Comments on: Is anyone having fertility issues because of uterine fibroid tumors?

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:46:55 +0000

Prairie Girl, I’m not a doc or a nurse, but as nic mentioned I think it does have to do with the location of the fibroid… I had a D&C with my endometrial ablation, and the doctor was able to remove part of a submucosal fibroid (they sit in the lining, so they are some-what accessible when the doc does the D&C) and in my case, we think that bugger was what had been causing me to bleed a lot because even though my endometrium grew back, I never had bleeding problems again. So if you do get a D&C, the doc will be able to look into your uterus and see what’s there. On the other hand, if the fibroid is in the wall of the uterus it might make the inside a little lumpier, but I think they can work around that. If it is outside the uterus, well then it shouldn’t be an issue. Best to you, and I’m sorry about your m/c.

By: Prairie Girl

Prairie Girl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:32:55 +0000

nic,
Thanks for your reply. I’m impatiently waiting for my appointment referral for the D&C and I do plan to ask the Dr performing the procedure. I was just surpised to find very little info on-line about a D&C plus fibriods. I’m hoping the lack of info means the procedure isn’t affected by them. Which is what your experience sounds like. Thanks again.

By: nic

nic — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:47:39 +0000

Sorry to hear of your m/c. I had a D&C performed after I gave birth with 2 or 3 fibroids, one up to about 10cm at least, & I was worried about the D&C especially with a distended uterus after pregnancy but I was assured it would be fine & it was. I would still be concerned if there was a fibroid on the cervix as I would think that would affect access to the uterine cavity or if there were pedunculated fibroids on stalks. I think they can use ultrasound when doing the D&C to get an idea of the situation. Ask your drs for more reassurance.

By: Prairie Girl

Prairie Girl — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:22:19 +0000

I had a miscarriage in January which is when my fibroids were diagnosed. After seeing a gynecologist & getting the green light to TTC again, we got a +ve in September. Unfortunatley my bHCG’s and an ulrasound have confirmed that I had a missed miscarriage at 6 weeks. I am currently waiting for a D&C appointment or for my body to naturally empty the uterus. I’ve been unable to find an answer to this question: Is a D&C more difficult to perform because of fibroids? Is it more likely to be incomplete? If anyone has the answer I’ll be very appreciative.

By: alia

alia — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:14:12 +0000

hi everyone. Well I just discovered this site. I have been trying to get pregnant for a while now. My husband tells me to take it easy, but HELLO, I am 35 and not getting any younger. I had an ectopic a few year ago and it was a horror. Finally we were able to save some money and decided to go for IVF. To my surprise after I purchased my meds bravelle, menopur, and lupron, my doctor discovers a fibroid during the trial transfer. I was then told that I had to have surgery. I was heart broken and in a shock. I was so upset, and thought to myself, if its not one thing its another. My husband andI had to make a decision weather to have a myomectomy or uterine artery embolization. My doctor spoke to us and told us that because of the location of the fibroid and since I had a laparatomy before there may be scarring. He also told us that if we go with the myomectomy I could have severe bleeding and during surgery anything could happen. After a long discussion my husband and I decided to go for UAE. On Aug 27, 2009, I had the procedure done and now we are waiting for a follow up. I just had my second period, but noticed a decrease. I just hope in NOV I get some good news and am able to continue with the IVF and hope that it is successful. GOOD LUCK to everyone.

