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Hello Ladies! I was diagnosed with my fibroids at 31. I had cla__sic symptoms yet the doctors told me it was a non issue because most women had them. well little did I know they grew and then began to degenerate. As you all know horrible pain. I researched many doctors but only one set my life on easy street. His name is Dr. Stanley West. He is in NYC. Not only did he perform my myomectomy but he guranteed that he would not give me a hysterectomy in writing. He told me to get OFF the Lupron. (Meds that shrink the fibroids) because although they shrink them they cause the fibroids to turn into jelly thus making it much more difficult to removed all of it. Plus the side effect stinks. I had my myomectomy 2/12/09. I'm currently pregnant with my first child. ( We waited a bit :-) Praying all goes well as I'm very early but atleast I have a chance we as before it looked grim. Good luck and blessing to you all! Oh check out a book called The Hysterectomy Hoax. It's a great read!

I suggest you try to get the fibroids removed as soon as possible. the smaller they are the less envasive surgery you will have to have. Mine was the size of a cantaloupe, so I had to have a myomectomy which is similar to a c-section. When they are smaller you can have them removed via laproscopic which is a much easier surgery regarding pain, and recovery time. Please keep us updated on what you decide. There are a few ladies on here who have became pregnant after having the surgery. Good Luck!

Hi everyone!! Just want to share my recent experience..I had my surgery last Monday October 3, 2011 and i thank God because it was really successful..3 fibroids were removed (11.27 cm, 4.5 cm and 1.44 cm) i also had a cystectomy in which my left ovary was removed due to dermoid cyst..i'm so happy because i didn't had Luprons before the surgery and i haven't undergone a blood transfusion even if my Hemoglobin was low, it was amazing!! i stayed in the hospital for 3 days, my OB-Gyne is great! not that painful at all...I THANK GOD FOR THE PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL AND EMOTIONAL STRENGTH He had provided...looking forward to get pregnant after 1 year, still have to get married :-)

My heart goes out to everyone who has had to suffer a loss due to these fibroid tumors. I waiting way too long to look into why I was having such painful menstral cramps and why I had such a heavy period that I became anemic. I am getting married 11-11-11 and I decided to do a more advanced "pre-pregnancy" exam to make sure we were clear to try after the wedding. The doctor found my uterus to be 'swollen and round' making him think I was already pregnant. They did a blood test and I was infact not pregnant. So he recommended that I go get an ultrasound. Basically these tumors had been hiding out inside me for some time. I just turned 31 on Oct. 2nd and we hadn't found these before. I think a lot of that may be that I am an overweight woman and maybe it made some of the tests more difficult, maybe not. Too late to really look back now. My fiance and I found out on August 11th that I had a 4.5cm fibroid...not too big, it was just about the size of a golfball. I was sent to a specialist and a couple weeks later had an internal sono and another ultrasound. Those came back with a 6.5cm and possibly 2 others...somewhat hard to read. We decided to still push for the myomectomy, fulling knowing the possible risks that come with that decision. I lost my great-grandmother to fibroids, almost lost my mom's mother, and my aunt had to have an emergency hysterectomy due to fibroids as well. My bday back on Oct. 2nd, 1980 my mother had a c-section to deliver me and upon my arrival into this would she was immediately put under for an emergency hysterectomy. She was full of the fibroids and honestly doctors don't know how I was conceived, let alone carried to full term. My family history made my case a bit more severe in the sense we knew where it would end. I wanted the surgery to buy me enough time to have my children before resulting in a hysterectomy. We had the surgery on Mon. Sept 12th, 2011. It lasted almost 4 hours due to starting out laproscopic and ending up being an abdominal that called for an infertility specialist to come in to remove my largest fibroid. It was attached to the main blood supply to my uterus. Thankfully I came out of surgery with minimal blood loss and my uterus which was apparently quite happy to be shrinking back down to the size of a normal uterus as it began at 5 times the size a normal one. I was releasted Wed. Sept 14th. I was exhausted and was moving as well as I could. (Getting up the first evening after surgery and walking the next day DOES help with pain. The longer you wait the longer your recovery...but don't over do it!) The following Monday I found myself back at the doctor with my incision being a little hot and red...it got worse the hour wait in the waiting room. I was diagnosed with cellulitis and an infection around my incision. We tried via prescription medications until Thurs. Oct 6th to fight it off and the moment it stopped looking better I was hospitalized. I was just released this past Tuesday night (Oct. 11th)...a month before my wedding. My recommendation is that if you're diagnosed with cellulitis to just admit yourself to the hospital. They may try to give you Vancomycin to fight off the infection...ASK for a culture to find out what you're fighting off and be very careful with the Vanco as it is really hard on the body. It blew the vein my IV was in and they had to move it...I also broke out in full body hives (I still have a mild case of them and I broke out with them at 7am Sun. Oct 9th). The drug that they gave me that did work was called DAPTomycin. (Be sure to have insurance with this stuff as it is $2000 a dose (thankfully it is only given once every 24 hours). I am finally starting to feel a little normal. I am walking better...but terrified of the infection not being fully gone. Believing in yourself and having friends and lovedones supporting you means the world. You can feel their strength and prayers when you're fighting after surgery. I wouldn't change anything. I would do anything to be able to have children. We were told that I need to lose weight and to wait a minimum of 6-9months after surgery (giving my uterus time to heal) before trying to become pregnant. I feel blessed that we have such talented surgeons and even more blessed to know that God helps them to do the miracles performed daily! I am trying to start a support group on facebook called "Myomectomy Support Group" Please feel free to message me and join. I would love to have people be able to talk and discuss their proceedures and what they would or wouldn't change. I kind of flew in blindly with this procedure not knowing too terribly much. But, glad I went through it. My largest tumor was 3 1/2 inches and was attached to the main blood supply of my uterus and had we waited too much longer it would have comprimised it causing me to have a hysterectomy. I am lucky to have had all 5 removed with minimal complications. (1 was the size of a softball, 2 the size of baseb___s, 1 the size of a golfball and the last one was the size of a shooter marble.) Thanks for reading my story! ? Mandy "Myomectomy Support Group"

