One of my visitors here is having a problem with extreme pain from her fibroids during her pregnancy.
Anna: Are there any women out there who can tell me how to endure pregnancy fibroid pain?
I’m 7.5+ months pregnant with at least 8 fibroids, 3 of which are just over 5.7 cm each and growing. They were all discovered when I became pregnant. Most of them don’t bother me but two are crammed down at the bottom of my uterus just over the birth canal. The pain from those two is so bad I haven’t slept more than 3.5 hours in weeks.
The Dr. says I am experiencing ‘degridation’ as the fibroids grow which sends a chemical into the body causing this unbelievable, constant pain. For the pain, I take frequent warmish baths, stay in bed and take Tylenol which does very little (if anything) but I’m told that Tylenol is the only pain killer that’s safe for the baby.
First – Have any of you experienced this kind of extreme pain during pregnancy?
Second – What can I do about it ?I’m sure I’ll survive this … women are tough. But, I’d like to be able to get out of bed and enjoy a little bit of sunshine in the next two months. Heck, just having a short break from the horrible pain would be a blessing. Frankly … at this moment 8 hours of labor sounds like a cakewalk compared to months of this. =)
Your input is quite welcome.
If you have an experience or thoughts to share about uterine fibroid pain and pregnancy, please leave a comment.
December 5, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Anna, I’m leery of responding to your post because my outcome wasn’t good. When I got pregnant in March 2002 I had six asymptomatic fibroids. I had no pain or any other symptoms. Within a few weeks of my pregnancy they’d grown so large I was in excrutiating pain. Red degeneration had begun. My doctor did give me Darvocet and I also understand that you can be admitted to the hospital with morphine. (I’m allergic to morphine). Anyway in my 14th week contractions began and I eventually lost the pregnancy. When I had my myomectomy 6 months later the largest fibroid was the size of a grapefruit. They’d gone from being undetectable, to that large in just 14 weeks.
December 14, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Roslyn:
I’m sorry for your loss. Fibroids can grow rapidly and degenerate during pregnancy. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Anna:
Talk to your doctor to see if you have any other options other than those you are using now. I hope you are able to get some resolution and relief soon.
December 14, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Anna, I am almost 18 weeks pregnant and currently experiencing fibroid degeneration (12cms). I am experiencing severe abdominal pain. However, as my ob has said, the best that can be done is rest and take pain killers. He has prescribed panadeine forte which he assures will have no affect on the baby. He has told me that, depending on the size of the fibroid, the pain can last up to 10days. I have had many restless nights and hoping the pain ceases in the next three days.
December 20, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Hi Nadia,
Sorry you are in so much pain and unable to sleep. I looked up Panadeine Forte and included a couple of links for anyone interested in more information. Thanks.
Panadeine Forte Tablets (PDF file)
Panadeine Forte Tablets (website)
Hope you are feeling better now. Please keep us updated.
December 20, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Hello,
I’m 18 weeks pregnant with my first baby and i went to have my first ultrasound to find out what i was having and discovered that i was having a boy and had 3 fibroid tumors.I knew something was wrong because during urination i have so much pain and somethimes its hard for me to stand up. I havent saw my doctor yet but hoping for way to ease the pain. I feel your pain…
December 20, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Hello ebony,
I’m sorry you have to deal with this pain. I hope you are able to work with your doctor and come up with a plan that will provide some relief. Let us know about your progress.
January 9, 2007 at 3:21 am
Hi,
Unfortunately, like Anna, I loss my baby at 19.5 weeks i4 monthsago following a week of severe fibroid pain
(
Please take the pain seriously and insist that your doctors/hospital monitor you, as they tend to be a bit blase once they know the pain is attributed to fibroids.
I discovered to my detriment that it is really best to be a troublesome hypochondriac rather than experience the dreadful tragedy of a late miscarriage.
The risks of miscarriage are low but there is the possibility, and I know of at least another woman who suffered the same experience.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it is better to be safe than sorry.
January 9, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Hi Be careful,
I’m so sorry you had to experience that loss. I appreciate you taking the time to share and provide a word of caution. You are right. It is always better to be safe.
January 31, 2007 at 10:43 am
I agree with Be careful, insist that your doctors/hospital monitor you.
I was concerned about fibroids from the second I found out I was pregnant as I had a myomectomy in the past.
A lot of people even professionals are unaware of the problems that fibroids can bring to a person (even with out a pregnency) I was so tired of getting the sympathetic knod when I told people I was in pain. Finally someone understood and admitted me with morphine. I even felt like the nurses were questioning my pain hesitating to give me more. Unfortuniately I too miscarried at 14 weeks.
I am telling you this to prepare you, as you need to be able to express your needs, I printed off a leaflet from the internet to share with my nurse, GP, friends and co-workers. They finally got it!
Anna I hope that at 7.5 months you are out of harms way, I wish you the best.
February 1, 2007 at 3:45 am
hi pashen
what would you do now? do you still plan to get pregnant?
i’m considering whether to try again with the fibroids and insist on better pain relief and monitoring…. or whether to have a myomectomy, knowing that it improves my chances of carrying to full term but is not guaranteed to prevent another miscarriage…???
February 1, 2007 at 6:13 am
am 26 weeks pregnant. Regular episodes of pain which impact on quality of life. Cannot work. Am 39 and frequehntly request to be shot….however, have about 15 weeks to go, hoping for early elective c-section and will hold consultant hostage until they take away my uterus. NEVER doing this again. My second pregnancy, both nightmares. Recognise disinclination to go to hospital re: pain, you get sick of the sound of your own voice saying,..it hurts, I am in pain. YEAH we know. Tough it out honey, I got this far didn’t expect to, quite pleased
February 6, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Greetings!
Had a high risk pregnancy 2 years ago and was homebound for nearly 5 months prior to my beautiful son’s birth, and delivery by C section. Had to wear Depends undergarments to prevent accidents because pain made it difficult for me to change position in bed and to arise from reclining positions. Labored for 24 hours at home with candles, doula, daddy and mother-in-law, then labored 14 more hours in the hospital. Fibroids prevent efficient contracting of the uterous. Baby’s head was tilted to the side for a bit because of the position he’d been in, in utero. Problems hit a peak at about 5 months of pregnancy when pain I experienced when walking worsened and I had to be admitted to the ER where I was dehydrated and given fluids and Morphene for pain. If the doctor even lightly brushed over my skin with a finger I cringed in pain. Have at least 8 fibroids, although staff hesitated to give me an exact count, likely for psychological reasons, from their point of view. Long story short I feel you. Had little appetite so I drank lots of Choclate and Strawberry Ensure, vitamin water and had cravings for breakfast foods. Tylenol with Codene, rest, low stress, meditation in bed, prayer, TLC and Religious programming is what kept me. I had no idea how beautiful my son was within me. He was born a week over due and is now able to say, “I loves you mommy.” Rest, stay away from stress, drink lots of water and take what you find helpful for pain. For me it was Tyleonol with Codene. You can make it through this. I’m now at the point where I love my son so much and enjoy him to such an extent that I would like to have another child, but refuse to go through such an experience again. I’m considering UFE, but my Dr. who I love, she says it’s not encouraged for patients who wish to have children. This is a wonderful forum. God Bless…and one day you’ll be looking back on all this from the other side.