By: nic

nic — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:57:23 +0000

From what I’ve gathered those fibroid types, along with external pedunculated, would be considered least likely to interfere with a pregnancy but there are no guarantees. They could still distort the uterus, interfere with implantation, placenta development, blood supply, etc They could also have submucosal components that don’t show up on scans. Some fibroids also react differently to pregnancy hormones – some grow massively, others slowly. If you are not keen to try conceiving again with the fibroids in place & definitely want to avoid a myo then MRI-guided focussed ultrasound treatment is now considered to be a fertility-retaining treatment if you are suitable. If you can stand the possibility of another m/c then trying again without doing anything is also an option, or if you are into alternative therapies maybe try something in that field. Hope it works out for you.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:23:59 +0000

Hi dreadingmyo,

You might try asking the question on the following page, there are a number of women there who have had babies after surgery and have strong opinions about it the role fibroids played in their miscarriages. It does seem to help (as far as I can tell) to have a reproductive specialist do your surgery, as they aren’t just focused on the other symptoms, and there are things they can do to increase the chances you will succeed in conceiving. Unfortunately as with everything, it doesn’t work for everyone, but ultimately it only has to work for you to make it worth it!

http://blog.geekwithfibroids.com/2007/02/15/trying-for-pregnancy-ttc-after-your-fibroid-procedure-abdominal-myomectomy/

Best to you!

By: dreadingmyo

dreadingmyo — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:30:33 +0000

Hey guys I am soo greatful to have come across this website. I too have suffered to miscarriages on eblited ovum and the other a random miscarriage. The Doc insists on having a AM but I have intramural and subserosal fibroids and with all my research I am finding very little info saying that these types of fibroids have an impact on miscarriages….any suggestions or personal exeperiences? please help

By: SuzyQ

SuzyQ — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:13:23 +0000

I thought of this thread when I read that Octomom is being treated for fibroids. Sound like she is having a myomectomy.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:08:25 +0000

Hi all
I’m 28 years old. I had a very difficult few months with heavy bleeding and clots. After seeing a lot of doctors and a lot of injections and pills they discovered I have fibroids. I just had my surgery one week ago and they removed 48 fibroids, some golf ball sizes. I found this site very interesting and love to know I’m not the only one that is going through this terrible thing. I just hope I will be able to have children one day. But you guys have given me some hope.

By: Noble

Noble — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:15:36 +0000

Hello! The babes are here! This is my favorite site to visit. I make sure I am alone in case I get too hot. Post your favorite link here.

By: Louda-in-FL

Louda-in-FL — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:17:29 +0000

Hello again ladies! I am in day 13 from my AM recovery. I have been really pleased with how well my healing is going. I had anticipated a lot more pain, but the worst pain was having gas!! Imagine that? I am blessed to have family staying with me to allow me to rest and that has been a tremendous help. Ended up removing 2 fibroids that were “kissing” each other (how gross) and cortorizing 2 more very small ones on the surface of my uterus. I have lovely pictures to keep for my records. I am so thankful that is went so well and that the RE said my tubes did not appear to have significant scarring either. My RE says to wait until January to try to get pregnant so I have great hope that I will soon be a mommy!!! Yay!!! To anyone who is planning on an AM…the recovery is really not bad. You get to catch up on you sleep:))

By: Brandy

Brandy — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:40:50 +0000

Welcome Anita, come on over to the TTC board whenever. Lots of us in the same boat. Some success stories too:
http://blog.geekwithfibroids.com/2007/02/15/trying-for-pregnancy-ttc-after-your-fibroid-procedure-abdominal-myomectomy

By: Anita

Anita — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:00:43 +0000

Hi Ladies,
I write this as I sit on my couch on my 8th day of recovery from an AM. Have to say that I’m feeling restless, and ready to take on the world again.
I’m very excited to have stumbled upon this site through a google search. Also, I’m pretty floored how something I’ve never really heard of could turn my life upside down in a 6 week time period. I admire everyones strength and courage as we all go through this.
What ticks me off is all the money I wasted on birth control for 17 years,,lol,,, oh if someone would have just told me that I had a natural IUD in place,,,geez!
Well my husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for 2 years with no luck,, after all I’m 38,, just old I guess.
In the middle of August actually was able to feel something hard beneath my belly button, so I immediatly make an appointment with a new OB/GYN ( self employed and had new insurance) and the first word out of his mouth was hystorectomy,,uh,,wha? Well 3 days later I’m in another Dr’s office, who then refers me to a 3rd, and a specialist… so within a 6 week time period,, it’s taken care of, and i’m feeling great.(btw, several fibroids, enlarged uterus to the size of a 4 month pregnancy),,, thought I was just getting fatter..lol)
My RE told me everythng looks absolutlely healthy and great, and a healthy pregnancy should not be a problem.
I have three months to wait before we try, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I don’t think I will go to the extent of IVF, but I just simply don’t know yet.
Best of luck and love to everyone who is or who has gone through this… I will continue to follow up on everyone and keep posting.
By the way, if anyone is in the Kansas
city area,, Dr Gregory Starks is amazing, totally floored with his kindness, aswell as his staff.
According to my D

