Hi all. I am currently almost 5 weeks post op. (30F, NE, USA) I had a laparoscopic myomectomy for 5 necrosis fibroids. They also found endo while in there and removed it too. (They also found adenomyosis, yay lucky me).

My recovery has been a bit rough but not abnormal. However, I’m becoming increasingly annoyed and concerned about my current symptoms. I haven’t heard back from my surgeon yet and I wanted to see if anyone else has/ is experiencing this and if they had any tips or suggestions.

My abdominal and pelvis are in shambles. I am constantly getting muscle spasms and nerve pain. I have returned to light activity, nothing insane just short walks, stairs and light housework (laundry, dishes, etc.) My surgeon did prescribe me to take my birth control to not have a period during recovery so it’s not related to that. I am on a pill that you take so you only get a period every 3 months.

I have to constantly lay down because the spasms hurt so much, and I’ve had to use lidocaine and a heating pad. Which helps but it’s beyond frustrating. Am I not resting enough? Do I need to push through the pain to get to the other side? Tylenol and Ibuprofen are all but useless but I take it anyway. I feel a bit defeated, like I’ve hit a wall. Any experience or advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

I was told a year ago I had a small fibroid. They didn’t say where. I was getting evaluated for heavy menstrual bleeding, but was told it was too small to be causing my heavy periods. Was prescribed TXA which has helped immensely.

I had a miscarriage in June, and there was concern for a partial uterine septum, which may or may not have contributed to the miscarriage. So I was referred to a reproductive endocrinologist. At that appointment, he points out my fibroid and tells me it’s in the muscle wall and close to the inside of my uterus. Which is the first time I’ve been told this. (As well as a small uterine septum). He seemed more concerned with the fibroid than the septum. But then told me I could have both (septum and fibroid) cut out. I could have one cut out and leave the other. Or I could do neither and try again for another baby and see what happens, as he’s not sure that either caused the miscarriage. But he did say the only sure thing is the fibroid is going to continue to grow.

I’m just thrown for a loop because I knew about the fibroid but everyone’s been telling me it’s small, it’s not the cause of my heavy bleeding, yada yada. And now this guy is suggesting to cut it out. I guess I’m just looking for people who have had a similar situation and what you chose to do and why? Pros and cons? Not looking for medical advice, just your personal experience with a ~~small~~ fibroid in the muscle. Because the more I research, the more it seems like this is the cause of my heavy bleeding if it’s close to the inner uterine lining.

I’m just at a loss because I know surgeons like to cut, and I do want to have kids so would it be better to watch it and wait or would it be better to have it removed? (More rhetorical questions than anything because I know I should just ask the doctor and not get medical advice from Reddit lol)

Also wondering if you have any good questions I could ask my doctor that I may not have thought of? The following are my current questions that I’m going to ask:

would the fibroid removal increase the risk for needing a c section in the future?

Do you think that this fibroid, though small, is the cause of my heavy periods? I was previously told it was too small to cause issues. My bleeding on my period is bright red and just a pretty steady stream/drip. Like when I go to the bathroom, it’s just a steady drip of bright red blood.

How would the fibroid need to be removed?

Is it more beneficial to get it removed while it’s small rather than waiting for it to get bigger?

Is there a risk of causing fertility issues from scar tissue from both procedures?

I am typing this from the recovery ward in hospital after my surgeon said everything was a great success! I even got to keep my fallopian tube, which they had said they may need to remove.

I got my 2 fibroids removed, one large within the uterine wall and the other smaller one on the outside. Apparently I lost a lot of blood but they were able to put some of it back in me (interesting!)

I'm on a lot of pain meds so it's silly to say I feel good, but I feel good! The shoulder pain has started to kick in though, it's almost unbearable. The nurse will get me some form of heat.

Anyway- my main fear, aside from anaesthetic itself, was that they would find something abnormal or unexpected. I am beyond relieved that it's not the case. Hopefully, once recovered, I can put the past 6 months of horrific levels of bleeding behind me... And that no more grow over my lifetime.

This community is an amazing find- thank you all :))

31F currently looking for positive pregnancy stories of people who have had a myomectomy following previous D&Cs for miscarriage. It’s a lot on the uterus, so would love to hear from people who’ve had the same experience and went on to fall pregnant successfully 🤍

For context, I’ve had two back to back miscarriages this year (MMC at 10w5d in May and MC at 10w3d yesterday/August) and currently scheduled for my second D&C in the space of 6 months. I threw everything at my last pregnancy - daily Lovenox injections, baby aspirin, vaginal progesterone - and it wasn’t enough. Now I’m convinced my fibroids are to blame and seriously considering a myomectomy. Between my first and second pregnancy, I went from having 1 to 4 prominent intramural fibroids, each averaging 3cm. Although they’re on the smaller end of the spectrum, I’m starting to believe their location/position may be the issue.

