A contributor here left a detailed comment on her experience with laparoscopic myomectomy and hysteroscopy/endometrial ablation so I’ll create two separate posts to start the discussion.
Mary: I just had a laparoscopic myomectomy and hysteroscopy/endometrial ablation two days ago.
Pre-surgical issues and diagnosis: I had a huge, slow growing external fibroid that was about 9 * 10 cm at its peak, plus several smaller internal fibroids that were the cause of my long, heavy, painful periods. My gynecologist referred me to a surgeon who is head of Ob-Gyn at a local hospital and teaches at a major Canadian medical school. (Very relaxed guy, easy to talk to, and well-respected.) He checked me out and declared that the internal fibroids could be taken care of with hysteroscopy and ea. He’s done over a hundred of these procedures and is probably the go-to guy in my city for this procedure. He also said that it looked as if the external fibroid was on a stalk and could be at risk of twisting, although he also said I wasn’t showing any of the signs of being at risk — no feeling of movement — so it was up to me whether I wanted to just leave that one alone or remove it as well. I decided to go for the laparoscopy because of the twisting risk (my sister went through the horror of an ovary getting twisted and i didn’t want to go through anything similar) and because it would be nice not to look five months pregnant.
Surgery: It was supposed to be about 2 hours, but turned into three as it turned out the external fibroid wasn’t on a stalk, but was embedded in the external wall. I asked my doctor after surgery about the risk of adhesions given that such a relatively large surface had been excavated, but he says that I should be all right.
Recovery: I was in the recovery room for an hour after surgery, then moved to my hospital room, where I was told I was staying overnight just to be cautious, given the extended work required for the external fibroid (we had originally discussed the option of going home the same day). The nurses had me up and peeing within a couple of hours. The first time out of bed was a doozie, and my bladder was tight, sore, reluctant and overfull the first time, so I didn’t get rid of two cups of urine until my second attempt. After that, I was up and down several more times throughout the day, alternately reading, napping, chatting with my husband, or having my vitals checked. By 8 PM, I was adept at getting myself out of bed on my own, unplugging the IV from the wall, and going off to have a pee. (They dumped a few liters of saline in me, so I was peeing like a racehorse all day.) By 11 PM, I got out of bed and wandered the halls with my IV because I was bored and wanted to move. The pre-surgical anti-inflammatory suppository took care of most pain except what I felt when I got out of bed and the gas pains in my shoulders.
They let me have jello, broth, juice and a few crackers for supper the first day, and a real breakfast of egg, bun and cream of wheat the next morning. I was discharged by 8:30 and home by 9:30, where I caught up with some clients for a few hours (self-employment isn’t all it’s cracked up to be sometimes) but I was sore by supper time and took off the rest of the day. Gas-X, naproxen and stool softeners were my friends, and even though I have percocet, I haven’t taken any yet. I did take some cough syrup to suppress coughing, which hurt yesterday, although much less today.
First bowel movement was late yesterday (first evening after surgery day), and there was no pain, although reaching to wipe was a little awkward. At my worst, my whole abdomen felt taut, swollen and sorte, with occasional gas pains on top. Today, I got up feeling significantly better, and my belly is less taut and numb.
I’d love to know how long it’s going to take all this swelling to go down. My face and eyes were very swollen the first day, I still couldn’t wear my watch and rings yesterday, although I can today, but my waist and belly are larger than they were than when I went in. (Gas? Fluid? Swollen tissues?) I have no idea how long it will take for those to shrink, as I would think that removing something 4 inches in diameter would make things smaller in circumference.
I’ll report back with anything else of interest.
Thanks Mary. Nothing more I can add except a couple of links for more information:
Laparoscopic Myomectomy (FibroidSecondOpinion.com)
Laparoscopic Myomectomy (Mayo Clinic)
Please post your experiences, thoughts, or questions.
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Related Post:
How are you feeling after your Endometrial Ablation?
April 5, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Great thanks for the info. I also have some mild spotting, which again I assume if part of the recovery.
Carol- after 3 weeks, are you feeling almost back to normal?
I was also curious to know what the doctors have advised couples about trying to conceive after surgery. Mine told me we can start around the 5th or 6th month after surgery. I’ve heard many stories about women getting pregnant soon after surgery…
April 5, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Hi Christie, Bella, Beti, and all,
First off, I am happy to report that I am dong much better now than the last time I posted. I guess I did have a UTI because now I am on Day 3 of the antibiotic and the pain during urination is completely gone. In fact I would say today is the first day I feel NO after-effects of the surgery–no pain, no urine problems, no nothing. The only reminder is the ugly belly button and the couple other incision spots that still have very small scabs. The surgery was 3/17, so today is Day 19 post surgery. I would say that is how long it took me to get back to 100%. I actually was feeling pretty good by about Day 10 post surgery, but then on about Day 13 or so I started getting the UTI symptoms, so that set me back a bit. I think the recovery time varies depending on the woman and I think the post-surgery symptoms can vary as well. I did not personallly have spotting, but I’m pretty sure I recall my doctor saying that was a possibility and he also mentioned it was possible it would take up to 3 months to have normal (as opposed to long) periods again. ….As for when it is OK to get pregnant, my doctor said to wait 3 months before trying to get pregnant and to wait 2 weeks before having intercourse. Carol
April 6, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Christie,
. Now is waiting time to see if everything goes smoothly the first three months.
