Today is the 1-year anniversary of my abdominal myomectomy. Well, that is a mouthful! In layman terms, I had 8 fibroids removed. The fibroids were not large, but they were in an awkward position, so I was in excruciating pain for 3 weeks out of the month.
Backstory: I suffered for 10 years before I decided to have surgery. When I was 30, I went to my doctor and explained to her that I was in excruciating pain during and after my cycle, so she scheduled an ultrasound. Side note: ladies the things we have to go through……if you have had the transvaginal ultrasound you know exactly what I’m talking about. Anyway, the ultrasound showed that I had 6 small fibroids no bigger than a golf ball. During my follow up the appointment, my doctor reviewed the results and promptly told me that she would not remove them because I don’t have any children and she would not prescribe me any medication. Needless to say, I left there feeling very discouraged thinking that I would just have to suffer until I decide to have children.
From that point on, I carried with me a heating pad and Costco sized bottle of Advil. My coworkers would help me as much as they could while I was at work, making sure that I did not have to do much standing or walking. My students even “allowed” me to sit while I lecture. I love them all dearly!
I can remember as the years went by, I became more and more recluse and I did not leave the house. I spent birthdays laying on a heating pad and I would not go out with friends. I know my friends probably thought that I just didn’t want to go anywhere (sometimes I really didn’t) but for most of those years, I was just simply in too much pain to move. (TMI) I would also vomit, which made the pain even worse.
No one in my immediate circle understood what I was going through, so I didn’t talk about it that much because I didn’t want to seem like I was always complaining. I joined church in 2012 and this is where things started to look up. Many members would ask about prayer request and I would briefly tell them what I was going through. That is when I learned how many women suffer from fibroids. For a long time, I didn’t have insurance because my position was taken down to part-time but when the PPACA was passed I was able to get insurance.
My first visit to Kaiser didn’t go as expected. I thought that we would talk surgery because in my mind I was ready. The doctor told me he did not recommend surgery because of scar tissue and that could make it difficult to become pregnant. “We” decided that I would take a low dose birth control pill to try and stop my cycle (which never happened). The birth control pills helped a little, but I was still having pain during my cycle. Fast forward 2 years, I went back to the doctor, had another ultrasound and the doctor said that the fibroids were getting bigger and I needed to have surgery. Guess what happened next….I chickened out! The next year, I didn’t have surgery because I did not have insurance (story for another day) but the next year I found a great policy and I was ready! When I emailed my doctor, he said “I’m retiring next month!” LOL! Well, he recommended me to another doctor and the surgery was put on the books FINALLY!
The day of the surgery I was a wreck, but I tried not to show it. My mom and niece were there with me and I can’t tell you how happy and groggy I was when I heard the nurse waking me up in recovery! Most of my fear was coming from worrying about after surgery pain because I am a punk! Thankfully, I was just very sore when moving around. The only bad thing is you have to use your stomach muscles for moving around. Let’s just say, sitting up was a challenge some days. I feel like I’m rambling!
Today being the 1-year anniversary, I just wanted to reflect on the past 10 years and remember everything I went through not to dwell on it but to give thanks because I feel so much better. I still have the normal side effects from my cycle but thank God it is not what it used to be. If you are suffering from fibroids, there are options. If one doctor tells you no, get a second opinion and ask about all of the options that are available to you. Everyone does not have to have surgery to find relief. There are other procedures as well as some natural remedies available. Do some research on your own to see what will work best for you. If you have any questions for me or just want to talk, you can leave a comment or send me an email lejanarosnotions@gmail.com.