February 10, 2007 at 2:58 am
I had a myomectomy 5 years ago. My recovery had all kinds of complications & it took me 6 months to fully recover. 2 years later the fybriods came back. Even though I wanted to leave the option of pregnancy, I opted to risk it & have an embolization. I just could not bear the thought of another Myomectomy. My fibroids have returned again. I just got married & my husband is dyeing to have children.
My fertility doctor suggests doing another myomectomy, buy is concerned about the posibility of lack of blod supply to the uterus, due to the embolization. Any thoughts?
February 10, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Hi Anna,
I am 23 weeks pregnant w/ my first child. First off, I really appreciate the fact that you have posted this question on fibroids. Unfortunately, I have 6 fibroids supposedly none of them are anywhere near my uterus.. but one of them is the size of a grapefruit. I feel like crying right now because it has been 4 days of excruciating pain. It just appeared out of no where, it definately is not normal. It is really hard for me to walk around or get up off the couch or out of bed. I was so active before, never even nauseous or morning sick. Ive called the hospital and the same questions.. no bleeding, fever or vomiting OK well just rest and drink water… that doesnt help. Im scared. Thank you for sharing your pain. I feel like such a big baby, well at least that is how I am being made to feel. Im going to the doctor on Monday (another ultrasound and consultation) I promise to let you know if there is any other options to help soothe our pains.
February 12, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Hi Tunisia,
I was just reading some of the posts on this forum and thought I’d send some good vibes your way. >>>>>>> good vibes
February 18, 2007 at 11:24 pm
I am 20 weeks pregnant. In January I experienced pain when I was peeing, went to the doctor and she told me it was the ligaments from my uterus growing… ok, so the pain eventually went away. On Mon, Feb 12, 2007, I experienced the same pain, it too went away. Thurs, Feb 15 came around BAD PAIN and not just with peeing, it was walking, sitting, sneezing, crying, laughing, it was awful, I went to emergency, they thought it was my appendix. The next day, I received an ultrasound and it was a fibroid outside of my uterus. They gave me Tylenol 3s with little answers. I have yet to see my doctor about this, but am wondering…. Am I to live with this pain for 20 more weeks
February 23, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I am only 9 weeks pregnant and just started having quite intense pain and was diagnosed with fibroids (one is 7 cm in diameter). Can anyone tell me how long I might expect this pain to go on for? Is it constant, does it come and go, how much of a break can I expect betweeen episodes?
I can’t work without taking a lot of Tylenol which I’ve been told to only take if necessary. Should I go on disability leave?
Thanks for any advice, and for sharing your experiences.
February 24, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Sylvia,
From the research I have done, if a fibroid is going to grow in pregnancy it is usually will stop growing by week 20-21. But everyone is different and it could stop for you sooner. I am sorry I know how painful it can be. I’ve read that laying on your left side and consuming large amounts of water can help ease the discomfort. Some fibroids go into something called red degeneration which can also be painful. Just rest and keep a positive outlook on the treasure you will have at the end! And DO NOT be afraid to call your Dr or go to the ER if you are concerned about the pain or your baby!
Good Luck!
February 26, 2007 at 11:42 pm
I just had my 2nd ultrasound at 8wks and it looks like the fetus is small for age at 7wk2d. The report also indicated a uterine fibroid 3.4cm that is “somewhat deforming the shape of the getational sac.” I’ve had intermittent sharp right sided stomach pain that started a couple of days ago. Has anybody had this happen to them? Do you think that this will jeapordize the baby? Thanks.
February 28, 2007 at 7:26 am
I am 14 weeks pregnant and have uterine fibroids. The doctor said not to worry and the baby was fine. the fibroid is 8 inches in long. With little knowledge of what is was I did not ask too many questions. I have had excruciating pain for 3 days and had gone to the doctor and she did not know that i had fibroids at that time and told me it was normal and i can take tylenol.
It is nice to see everyone sharing their experiences as this helps me understand it better.
When is the risk of miscarriage ruled out in this case.
March 1, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I too am facing pregnancy with fibroids. I never knew I had them, but I’ve grown up with very heavy and painful periods. Anyway, I’m now 24 weeks along and am experiencing lots of tightness, cramping, and soreness associated with half dozen fibroids on my uterus. It all seemed to being when I overexherted myself, but now it’s constant. Even showering causing Braxton Hicks and the fibroid pain ensues intensely .
Today, my doctor advised me to take extra stength Tylenol every six hours for comfort and use a velcro belly support band to relieve some pressure.
Dealing with fibroids is difficult because the pain is worrisome, especially when coupled with back pian. I’m trying to hang in there. With 14 more weeks to go, I’m looking SO forward to becoming a mom. I’m also looking forward to exploring surgical options in the future to avoid this major discomfort with a second pregnancy.
Has anyone tried warm washcloths? One nurse suggested that.
No pain, no gain, right? Ugh!
March 1, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Thank you all for sharing your experience. I just found out two days ago that, along with my baby, I am carrying 2 (5cm) uterine fibroids. I am still in shock. When I measured large for dates, I was sure it was going to be something else, not this. I am 14 weeks along and the pain started about a week ago. I’ve had morning sickness the entire pregnancy and it seems to be getting worse along with a metal taste in my mouth. Has anyone else experienced this with their fibroids? Also, can anyone corroborate that they will/may cease growing at 20 weeks (from the earlier post)? I am glad you all are out there. I’ve felt so alone…like no one believes that I can be in so much pain. They want me to gloss it over and say “the baby’s fine”, but I’m so scared of losing the baby and/or spending the next 26 weeks in excruciating pain.
March 2, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I had morning sickness for a month but it has stopped now.I am 15 weeks pregnant. I do not think it is related to fibroids as i have one 8 cm . When i had morning sickness i found that eating small portions constantly helped. Also i increased taking calcium. my doctor advised me not to eat lot of carbs , sugar and to exercise.