As mentioned by Carol, my doctor told me not to have intercourse (or bath, or use tampons) for 2 weeks, then wait 3 cycles (or three menstruations) before trying to conceive. I read somewhere the uterus takes 3 months to completely heal. I also think it depends on how much wall of the uterus was removed during the surgery, so that is specific to you and you should follow your doctors advice. I followed mine, and I got pregnant right away
April 5, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Hi, I have been reading this site for a little while. and posted on other sites. I really enjoy all the info.
Here is my story. I went to my first dr because of pain and bleeding. She told me I had and enlarged uterus. She ordered and ultrasound. It showed that I had 2 5cm fibriods and a cyst on my ovary. Well my regular obgyn sent me to a UFE dr even though I told her that i wanted children. She didn’t have a lot of info and told me to look up stuff on the Internet. For the UFE consult i needed to get and Mri done. I went and got the MRI. It revealed that i didn’t have 2 5CM fibroids but a 1 cm fibroid and a 8.5 cm subserosal one. The UFE dr told me that half of the doctors he knew woulndn’t remove my fibroid.
I needed another opinion. I asked a IR doctor to give me the name of a good dr that does myos. I went to her and she was great. We talked about doing an Abd Myo at first but after she looked at the MRI she thinks that she can do the lapro MYo. I am so hapy
I go in Wed April 7th. Im a little nervous but reading the blogs i know what to expect.
My doctor did’t put me on any bowel prep or diet restrictions. She told me and my husband that I would be able to walk around some and that it is good for the healing process . I think my husband thinks i will be back to normanl right after the surgery, cooking and cleaning. She also told us that it takes 2 weeks to heal. I will say though that she told me that I will have to listen to my body.
I guess you just never know till you have the surgery.
Also I’m not going back to my 1st Gyno. Im sticking to Dr. Lowder. Once you find a good doctor, you don’t let them go.
April 5, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Hi Rena,
I have a couple experiences that relate to your story. Mostly I was told I has one large (10cm) fibroid inside the uterus, but the last ultrasound said there were two fibroids. I’m still not sure, but the doctor did get it/them all. I got the name of two laparascopic specialists in my area. The first one told me there was “no possible way that this fibroid could be removed laparascopically because of the size and location” He told me he does 90% of them laparascopically but mine was in the 10% that could not be done and he even told me mine might need a vertical rather than a horizontal incision. Apparently the vertical incision carries even more risks and a a longer recovery than an abdominal horizontal myomectomy. Anyway, 5 days later my boyfriend and I went to the second laparascopic specialist. He reviewed my records and declared “I can help you.” I explained to him that the first lapa specialist said it could not be done and he said he hears that all the time because the number of surgeons who can remove big ones with the lapa and few and far between and you have to find one who can do it, and luckily he did. And I think he did a good job, except for my disappointment with my belly button.
I think it is very true about listening to your body. Based on how I felt there is no way I could have done much for the first 3 days because I was walking very slow (like a waddle) and had trouble even getting on and off the bed. But by Day 4 I started to feel semi normal and I think if I had to I could have returned to work after about 7-10 days. I was told by the surgeon the full recovery is 4 weeks but that it was OK to drive and do other things after 1-2 weeks, depending on how I felt. I think at a minimum you should expect to not be able to do much of anything for at least a few days and your husband should be prepared to do the cooking, cleaning, etc for at least a few days. Carol
April 5, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I guess my doctor wants us to wait a little long before trying as i had both a large fibroid and extensive endometriosis. I don’t mind the wait especially if my body needs the extra time to heal. Additionally i believe we will probably have to go the IVF route.
April 5, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Hi Christie,
I didn’t have endo, so maybe that is how my doc came up with the 3-month waiting period. He told me it would take 3 months for the uterus to be totally healed from the surgery–that was without the endo issue. Carol
April 5, 2010 at 10:38 pm
My doctor also told me to wait 3mon after the surgery. She also want me to take birth control for those 3 months back to back. No sugar pills.
How long did you wait before you started putting some kind of cream or oil on the scar?
April 6, 2010 at 8:34 am
Hi Rena,
Good luck for tomorrow, I’m sending positive thoughts your way, glad you have found specialists you are happy with.
I started using pawpaw ointment on my scars & belly button at around 7 days when I removed the dressings. They were a little too sensitive to touch any earlier and I wanted the coverage to protect against clothing. The belly button took about 3 weeks to return to normal looking.
I am 10 weeks post-op now; all healed up nicely and back doing everything.
April 6, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Rena,
I wasn’t allowed to touch the steri-strips for 2 weeks, no lotion allowed, and I had to shower with my back to the water, so nothing was hitting hard on the incisions. I actually had the stiches removed after 3 weeks, and they healed beautifully except the one that had a tiny flap of skin, because a tiny portion of the incision did not close properly. I think the least you touch the incisions, the lower the chance to get an infection.
