Possible Fibroids

[mccfluff]

not looking for medical opinions here, but experiences of those who have had them. (had ultrasound, referred for mri, am waiting on that right now.

So have any of the AB ladies who have suffered from these got any advice on coping with the pain? its like being stabbed in the lower belly every time i walk and need to pee all the bloody time, its errr restricting.....

[jakep]

Sorry I cannot answer your direct question re the pain.
I had fibroids that would lay me low with acute pain and very heavy blood loss. I asked for a hysterectomy and was in hospital and uterus free within six weeks.
This was 27 years ago when I was 30. I have never regretted it.
I just mention this in case this is one avenue you are thinking about and to say that, for me, it was very straightforward.

[mccfluff]

im waiting on the results and subsequent consultant app before i know anymore re treatment, im not bothered about a hysterectomy kids wise - but what about menopause?

i also work in an office with 5 men, its embarrasing :-(

[shaneystar2]

I never had any ongoing pain from fibroids as such ,just weeks of bleeding Any pain there was ,was period pain but it was pretty bad .As soon as the bleeding stopped so did the pain .I had the same as jakep ,all whipped out and this was also nearly 30 years ago .

[shaneystar2]

If they remove your ovaries as well the menopause will kick in more or less straight away .
They left my ovaries ,I had a vaginal hysterectomy and the menopause started couple of years later.

[gness]

Morning, Fluff.....I had a hysterectomy about thirty years ago for a few problems the worst being fibroids....one was so large I gave it a name..

I went straight into the menopause which, whilst better than the pain and everything else associated with fibroids, was pretty bad...so I went onto HRT.
Changed my life completely.....no weight gain, no flushes and cranky days.... good skin and hair again.
Stayed on it for twenty five years....despite the scare stories and the opinions of friends who would rather put up with a miserable time than give HRT a try...
I know it's not for everyone....and some sail through the menopause almost symptom free....I wasn't.....and I like my life to be the best it can.

Gx

[gness]

I know they sometimes leave the ovaries to prevent the menopause....I only had one by then and they agreed to remove that....I'm not fond of ovaries.
When I came round they said they had removed the half of the ovary with the cyst but left the other half so I wouldn't go through the menopause prematurely.
That was lot of twaddle.....they hadn't worked properly when I had two...half wasn't going to suddenly kick in....and it didn't.
My choice would always be to ditch the ovaries.....☺

[jakep]

I kept my ovaries too, so no immediate menopause.
Do the 'normal' over the counter pain relief tablets help at all? Sometimes walking can help but that's not easy for you.
It must be awkward to be surrounded by men in the office with all this going on.
Best wishes.

[shaneystar2]

True .I wish they had taken mine at the time so it was all over and done with in one hit .
I felt fine until the menopause did start and I turned into hell on wheels :)
Then I was also given HRT and it was a doddle from then on.

[mccfluff]

they can take it all out as far as i'm concerned - strangely i have very little problems with my periods, they're not heavy, quite the opposite and only painful first couple of days then nothing much. i went to my doc as i thought i was having really bad bouts of IBS or something along those lines

I've been trying a mix of co-codamol & ibo, which does *** all. this may make no sense at all but it's more of a moving pain, i put my foot to the floor and i get a stabbing pain, which continues as i walk - but even more weirdly the only relief is at the gym, some things i can't do but when i go flat out on the runner or cross trainer, pain buggers off...i may have to move to the gym.

[anneasquith]

poor thing, did the ultra sound confirm fibroids ? talk to your pharmacist re analgesia. good luck.

[mccfluff]

no, the ultrasound was "there is def something big there & its probably fibroids but you need an MRI" which is the same thing i've heard from everyone so far

MRI is on monday so fingers crossed i will get an app with the consultant soon and they can whip it all out

pharmacist gave me the co-codamol :-)

[anneasquith]

good luck on Monday

[mccfluff]

thanks anne, will be fine, just want it all to speed up....

[237SJ]

There are other options these days. I had one large fibroid and had embolisation - no fibroidectomy or hysterectomy required (in my case)

[mccfluff]

are you happy with the results? how long did it take for the symptoms to go?

I've just counted, i've been to the loo 11 times so far today, yesterday was 14 so i think im going to beat that

[237SJ]

Mcfluff - I'm on my mobile which is a bit fiddly for typing a long reply plus I' m on hotel wifi with a rubbish signal so sorry I can't give a longer explanation. I'm back tomorrow so I'll post then.

[anneasquith]

have you tried the combination of paracetamol and bruffen. ?

[mccfluff]

cheers 237SJ, i'd appreciate that

that's what i started on Anne, then when i moaned at the pharmacist she gave me co codamol and told me to take that with the brufen. Wine works.... :-D & hot water bottle helps a little bit as well, bit strange at work though

[boxtops]

Hi fluffy, how I sympathise...

My experience was like several others, I had a total hysterectomy some 20 years ago, and the surgeon said he'd take the ovaries at the same time "while he was in there", to avoid any potential future problems with them, too. About two days after the op, I started to have flushes, so I was put straight onto HRT patches - wonderful things! - and stayed on them for about 10 years, after which I was weaned off them with no adverse effects. I therefore had the joy of a 20-minute menopause, and have never looked back. I recommend it to everyone!

Mine were diagnosed because I had swelling, and terrible flooding, andone fibroid was the size of an orange :-(

I can't say I had pain, so can't help you with that bit, sorry....

[mccfluff]

i guess i'll need to talk to the consultant, see whats best when they know what it is, i'm just started to get peed off with the sodding thing, time seems to be dragging in between appointments!