March 2, 2007 at 10:03 pm
What a difference a week can make! Tuesday 2/20 I was having fun at karate class and by Monday 2/26 I was totally immobilized by pain that turned out to be caused by degeneration of a uterine fibroid. Mild discomfort began by Saturday when I had my much anticipated ultrasound at 19 weeks 6 days. The baby appeared normal and healthy. The next day, I had a stingy stabby pain in my right pelvic region. I could aggravate it by pressing on my bladder, so I dropped off a urine sample in case of UTI. It was negative. Sunday night was very uncomfortable. Thank god my mom had a day off for Monday. We called my doctor’s office and they said they could fit me in at 11:15. But within a half hour of that call, we’d changed our minds and were struggling to get me into the car to visit the ER. I was totally overcome with pain. I feared maybe my appendix was about to burst, but I did not have fever or malaise. We are fortunate to have a hospital devoted to childbirth and women’s health in our area. I was seen very quickly in the ER. But a midwife tried to convince us that this was round ligament pain. She was not interested in the firm area I could feel through my skin in the area of pain. She did a quick US of the baby and it looked as fine as before. Luckily, ruling out everything is the rule! Finally, a resident came in and was immediately interested in the specific area of the pain. She said it could be a hernia and had me stand up and cough as she felt various areas. Then she did an US of the pain area instead of the baby. Indeed, there was a major growth in there! I became shaky seeing it on the screen. I was referred to the official ultrasound department. They did a very involved study of the baby and what they were labeling “?Area”. It measured 5×5x8 cm! I was very scared. Psychologically, it was a very long wait to hear back from Radiology. The resident came back in smiling – I guess “painful degenerating fibroid” was a lot better than other possibilities. Mine is outside the uterus and attached to the uterus by a small stem. At this point, what was most scary is that they were unwilling to give any sort of timeframe on the incredible pain. The pain is indeed real and they were rating mine as a 10. Changing position in even the slightest way was excruciating, along with releasing urine…like being stabbed with a knife and then the knife being twisted. I was prescribed vicodine and given a dose at discharge. I was quite relaxed on the ride home. Since then, I’ve had family babysitting me all week because the slightest moves have been so uncomfortable. Since then, I have slowly regained mobility. I am still very tender and stiff and basically shuffle around with small steps and a hunched back. It became a concern that I hadn’t pooed from Sunday to Thurs and had to take unpleasant treatments in both ends. Thursday I finally got to see my regular OB. She is very stoic and all business…she did not seem like this was a big deal. But it is to me…are we sure the baby is okay…they were unsure for so long – is the diagnosis certain…how long to expect pain…are these meds really okay…will pain possibly come back if it subsides…what to do about being a teacher of a large elementary classroom… She prescribed indomethacin to be used during the day instead of vicodine. I was scared of all the side effects listed but it has been okay so far. I take it with liquid maalox and a small meal. It is certainly my most mobile day and I started pooing too. I have a note to be out of work until my next follow up on Thursday. I’m nervous about returning to school and also about not returning to school! I don’t want to aggravate things or be a wimp. Good luck to all managing this pain. I guess docs in my region are less shy about using painkillers. I tend to expect that because the hospital is affiliated with a major ivy league university, that they are fairly up to date. You have to strike a balance of putting trust in others and advocating for yourself. At first, they were ready to underestimate my pain, but I’m sure they get a lot of panicky first time moms.
March 3, 2007 at 8:03 am
Just wanted to let everyone know that I tried a homeopathic remedy for the fibroids. I’ve been on it for 3 days and the pain is subsiding. I actually slept for 12 hours last night. I’ve treated other things in the past with homeopathy and have been amazed at the results. There are a few remedies that supposedly help shrink fibroids. It depends on your constitution which one will be right for you. From what I’ve been told and read, homeopathy is completely safe during pregnancy. You can find a homeopath at http://www.1-800homeopathy.com.
March 3, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Chris,
I am happy that you are in less pain and sleeping better but this is the advice I give to all those interested in alternative medicine:
Please seek assistance from certified and licensed practitioners. These are the individuals with the proper education and training to help.
Here is a link to search for certified practitioners as well as the mission of NCCAOM:
National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)
Ladies, be sure to check with a health care professional before taking any treatment while pregnant.
I extend my best wishes to you all.
March 4, 2007 at 1:37 pm
I should be ashamed to feel and even state relief that i am not alone in this excruciating pain.
My last scan at 20wks 3days revealed a healthy boy and the two biggest fibroids of approx 5cm, they were not growing much…. nothing to worry about i was assured.
Then came Monday 20wks 6 days all hell broke loose, by the next day i was imobillised in pain, then 21wks 2days the pain eased a little, five days later the Dr.’s advise to get plenty of rest and painkillers and total lack of real info or advise as to how to handle the monster red degeneration fibriods has me more than a little unsettled.
Like i stated it is a relief to know that i am not alone, but where do we go from here? Like all of you i want to existst free of this debilatating pain and deliver a wonderful bundle of joy at the end.
The advise on homeopathy gives me hope.
Thanks ladies
March 8, 2007 at 10:32 pm
there is absolutely somthing you can do about the pain of fibroid degeneration. i have 7 fibroids, my first started to degenerate at 18 weeks. my doctor perscribed indomethacine, a 48 hour time released pain med that does not harm the baby but you will feel instant releif within 3 hrs. it stops the pain and any potential contractions that the pain may cause. make sure you contact your doctor before taking this, and it can be taken until the 32nd week, after which this med is not to be taken.
hope this helps
March 9, 2007 at 12:01 am
Hello ladies, my wife is 7 weeks pregnant and has fibroids. Needless to say I’m a bit worried for her. I know this forum is about women sharing their experiences but I have a question and I hope you all don’t mind if I intrude into your shared space. I was hoping that someone could tell me how a father-to-be can best help their partner through such a difficult time. I’m so excited and happy about having a baby but I’m also terribly worried about my wife’s experience during pregnancy. If there’s anything that you’d ask of the father in terms of comfort, support, etc. during a pregnancy with fibroids, what would it be?
thanks so much
March 9, 2007 at 6:53 am
Hi worriedhusband
It’s great that you’re so considerate ;o)
I found sleeping the hardest, so dreamed off having a reclining chair that I could lean back and sleep in. If you don’t have one, this might be a useful purchase as it prevents your wife from having to lie on her side and feel the pressure/strain on her fibroids. Also it prevents her from leaning back too far and preventing baby from putting too much pressure on her internal organs.
The best night I had was when I slept upright on the couch all night, therefore I think a reclining chair would be useful.
March 9, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Hello again. I’m now 27 weeks and my fibroid pain seems to be getting worse. I can hardly run an errand to the store and back without my stomach getting tight and feeling like I have support my uterus with my hands or a pillow. (Somehow the pressure makes it feel a bit better.)
I’m considering acupuncture, but plan to check with my doctor first. I’m really willing to try anything. I vaguely recall the doctor saying she could prescribe a pain med. if needed. It’s definitely needed! Sadly, the Tylenol is doing absolutely nothing. A warm bath is the only help.
I curious to know What other homeopathic help have others tried? Have you noticed that the pain increases as your pregnancy progresses?
March 9, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Hi JMac,
I am terribly sorry you are experiencing so much pain but I must ask that homeopathic remedies not be discussed on this page. Please see this article:
Chinese Herbs and Pregnancy: Where to Draw the Line?
Although some have stated it is safe to take homeopathic products while pregnant, I am not a doctor nor a practitioner of alternative medicine. I’m sorry but I do not feel comfortable with a homeopathic discussion taking place on this page.
Thank you for understanding my position on this. I know you are in pain and I really hope you are able to work with your doctor and the acupuncturist to find relief soon.
Take care.
March 11, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Hi. I left a giant post (sorry!) March 2 after being incapacitated with pain. I am now going on 21 weeks. The pain subsided day by day and I returned to work March 9 and even stopped the presription meds a few days before that. So there is hope for you in the midst of the awful pain. I am told the pain could return if growth renews now that the fibroid finds itself in a manageable size once again. My doctor said we can again implement the indomethacine (briefly and only before 3rd trimester) or vicodine if this happens to manage the pain. I know it will not be as bad simply because I won’t be as frightened. I have a dull sting and a stiff sensation in the area where I used to have stabbing pain, but my doctor says this is not harming the baby or me. I’m enjoying feeling frequent movements of my baby. My fibroid is “pedunculated and subserous”…outside the uterus and attached by a stem. She is not worried about the baby’s growth or me needing a c-section at this point. I’m worried about what role fibroids might have in the future of my sexual and reproductive health, but greatly relieved by my doctor’s assessment of things. And at least I get to look forward to a bonus ultrasound at the end of the month!