April 5, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Hi Rena and all,
My doctor didn’t say anything about using a cream and he did not say anything about birth control either. I am wondering if I got good aftercare advice? Did others here use a cream and birth control as advised by their docs?
April 6, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Hi,
Could you ladies please let me know if you used scar creams post-surgery, and if so what kind and did it help? My doctor never mentioned doing that and it never occured to me. My scars don’t look too bad but I am 3 weeks post surgery now—-They are a little raised and red but they are so small that it is not too bothersome…..Is it too late to start a scar cream now and is it worthwhile to do so?
Thank you,Carol
April 6, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Hi
I forgot to as my doctor on my pre-op app, but i will try and remember to ask her before I leave the Hospital about the cream. I bought vitamin E oil and I already have mederma.
April 6, 2010 at 5:02 pm
I guess each doctor is different because I did not have steri-strips. I just had some bandages and the surgen told me to take them off the very night I got home from surgery and to rinse with hydrogen peroxide 2x per day for 3 days and also the hospital told me to shower the day after surgery–but I waited 2 or 3 days because I felt too weak. There is still one small stich sticking out of one incision (3 weeks post surgey)–so I have to ask the doctor when that is supposed to dissolve. My doctor prescribed Demorol as the pain med as well as prescription strength Motrin, but it seems most others here were prescribed Percoset for pain. I guess each doctor has some variations in the way things are done–I would think it would be more uniform/standard among the docs, but I guess not. Hopefully all the strategies work well.
April 7, 2010 at 8:35 am
I was told by my doctor to remove the bandaids after a week, which i just did and frankly my belly looks gross right now with the dried blood on the white strips. He also did not mention any cream to put on but i will ask him tomorrow as i have a follow up appointment with him.
April 8, 2010 at 7:54 pm
so i had my follow up today and my doctor thought i was healing just fine. i’m 10 days post surgery now. he also did not recommend using any cream so i guess every doctor uses different recovery methods.
April 10, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Carol,
I’m three weeks post-op. At my two week appointment after having a robotic assisted myomectomy my Doctor said to use NeoSporine on my incisions until the scabs were gone and then use silicone scar sheets. I found them at CVS. You cut them to size and reuse them several times. I have not started using them yet because I still have some scabbing, but he spoke very highly of them.
April 10, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Thanks Tina,
I’m familiar with those strips, as I used them on a a scar on my arm a while back and they did seem to help. I think I will give them a try on the scars from the lapa myomectomy. Thanks again. Carol
April 19, 2010 at 10:15 am
Hi ladies,
Well I am having my first period since my lapa myomectomy in mid March. I am sad to report that my period was still very heavy (not quite as heavy as pre-surgery, but still much heavier than it was years ago pre-fibroid) — and even more concerning is that I am now on Day 6 of my period and it has not stopped yet. One of the reasons I got the surgery was that my periods were lasting 20 days. The doc told me after the surgery my periods would be 3-5 days, but I am already on Day 6 now and it has not stopped yet. Also my menstrual cramps this month were very bad and lasted longer than usual. Usually I have cramps for about 2 -3 days but this time I had cramps (severe) for 5 days. I am hoping maybe this has to do with the healing of the uterus, but I am worried that maybe they didn’t get the whole fibroid out or missed some fibroids or that I have endometriosis. I have an appt with the gyn/surgeon this Thursday so I am waiiting til then to ask him all these questions, because it is easier to ask in person than when they are in a rush on the phone–and also by then it will be a few more days and I will know if the period has stopped by then….Has anyone experienced anything similar? Did your periods go right back to normal after your myomectomy or did it take a few cycles to go back to normal?
Thanks,
Carol
April 19, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Carol,
my second period after the surgery was medium to heavy for 9 days (so I ended up anemic), with a 20 days cycle. The following one came after 34 days, heavy just only one day, and much shorter. I do still have some portion of the submucosal fibroid that could not be removed, and at least one subserosal, and the intramural ones that were not removed to preserve the uterus for pregnancy. But I did not have pain, I felt in heaven (and I did not mind the bleeding).