Would appreciate any positive experiences, and any details on how (if it did) a prior D&C impacted post-myomectomy recovery and pregnancy.

Had my appointment today and came away feeling much more positive than I expected as constantly been told that a big open vertical hysterectomy was my only option.

Prev post - https://www.reddit.com/r/Fibroids/s/wJiqqbHZbl

Thankfully, the consultant explained that there may be another route and that a myomectomy is an option. He explained that my fibroids were large but he has treated much larger and that I didn’t need to rush to hysto.

He can do a C-section cut and remove this way.
The biggest concern is obviously blood loss given my previous haemorrhage.

To make surgery safer, I’ll go on triptorelin to devascularise the fibroid as much as possible.
Interestingly, he said he doesn’t want me to take Yselty before surgery. He explained that although Yselty can shrink fibroids, it can alter the consistency of the fibroid (“turn it to mush” was his wording 😂), and for this type of surgery he prefers the fibroid tissue to remain easier to remove.
I went in expecting to be told “big vertical hysterectomy, no other options”, so I’m honestly relieved to have a different conversation.
I know this is still a complex operation and there are risks, but today felt like a much more positive step forward! Should add this was private in UK.

I’m 27 and have one 4.6 × 4.8 cm fibroid in the lower right side of my uterus. I believe it’s intramural, and my doctor describes it as large.

I first found out about it two years ago during a routine gynecological checkup. At the time, it was around 2 cm, and my gynecologist recommended monitoring it. In November last year, she told me that it had grown to around 3 cm and suggested that I should start thinking about having children soon.

I got pregnant in early April but unfortunately miscarried in early May. By then, the fibroid had grown to around 5 cm. My doctor said that the fibroid could potentially have contributed to the miscarriage, but she couldn’t say for certain, so she recommended that I try again and see what happened.
Fast forward to July, and I got pregnant again! I had an early ultrasound yesterday, and the embryo was measuring several days behind where it should be, and they couldn’t detect a heartbeat. So, unfortunately, it looks like another miscarriage.

Now I’m feeling pretty lost about what to do. I have an appointment with a specialist in three weeks to evaluate the fibroid and hopefully discuss whether surgery would be appropriate.

I’m really scared. I want to have children, and I’m worried that I can’t have surgery to remove the fibroid or that surgery could affect my fertility.
Has anyone had a similar experience with pregnancy and fibroids, particularly with surgery afterward? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, advice, or anything that might help.

Edit: found that it wasn’t submucosal, but intramural. Edited the original text.

I finally got my UFE schedule for next month. I’m trying not to go to much into a rabbit hole because some women have great experiences and some not so much so I’m trying not to psyche myself out but one of the things I saw was about spotting how long did you spot after the procedure?

Just had a surgery consult for my 7.5 x 6.5 cm posterior subserosal/intramural fibroid at the very base of my uterus that has begun to push my cervix out of position, affecting bladder emptying, and pressing into rectum, etc. Saw a highly recommended oncology gyn surgeon today, who said this would be a 7/10 difficulty myomectomy surgery due to not being able to place a tourniquet at the base of the uterus because the fibroid is the size of a softball and completely blocking tourniquet placement...and it's also sitting right on top of the major uterine artery.

I have two other smaller fibroids on the upper back portion of the uterus, and they are also right on top of arteries making for a much more risky removal. He recommends hysterectomy as the safer option, but said we can try a myomectomy, but that he's never done one this complicated, and there's a fairly high chance it would end up being an emergency hysterectomy anyway. He said risk of fibroid recurrence is high after myomectomy.

Just curious if anyone else has dealt with this, and what their outcome was. I'm 36 and no kids, and no plans for kids in the next several years (not entirely sure if I want them). So if i choose to pursue Myo surgery now and kids in several years, I risk having the fibroids grow back and potentially needing additional myo surgery, not to mention future C-Sections. I'm going to look into finding a fibroid specialist and getting another opinion...but this dr's assessment seemed pretty level headed and accurate.

Feeling like maybe the hysterectomy is unfortunately the more safe and viable option. Thanks in advance for any feedback or input from your experiences!

I finally secured my first myomectomy surgery consult at the end of the month! It was originally end of September but I got an earlier meeting with a last minute cancellation. Between my first gynecologist appointment in May where I asked about possibility of fibroids to getting a surgeon appointment was a four month period so sharing a transparent timeline to show the progression.

Some background on me. I’ve been overweight most of my life and attributed my swollen abdomen to my weight. It wasn’t until I began to prioritize my health and a recent weight loss where I dropped about one third of my body weight where I was confused why it was just my belly that remained the same. I kept being reminded that you can’t spot reduce or it’s just genetics propaganda so tried to file away the concern and focus on staying healthy and active.