Things that helped me besides the prescriptions:
Warm (not hot) compress, held over fibroid away from baby (lucky for me they are separate), especially in preparation for sitting up, standing up, or peeing (I often clutched it against me during the incredible pain of peeing)
Lower back support with pillows or supportive recliner
Patient and loving husband and grandma to be(I literally could not get a glass of water off the coffee table if I was sitting right there in front of it and they were so helpful in waiting on me, also they stayed calm during the initial panic)
Colace (okayed by doctor first) and fiberful foods because I could not bear down
Books, handheld games, distractions
Finally, a prescription drug tip was to take meds 20-30 minutes before the need to transition to or from bed as what was once simple became an arduous journey!
March 12, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Thank you all so much for the info, help and encouragement you have displayed. My wife is 21 weeks and in excruciating pain with fibroids. The nurses at the hospital have told us to come in tomorrow and see the midwife…Well i cant see her in this pain anymore so off to ER tonight if this persists
Will update you all and once again thanks for a very helpful forum
Chris n Holly Davies
March 12, 2007 at 4:34 pm
HI all, I am glad I am not alone in this. I feel for you as I have just gone through this – 17 weeks last week and the pain was so horrible , i couldnt even move. All i cared about was if my baby was ok. – prevoiously I have had three micarriages in the last 4 years and i finally am this far and am so grateful to be blessed!
With this pain – i couldnt even walk straight went to the Drs at the hospital and i felt like they didnt believe me and make me look like I am some kind of desperate woman making up stories as i wasnt bleeding, and i kept telling them that at 13 weeks i had a 9cm fibroid to my right . But they ignored this and insisted that it could be appendix – anyway they didnt want to even do an ultrasound and i begged them to just so i could see that my little one inside me was still alive …( they didnt look to my right where the fibroid ) but thank goodness bubs was well and playing with the umbilical cord. that was all i needed to see. I went home and bared the pain for the rest of the week. I am back at work today as all is good. I am sure it will be back i cant imagine how big the fibroid has become – i will bare the pain but just am so scared it might affect my baby’s growth or something. my next appointment it at 20 weeks in 2 weeks so i will see how i go till then and see what size my fibroid has grown to. Take care girls and be strong!
March 12, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I am 25 weeks and have 7 fibroids. I had been managing the pain with Tylenol, but needed something stronger a few days ago. My doctors has been watching me closely as I call for the slightest discomfort. I can say that ice packs feel great for lower back and fibroid pain.
I hope this helps someone.
March 17, 2007 at 9:14 am
I am SO glad I found this website! I am 16 weeks pregnant and have multiple fibroids. The pain is constant and I feel like such a baby. I have so many questions and know no one that has fibroids and are pregnant. It was helpful to read through the posts.
I am beginning to have trouble sleeping–I can only go about 3 hours—pain wakes me up and it is so hard to get comfortable. I try to walk each day and the pain will take over–I hate not being able to be active. I knew I had fibroids before we got pregnant and I had a myomectomy 5 years ago—they removed 20 at that time. I have a fibroid now that is growing right along with the baby. I look like I am about 6 months pregnant and I feel so much tightness, crampiness, and am just plain uncomfortable. The DR is unable to hear the baby’s heartbeat with the Doppler because of the fibroids.
I go see my DR on Tues, I need to find out what helps with the pain. I am also curious to see how much the big fibroid has grown since my last appt. I do take Tylenol when I just can’t stand it anymore. The reclining chair sounds wonderful, we just don’t have space for one. I am also going to try heat and ice packs— I will do anything to ease SOME of this pain.
March 18, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I was amazed to find this site right when I needed it most, especially considering how recently this discussion started. Thank you!!
Here’s my experience: I am 35 years old and 32 weeks pregnant. Pre-pregnancy, four small uterine fibroids were found (intramural I believe), and I was told by three different docs (primary care, gyno, and OB) that they would cause no problems for a pregnancy. Today is Sunday. Last Monday I began experiencing excruciating abdominal pain in the lower left quadrant of my belly area, just above my left hip. It spread till my entire lower abdomine felt like it was on fire. I felt like I was tearing apart. The only relief I could find was in a warm shower. I took three showers Monday night, sleeping for an hour or two between each till the pain would wake me up again.
I figured I’d just over-done it during the weekend–lots of strenuous walking–and the pain would go away soon.
I went to work Tuesday (I teach high school) because I had an important deadline to make, and I could barely walk from my desk to the front of the room and back. Miserable. Finally, Wednesday morning I went into the hospital and was monitored all day, waiting for my doctor to arrive. The baby is fine–heart rate, movement, ultrasound, all look good. I wasn’t having any contractions–everything was good except for a urinary infection and the pain, which subsided during the day.
The doctor finally arrived and dropped this bombshell: he recommends bedrest FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS or till the baby is born. He says he believes I am at risk for pre-term labor. His explanation: The 5-cm fibroid (largest) is being deprived of its blood supply by the growing baby, and is throwing off toxins as it dies, causing the horrible pain. I’ve since learned that this is called “degeneration”. The fibroid itself is usually right by my navel (it moves with the uterus, of course), so the pain in the lower left region of my abdomine is what the doctor terms “phantom pain” or referred pain–the nerves carry it down there somehow. So that region hurts, and so does the fibroid itself.
My fibroids aren’t growing. My BABY is, and that’s why the main fibroid is unhappy, and will–I assume–continue to be unhappy and painful as the pregnancy progresses.
So…I’ve been in bed since Wednesday night, and my husband and I have been processing this. We are willing to do what it takes to give our little boy every advantage. We’ll sacrafice comfort, convenience, finances… whatever it takes. But is my doctor over-reacting? Is he just covering himself? How can we know??
We’ll meet with the doctor on Monday. I’m making a list of questions and doing lots of reading. Alot of what I’ve read seems to indicate that the pain can subside after several days, then come back unpredictably. I still don’t know exactly what it is that puts me at risk for preterm labor: the pain itself? pressure caused by the fibroid? the fibroid’s lack of stretchability? the toxins? the stress? What is it I should be monitoring and most concerned about??
My pain is nearly gone, but when I get up my uterus gets tight and I feel things straining. And, oddly enough, I have more pain in the morning after sleeping most the night. So, not necessarily exertion or gravity related. Weird. Anyone else with this experience?
Hang in there, girls. God made us alot tougher than we get credit for sometimes.
March 22, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Well ladies, I must say, reading all of your posts has been comforting and frightening, all at the same time. I am now 16 weeks along and my “morning sickness” had only subsided for a mere three days before my intense fibroid pain started this past Tuesday. I was so scared and had no idea what the pain was because no one told me that my fibroid (6cm at my 8 week ultrasound) would cause pain. Every doctor, nurse, etc., dismissed it as nothing and said I wouldn’t even notice it. I had an emergency ultrasound yesterday, as I called my doctor to tell her the pain I was in. The baby is fine, jumping all over the place like a jumping bean, but my fibroid has grown to 8cm, which is causing the pain. My doctor said the same thing about pain releif – tylenol (whoopi) and hot/cold compresses. If the pain doesn’t subside w/in the next few days, I’m going to call her to see if she’ll put me on imdomethacine – thanks to your posts about the relief it’s brought you. I cried all night last night thinking that I might have to suffer w/ this pain for 5 more months. Today is the 3rd day I’ve had the pain, and it’s a bit more managable… I’m hoping things will continue to get better. Thanks to all of you and Good Luck!
March 23, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Hello, April and All! I’m writing from bed and feeling silly for being here since the pain is gone now. Still a bit of straining and tightening upon getting up though. April, I hope your pain subsides soon. It sounds like the pain goes away in alot of cases…
By the way, whatever happened to Anna, the reason this whole dialogue began??