Hi Ladies, I am new to all of this and really need some positive stories to help me get through. I found out I was pregnant with my first April 2011...so excited. I have literally lived for the day that i could be a mom. At 10 wks I started bleeding, Dr found a 6x7 fibroid. Everyone acted like this was super normal and that I had nothing to worry about. Pregnancy was going great until Aug 3. I started having lower abdominal pain and back pain. I was in and out of the hospital until on August 7, 2011 I delived a beautiful baby boy at 21 weeks. He lived only two short hours. I was and am still devastated. I am scheduled for a myomectomy this month. I am terrified for EVERYTHING. Please tell me your success stories, I need some postive energy! I want babies so badly and pray that the surgery will be a success! Thanks!

My soon to be sister-in-laws best friend had a myomectomy last year and she's due here in a couple months. My myomectomy went okay and I'm supposed to be cleared next year to try to get pregnant. You will have to wait a while after your surgery to try to concieve in order to give time for your uterus to heal completely. It will be fine! My only suggestion is to go in at least weekly to your doctor for a follow up and to keep a close eye on your incision site to ensure it isn't getting infected. It will be okay! I ended up having the full abdominal myomectomy which is essentially like a c-section to my uterus to remove all of the tumors and I'm okay. It took a little bit longer to heal from it, but well worth it. I would do anything to have children well. I am not getting any younger. I will be 32 at the earliest when we have our first. :) If you have any further questions seek me at "Myomectomy Support Group" on facebook. Good luck on your journey! Mandy "Myomectomy Support Group"

cdance I am so sorry for your loss. My story is posted on here somewhere but that was in 2007. In 2007 (after 18 months of ttc) I got pregnant and was 4 months along when just like you I started having abdominal pains and ended up in the hospital. After 4 days in the hospital I deliverd my son (November 19th). he had already pa__sed by the time he was born but I still remember that whole event like it was yesterday. That is a pain no one can understand unless they have been there. Fast forward to Feb of 2008 - I had my myomectomy - dr removed 13 fibroids from my uterus. Fast forward to April of 2009 - got pregnant with my son who is now 22 months old and found out in May of this year I am pregnant with my little girl...she is due in January. It will happen for you. I am sorry for what you have been through and nothing can ever change that pain but just as with me there will come a day when you will be a mommy and you will be sleep deprived and your house will look like Toys R US thew up all over it and there is nothing sold at the Estee Lauder counter that will take away the dark circles under your eyes - AND YOU WILL LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!! I have not checked this website in at least 8 months but I am so glad I check it today. I wish you the best with your myomectomy - the pain of the surgery will be well worth it. :)

Angelkitty, thank you for your story! I can't wait for the sleepless nights and a house covered with toys:) I appreciate your support and your story made me cry with tears of hope. One question for you...did you have a full abdominal myo surgery? Just curious about recovery and wait time. Thanks

Yup I had the full myo...I was in the hospital for 3 or 4 days and was out of work for about 3 or 4 weeks. I had to wait from November of 2007 until Feb of 2008 to have the surgery. As for starting to ttc after the myo my reproductive endocrinologist wanted me to wait 4-6 months. I think we waiting 5 months before trying again (we did an IUI with clomid - we had never been able to get pregnant on our own except for with the child I am pregnant with now...she was an AWESOME surprise!!). We did two more IUI's after that to get my son. And my pregnancy was pretty lowkey - no fibroid issues even though 2 were left in the uterus because of the location. You will need to have a c-section for your pregnancies after the myo but hey - I was quite ok with a c-section just to have a baby ya know? And when my son was born 3 weeks early and had a big head I was very thankful for a c-section!! LOL!!! When you got to the hospital for the myo take gowns with you not pj's because you will not want anything to touch your tummy. And take gas x - just trust me on that one. And do not try to be super woman in dealing with the pain of the surgery...just take the meds they give you - trust me. But you know what - I look back on my surgery and barely remember it now. I just look at my son and thank God I had the surgery and that is all I think about it. :) There will be some pain and discomfort but you totally will not remember any of it when you are holding your baby. Trust me - you will have a baby. When is your myo scheduled for?