May 16, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Hi Carol and all… I had a ABD laproscopic myomectomy on April 22, 2010 to remove one 10 cm intrauterine fibroid. All seemed to go well. Man…the gas pain to the shoulders and upper abdomen hurt way worse than the (4 smallish) incisions or my uterus. Everything was fine until day 19 post-op. That morning, I woke-up with a lot of low belly gas and incredible off and on pain. Also, I had started my period on day 15 post-op and it seemed to be going okay. But by day 19 (or four days into my period) the frontal pelvic cramps were also bad!! I typically did not have cramps with my period, onlya low back pain. I don’t know what has caused all this gas. Today I feel it back up into my shouders and upper abdomen. I actually went to the ER to make sure something hadn’t perforated. All is well according to x-ray and labs, just “moderate amount of stool”. My period is still with me (has been off and on) for 10 days. I’ve never had a 10-day period, typically 6-7days. Hmm..I wonder if this is just part of the healing or abnormal? I also want to encourage everyone to keep their stools soft and frequent after surgery. Maybe I could of prevented some of this pain if I had had more water and fiber, stool softener, etc. Can anyone tell me if their first period myomectomy was quite severe and longer than usual? Anyone with gas pain this far after laproscopic surgery? I would really appreciate any insight! Thanks~Vicki
May 16, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Hi Vicki,
Unlike most, I did not have much gas either after my surgery (3/17) or anytime after–so I can’t comment on that….. But what has been happening to me is that my periods since surgery have been very difficult–actually more difficult than they were pre-surgery. During both my April and May periods, (the May one is going on right now) the cramps were so severe (actually more severe than when I had the fibroid) to the point where I have had to pull out my leftover prescription pain meds on several days of the period. Also weird is that each day of my period, rather than having less cramps and less blood with each passing day of the period, it seems the cramps are more severe and the bleeding is heavier over the first 5 days until it starts to let up. The good thing is the April period lasted 8 days (as compared to 20 days that they were lasting pre-surgery). My surgeon said it will take 3-4 cycles to return to a normal period because the uterus is healing and cleansing, so I am trying not to worry about it too much yet. I guess everyone heals differently and I think you did the right thing by getting checked out–I have worried at times about perforations or adhesions or something too because I don’t know why the cramps are so bad–they are especially bad in the ovaries area, and I didn’t really get them that bad there before the surgery–so again I am just hoping it has to do with the healing process.
April 19, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Thanks Beti,
I am reading that 80-90% of women with fibroids and prolonged heavy bleeding do have that symptom resolve after myomectomy, but the other 10-20% can continue to have the heavy prolonged bleeding that can be due to numerous causes such as hormonal imbalance, ovarian dysfunction, endometriosis, ovarian cancer, and thyroid disease among other things. I am hoping though still that this is just temporary and after a couple cycles I will not have the heavy prolonged bleeding or the severe cramps. I will see what the doctor has to say this Thursday when I see him. He had told me to expect my period to be 3-5 days in length following surgery, so already that is not the case. I even had to take the leftover prescription strength pain meds because the cramps were so severe on days 4 and 5. I do not know what is going on and it is stressful. The doctor did say in my case he did remove the whole fibroid, so that is not the cause if he is correct about that. The weird thing about mine too was that for the first 2 and 1/2 years that I had the fibroid I did not have heavy or prolonged bleeding–I only had that the past 6 months and that was one of the main reasons I opted for the surgery–but also to avoid a full hysterectomy. So it looks like only one of my problems (avoiding hysterectomy) was resolved for now, but the bleeding at least at this point is not resolved–unless maybe it has to do with the uterus healing and maybe, hopefully, it will resolved over the next couple of cycles. Right now I feel very bummed that everything seems the same as it did before surgery–heavy prolonged bleeding, terrible cramps, blood clots, and huge stomach. Argh!
April 21, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Carol,
It sounds like my case, I did not have heavy bleeding (I actually had retrograde menstruation caused by the submucosal fibroid, and that was hell) but it was getting worse the last 4 months before surgery. I did have the thyroid a bit off, but that got better as well. So keep your hopes high that everything will be OK in a couple of cycles (my doctor told me it was normal to be off the first few cycles until the uterus healed completely). And hopefullly you don’t have to worry about endometriosis, your doctor should be able to tell you if he saw any during surgery.
good luck!
April 25, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Hi all. Just a follow up–My first period post-surgery lasted 8 days, which was a great improvement over the 20 day periods I had pre-surgery. It was however just as heavy and with just as many blood clots during the 8 days…. I saw my surgeon a few days ago and he confirmed that it can take 3 or 4 cycles post surgery to return to a normal period because the uterus is healing and cleansing.
On another note, I was wondering what does anyone know about the possibility of new fibroids growing back? My surgeon said it is a 10-59% chance of a different fibroid growing back. I hope it is more like 10% or less!
April 29, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Take a load off Mary! Succesful albeit… It hurts, you are sore and woozy. No pain meds? give me a break! No one should work on the day following this procedure!!! Find peace and heal!
May 7, 2010 at 11:54 am
I was searching the internet and came across this website. Great information ladies. I had a myomectomy on March 8th, everything is bad to normal for me. I am a little confused now after waiting for my 2nd period. I got my first period post-surgery on April 1, it was normal 5 days (my usual, nothing heavy). I saw my dr on April 15th, he wanted me to take Proven on day 17th. However, I had a family emergency and had to leave out of town immediately so I did not get the meds. Now, I was thinking my period would come again at the end of April or by May 1st. It has not, this week I have cramped very badly, knowing each day that it would come the following day but it has not. Now I have gone 37 days without a period. Is this normal after a myomectomy? My husband and I have fertility issues and have to have an IVF. He has low a count and I did not know I had any problems until the 3 small fibroids were found, a cyst on one ovary and learning one of tubes were damage. So after having all that removed, I am in good shape, but still told we need to do the IVF due to the low count.