–Mara
March 23, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Thanks Mara –
Good to hear that the pain goes away in many cases. I’m feeling even better today, taking my tylenol every 8 hours or so… who knows if it’s really even doing anything. I have less cramping and stabbing pains today, but feel the pressure and tightenting, just as you mention upon standing up and walking. My doctor told me “take it easy” this weekend. I hope sitting in the stands at a basketball game and riding in a car up North are on the “taking it easy” list.
Feel Better!
March 24, 2007 at 12:49 am
Thank God for google!
I’m 20 weeks along and have had various bouts of pain with my fibroids… During my 20W ultrasound earlier this week I noticed that one of my four fibroids was pretty tender when the tech pushed down on it to get measurements. Sure enough, two days later I find myself with EXTREME tenderness in one of my fibroids. I’ve come to expect cramping and backaches from my fibroids, but this pain was way different, and it was getting me worried. It felt like my fibroid was full of shards of glass and was about to explode – standing, bending, and sometimes just breathing would make me literally dizzy with pain. So, I googled “extreme fibroid tenderness” and voila – I found this page!
Anyway, I really appreciate reading the different stories here… On another website I frequent people aren’t as frank about their pain, so I feel guilty ranting and raving about how awful I feel sometimes (as many others have said – I feel like a big baby!)… BTW, Mara, I think I know you from “over there”!
Well, after reading through a few posts here, I took one of the percocets my OB prescribed, and I am feeling better – I can breathe AND walk now, so that’s a definite improvement! Anyway, the weekend is here so hopefully I can spend some time resting up.
April – I’ve noticed that my fibroid episodes tend to last for about 5 days, with 3 days of pretty intense pain. For me this means, I’m on tylenol and percocets for 3 days straight, and can usually get by on just 1 or 2 tylenols on those last two days. Today is day 2 of the “glass shards”, so hopefully I’ll be all better by Monday! I hope you find yourself on the mend this weekend as well!
Take Care!
March 24, 2007 at 10:39 am
It is so good to read everyone’s posts. I agree that I haven’t really found another site where women are as frank as they are here. The pain is horrible! It also stinks to be so much bigger than I should be. I was asked yesterday, “Are you carrying twins?” nice….I try to keep it to myself, but I do sometimes try to explain it to people. Those who don’t know think I have cancer and they baby will be harmed. It just gets hard sometimes; it would be nice to just be pregnant and enjoy it! I also already have people telling me, “You are all baby, so that means it is a boy.” Uh, no, I am all fibroids at this point.
I try to keep it light because I know the baby is okay, but I can relate to the pain.
Mara—I know that bed rest stinks—-I am sorry you are sitting there. I hope you continue to feel better. April, have fun at the basketball game. Rose, I am glad the meds help! It is nice to read of others with my same problems, no one understands unless they are going through it. Everyone have a nice weekend and rest up!!! I teach school and we just started a 3 week spring break. I am so happy to be off work for a little while. The In-Laws are on there way in a week and we head to Yosemite, I just hope I feel okay.
Take care!
Summer
March 27, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Hello, ladies! So nice to read your posts!
April, how was your trip up North? I hope you have a good driver and a reclining seat. I did a 12-hour trip north with both (before the fibroid pain began) and I know it could have been MUCH worse.
Rose, I, too, have four fibroids with only one acting up. Doesn’t it make you wonder what’s up with the others? “Shards of glass”…good description. By the way, “over there” wouldn’t happen to be the east coast, would it??
Summer–I hope you are enjoying your spring break. If I were still working, mine would start next week. Thanks to the fibroid pain, it started quite a bit sooner!
I was graduated to very-light-activity bedrest on Friday, so I can get a change of scenery every once in a while, and it makes all the difference. I’ve kept busy helping my replacement at work settle in. Strange feeling, being replaced. But I still see the blessing in all of this. The fibroid pain has actually freed me up to do alot of reading and preparing for the baby, for delivery, for parenthood.
My husband and I started a Bradley course–better late than never–training us in husband-coached labor and delivery, and aiming us toward as natural a birth as we can manage. I’m really excited about it, and am learning all kinds of little exercises that I can do to prepare my body.
My doctor offered me Prozac on Friday, saying that some women experience post-partum depression before delivery. He said I needn’t be miserable, needn’t care about anything. I told him I’d really rather care, thank you. I’m not misereable…just adjusting!
Hope you all are well! Enjoy this journey.
Mara
March 29, 2007 at 11:56 am
Hi girls – PLEASE READ THIS AND SEEK ADVISE ASAP
Hope we all get through this. but i have some more news which i feel is important to share with all, especially as our Dr and health care providers are not alerting us to this!
My red degenerating fibroids pain left me in bed for two weeks and when the pain went !(thank god!) i was full of energy and bouncing about for three days, then i had a PE (pulmonary emurisom) i had no idea what that was and thought i was experiencing a panic attack as i had read somewhere that it was common among pregnant women…its a crashing sensation in /on your chest and you cant breath, horrible gasping…i shan’t bore you with the details…FATALITY 1 IN 5.
The next day my left leg began to go to sleep (am being really polite here…the experience is another hell) i thought i had slept badly, my left leg was ballooning most definitely a dress size up…i just wanted it cut off, the pain was unbearable….by the time i went to see my doctor i couldn’t walk and couldn’t be carried either, his face dropped when i described my symptoms and i was rushed to the ward, where the ensuing tests revealed that i had the monster DVT or deep vain thrombosis. Three monster blood clots had formed at my hip and causing a total obstruction, next step my chest, lungs, brain you name it INSTANT DEATH and I had unknowingly already survived one attack!
…most probable cause PROLONGED BED REST and pregnancy!
My WONDERFULL baby boy has thankfully not noticed all the commotion and is doing well.
However my movements are restricted as this may bump the clots upwards, while i endure twice daily injections to thin my blood and hopefully tease the clots into not growing and melting away.
My little boy will now have to be induced as the Docs temporarily stop the meds for two weeks when due as thin blood is not desirable then.
Meanwhile am not allowed near sharp objects or situations that may cause me to bleed as we may not be able to stop the bleeding should it start!
Girls please consult, hate to be a scare monster when we are already going through so much, but better safe than sorry.
My experience has been and continues to be horrifying with the underlying sense of fatality but I know I will get through this and its important that others learn and benefit from my experience.
Besides I do so look forward to meeting the playful boy growing inside me.
Laura
March 29, 2007 at 12:11 pm
A short pleasant tip
While in hospital i learnt a stress free way of sleeping with our huge bumps that will allow an almost full night sleep!..there is a silver lining to every cloud!
Arrange two sets of pillows in a V shape, such that your top torso set of pillows is low at the small of the back and high at the head and the lower set of pillows elevates the legs supporting your upper thigh and you should basically end up with just your bum and feet resting on the bed.
….sigh what bliss…enjoy girls
Laura
April 2, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Hello ladies,
I just found this website and read through all of your posts… it is so comforting to know that I am not alone, that I am not making this terrible pain sound worse than it is.
I am 15 weeks and was recently down-graded from a high to moderate-risk pregnancy. I have had four known miscarriages in the past and after numerous failed IVF treatments was told I would never carry a healthy baby unless I chose donor eggs. We chose to adopt and as soon as our papers were submitted, I fell pregnant. Sooooo blessed.