By: Louda-in-FL

Louda-in-FL — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:39:24 +0000

Thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences; this is the only place on the web I found to answer some of my questions. I am 33 and I have been trying to conceive for 5 yrs. Past 3 yrs. I’ve been seeing a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) that is always patient to answer me and my husbands many questions. Discovered infertility was due to probably tubal scarring, not complete blockage of tubes but the Hystersalpingogram (X-ray with dye used to view tubes and uterine cavity) showed the dye slowed in certain areas before it came out the other end, suggesting scarring. Also I don’t ovulate every month. But hubby sperm is “super sperm” according to my RE so we have that going for us:) Well I have had about 3 Aritficial inseminations, multiple rounds of Clomid and one round of in vitro…none of which was successful. In Vitro was done in March 08 and I had 2 “beautiful, absolutley perfect” embryo’s. It was looking so good, I was so hopeful. But I had the unfortunate side effect of hyperstimulation from the fertility meds. For those of you who don’t know, it’s caused when your ovaries “overreact” to the ovulation induction meds, and your estrogen level spikes, which in turn causes your abdomen to fill with fluid. (by the way the RE said this sounds bad but is good as it means my ovaries are active)This can be serious if it starts to fill into respiratory area and you cannot breathe. I, thankfully, didn’t have to go to the ER but knew something was wrong the day of my embyo implantation cause my abdomen was HUGE! At fist I thought it was air from the procedure but it felt hard, and I was starting to feel nauseous. Well after a HORRIFIC night of discomfort, feeling short of breath, nauseous, could not lay flat or I felt like I was suffocating, I called my RE 6am on a Sunday. He met me at the office to tell me it was hyperstim and unfortunately nothing he could do. Just had to wait for the fluid to reabsorb, which could take about 2 weeks. WHAT??? The nausea was from being dehydrated as all the body fluid was in my abdomen, I got a migraine headache, and had to spend the next 2 days on the toilet, with a bucket in front of me to throw up in and a cold cloth on my head for the intense migraine. I wept all night crying for my mother (she lives out of state). I thought my husband would have said, “I am outta here!” because I was so needy and so miserable, but he was sooooo wonderful and loving and tender….I would go though that all again without success, just to know how much he loves me. Our marriage is even better since….but we’re still childless:(( Anyhow, I wrote all that to give a background to the introduction of the evil fibroid. Post failed in vitro I was so depressed that I became totally numb to any emotion. I was like a zombie for about 2 months until finally the love of my family, friends and church healed me. I then got back on track and told my RE that I wanted to try something, even though we couldn’t afford another in vitro round, I thought Clomid on our own was better than nothing. So last 2 months on Clomid was ok, hot flashes aside, but my periods got worse. I have always had issues with heavy bleeding, extreme cramps and long cycles, but this was insane! I thought I was in labor!! Knowing fibroids are hereditary (my mom had many) I planned on asking my RE to look for fibroids when he checked my ovaries via sonogram. Well before I even got to ask him he says, “Well, there’s your fibroid!” I look at the screen to see a giant, black blog taking up a good portion of my uterus. I thought it was huge, but he says it’s not in comparison to the size of my uterus. About the size of a golfball, which is about 1/4 of my uterus. Here’s the RE’s thoughts: I am perfectly healthy aside from some possible minor tubal scarring, the embryo’s in the in vitro couldn’t have been more perfect…there is no reason for me not to get pregnant at this point. He suspects the fibroid, which grows with estrogen so it probably got HUGE from the hypertimulation, is taking the blood supply from the uterine lining and therefore preventing embryo’s from implanting and surviving. Due to it’s placement it could also be blocking the entrance to the tubes. To those of you who may be thinking, “why didn’t the RE see the fibroid sooner?”, the answer is we did see the year before. During a routine sonogram it was visible as a tiny speck, extremely small. But due to is small size and deep location RE said it would not affect pregnancy, but in future years it would grow and possibly cause pain. So, here I am with another possible obstacle to becoming a mommy. I have decided to do the AM for 2 reasons: 1) any possibility of increasing my chances of becoming pregnant, I am willing to take the risks and 2) at the very least I can be pain and bloody monthly mess free (I am so tired of bleeding thru my clothes!) The RE discussed with us the increased chances of getting pregnant after the fibroid is removed, generally 60% increase. He won’t have to cut into the uterine cavity so I won’t need a C-section for pregancy. RE has done so many that he is really confident it will only take about a 1hr surgery. The shorter the surgery, the better the recovery time he says. He also encouraged us with a story of a patient who was in her early 30’s that he removed 30 fibroids from!! Said he had to basically “filet” the uterus to remove them, sutured her up and hoped for the best. Said they tried for 1yr to conceive to no avail. They gave up and accepted they would not have children and 6mo. later she conceived and had a beautiful baby!! He said, “It was a miralce she gave birth”. So my RE says, he never says never because he’s seen too many miracles. So I am believing for my miracle that the AM will clear the path so to speak, and this time next year I’ll be a mommy:) Probably schedule the AM for end of October. RE says 2 months after my total recovery from AM I can try to get pregnant again. I will post comments about my AM procedure and healing for any women who want to know as I did. Thanks “fibroid free’ for all your details as I was desperate to find it somewhere and this was the only site.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:39:11 +0000