I meant to say I was quite ok with having a c-section when my son weighed 8 pounds and 1 oz at 3 weeks early and had a big head. :) And I am not picking on my precious baby boy about the big head - he is just a big boy...he is 22 months and wears 3T and he is not fat he is just big like my dad. :)

Angelkitty, thanks for the info. And gas-x? Now I'm nervous.;) My surgery is on the 28th of this month. I think I'm so terrified because I don't know what to expect and so much is riding on this surgery. Any other prep or advice you can offer is great!

cdance - the gasx will help with the gas that you will get from the fact that you will be cut open...for whatever reason after the myo and after my c-section gas gets trapped in the intestines...the gasx will help with that. It really will not be bad...there will be pain I am not going to lie to you BUT in your mind you will know it is all worth it. My main advice is stay on top of the pain by taking the meds they give you (I tried to be superwoman and it did not work out too well LOL!!), get up and walk the halls...walking will help you heal faster and get you out of the hospital quicker, do not rush to eat solid food...stay on the liquids they give for as long as they will let you and then SLOWLY progress to solids (I think they give you solids on day # 2) if you go too fast with the solids you could get a terrible pain in your back, take nightgowns with you instead of pj's, use the heating pads they give you - it will help. When you get home try to sleep somewhere (like the sofa) that is not too high of a place to get off of b/c there will still be some pain, and keep walking. For whatever reason walking helps so much - it did with my myo and it did with my c-section. It is scary to be having such a major surgery but it will be soooooo worth it. I will be thinking of you on the 28th!!

Angel Kitty--Thank you so much for being my cheer leader! It really helps! I will let you know how everything turns out. Good luck with you and yours and God bless!:)

I'm so glad I found this site. It's nice to hear from other people that have been through a similar situation as me. This is my first time here and I'd like to share my story as well. My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for over a year now. The first time I got pregnant in Feb. 2011, I lost it a few days after I found out. I was told it was a blighted ovum or chemical pregnancy. Then after 3 cycles I got pregnant again in May and it started out as a perfectly normal pregnancy. After the first pregnancy, the doctor found out that I have 2 fibroids, but at the time they were very small and she told me to go ahead and try to get pregnant. After I got pregnant the second time, the fibroids started to grow until they reached 3cm and 5cm. One is outside the uterus and the other one inside the wall. Everything started out fine, until I started having a lot of pain and pressure around 18 weeks. At first the doctor thought it was a UTI, but the test came back negative. After a couple days the pain went away so I thought nothing of it. Then, at 20 weeks the pain came back and it was worse than the first time. That's when the doctor told me that I had degenerating fibroids and she also told me that my cervix had shortened. I was given progesterone pills and told to rest, take tylenol and use hot compress, but by then it was too late. Later that night after seeing the doctor, my pain got worse and I realized that I was having contractions. I went to the hospital and by the time I got there I was bleeding heavily. I ended up delivering a beautiful baby boy at 20 weeks and 4 days (Sept 23), but he was too early to survive. I am devastated, but I anxiously want to get pregnant again. The doctors have told me that the fibroids have caused my loss, so they recommend that I get them removed. I'm planning to have a laparoscopic myomectomy next month. I'm scared about the surgery. In particular, I'm scared about the risk of uterine rupture and I'm scared that I could go in to preterm labor again the next time even after taking out the fibroids. I'm anxious to know how to avoid these risks and any other positive stories after myomectomy would be helpful as well. Thanks to all of you who have already shared your stories. I'm just looking for anything that can give me peace of mind right now.

cdw2003...I am so sorry for your loss. Especially after you guys had tried for so long...your story reminds me of mine...we tried for 18 months to get pregnant and finally did in Feb 2007 with an IUI/Clomid and then I miscarried at 7 weeks. Got pregnant again in Aug of 2007 with IUI/Clomid and that was the pregnancy that I lost my son because of the fibroids. :( There are no words that can explain how that feels are there? But hopefully you have read my story and you know that the myomectomy is so worth it. Just make sure your dr is a board certified dr and is reputable dr that has performed the procedure before and you will be fine. I had 13 fiboids removed - 13!!!! I now have my almost 2 year old son and I am 7 months pregnant with my daughter. And while I have never forgotten the child I lost (on November 19th 2007 - 4 years ago today as a matter of fact) I feel I have been so blessed after going through all of that. There will be happier times ahead but right now you just have to get pa__sed your loss and the myomectomy. Getting pa__sed the myomectomy is what gave me a renewed hope for the future. And like I told CDANCE (I think that is the right user name) - there will come a time when you will be a sleep deprived mommy just like me and you will love every minute of it. :) When is your myomectomy?

angelkitty, thank you so much for your comments. Your story gives me hope and I feel better now about getting the myomectomy. My surgery is scheduled for December 14. After the surgery, I was told to wait 6 months before trying to get pregnant again. The surgeon I'm using is very experienced, he says that he performs this type of surgery on a weekly basis, so I feel like I'm in good hands. Now I just want to get it over with so that I can move on to thinking about another pregnancy. Thank you for your words of encouragement. I feel more hopeful about the future now.