Women’s Health: Suffer with Fibroids no Longer

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have been preparing for a health event in two days.

Years ago when I was pregnant with my son, I was told that I had uterine fibroids. They were small at the time and no need for concern. Like many women, especially those of African descent, having uterine fibroids is common and without complications, there is no need to worry about them.

For those like me, the complications become a way of life without the knowledge that is it not normal. It has been common to hear the women in my family discuss the discomforts during their menses. Figuring it was just a “family thing”, I did no research to discover why we suffer.

Last year during my annual exam I expressed concern for my IUD placement (4 years old) and the practitioner was concerned about the fibroids. Being I was a new client of theirs, they scheduled an ultrasound to check both in addition to a complete blood workup. Not hearing from the office, I assumed all was fine.

This year I scheduled my annual exam at the IUD removal date (5 years). The practitioner, a different one this time, recommended that we wait until hubby was cleared from his procedure before the IUD removal. After the exam, we met in her office to discuss my test results from the previous year.

To our shock, I was supposed to have been contacted last year. My iron levels were and the ultrasound showed that the IUD was near my cervix and ready for expulsion. She ordered a new round of tests and prescribed iron supplements.

During the first ultrasound the tech (a man) did not identify anything on the display to me. This time the tech (a woman) turned the display to my view identifying the large fibroid and the NON-EXISTENT IUD. She had to check the “other way” to verify. will not discuss that further…

It was confirmed at next office visit. The IUD had left the building and no more discussion was necessary. We talked about the fibroids, the results noted one large one and others, sizes not specified. After discussing several options, myomectomy for the largest one, but the others can grow larger, Endometrial Ablation which can reduce some symptoms but does nothing for fibroids, and Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) that attacks all fibroids.

As I researched this condition, I discovered there are many women like me who dealt with the complications of uterine fibroids and had no idea that treatment is readily available.

Since there are no future fertility issues and I am far away from menopause, I took door #3. UFE is non-surgical and has the quickest recovery.

Last week I had a pelvis MRI to better document the fibroids and their placement to confirm my eligibility for the procedure. To my surprise the procedure is scheduled for Thursday. I am anxious to finally be relieved of the complications and a little nervous about the complexity of the procedure. At this point the complications outweigh the complexity because my faith exist, all will be fine.

If any of you or your family members is suffering too, I encourage you to review the sources below and any of the plentitude of others out there. No one needs to suffer needlessly, I plan to NO MORE!

Resources:
Atlanta Interventional Institute
Ask4UFE
Ask4Tell4