Pregnancy Info HOME

2 years! Wow that is long. I was told 6 months although 1 year is the norm. Yes my ob/gyn told me the same about removing fibroids during Csection. It is a big no-no. I had 3 doctors tell me I needed a hysterectomy because the size and placement of my fibroids. They were too difficult to remove. (not what you want to hear when you are trying to get pregnant with your first) At minimum I would have to sign an informed consent meaning I could go in for a myomectomy but might wake up with a hysterectomy. I finally found Dr. Jacobi at the fibroid clinic at UCSF and she said not only could she do it but she thought informed consent was barbaric and s_xist. she said if she had a problem removing something she would sew and wake me back up and ask me. What the healing process was like? I was in sooo much pain it was unbelievable. In the recovery room a woman next to me was crying for meds. I thought to myself angrily that if she was in that much pain she wouldn't be able to scream so much. I literally couldn't talk or move to motion I needed pain meds. Make sure you get enough pain meds when you are discharged. You don't have to take them but you don't want to end up running to ER 24 hours after being discharged like I was because I had inadequate meds. The first week I needed help sitting up and going to the bathroom. By 3-4 weeks I was able to walk down one block and back but it was the longest block ever and would completely exhaust me. ( I do live in San Francisco so it was an incline) I was told to take 6-8 weeks off from work. I went to work at 7 weeks but it was extremely difficult. I couldn't sneeze, laugh, cough or sing without pain, also walking up steps and lifting things was completely out of the question. I was told not to lift more than 5-10lbs. I can't imagine what it would have been like if I had a baby at the time. When my husband went back to work I had a friend come by and wash and cook and help me to the bathroom in the day. How long did it take you to start feeling good? I started feeling OK at 3 months but it was more like a year. I had a short lived myomectomy blog. If you want to view it just PM me for the URL. Did you lose any weight? Initially yes but surgery makes you retain water and 2 months in bed recovering with no exercise ruined any weight loss for me. However my belly was flat for the first time in my life. I had a bit of a belly that I had attributed to aging but it was fibroids. Right before my surgery people sometimes mistook me for being pregnant. My belly was much flatter and after. Are physical activities better? (I have trouble sometimes during s_x, in different positions because of the placement of the fibroids. Also bending over a lot to work out or clean hurts me) I had bad si joint/b___t pain that went away after the surgery, however because I lost my core strength and I ended up herniating my back. Insist upon a physical therapist! I tried a personal trainer but that didn't work. I needed PT and baby steps to get my ab muscles to engage again. It took 1+ year to get my core strength back. S_x in certain postions was painful before the surgery for me as well. But s_x was very enjoyable. It took a long time to have s_x after the surgery because I couldn't stand the pressure on my abs. Plus we were told to abstain. When I finally healed enough to have s_x it was not enjoyable. Meaning I had no pain and could do positions that I previously couldn't but I felt dead down there. I decided to masturbate and when I orgasmed I had contractions and cramps that were painful, lasted 2 hours and required motrin and a heating pad. I thought I would never enjoy s_x again. These cramps went on for about 3-4 months. they have since gone away but I don't enjoy s_x as much as I did. My orgasms are not as pleasurable and I don't excite as easily. But this is one of the risks of both myomectomy and hysterectomy. I am now 33 weeks pregnant and wouldn't change a thing. BTW I had a few periods take me by surprise. I had never had a period without PMS cramps before. It was amazing to not have that pain anymore. I didn't know it was possible. Now I just keep track of my period and wear a panty liner in anticipation. Violin webb I am glad your preganancy is going well. So sorry to hear about your previous loss. I can imagine that labor day weekend was the longest ever!

violinwebb: your story is totally inspirational to me! Did you conceive naturally or with the help of fertility drugs/treatment? A little about me: I am 28 years old. I have never been pregnant. I knew for a few years that something wasnt right with me but my doctors blew it off. However, my stomach was ballooning and I looked 8 months pregnant. I found a new dr, and she was awesome! One look at me and she knew! After doing ultrasounds I found out I had 2 fibroids. One of them was 18x8x3 (HUGE!!) and the other was about 6 cm. I had my Myo on Dec 9, 2011. Everything went great! I have awesome doctors! She told me to wait until my period this month to try to conceive. (they had to cut into my uterus and while in surgery found 2 more fibroids. The big one weighed 5 pounds.) I have an appt with her on Thursday. I am tracking my ovulation schedule and cant wait to get pregnant! Has anyone gotten pregnant naturally? will I have to take meds or have treatments? Are there any questions that I need to ask my dr?