In any case, after suffering from terrible all-day ‘morning’ sickness for the first 13 weeks, I had about one week of bliss before this unbelievable pain started. Ultra-sound sound that our little one is doing just fine but my doc initially thought it was round ligament pain… two days later, the pain was so bad that I couldn’t stand up straight and even though bed rest eased the pain – it was constant and excruciating. Vomiting started up again and my husband took me back to my doc to attest that this is not ‘just’ stretching ligaments. Tests confirmed that I have three large fibroids… one of them nearly 10 cm which will require a c-section.
My doc put me on bed rest and prescribed Advil for 24 hours every 6 hours (talk to your doc before using Advil because he mentioned that he usually does not use Advil during pregnancy, only Tylenol). It helped a little and so did warm baths. I am now on day 8 and the pain is getting a bit better, though it has yet to disappear for more than 5 minutes at a time.
In any case, I wanted to thank you so much for sharing your experiences because it validated that this pain is real.
Belly rubs, Sydney
April 4, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Hi girls,
Thanks so much for posting on this website. I am glad to find out I am not all alone in this pain, but I am kinda scared. I am now 25 weeks and the fibroid pain started 2 days ago. I have 2 large fibroids and many small ones. The largest one is 6cm in diameter. I spent the whole of Monday in hospital as I was having contractions. I am still in a lot of pain. My doctor does not recommend bed rest so I came into work today and I can barely walk. I am supposed to take ibruprofen 600mg every 6 hours but I am afraid this will harm the baby so I am opting to just bear the pain. I hope the pain goes away soon.
Again, thanks for sharing your experiences
April 5, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Kathale,
Even though your doc did not recommend bed rest please rest as much as you can. Lay on your left side and drink lots of water. If the contractions start again go right to the hospital!
Fibroid pain can last a few days so just hang in there!
Good Luck
April 6, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Hi ladies,
Haven’t posted in a while, as I’ve been traveling for work, but feeling MUCH better. I made my trip north (too long if you ask me) and the basketball game, and was sure to be in bed at a decent hour all of the weekend after experiencing my fibroid pain. Just like you said, Rose, my pain lasted about 5 days and I haven’t had any since (knock on wood). I have my 20 week ultrasound on 4/17 where we’ll find out the sex of the baby, and, I’m sure, find out if and how much this alien (a.k.a., fibroid) has grown. Looking very foward to finding out the sex of the baby.
I’m happy to see that so many of you are continuing to post. Laura – what a scary thing you went through. Good luck to you and I hope things are going well. I’ll keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.
Hang in there everyone… as everyone keeps telling those of us who are pregnant for the first time, “it’s all worth it.”
April 10, 2007 at 9:20 am
Thank you everyone for your incredibly helpful posts. It seems that there just isn’t enough info out there for those of us who are dealing with this pain and scared! I don’t know if this will help anyone else, but I thought I’d share what my docs are doing for me…at least open a conversation with your docs about the meds, etc.
I was admitted to the hospital on April 1st with excruciating pain (Happy April Fool’s Day, right?) and after hours of blood tests, urine test, etc which ruled out appendicitis and UTI issues, they decided the pain was definitely a degenerating fibroid. I knew it was there before pregnancy, but it grew from 9cm to 12cm within a few months. While in the hospital, I was given Motrin 600 which I have since learned is not the best for someone at my stage of pregnancy. Since that didn’t give me ANY relief, they dripped some narcotic into an IV for me which brought me instant relief. They kept me overnight and monitored baby and me throughout the stay.
I was sent home on my docs order for tylenol and rest. One day later, I was back in the hospital and this time sent home with a prescription for Percocet. Since then, I have been to an ultasound specialist, and he prescribed Indomethacin. He told me it is safe for pregnancy at 23 weeks and that it also helps control inflammation which is the cause for some of the pain. The main concern is that the amniotic fluid stay full, so that has to be monitored (more ultrasounds) while youare on that particular med. Most of the time if I am laying reasonably still, I can rest somewhat comfortably, but when it hurts, it HURTS.
The strange part is the fact the stabbing pain stopped for half the day yesterday and I was on cloud 9! Unfortunately, it came back fiercely in the evening and I don’t know whether I did something to irritate it, or if this is the nature of this horrendous thing. Anyone else has issues with the pain coming back? I am on day 10 of the pain and so ready for it to stop!
April 10, 2007 at 5:31 pm
It is so nice of you all to post your experiences during this horrible pain. Actually I found this website long ago but did not post anything. This is my eighth day I am suffering from the pain but it got considerably better after the fourth day of pain when I started bleeding. The first time I bled, the blood was fresh and red. Actually at first I thought I was urinating, but then saw the blood flowing down my legs. Thank God I was home at that time. From that day I am getting a little spotting everyday and that blood is dark red. Has any of you experienced this? I am so scared, though I know bleeding is common in case of a degenerating fibroid (mine has got 7 cm during pregnancy). From that day onwards, I am getting the pain only at night, in the morning it disappears. Buzi, you said your pain stopped for half the day too, did you get any bleeding prior to that?
April 11, 2007 at 10:35 am
Hello everyone,
I would like to thank all of you for your comments. On April 2nd at 16 weeks pregnant I began to develop extreme pelvic pain, and thought I was losing my twins and found out that I have a degenerating fibroid the size of and orange. The pain has gotten much better however it returns at nighttime and I have to take Tylenol to sleep through the night. I was constipated for 3 days during my bout with pain and very sick. I was wondering just as Ritu was if anyone knows why the pain comes back at night?
April 12, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Ritu, fortunately I didn’t experience any bleeding, although they definitely did ask me about that and fluid leaking first thing when I went in to the hospital and the doc’s office. For some reason the pain does come back for me in the evenings, but today (day 12) it finally seems to be easing off. From what I am gathering, this is largely because we move around during the day and the movement (plus gravity) probably aggravates the inflammation going on associated w/ the degeneration. Have you had any ultrasounds? You can actually see how the tissue of the fibroid is changing if the tech is willing to explain it. My OBGYN is also checking my cervix weekly because she says sometimes the fibroids can cause changes that need to be checked out. I am not usually one to take pills and go to the doctor so often, but I feel like my peace of mind and relief from the awful pain is best for me and baby, for sure.
April 13, 2007 at 10:27 pm
I am soo greatful for finding this website. I was admitted to the hospital Sunday. Easter Sunday where I remained for two days. I experienced slight cramping the previous friday which prgressive became worse Saturday night to the point of absoulutly no sleep and all I could do was cry. I told the admitting nurse I thought it was my fibroid upon admittance but of course, it’s just my body and I don’t have dr. behind my name so they ignored my suggestions from the beginning. Well, there I was have noticable contractions which were being monitored and being told there wasn’t much they(the doctors) could do since I was only 24 weeks along. After much blood work it was discoved I had a fever and a UTI. They began treating me for this even though I continued to ask if my fibroid could be the cause of pain. Ignored again. Finally Monday afternoon they did an ultrasound and found the fibroid inside with my baby girl. It is currently the size of her head and growing. She is actually doing well and kickboxing with the thing. Even though I was given motrin for 2 days and hydrocodine via IV I have yet to sleep/rest and the PAIN is CONSTANT. I’m home now still taking the medications and still in EXTREME pain. It hurts to move. I was given a list of side effects to watch out for and now I’m beginning to experience those. I feel like I will be back at the hospital tomorrow because I don’t think I’m getting any better. This is my first baby and Lord knows I don’t want anything to happen to her. But the pure thougth of having to bear this kind of pain for another 3-4 months makes me cry like a baby. I just don’t know how I can do this.