May 7, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Shelly, after the myomectomy I had a first normal period, then one at 20 days, then one extremely heavy after 34 days, and finally a normal one (and then pregnant
). I had not had cramping though.
May 7, 2010 at 11:42 pm
HI Shelly,
I had my myomectomy on Day 3 of my period in March and my period stopped immediately then started again and lasted two more days (total of 6 days). The next month (after the myomectomy) my period came after 31 days (which is my normal length in betwen periods) and lasted 8 full days and was very heavy. My surgeon told me it can take 3-4 cycles to return to a normal period, so that may include lenghts of time between periods as well.
On another note, I previously wrote about my belly button looking deformed after surgery. Well, at about 6 weeks it started to look a lot more normal again–It went back to more of an inny and doesn’t have that asymetrical bulge anymore. It still doesn’t look like quite like it did pre-surgery, but it looks relatively normal now. It just doesn’t have as many tight creases going inwards as it used to.
June 5, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Hello everyone. I found this website to be very helpful prior to my surgery, so I thought I would write about my (ongoing) experience. I’m 12 days post-op from a laparoscopic myomectomy. I’m 34 years old, without children (although I hope to have them one day). I live in the Boston area and had my surgery with a surgeon from Brigham & Woman’s Hospital.
I had over 25 (yes, twenty five!) fibroids removed, several of which were pretty large (two were at least 10 to 12 cm). In total, they removed 3000 grams of fibroid from me (my doc said that is about 4 lbs). They could not complete the surgery 100% laproscopically, as about 4 hours in they still had the two largest to take out. They made a 5 inch incision on my lower abdomen (very low, like a C-section incision) to remove the last of the largest tumors). My doc tells me that the combo laparo / abdominal surgery allowed me to avoid a larger scar up the center of my abdomen, particularly since I had some fibroids very high up in the abdominal cavity.
The Good: All of my fibroids were on the outside of the uterus, which made it easier to remove laparoscopically (so my doctor tells me). Several doctors told me that these could not be removed laparocopically, until I went to my surgeon at the Brigham. I wanted laparoscopic surgery because I was hoping for quicker recovery time and less time out of work. I really liked my surgeon, was comfortable with him, he has a decent sense of humor and answered all of my questions (even the ones that I am sure were sort of stupid). Overall, I would recommend my doctor.
The Bad: I’ve had problems with my incisions since I came home. One of them is infected. It got bad over a weekend, which meant I had to go to the ER to have it looked at. The ER folks had to open the incision up, clean it out, and pack it with gauze. Luckily, the Attending at the ER called my surgeon, who had me come in right away that week. The “bad” news is that my surgeon looked at it, and determined that it cannot be stitched up yet due to the infection. I have to keep it “open” and packed with gauze for a week, at which time he will re-evaluate it. It is literally a hole in my side, about a half inch deep (if I had to guess), covered with a gauze pad. There is a strip of sterile gauze “packed” into it, which soaks up all of the gross infection, etc. I have to change the gauze packing daily, which is incredibly gross and downright freaky for me (I’m not a medical person). The doc sent me home with everything I need to do it. I’m super scared about keeping everything sterile, etc. (doing the best I can). I go back in a few days to see how it looks. They also put me on antibiotics as well.
My recovery: aside from the infection (which strangely, hasn’t really hurt), my biggest gripe is the C-section like incision I have, which I suppose wouldn’t really be applicable to the laparoscopic folks on this message board. It hurts! And it still occasionally bleeds. I’m getting around OK, but tire easily. I’m only taking the pain killers (percoset) once or twice a day (as opposed to every 4 hours like I did the first week out of surgery.) I’ll be back to work (or, at least trying to go to work) on Day 14 post-op, next week. It’s a desk job, nothing too strenuous, but I do anticipate that I will tire very easily (what with me not being able to have my afternoon nap!) At this point, I can’t quite bend over to pick things up off the floor yet, though I am able to get out of bed and walk around without major pain.
My biggest concern has been these incisions. In addition to the infected incision, I have another one that is looking strange as well now (oozing a bit, 12 days out). But I am on antibiotics so hopefully that will get everything. I am going to have my doc look at this second incision when I go in this week. If I have to pack this one with gauze as well, I may go off the deep end. When I left the hospital, the incisions were covered with a clear glue like covering (which had dried), and that is all. I was told that it would come off naturally in a few weeks, after the incisions had healed. I can’t help but to wonder if these shouldn’t have also been covered with gauze or something. They didn’t seem well protected, frankly. But my doc says this is how they do all the laparoscopic incisions (and its a BIG hospital and they do quite a few of them!) But the infection (and second oozing incision) has me nervous!
If anyone has any questions regarding my surgery, feel free to post. Thanks for listening!
Sara
August 13, 2010 at 11:57 am
Hi Sara,
I had the same surgery, where they cut me open like a c-section. Do you know how many days/weeks post op that you can have intercourse? My husband and I tried last night and I bled afterwards. Although it was light bleeding – I am concern.
June 23, 2010 at 4:18 pm
hello,i had fibroids operation on last week of april now i want to get pregnant,is it possible?