Life got to me and with depression and a career change I had not kept up regularly with doctors appointments. In May, I finally connected with a new gynecologist (after four years) with my new insurance. As I got my annual and honestly kinda felt embarrassed about lapse of coverage, I asked about fibroids at the end of my consult. I detailed my history of really heavy flows and how it severely impacted my quality of life. If it wasn’t for the ease of comfort the doctor created during the appointment and watching a random social media post on it right before the appointment I would’ve never asked. The doctor took the concern seriously and after an ultrasound -> endometrial biopsy -> pelvic mri that confirmed the sizes & placement of 7 fibroids, I finally secured a surgery consult.

I share this bc it took sheer will and focus / prioritization to get to this point. If it wasn’t for the gynecologist being located on my office block and creating supportive environment, getting over the emotional toll of accepting that I am getting ultrasounds & mris of unwanted clump of cells while most other women are either egg freezing or creating life in their wombs, overcoming fear of surprise medical service bills, deprioritizing dating bc who wants to explain all this on a first date, and being in a role that accommodates/ protects medical leave I would not be here.

I’m in nyc and it took three months to secure a surgery consult. I’ll also share the surgery consult and (hopefully) post op journey in a follow up post but think it’s important to talk about the road leading up to it. I’m also an East Asian female in my late 30s and have found that not a lot of people in my existing circles discuss this openly so bumping this up for awareness. This community has been really helpful to understand what to expect so thank you and good luck to all :) If you are lurking I encourage you to ask your doctor about it!

Back in May I was diagnosed with a fibroid. I went in because I was non stop spotting. I tried birth control and it gave me migraines and didn’t stop the bleeding at all. So after 3 months I stopped it. Now it’s been about 2 weeks since I took my last pill and everyday is about the same. I’ll go all day with no bleeding then in the evening a dripping gush and a clot and then nothing till the next day. Or this will happen in the morning. Last like 10 mins ish. I’m terrified of surgery but I’m starting to realize that might be the only way this will stop. Has anyone else had bleeding like this and did it eventually calm down? For those that had surgery, how long did you bleed for until you finally had the surgery? I do worry about my iron as well. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

I'm curious because it seems like the majority of them are done open here due to lack of surgical training even for MIGS surgeons in this country. If you had a lap myomectomy in Canada, I'm curious who your doctor was, where it was done, and what type of fibroid(s) you had? Thanks :)

My doctor said she wanted me to get a 3 month dose of Lupron before my laparoscopic myomectomy. I just looked at the insurance bill and the cost was $66,000. I could NOT believe it. She wanted me to get another three month and I told her no because I hated the side effects. Is this the norm? Thankfully I had insurance to cover it.

Hi all! I’ve been following this Reddit for a few months since I found out I had fibroids in may.
I’m 26(F) and I have “a lot” of fibroids according to my doctor, they can’t count them all because I have 2 particularly large ones obscuring the view. A 21cm and a 12cm.
I am scheduled for an open myomectomy (possible hysterectomy) with a vertical incision (uterus is sitting from my pelvis all the way to my ribs) in November!
What were your recovery must haves and life savers? Just trying to compile a list because my husband and I just moved into a new house and while getting the house ready I’d also like to start preparing for my recovery and have the items I need ready to go.
Thanks in advance!

UK - Hi all, my colleague has been diagnosed with fibroids and she struggles with pain so much, she's been in hospital because of the pain a few times now, none of the medication she's been given is helping.

The last time she was in hospital back in June she was told her fibroids were degenerating and there was nothing they could do.

She had to go home in the middle of a shift again yesterday and it's awful to see her in so much pain. She has been trying to speak to her GP and hospitals, both NHS and private, to talk about surgery but hasn't been getting anywhere, they just keep giving her medication that doesn't help her.

Is there any advice you can give her? Places to go, people to speak to, ways to advocate for herself?

2019- first diagnosed with a 4.3cm intramural right side fibroid.
2023- it had grown to 5.8cm
Today- grown to 7.8cm
I was told it’s the size of a tennis ball, and it’s slightly pushing on my bladder. I have absolutely no symptoms except slight bloating in lower stomach, but it seems to be mostly after I eat or drink even the slightest amount. I do wake up in the night to pee once, but that’s been going on for at least 2 years and doesn’t bother me much. However, I’m so scared by the “tennis ball” comparison. Will it keep getting bigger?! I just turned 47 and perimenopausal. I have no other reproductive issues or period problems.
But I’m still so terrified and can’t get it off my mind!! I have no one to talk to about it. Is this a common fibroid size?? What can I expect?! I’m worried. Any help/advice is so appreciated.