April 14, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Thank you all for sharing your stories. I feel my strength slightly renewed. I have 3 fibroids at 5 weeks and apparently at least 1 is degenerating. I ended up in the ER on April 9th dehydrated and practically begging for some relief after 2 days of severe persistant pain. So far the baby is doing well but of course as a first time mom, I’m worried sick about taking any kind of meds but cannot sleep without some releif. The pain is EXCRUCIATING! I too can barely move, exercise or just perform basic functions like getting up or down.
I am relieved and hopeful based on your posts that this pain might subside at some point as I would like for my appetite to return and my ability to care for myself completely along with it.
I wish you all painless days and healthy babies!
April 15, 2007 at 9:52 am
Hi
I am 10 weeks pregnant, and yesterday experienced the worse pain ever. I experienced slight cramping on Friday evening which became progressively became worse Saturday night. I went to the emergency and what I was told was that since I had fibroids, it could be a sign of miscarriage. I am going to the doctors tomorrow and will give blood again so they can compare hCG/CG. If the CG count remains the same or higher I am not going to have a miscarriage. The doctor gives that amount of information and then expects me to wait until Thursday (over 4 days) to let me know the results. Its horrible waiting!
I had a lot of pain yesterday but found that Tylenol (which is safe to take) helped but awoke again in the night, feeling the pain. I read everyone’s post, and it gave me hope and even if I have to deal with the pain, I will have a little baby to hold at the end of it all.
Thanks for all the advice. I will be sure to follow up with my doctor often.
April 15, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Hi there,
Did anyone experience a brown discharge? I have it, it is very slight but it still is very scary.
April 16, 2007 at 9:30 am
Hello Ladies,
I am another very worried husband but from ‘across the pond’. My wife is 13 weeks and has a fibroid which was 8cm before the pregnancy and had grown to 14cm at the 12wk scan. She has been extremely ill with relentless ‘morning’ sickness which eventually rendered her bed ridden at 7wks.
Two days after her 12wk scan she experienced the very same symptoms that Laura posted here (laura Says:
March 29th, 2007 at 11:56 am). We rushed to A&E (ER) and after waiting 3 hours to be seen the doctor sent her home suggesting she had pulled a muscle in her chest/back through excess vomitting! 5 days later my wife went to her GP after her right leg swelled significantly – the GP immediately sent us to the A&E for emergency admission to hospital with a definite DVT. On arrival we were left in the waiting room on basic metal seating with no attempt to make her comfortable for just short of 4 hours. Eventually a bed was found and finally she received her first blood thinning injection at 10pm (5 hours later).
The next day a full body ultrasound scan revealed a huge blood clot in the main abdominal artery to the right leg and signs of several ‘bits’ of the clot had found their way to her lungs (the source of the chest pain – not muscle strain!!). After 2 days in hospital she is home and facing daily injections of Fragmin to thin her blood until wk 35. She is still in agony, rarely sleeping and unable to move or walk around. It has now been two weeks since this incident and her leg continues to swell every time she is on her feet for more than a few minutes.
Every ‘expert’ we consult says that fibroids do not cause problems in pregnancy, our experience and that of the many strong and brave ladies on this blog contradict this. My sympathy goes out to all of you. I only wish I could do something to take the pain away but I feel so helpless watching my wife suffer like this.
We were delighted when she fell pregnant as we had the impression that this would be extremely difficult with the fibroid, now we are left feeling let down by the doctors – no warning was given before the pregnancy about these complications due to the fibroid. I can only pray that things improve in the coming weeks but after reading all of your posts about ‘degradation’ I fear it may get worse.
A baby will be wonderful but I hate to see my wife suffer so, and after the potentially fatal DVT I worry that the pregnancy could kill her!
Women are most definitely the stronger sex – no man would endure this pain. My best wishes go out to you all.
April 19, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Hello everyone,
I can’t believe I have just found this site. For the first time, I read the description of the pain I had. My story does not have an happy ending … yet … but hopefully will soon. PLEASE READ as I don’t want anyone to go through the same tragedy.
I knew I had fibroids but nobody was concerned. I had a bigger one on my right side (7.5 cm). However, I got pregnant very easily in September at the age of 35. I felt GREAT. On Dec. 23rd, while 18 weeks pregnant, I started having an INCREDIBLE sharp pain on my right side. When I called my ob/gyn, I was told it was just growing pains. When at 3 am, I called the on-call doctor, I was told the same thing. It’s Christmas Eve now, 8 am, my husband just got back the night before from being away for work for one month, we had to rush to Urgent Care. They thought I was having appendicitis. We went to the ER and I got an appendectomy on Xmas eve. Everything went well – baby is doing fine. I left the hospital on Dec. 26 – I felt okay. That night, at 5 am, we went back to the ER the pain was back. They didn’t understand what was going on and thought it was just a combination of the fibroids and the surgery. NEVER they mentioned that it could be a degenerating fibroid. I took it easy and recovered very well. I had my 20-week ultra-sound – baby is a little girl – I was thrilled. I got back to work on Jan. 16 – everything was perfect. That night, at 4 am, I got awaken by liquid: my water had broken. We went to the maternity. After almost 24 hours of labor, I delivered my baby girl but at 21 weeks, there was no chance of survival. I am doing well now. But reading all your posts make me sad because 1. I did not need an appendectomy (”it was not that inflamed” said my surgeon) and 2. If only I had known what was causing my pains.
But I am seeing a doctor who specializes in fibroids and myomectomies at UCSF in San Francisco. She is great and the first one who told me that I probably suffered from my degenerating fibroids and that I did not really have appendicitis. I am getting my surgery on June 14. I am confident that everything will go well, that after recovering for 3-6 months, I will get pregnant again. A good friend of mine had a myomectomy in 2001 and now she has 3 beautiful children.
Same advice – please listen to your body and be persistent with your doctors.
April 20, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Hello. After reading everyones stories I am very worried. I am 7 weeks pregnant and have 1 fibroid growin right next to the baby. The doctor told me that 98% of the time the fibroid will grow away from the baby, but it could grow toward it and possibly cause it to miscarry. They are going to continue to monitor it, but for now there is no cause for concern. But after reading your stories I’m afraid of what I’m in for.
April 20, 2007 at 1:52 pm
tranee,
I’m sorry you are frightened by what you see. That is not the purpose of my blog. This page is entitled Is anyone having problems with uterine fibroid pain during pregnancy? so it will draw women who are having problems.
As your doctor stated, most women will not experience difficulties. Unfortunately, those women aren’t likely to surf the Internet spreading the I’m not having problems with my fibroids message. Those having problems need a place to speak.
Thanks for posting because you remind me of my responsibility to the community. I want my blog to inform women with fibroids so they won’t have to be afraid but I also want it to be a source of support for those who need support. Sometimes, this is a tough balance but I give it my best.
Post here as much as you like and ask as many questions as you like but don’t feel because you read things that those things will happen to you.
You are being monitored by your doctor. You are informed about the possibilities but focus on the fact that there is no cause for concern at this point. Please keep us updated.
———-
I appreciate those who post here. Because of your experiences, women who are having problems now realize they are not alone.