July 5, 2010 at 2:26 am
I had my laproscopic myomectomy on June 4th. I went through 4 cycles of lupron (last one in April). It took 3 hours to complete the removal of 12 fibroids including one large one that was within the uterine wall. My period just started on July 2nd. It is so heavy. I don’t have much cramping but I’m praying that it lightens up within a few days. I’m glad I found this website.
July 10, 2010 at 6:01 pm
did anyone have robotic myomectomy?
July 10, 2010 at 6:02 pm
did anyone have robotic myomectomy? i am having one in 3 weeks and i am scared
July 11, 2010 at 8:59 am
Hi Tamera -
I had a robotic myomectomy in January (DaVinci robotic) of this year — see higher up in the thread for an account of my surgery.
I was initially worried too; this was my first surgery ever. It really couldn’t have gone much better. I was out of the hospital the next day; the pain was minimal; the healing process was very smooth.
Now in July, you can still see scars from my surgery but they’ve faded a lot and expect that they’ll eventually be barely noticeable. My biggest challenge has been reestablishing a workout routine — I have a small “pot” that I blame more on portion control than on the surgery itself.
Happy to answer any specific questions you might have about the procedure, if I can.
Good luck and don’t hesitate!
Bella
August 26, 2010 at 2:17 am
Hi Bella
So are you 100% recovered now? are there anything need to be watched out after the surgery? i’m having the same procedure tomorrow. My first op ever, quite scared.
August 26, 2010 at 2:12 am
Hi Tamera, how did you go with your op? i’m having one tomorrow…..like you, a bit nervous!
August 26, 2010 at 11:22 am
Hi Sue -
I know I was very (underline underline) nervous the day before and mostly from never having been under anesthesia before. Breathing and relaxation techniques do help — as does realizing that this will improve your health and make your life easier. Reading calms me and they let me keep a book right up until they wheeled me in. And I told every nurse and doctor that I was nervous and this was my first surgery — it helps them to know where you’re coming from.
I didn’t realize how much I was being affected by my fibroid until about two months post-surgery. My periods had been crazy — couldn’t even get through a night’s sleep without changing pads, sometimes twice.
Now my period is completely normalized in comparison (set # of days and average flow). I realize that the endo and the fibroids may come back but we’re monitoring that and I’ll report back here if I have any developments.
Try not to worry and get ready to feel much better!
July 23, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Hi Ladies,
I am planning on having surgery in a few months. I went to one dr and she said she would have to do abdominal myo. I went to get a second opinion and the 2nd dr said she could to it laparoscopic. I know with abdominal they can feel around to see if any small fibroids are growing; can the same be done for laparoscopic? Will they be able to look around? I am kind of confused about which route to go. I have also read abdominal is better for future pregnancies.
July 26, 2010 at 11:35 pm
I just had a laparoscopic myomectomy done three weeks ago. I was sent to a fertility specialist 2 hours away by my regular doctor because she said this doctor was the best and he is very reputable in the field. To me, I thought it was all about his credentials and my own doctor’s recommendation. I would just research. He did tell me he might not be able to get really small ones when he went in but didn’t have any problem. I have to tell you that recovery has not been fun and I can’t imagine the recovery for the abdominal method. I definitely would say to do it laparoscopically.
I did have a question for those that have had the surgery done already. Did anyone else have irritations with their bladder after surgery? I had a fibroid pushing into my bladder that was removed so this might be the reason but it has been the most bothersome thing about the surgery. I feel like I have a UTI but tested negative. I have pinching and urgency and it gets worse at night or with more activity. Anyone have these same issues?
July 27, 2010 at 5:51 pm
My recovery went very well. I think because I had the oppoortunity to not move around much. But I did have the discomfort when I would urinate. My doctor told me to avoid caffeine because that contributed to the bladder contractions. Once I eliminated that it went away. I did notice that on days that I walked around alot I would have more sensations when I urinated.
July 23, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I had surgery a month ago and I am doing very well. My doctor used laproscopic. I was on lupron for 4 months to shrink my 5-6 month pregnancy size uterus to 3-4 months. The laproscope does allow for the doctor to see everything (I even received a copy of the pictures). My doctor was fantastic because I did have many fibroids (12) and a very large fibroid that was within the wall. Most doctors would have stopped doing the procedure laproscopically and switched to abdominal. But he didn’t and I’m so grateful. I have to wait six months before trying to conceive and will have to have a planned c section.
August 26, 2010 at 2:10 am
very useful information
August 29, 2010 at 9:47 am
Hi there!
I’m actually from London and thought i should share my story. This website has been such a life line for me in the last month-both pre and post surgery- so a big thankyou to everyone for writing in. I couldn’t have been more nervous about my first general anaestetic and it was wonderful to learn about stool softener and the need to invest in jogging pants at least several sizes bigger. That can’t be over emphasized. At 12 days post opp I’m still suffering bad constipation. During these times I actually wish I had bought knickers and bottoms in size 20. (I’m size 12 to 14 )
Please forgive me if this seems excruciatingly long, but I think different parts of my story will help different people.