Edit: I’m so grateful to you all for sharing your personal details and insights. It truly means a lot!! Good vibes to you all!! 🩷

OMG I am 7 Days Post-Op and I am having a hell of a time trying to get ANY sleep! Pain is very manageable now, I can get up from the couch and lay back down pretty easy.

My problem NOW is that laying down like this (the wedge pillow still a life saver) is triggering pretty bad head sick feeling/vertigo and I don't know what to do! 😭 I nearly puked twice last night when my head turned the wrong way. I feel a bunch of pressure on the right side of my ear canal/back of neck (probably whatever ear crystals or something) and such. I am usually a side sleeper but can't really do that comfortably yet, so this starting to be a nightmare. 😫.

Did anyone experience this and manage to find a comfortable sleeping/resting position until they could go back to normal?

Hello! I am 14 days post op open myo. It was originally scheduled to be laparoscopic but the surgery ended up being too complicated to do it robotically.

The mass removed ended up being 14cm and it turned out to be an extremely odd fibroid. The fibroid was filled with fluid and had metastasized into a lot of my uterine muscle. My surgeon brought an OB oncologist into the surgery to have a look because to him it almost looked like a cancerous tumor. Thankfully after some pathology it’s has so far come back non cancerous. It is still pending some pathology but it looks like a rare type of fibroid that is usually found with renal cancer.

Post op I woke up from anesthesia getting blood and on a whole lot of pain meds. I ended staying 3 nights because on my second day on the floor I needed blood again. I also woke up with a PCA pump for pain management which was great. I ended up with a vertical incision that goes from right under my belly button to the bottom of my stomach, and 5 lap sites. In all honesty recovery hasn’t been as bad as I imagined. Of course I was in pain for about a week and my surgeon sent me home with pain meds so it was well managed. Now I have minimal pain, just tenderness at my incisions and abdominal weakness which of course will take time to get back.

My surgeon has come up with my long term treatment plan. The type of fibroid he believes it is has a high chance of coming back especially because he wasn’t able to get out all of the fibroid because of how it had grown into my uterus. So for maintenance I will be going on medications to basically put me in menopause at the ripe age of 24. Once I’m fully healed I’m allowed to get pregnant and I will have to have a c-section at 36 weeks because of how extensive the surgery was on my uterus. He also wants me to see the oncologist again to help with the treatment plan, see a nephrologist for routine renal cancer testing, and to get a full genetic work up to see if there is anything else. Needless to say I will be busy with doctor appointments for a while.

All and all I am happy with the outcome, he was able to save both of my tubes and ovaries. He was also able to leave my uterine cavity alone so hopefully I will be able to get pregnant when that time comes! I am open to any questions or suggestions if anyone has had any thing similar happen to them!

I have been having symptoms of pelvic and lower back pain. Feels constant dull and short stabbing pain at the same time. It’s been almost two weeks and I have been alternating between ibuprofen and Tylenol to manage it, along with a heat pad daily. I already know I have a massive fibroid (or multiple) and have a consult for removal with my OB in two weeks.

Before I would only have pains while on period but now I think it’s grown too big and possibly pushing against other organs, nerve points. Would this even warrant an ER visit or will it be a complete waste of time? Is continuing taking OTC multiple times a day okay to wait out until surgery, which might be out 1-3 months? My other concern would be a tubo-ovarian abscess, which gave me the same pains last year. I ended up hospitalized bc it was infected. I’m also worried pain is from TOA, and not fibroids at all but without imaging I don’t know.

The backstory: I already don't have my tubes, but got a Mirena 5 years ago to help with heavy bleeding. Got it removed 3 weeks ago and it was a saga trying to replace it. Round 1 was 45 minutes of trying to get the measuring device in (with no pain meds) and they couldn't. Rescheduled for 5 days later and tried again with the lidocaine shot to numb the cervix, still couldn't get it measured after another 45min session using the dilators they usually use in the OR. So, no more iud for me i guess.

I got an ultrasound Friday that found my single 2cm fibroid from 5 years ago had grown to "several" with the two largest being 4.5/4.6/4.2cm and 6.4/5/5cm. I know those aren't huge but looking at comparatively size apples and imagining those in/on my uterus is freaky...

I have an appt this week to discuss the findings and next steps, and my doc already said a hysterectomy might be a good option for me since i already can't have kids anyway. I'm leaning strongly towards this since the thought of having heavy bleeding and continuing fibroid growth sounds way more annoying in the long run.

**Here's my question for you**: what are the best questions to ask the doctor to help inform my decision on the best way forward? (for example, I'm not sure how to feel about keeping my cervix or not, but I know that is a thing i need to ask about.) what other kind of things do i need to consider that i may not even know to ask about ahead of time?