This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 7:40 AM and is filed under What Women Are Saying. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably suffering with issues related to uterine fibroids (heavy bleeding, cramping, Anemia, fertility issues, etc.). I’m writing this because I used to struggle with those same health issues. Today, I’m back to living a normal life, even though I never thought it would be possible again.
Because of the number and size of my fibroids, I was told by multiple doctors that I needed a hysterectomy. Yet, here I am after one minor surgery with my uterus and fertility intact – living fully again. I know how it sounds… But this is no late-night infomercial selling miracles. This is just my personal experience. I would shout Dr. Indman’s praises from the rooftops if I could (I suppose blogs could be the internet equivalent. 
I’m not implying that your story will be just like mine. Everybody’s situation is different. I just hope that sharing my experience might help you in some way. Even if it’s just to let you know that you’re not alone in your journey. Others have worn the path before you, and now stand on the sidelines to offer encouragement.
(If you want to talk to me about my experience, or just want to make sure I’m a real person behind the internet mask, feel free to contact me.)
My story:
In my late 20’s through early 30’s I was suffering from increasingly heavy menstrual bleeding. My doctor at the time related it to my age and the fact that I never had children. When I was 33, I took a blood test for an unrelated purpose, and the on-call doctor that picked up my results called me in a panic telling me to go to the ER because I was so severely anemic.
My new doctor diagnosed me with uterine fibroids after a pelvic ultrasound exam. I had not yet had any children and very much wanted to preserve my fertility. The doctor put me on various forms of birth control in an attempt to control the bleeding causing the anemia, but nothing seemed to make a difference. My quality of life rapidly declined. Anything that increased my heart rate made me dizzy and I felt like my heart was about to burst. I could barely climb the short flight of stairs to my apartment. Having a romantic life was out of the question. The rest of my social life was fading because it was too much of a hassle to go out. I was always running to the bathroom and could not predict when there would be an embarrassing ‘flood’. My work life also began to suffer. The anemia clouded my thoughts and I felt I was living in a haze of confusion. Short term memory was affected. I had no motivation or energy. My emotions were difficult to control.
The bleeding was so bad on the worst days that I had to work from home and use towels as makeshift diapers. If a heavy bleeding time snuck up on me, I would stand up and there would be a flood down my legs. I always wore long sweaters so I could tie them around my waist to hide it if I leaked. I ruined all my best pants over time. Needless to say, I was miserable. I felt trapped and hopeless. I really didn’t want to give up on having children, but I was becoming deeply depressed about my quality of life.
I did a lot of online research looking for alternatives to hysterectomy. I was hoping I could get rid of the fibroids – or possibly shrink them – while doing the least amount of damage to my fertility as possible. There was so much information online, but most of it was disorganized, contradictory, and confusing. Then, I came across Dr. Indman’s site, and everything was so much easier to understand. Simple language, definitions, pictures… and I felt hope for the first time in a long time. I bookmarked the site to look at in more depth later. Then, I did something I later regretted deeply… I was scared so I put off calling to make an appointment.
A couple months later, there was a night when the bleeding was heavy and didn’t seem to come in waves – it just kept flowing. By morning I could not sit up to get out of bed. Almost any movement brought that ringing in the ears and tunnel-vision that precedes passing out. I couldn’t get help, and I was pretty sure that was it for me – I was going to bleed to death. Luckily, my housemate came home an hour later right about the time I started going into shock, and she called 911. My hemoglobin count in the ER was 4.6 (Normal counts are closer to 14). I won’t go into all the gory details, but my first hospital stay was enough to let me know I would be happy to never go back. The first night I had 3 units of blood transfused, and bled it all out as fast as they could get it into me. They scheduled an emergency D&C to try and stop or slow the bleeding. Luckily the procedure helped. But that was definitely an experience I would have preferred to avoid. They warned me that the effects were temporary, and that once my uterus built up another lining, the bleeding would most likely start again.
The in-network GYN that I saw once previously for 15 minutes was out of town, so I saw different doctors each of the 4 days I was in the hospital. They all gave me ‘the speech’ trying to prepare me for the possibility of needing a hysterectomy if the bleeding started again. The girl that did a pelvic ultrasound on me actually blurted out “Omigod her uterus is just all fibroids” to the nurse. I was devastated.
Fortunately (Bless her), there was one gynecologist who had actually taken the time to show an interest in my case even though I wasn’t officially her patient. On my last day in the hospital, she mentioned Dr. Indman’s name to me as a source for potential alternatives. But in her tone, I could hear the urgency in her recommendation. I had the impression that it was a bit hush-hush and would be frowned upon for an in-network doctor to recommend an out-of-network doctor (especially to a patient with good PPO money to burn).
As soon as I was stabilized enough to go home, I called and relayed my story to Dr. Indman’s office. They shifted things around to get me in as soon as I was mobile. After an ultrasound, Dr. Indman determined that I had one particularly large submucous fibroid that might benefit from hysteroscopic resection. An MRI confirmed the diagnosis, and – out of concern for my health (in case the bleeding returned) – a ‘hysteroscopic resection of myoma’ was scheduled within 2 weeks of my first consultation appointment.
The day of the surgery, I was made comfortable the entire time. Even the anesthesiologist was wonderful! My friend was able to drive me home as soon as I woke up after the surgery – no hospital stay was necessary. The discomfort afterwards was minimal – and totally manageable with light pain medication. I only took 2 days off work and worked from home 3 more just because I wanted to be cautious. A couple weeks after the surgery, I had a follow-up appointment where I was able to see the inside of my uterus with an endoscopic camera. It was amazing! And I was healing nicely too.
After the surgery – the bleeding did not return! It was a complete success. Thanks to Dr. Indman’s experience and knowledge, I avoided a life-threatening major surgery (hysterectomy). I also made a full recovery from the anemia and I’m living my life to the fullest again. (It may be TMI, but it was a symbolic milestone for me to buy a pair of pretty undees knowing that they won’t just get ruined. It’s a little personal rebellion against my previous oppressor.
I had a couple more fibroids that were originally identified as potential candidates for resection. Neither of them have given me any problems, and one of them actually shrunk to half of its original size in the 9 months since my surgery.
The size of my uterus is almost down to a normal non-fibroid uterus size. And the fibroids that remain should not be problematic if I want to try to have children. My chances of conceiving have actually improved instead of decreasing after surgery!
I don’t even have words to express how fortunate I have been. Many women I’ve talked to were pressured to have hysterectomy, or had surgeries in unskilled hands and their fertility was negatively affected. If I hadn’t found my way to Dr. Indman, I could just as easily be a statistic on the other side of the chart.
In conclusion:
If I have any advice for my fellow warriors after all I went through, it’s this…
- If you have heavy irregular bleeding, please make an appointment right away to have it checked now. Don’t wait another minute!
- Check your family history. Awkward as it may be, simple questions to other female family members can provide early warning. (I later discovered that many women in my family have had similar issues.)
- As always – get a second opinion!
- Medical insurance companies only have their own best interest in mind… and they have strong influence in most in-network medical establishments. Removing your uterus is cheaper for them in the long run than addressing your fibroids. Get consultation from outside of the insurance network before you make any big decisions.
- If you have uterine fibroids, I strongly recommend that you at least make an appointment for a consultation with Dr. Indman. You deserve to hear all of your options and alternatives before making any decisions about your health. I know it can be daunting, but from the moment I called Dr. Indman’s office everyone went above and beyond to put me at ease and make me feel comfortable. I’m sure they will do the same for you. (Thanks Robin, Wendy, and Roxanne! Infinite gratitude also goes out to Dr. Indman for my second chance at life. Namaste!)