I’m on day 12 post surgery. I had a laparoscopic myomectomy and Hysteroscopy. The former was to remove several fibroids-1 little one on top of my womb that hadn’t shown on the scan plus a big predunculated one on the outside-8cm by 6 and a half -four half months ago. This was pushing on my bladder causing me to constantly go at hormonal stages of the cycle. (mid month and period) It also seemed to effect my Bowels-although they also discovered and destroyed moderate endometriosis throughout the pelvis region and a chocolate cyst in the ovary. So who knows what caused what symptoms?!
I also had a polip removed from inside the womb-hence the Hysteroscopy. But the surgeon spoke with me before the opp and we decided not to treat the additional 5 smaller fibroids(2 to 3 and half each) because I want to be able to have children and apparently the removal of 8 things would have risked weakening the walls of the Uterus and thus the ability to carry a child. Besides it is not certain these little ones gave any symptoms.
I first found out about this small batallion 4 months ago.
I’ve suffered moderate to bad periods on and off for over 10 years so never really questioned it until they became mostly bad. But even then, they had a sneaky habit of suddenly being o.k ish when ever I considered going to the doctors! Here’s the complication. I strongly believe/agree that stress has an impact on general health and certainly when I had been through periods of stress, the periods seemed to be alot worse.
you will appreciate then why I had ignored these awkward monthlies whilst going through a very sudden and traumatic divorce.(He ran off)
In the midst of trauma like that why would you even think about your periods? It really wasn’t a priority and putting symptoms down to such obvious stress is understandable. Perhaps stress of this magnitude causes conditions or perhaps it only exacerbates existing symptoms?who really knows?
My symptoms definately first came to the fore in this time and that was 4 years ago. Severe cramps seemed to involve the bowels. I would get a sharp crampy pain on day 2 to 4 of my period that often made it impossible to pass a bowel motion. When this happened, my body would be sore in this area for a good 5 days afterwards.My digestion became very stuck and the period came out in large clots rather than a flow. Also about this time I first started noticing how often i needed the toilet during a period. In the last 4 years this symptom gradually worsened. In the last few months I would sometimes feel the need to go up to 7 times in the night! I always managed to pass water although sometimes very little. The urgent sensation to pass seemed to be way out of proportion with the result. If I ignored it, I would get an awful pain that lingered for about half hour after giving in.It was very similar sensation to systitis.
My main other symptom was severe up and down bloating. By the end it never actually subsided. Even in my usual “reprieve phase” eating would set it off. I would typically get a reprieve for the first 10 days post period. But even mid cycle the body would bloat a bit- My consultant has since explained that the bloating corresponds with the fluctuating hormones in the cycle-hence ovulation and period. The difference to my size between 2 days after period and 7 days before were so dramatic that I had 2 wardrobes. I never ceased to be amazed at how slim I actually was when it subsided-the difference between pyjamas not fitting or actually tripping me up because they were dangerously loose. This of course effects ones mood. I felt very down at times. Typically I would be very bloated whenever there was a nice party or function to attend. I sometimes didn’t go. It was very frustrating having to find clothes to fit.
What I haven’t mentioned is that I am also an opera singer. When concerts or shows collided (as they inevitably did!!) with this excessive bloat, it became very difficult to nigh impossible to function. The bloat meant the purchase of larger concert dresses that invariably were then too big elsewhere. when the periods were very bad I simply couldn’t do an engagement. The pain in the backside!!-rendered me useless and kept me indoors. The swelling effected my vocal chords and I would lose my range. I was doing a massive amount of teaching in this period-the trauma of divorce having effected my confidence and stopped me singing full time. In hindsight it’s a good thing because I was able to teach with these symptoms except the extreme ones. But my pupils often asked me if I was o.k. It’s hard to conceal sudden pain caused by rectal cramping. It catches you by surprise.
My main other symptom was extreme tiredness up to a week before a period. It was so extreme it felt a bit like the anaesthetic 12 days ago.
All my symptoms are a mixture of an imbalance of hormones-Ostreogen to Progesterone ratio. I was diagnosed with a cervical erosion 12 years ago which is also due to this. Endemetriosis, Fibroids and Polips are all caused by this imbalance. It’s far more complicated than this but I will learn more in due course.
Consequently the surgeon inserted the Mirena coil during surgery. Apart from a sudden little acne outbreak, so far I’ve not experienced any side effects. But clearly in my case these hormones are being rebalanced. I’ve never liked the pill. I imagine that these contraceptives might unbalance the hormones of an otherwise completely normal person and therefore give rise to all manner of nasty side effects.
I’m 12 days post surgery and I’m thrilled with how it went.
My surgeon was terrific -very warm hearted and reassuring. He saw me a few hours before and answered my questions with all the time in the world and was so clear in his answers. He warned me that there was a chance he would have to cut me fully if the polip or fibroids bled excessively.