I thought I would share my story. I have tubal issues and decided to finaly go through IVF to get pregnant. I had one intramural fibriod and a polyp removed in Jan 08 prior to my IVF. That left one fibroid (2-3cm) on the back of my uterus near my cervix – it was not causing any problems or impeding my uterine cavaity so the RE said it was safe to proceed with the IVF. As I went through the IVF procedure the fibroid grow a little bit and caused some minor problems, but it was still sucessfull and I got pregnant with twins. Evertything went smoothly until 16 weeks when the fibroid starting bleeding. My ob/gyn put me on bedrest and the symptoms stop for 2 weeks – then life turned upside down. My OB hospitalized me because the fibroid was bleeding and had become infected. The day after I was hospitialized I had to under go an emergancy AM to try and save primarily my life, as the infection was getting worse. My OB was also going to try to save the pregnancy – althought the odds were not in our favor. The fibroid had grown to over 12cm and had pushed my cervix up towards my bladder. The surgery was initial successful and all seemed ok. For 2 days, both babies seemed to be doing well, then Baby B died – we guess he just couldn’t handle the stress. Baby A put up quite a fight. A week after the surgery he was doing well, then the sac ruptured. We tried for another week hoping the sac would seal. I was on anti-contraction medications, anitbotics, and of course hospitilizaed bedrest. As my OB was going to try one last thing, we discovered that the cord had prolapsed. And one day shy of 18 weeks Baby A died. I guess the moral of this story is fibroids are evil. They can cause all sorts of unpredictable problems with pregnancy – even ones that the Dr’s think won’t cause any problems. It was a very scary and emotionally draining thing to go through. My husband and I had to make a choice between me or the babies. I will never know what would have happened if I had chosen not to have the surgery – but I don’t think it would have been pretty. At least this way I’m still around to try again. I would recommend a 2nd opinion if you are told that your fibroids won’t cause a problem during pregnancy.

