Fun with Fibroids!

Okay, well, they're not really that fun, but I couldn't think of a good title for this entry...

So anyway, I've known for about 8 years that I had a fibroid. I had volunteered to be in a research study looking at follicular development in the ovaries at the time. On the first visit they did an ultrasound of my uterus and found a 3 cm fibroid. Fibroids are non-cancerous tumours that evolved from the muscle of the uterus. I ended up being excluded from the study for another reason, and attempted to go for follow-up like the head researcher had recommended. Got shrugged off by the gynecologist at the appointment (it's a little more complicated than that, but don't want to go into the details).

In the next couple of years I took a pathology class and found out that a large fibroid is 1 cm and larger.

A few years later my doctor retired and I got a new doctor. When I asked her if I should be having any follow-up about the fibroid, she didn't think so. In spring 2006 I started being able to sometimes feel a small mass about halfway between my navel and 'down there.' I was wondering if was my uterus, bladder, or what. In May I had my annual check-up and mentioned it to my GP, but she didn't examine it (must not have brought it up the right way).

It continued to grow. By spring 2007 the mass was feeling pretty big, so I mentioned it to my GP at my annual check up again. This time she examined my abdomen and sent me off for an ultrasound. Results: a 7cm fibroid. When I went back for follow-up she told me how big it was and asked me if I wanted surgery. No discussion about my symptoms, possible consequences or anything! I'm sure I looked confused - I mean, what the heck was I supposed to be basing that sort of decision on? Anyway, she ended up giving me a referral for a gynecologist. I saw him in August and he examined me and we discussed different options and possible scenarios about surgery and its consequences. He said I'd need to get an MRI before any sort of surgery would be undertaken. And so I waited for that. The Saskatoon Health Region's website said it was about a 2-3 month wait for MRIs. That should have meant about October or November. And I waited...

Finally, the MRI happened towards the end of April. About a month later I called the gynecologist's office since I hadn't heard any results. I ended up getting in to see him again a few days after that. At the time of the MRI the large fibroid that I can feel was 10.2 x 9.3 x 6.8 cm... which turns out to occupy a 645 ml volume! That would be about the same length as a baby at 13 weeks. ...And would also explain why I feel so huge all the time. I can't breathe very well when I bend down to put on my shoes. I'm pretty lucky with the location of this fibroid. It's on the outside of my uterus, so hopefully not too much normal uterine muscle will be damaged during the surgery.

So now the next phase is preparing for the surgery. Once I find out if my medical coverage has kicked in at work I will go out and purchase my first monthly Trelstar shot - a hormone which after the first couple weeks will induce temporary menopause. This will decrease the amount of estrogen I have in my body and should shrink the fibroid to about half its current size. This will decrease the invasiveness of the surgery I need to remove the fibroid. I should be getting this just three times, then have my surgery afterwards.

So overall it looks like I'll get to 'enjoy' fake menopause over the summer, have surgery in the fall and have a little recovery time after that. I'm not sure how it compares to something like a hysterectomy where you are unable to lift anything greater than 10 lbs for 6 weeks. I'll have to learn what sort of activity limitations will be imposed... then I guess I'll be off of work (unless I specialize in hand therapy for a few weeks!).

So yeah, that's the big thing in my life right now...