Hi Mickey. I haven't been on this site it forever, but it really helped me get through some really dark times. I now have 2 children -- a 3 year old and a 1 year old both conceived naturally. My doctor removed 11 fibroids and told me to wait 3 months before trying to conceive. I tracked my basal temperature and knew that I was ovulating at 2 1/2 months. We decided to go for it and conceived our daughter at 2 1/2 months post myo. It was an uneventful pregnancy, as was my second pregnancy with my son. I did need c-sections for both deliveries. I wish you much success. Good luck!

Thanks so much for ur words of encouragement!

Thanks so much for ur words of encouragement!

Hi Mickey! I'm so glad my story could inspire you, any good that can come out of our experience is a blessing! We did conceive naturally. We were told prior to the surgery we had an "excellent" chance of conceiving post surgery. Also, there was thankfully no uterine scarring (within the cavity) We were told that uterine scarring can make it difficult for the embryo to attach. Obviously every situation is unique but our surgery was a huge success and we had no problem getting pregnant. Best of luck to you, it sounds like you have every reason to be hopeful! Prays to you and yours, violinwebb

Hi Everyone! I know I havent been on in a while. Well here's an update: Had another ultrasound done last month. My uterus went from 22cm (pre Myo) to 9cm (post Myo). Although there are 2 fibroids remaining behind my uterus they arent in the way of anything. However, one grew 1/2 cm. But the dr says she doesnt know if that is a margin of error. So I have an appointment on friday with the infertility doctor because my doctor wants me to get pregnant asap. She doesnt want to give the other fibroids time to grow. We dont know yet if we will just have to do meds or insemination. However, my husband is so upset/frustrated with the possibility of maybe having to do it artificially. He has twins from a previous relationship and I have NEVER been pregnant. He finally relented to going to the next appointment with the specialist. How do I make him more comfortable? Did anyone else experience this with their partner? HELP!! :-(

Billmilliken0730, I cannot advise against your doctor's advice. What I can do is give you a testimony. I got married at age 40. Had irregular periods all my life and was on pills for over 20 years regulating my cycle. Husband and I decided we might like to have a child, neither of us had a child. I go to my doctor to tell him of my desire, he pretty much laughed in my face, but I guess he decided to humor me anyway. So he checked me out, found several fiberoids, two rleatively large and several small ones. They were outside of the uterus. From there, went to a specialist, found out both tubes were closed off. One was damaged beyond repair and removed with the myomectomy, the other tube looked ok, so the doctor left it in. I waited about 2 months after the surgery and decided that I wanted to see if the tube I had left was open, so I had an HSG done. The dye flowed through effortlessly. It was at that time, that I decided that if I were to get pregnant, I would do it the "old fashioned" way. I heard all about all the other methods, it was too much and overwhelming. I decided if it was in God's will, it will happen. If it didn't then it wasn't meant for us. I had the myomectomy the end of June 2011 and discovered I was pregnant by the beginning of October 2011 when I missed my period and I had tender b___sts. My baby is a healthy, happy, beautiful 13 month old. I am now 43. I have always been healthy and physically fit, so I'm sure that may have a made a difference. With that being said, if you're healthy, anything is possible. I don't believe it will take 2 years before you're able to conceive and have a healthy child. I was active my entire pregnancy. I hope this encourages you, that's its intent.

Thank you for posting your personal story. I am 35 and found out about my fibroids the hard way...while pregnant with my son who is now 10 years old. I was on bed rest the last 3 months of the pregnancy after going into preterm labor at 5 months. I chose not to have them removed and have suffered horrible menstrual cycles (pain and heavy flow) and it seems to have gotten worse this last year. Anyways, after 5 years of divorce my son's father and I have remarried and are considering another child. I have some reservations naturally after what I went through the first time, and I am nervous about myomectomy, recovery time and ttc especially since I'll be 36 this year. Anyways, I've been researching online, plan to take a cla__s on robotic surgeries this week at the hospital and have an appt. with my OBGYN scheduled for next month. Your story gives me hope...Anyways, just thought I'd let you know!

Hi Futurebabymama. Thanks for letting me know my story gives you hope. That's exactly why I posted it. It was the kind of story I needed to hear at the beginning of my husband and I considering having our baby. There is enough negativity when age and fibroids plague our bodies, but there are women who succeed against the odds everyday. It sounds like to me that you are very smart and are doing your research ahead of time. I wish you all the best. I am a total optimist and I'm looking forward to hearing about your story of success when God blesses you and your family with that wonderful new bundle of joy. Stay encouraged. God bless.

