds to stop it all together and steroids which together they shrunk the fibroids down and it has been 3 years and they have not came back

B.~please get looked at ASAP. My mom who is 51 now had to have everything removed because of her fibroids. She ended up having a fibroid go from a pea size to 10cm in diameter in under a year. So please get checked sooner for your health. Just remember you know your body and if you feel as though things are getting worse get checked. Have a blessed week.

B., you're not paranoid at all. However, I highly recommend seeing a Naturopathic Doctor that I see in Canton, Michigan if it is at all possible. Conventional medicine could not treat any of my ovary/reproductive system issues without surgery or years of meds, but this woman could and she was one of the kindest and gentlest people I've ever known. Canton is a suburb outside of Detroit. If you'd like her information, please email me. She has cured everything from arthritis to cancer and everything in between. God bless in the meantime, B. J.

Hi,
Just a little help, you know your body better than any Doctor. If you feel that they are growing, make an appointment. Explain to them when you call what is going on and that you need to see the Doctor before your annual appt. Let me know what happens.
A.

I went through this a year ago, and since I had no plans to have anymore children I'm 42 (19 year old daughter and 16 year old son) I elected to have a hysterectomy rather than do the meds to shrink. They were able to leave the right ovary, so there is no need for hormone therapy. I was miserable prior to the operation (high blood pressure, inability to totally empty my bladder, pain). I have felt like a millon bucks since my surgery in June. Blood pressure is great, feel great and am so glad I did it.

I have never had fibroids but my mother-in-law has. She suffered for several years with a lot of pain. Finally, about three weeks ago, the doctor said she needed a hystarectomy(sorry about the spelling). That might sound like a bad thing but she has had the surgery and is pain free. I don't know if it could have been prevented if steps were taken early on to try and get rid of them, or if anything could have been done. Before taking such drastic measures I would try homeopathy treatments. I know they are out there. One place I know to check is Herbal Healer Academy. Google it, it's a great place to get natural cures and the woman who runs it tries everything on her own family before offering it to the public.

Good Luck

I haven't been through your exact situation, but at one point I found myself in the emergency room in such pain that I could not even sit in a car or chair, I was literally in a fetal position. The ER doctor asked me the usual questions about my sex life and # of partners in the past 3 year (this was when I was 26) and because I had had more than 1 and wasn't sure how many my ex had had, he assumed & treated me for STDs. He didn't even do an ultrasound. Told me to follow up with my gyn in a week. When I did, she was pissed and scheduled me for an ultrasound within a couple of days. Luckily it was something simple (hemorraged ovarian cyst) and while I hurt worse than anything I had ever gone thru (or since for that matter), she put me on BC to control the cysts and regulate my majorly irregular periods.
I have since changed ob/gyns, (she moved and so did I) but I have one of the best in SE Michigan. Dr. Agosta in Shelby Twp. He is also a urologist and again one of the best! When I started having issues again, he looked at my history, did a pelvic and put me back on BC. He gave me another option that would have elemenated my periods probably altogether but not taken my ovaries, but it probably would not have been safe for me to have any more children and since I am not sure I'm done yet, my choice was to try the BC again. I am anxious to see how I feel when I get my next period (1st after restarting BC).

Hope this helps.

You're not being paranoid. I'm 46 now, I had everything removed 4 years ago, because of fibroids. I was in worse shape than I thought, or the doctor thought. He ended up having to bring in a second surgeon during my surgery, my uterus was attached to my bladder from endometriosis, which he didn't know going in. I had discomfort for years, just dealt with it, like you are. My uterus got to the size of a 12 week pregnancy before I found the right doctor. Its amazing how the pain can go away like it did. I have lived with so much pain for so long, at least 10 days out of every month, I just thought that was the way it was. I don't even have migrains anymore. Not that I would push surgery on you or anyone, but don't rule it out. My recovery was long, due to me being in the mess my insides were in. I had to have a cathader for a week after I finally got to come home. I planned on going back to work after 4 weeks, 10 weeks later I finally made it back. I was in great shape before the surgery, not over weight, very active, so it had nothing to do with that. I wasn't able to keep my ovaries, so I've been dealing with finding the right hormone replacements. But all in all, am I ever happy I found the doctor I did. He also made the comment to me that he could count on one hand the cases he has seen that were worse than mine, he couldnt believe I was even able to walk. Good luck to you. But I wouldn't wait for your annual if you're that uncomfortable. You don't need to be. Been there, done that:)Sue