I wasn’t nervous after meeting with him and knew I was doing the right thing. I was so petrified of surgery that previously I tried to convince myself it wasn’t really necessary after all as my period pain was mostly very tolerable. In denial I seemed to forget all the other symptoms. I was scared off ,having read all the possible things that could go wrong.But advances in this sort of surgery have been so great and so cumulative in recent years that more and more things become possible with less and less trauma to the body. My boyfriend was so supportive and encouraged me to have the courage to go though with it.Two weeks prior to the opp I discovered from a consultant’s physical examination that the fibroid was putting pressure on my bladder and was also very near the top of the cervix-accounting for pain during intercourse etc.. But mostly I didn’t like the fact that it was pushing my womb to the right and was on a stalk. Apparently there is danger of that twisting. I also felt that having the whole array of foreign bodies couldn’t be helping my singing. My teacher certainly thinks that my health rather than the divorce might account for my general lack of stamina and loss of high notes.The muscles one uses to support the operatic voice are mostly in this area. I have lost half stone immediately post opp. so it seems that I’ve been used to supporting this extra weight in my singing too. We shall see!
I got a great adrenalin rush when I was called down to theatre. it was 3 hours earlier than expected and my boyfriend had popped out for a coffee! As luck would have it he got back in time.
The anaesthetists were great fun and made me feel very much calmer.Under the influence of the drugs I rambled on about my x husband which amused them and also about useless GP’s not taking me seriously. I was worried that my panic induced shallow breathing was a cause for concern until they pointed out that they would be manually taking over my breathing anyway. Hilarious that this paradox should amuse and calm me so. i had no moment of knowing I was falling asleep and no knowledge of having been asleep. It seemed 2 seconds later that I was reluctulantly waking from a wonderful doze. I felt so happy it was over and clearly didn’t need any further pain medication. My boyfriend was apparently quite emotional when I returned looking so happy albeit very drowsy-only one eye open. We were thrilled I had keyhole after all and the surgery seemed to take between 2 half to 3 half hours. I don’t know how long I was in the recovery room. I was very sick with my first sip of water. But this was so sudden and left no unpleasant taste in the mouth or usual watery eyes etc. after that I felt fantastic. I followed other people’s advice to take all available pain relief and therefore never experienced any! My only discomfort was the obvious soreness. This is still there a bit but is always managable with paracetamol. The only real blip was my bladder refusing to function after the catheter was removed. It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. If that were to happen again I wouldn’t wait so long to see if it comes alive. I waited 3 hours and the fullness of the bladder inflamed the whole area. you are obviously encouraged to wait, but the nurses don’t know how much pain you are in so don’t be a martyr. My pain went from managable to extreme in the last 20 minutes and the nurse was a little slow to catch on because I was too placid. The surgeon had expected me to stay in from the tuesday morning to the thursday anyway so I was confused by their removing the catheter in the first place.maybe this is procedure? Certainly I didn’t feel emotionally of physically ready to leave hospital the morning after. The surgeon visited me again which is when I realised my emotions were very up and down. I cried about the catheter incident and he was so patient and explained this is not uncommon. The next day it suddenly responded about lunchtime and I was free to leave.
I made rapid progress from my discharge until last tuesday-a week post opp. I had suffered from constipation from day 1 and despite taking lots of fibre this improved but then worsened again. I shall simply persevere and continue taking bowel softener. i imagine both the bowels and bladder are in shock from all that digging around and the large fibroid was resting on them.
I was warned that despite the keyhole method, I have had major surgery that takes generally between 2 to 4 weeks recovery. so I am making myself be very patient. Sadly singing is the last thing I will be able to do properly because those muscles have been cut. But I expect to be singing in a week to 10 days. The constipation does make movement sore because of the weight and bloat putting pressure on the wounds.
But apart from that I’m during amazingly and I should mention that I really enjoyed the first 5 days of copious sleeping.
I have had many hormonal, teary moments and I have expected too much of myself at times. It can be very frustrating to feel so well but with bowels not functioning naturally. You make plans for your first big outing and then realise it’s too sore and impractical. Also-don’t listen to anyone who says they were back to normal within a week. It puts pointless pressure on you and sets up unrealistic expectations. Recovery so obviously depends on the individual and there are no prizes for beating expectations. I thought last sunday that I would be completely back to normal despite being told 2 to 4 weeks. Now on day 12 I feel slightly more sore sore than day 6 due to constipation issues.
I was told by my surgeon that hysterectomy was very likely on the cards within 10 years (i’m 37 and imagined I would have had had 2 children by now) We will discuss all this when I’ve fully recovered. He also mentioned the possibility of further hormone treatment. I assume this is to stop everything growing back.
But instead of being upset by this I am grateful that nothing sinister was discovered. 3 relatives on my maternal line had cancer of the womb; 2 in their 30′s. So it was always a worry for me once I discovered there was a problem.This is despite me not really knowing if there’s any connection between this and my conditions. But at least I’ve been investigated and know exactly what’s in there. if anything, going through all this has given me the access to consultants and the assurance that I will be put on screening programmes etc.. I’ve never achieved that through 20 years after discussing this with GP’s. I’ve discovered that as soon as you get put into the hospital’s hands, things begin to happen as they should or certainly move in the right direction and more urgently.
All the best
Joanna