Just a quick update. My daughter is now 4 months old. Even with the myomectomy my fibroids grew back during the pregnancy. I was bleeding and almost miscarried in the first trimester and the last month my placenta failed and we had an emergency C-section. After the pregnancy I could feel my fibroids when touching my stomach I had four large ones each around 6cm. They were so bog that my baby was folded in half with her legs straight in the womb because it was so cramped. She never moved head down because the biggest one was on my cervix so she rode hig pressing into my chest.They are now shrunk to almost nothing and I have a beautiful healthy baby girl at age 42. I will be 43 in a couple of months. Finally a mommy after years of miscarriages.There is no question that if I needed to have the myomectomy inorder to carry a pregnancy to term just seeing how bad my fibroids were during pregnancy. I am glad I had the surgery.

Hi ladies, I have been on and off of this thread for the last year. I had my open myo last November. All went well and I am now seven weeks pregnant. After losing my first born due to fibroids, I am very nervous and fragile where this pregnancy is concerned. I am so very happy to finally be pregnant again, just a bit paranoid. Can anyone tell me what their pregnancies were like post myo. I have had some spotting and have been very sore even to the touch around my incision site. Is this normal? I would love some words of wisdom here. Thanks:-)

Cdance I also had my myo last Nov and been TTC x 3mths now. I'm using ovacue, preseed and ov sticks to time it right. Did you do anything different besides the natural way? Btw, don't worry, u will be fine.

Hi Cdance, Congratulations! I can totally relate, I was an emotional mess at the beginning of my pregnancy following my open myo. We lost our first pregnancy (pre-myo) and got pregnant 3 months following our myo - literally the day we were given the go ahead! I had a lot of cramping and bleeding with the pregnancy, to the point both the Dr and my husband and I thought we lost this baby as well- it was very similar to our first miscarriage. (that was in 1st trimester) I continued to cramp but not bleed throughout the pregnancy especially in 1st and 2nd trimester. It was scary and emotionally draining. I was advised to rest when it happened, I would lay on the couch and drink tons of water. Our OB guessed it was the stretching of the uterus post surgery or even loss of a twin in early 1st trimester, I think it was the former. All this to say, it's tough after everything you've been through. As i write our son plays on the floor- miracles happen everyday- best of luck to you and your family- Erin

Congratulations cdance. Like Violet I had the WORST pains ever which is why I came on this thread in the first place. It is scar tissue tearing as your uterus get larger. I also developed a subchronic hematoma and was bleeding badly and put on bedrest and hormonal support. I also developed very large fibroids during the pregnancy that cramped the baby and kept her from dropping or beding her legs. In hindsight, if I hadn't had the myo there is no way I could have held the pregnancy. Try not to worry take it very easy and don't be afraid to ask for pain medication. I followed a blog called which way to baby who was 1 week ahead of my pregnancy and she was just as worried as I was. It helped keep me sane. I can't believe anything could live through all that pain and bleeding in the first trimester but she did. Right now my daughter is 6 months and I am going to TTC next month. Sending you lots of baby dust. xoK

Has anyone had a v____al hysterescopy/resectescope to remove fibroids? After getting an MRI, my doctor informed me that I had a predunculated fibroid (4cm) a subserous (4cm) , two submucous small half way in the endometrial cavity and an INUMERABLE amount of tiny fibroids outside. My first reaction was to forget about my hopes of having another baby :( I sat in the car and cried for about 30 minutes.... Anyways, the doc, whom I've had since I was 18, says that I just need to focus on removing the ones that are inside my uterus and this can be done without invasive surgery. That's the GOOD news! After they are removed we can TTC as early as a month later! :) I am still worried about all the other fibroids since they can grow during the pregnancy but my husband and I are still going for it. Next week we have an appt. with the perinatal specialist to discuss all the possible complications with a high risk pregnancy (especially with me turning 36) My own obgyn said that she had mixed feelings about me TTC but that she supports me either way and will take care of me. I've also heard mixed reviews about the procedure. Some women get a general anesthetic while others get a local and actually watch the whole thing through a monitor. Has anyone had this done? Also has anyone had serious complications due to age? I am taking more than enough folic acid, and Im trying to get more in shape ahead of time...