By: Steph

Steph — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:36:42 +0000

I am scheduled for AM in early October and woke up in the middle of the night with many worries and unanswered questions about whether I should continue on with AM or try to get pregnant naturally. Reading the heartfelt stories that have been posted on this site made me realize that I am not alone. I thank you all for your questions, messages and sharing your stories. It feels better to know that I am not alone.

The hardest part for me (and I’m sure for most of you) is having to make a decision without having adequate answers to my questions. I am being followed by a great surgon who specializes in doing less invasive surgeries (however I am not a candidate as my fibroid in almost 8 cm in size and submucosal) and a fertility expert who is ready to support me getting pregnant naturally. Unfortunately neither can tell me what my chances are of conceiving and carrying a baby to term if I choose to do nothing and how much scarring will likely ocurr with surgery.

Does anyone know what the chances are of conceiving after AM? Any suggestions on what to do to try to lessen chances of scarring?

Also has anyone on this blog tried magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound to reduce the size of their fibroid enough to get pregnant?

I live in Canada and unfortunately, MRgFUS is not currently offered here. There are clinical trials happening in Toronto, however, in order to participate you can’t want to maintain your fertility. However, I have heard that MRgFUS is being done in the UK and US with women who want to maintain their fertility. Anyone persued this treatment?

By: IVF Mobile AL

IVF Mobile AL — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:27:51 +0000

why not take those fertility drugs where you will be super fertile and possibly have septuplets. see fi you like all those children then. It is really irresponsible to become fertile and have multiple kids at any cost. really it is at the cost of the planet. Such money grubbers doing whatever they please. Their response..well, why not all I want is to be haaaaappppy..boohoo

By: Be Careful

Be Careful — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:54:17 +0000

Hi Ladies

Quick update from me… happy to continue to share my personal experiences as I know that its so difficult to decide what to do with fibroids.

I had a m/c exactly 2 years ago at 20wks. Was advised to have surgery, but having researched all the different procedures and risks, decided not to. I don’t suffer with symptons such as very heavy or prolonged periods so felt it difficult to have such invasive surgery on an otherwise healthy body.

Life is funny. As it turns out, was probably a good decision as my partner was not supportive at the time, so was unlikely to agree to try for another baby post surgery. Since fibroids grow back so quickly, I would have probably going through all that trauma for nothing.

Have been monitoring my fibroids with ultrasounds at least every year. Have 2 intramural ones. When pregnant, these were 10cm and 5cm, which reduced post pregnancy to 6cm and 1cm. Now 2 years later, the big one is still 5-6cm, but the small one has calcified (ie is dead). This does give me hope for the future. I feel that it was probably the death of the small fibroid that caused so much pain during pregnancy and caused my m/c.

In terms of my situation today, I will try to get pregnant again without having surgery, and hope that I can manage my next pregnancy better (ie know what to demand from doctors etc) and hope that I may be more fortunate. (Stories like nic who successfully had a baby with fibroids does give me hope, but if do have a 2nd m/c, then i would have surgery).

All that remains now, is to finally get rid of my unsupportive ex-partner and hopefully find someone better before my time runs out! (i’m 34 now) ;o)

By: morgan

morgan — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:49:21 +0000

hi to everyone

i had 2 fibroids 1 was 3cm and intramural. the other 2.5cm and subersol.(discovered 2007)

a new scan showed that i also have 2 submuosal measuring 1.5cm each (just discovered 2008)
( so 4 all together)

i was initially told i didn’t need the intramural or subserosal
fibroids removed- to my relief

but my question now is- do i really need to have the submucosal ones removed for pregnancy?before my ivf?

They are only 1.5cm and though i want a baby – i am frightened of surgery.
( had gyn operation 2 years ago and took ages to recover)

-my consultant seems quite gung ho- and not thorough.
i would really also appreciate if some one could recomend the best fertility doctor specialising /Experienced in fibroids- or there removal.- in london england
xxxx best wishes