April 20, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Clotilde,
Sorry to hear your story. I too lost my pregnancy recently at around 10 weeks. I didn’t post it here as I was too upset. It was my first pregnancy. I am also looking for a specialist in fibroids and myomectomies. As I am from California (I live near Sacramento), I was thinking may be I should go to the Bay area to look for a specialist. Could you please send me your doctor’s name and phone number? If you don’t want to post it here, you can send it to my email account at [debrupapaul AT yahoo DOT com]. Also, what doctor your friend went to see to have the myomectomy done. Was it the same doctor as the one you are going to now?
[Edited by EclecticGeek to change format of the email address. This cuts down on inbox email spam.]
April 20, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I am so glad that i found this website. I too have been having complications with my pregnancy due to large fibroids. I never knew i had them until i got pregnant. The largest fibroid is about 12-14cm. it is on the right side of my stomach. In the beginning i was in a lot of pain to the point that i had to stop working three months into my pregnancy. I went to the hospital once for bleeding and passing blood clots and another time for light brown discharge. There i was also told that the baby was fine, and that the pain was from deteriorating fibroids. I was told to take tylenol and drink plenty of water. When i do get the pain, i found that bedrest is the best thing, i would usually be in bed for about a week before i would find any relief. i am know 15 weeks pregnant and have been put on asprin and possibly a blood thinner to control bloodclots (due to a family history of blood clots). I get a lot of back pain but other than that i can’t complain.
April 20, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Hi everybody,
I posted a message on a website named Obgyn.net and emailed one copy to
its moderator Hope (www.hopeforfibroids.org) and she sent my email to
Dr. Indman. Dr. Indman replied me back the next day and he is willing
to schedule a consultation for my case (I had a miscarriage recently
and have an intramural fibroid which was growing during my pregnancy
and red degeneration started with extreme pain. Now I am not sure if I
should try to get pregnant again, or remove the fibroid and then try to
get pregnant).
Now my question is, has anybody here seen Dr. Indman for their fibroid
problems? If so, I would appreciate if you describe your experience.
April 24, 2007 at 5:55 pm
I am so glad I found this website. I am 26 weeks and I’ve had this pain from a fibroid on my right side. I’ve tried explaning it to others but it seems like no one understands. I can relate to some of your stories, including the ones who said it hurt when they were peeing. Such horrible pain. I’ve been to the hospital twice this month already from the pain. The first time they didn’t know what it was and like some of the others here have said, they thought it was my appendix. They just sent me home with Tylenol with Codene. The second time I went to the hospital was over the weekend, this time I was having contractions along with the pain on the right side. That’s when they found the fibroid. I had already had a fibroid on the left side that I knew of, and I’m worried about what will happen if that one starts acting up too. It hurt so much. The fibroid actually hurt more than the contractions. So far Tylenol and rest has helped the pain, but I’m worried it will come back in a few weeks. I’m getting tired of the hospital and I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
Good luck everyone!
April 25, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Rivi – hang in there! Keep taking your Tylenol and get plenty of rest to ease the pain. I know how hospitals are not fun at all but you need to take good care of yourself and your baby.
Keep us posted on how you are doing.
Clotilde
April 30, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I just wanted to write in to tell everyone to hang in there. I know the pain is horrendous and very scary, but after about two weeks of being basically on bedrest and pain relievers, the pain from my 12cm fibroid has basically subsided. I get a small pinch every now and then and when I am more active, I can get pretty sore in the evenings, but it is all relatively bearable and the shattered glass feeling in my side has stopped. My doctor said that it will usually reach a point and then the pain will drop off. My ultrasounds have been normal and I am finally back to a “regular” pregnancy schedule and I am so relieved. Bedrest, hot showers or baths and lots of liquid (decaf hot teas) seemed to help best for me of the non-drug remedies for bringing relief. Good luck in all of your pregnancies, and know that there are definitely can be some light at the end of all this!
May 1, 2007 at 8:55 am
I am now in my 22nd week of pregnancy and I think most of my pain is subsiding, also. Thank goodness. I do have the pinch here and there and I can feel all the fibroids if I push on my tummy. They are still there, but I think they are quieting down. I do feel better and my DR said that all is well right now. My ultrasounds have been fine and they were actually able to hear my baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler last week—first time!!! I still take it easy, but try to walk each day and rest when I need to. Hopefully, it will just be baby growth from this point and the fibroids will stay put.
Hope everyone is doing well and all of you are in my thoughts!!!
Take care,
Summer
May 12, 2007 at 12:21 am
Hi…
@Ritu – You mentioned something about bleeding (fresh/red). I hope you have seen your OB/Gyn by now. They should do an ultrasound to check the heartbeat of the baby and make sure it is still strong.
@ EclecticGeek this post is very informative. I hope that everyone takes their pain/bleeding/spotting seriously. My first child was born at 26 weeks. She is my little miracle. She lived in NICU for about 3 months, but was completely healthy.
If I knew then what I know now, I believe I would have been able to keep my baby in the womb longer. I don’t want to re-live those memories… they are very hard. I am pregnant again… the doctor’s report is glum and discouraging. But I am depending on God to keep the baby in my womb till term.
Some questions popped in my mind as I read all these posts…#1 What exactly is red degeneration? How does it look/feel? Does it cause blod clots? Can you pass clots in urine? I see an occasional brown discharge when I pee. I wonder if that is a clot and if I am at risk of a blood clot travelling. Anyway.. I plan to ask all these questions at my next doctors appt.
Last comment: learn the signs of early labor, and learn/avoid activities that can bring on early labor.
Bye for now
May 12, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Hi All,
I am 16 weeks and just found out I have fibroids, I’ve been having pains for about 4 straight days now, my doctor gave me 2 advil and 1 tylenol. That made me feel alot better, but after that wore off the pain came back, i use a heating pad and take tylenol for my pain, it really helps, but during the day when I’m at work and can’t use the heating pad, I just take the tylenol and deal with the pain. I just pray and stay strong. Always try to think positive. As of today my baby’s fine. Heartrate is 158 so that’s good. I have no bleeding or spotting. I wish all of you the best. May God watch over you all.
May 13, 2007 at 12:29 am
Hey ladies,
I am so happy to have found this site. First of all I have read all of your posts and I feel for all of you and wish you all the best with your journeys. I am 14 weeks pregnant and have several fibroids all over my uterous. The biggest one in december 06 was measured at 4.3 centimeters towards the back of my utereous. I am 36 going to be 37 in June and this is my firsy preganacy. I was actually on the surgary schedule to have to have my uterous taken out this month. Fate had a different plan for us and I turned up pregnant in March. Quite shocking really. I started bleeding at around 7 weeks and it was like period blood. I went to the doc and they did an ultrasound and the baby was fine. I kept reading that spotting was normal during the first trimester. I went to the doc again a week and a half later because the blood started to be more and there was some clots coming out. They checked me again and did an ultrasound and all was fine. Then I finally got to meet with my doc and during the examination she said there was a mass on my cervix. So they had to take a biopsy. I was at the doc for 4 hrs that day. I doubted it was cancer because I had just been tested for everything back in September because I was having my uterous taken out. It was not cancer but it turned out to be the stalk of the fibroid that has grown around and is partially pushing on my cervix. Hence all the bleeding. So since the beeding started at 7 weeks I can’t have sex, can’t excercise, can’t walk excessivly, no vaccuming, and stay off my feet as much as possible. Become a couch potato is what my doc told me. They watch me pretty closley and I was visiting with my doc once a week. I have my amnio scheduled 5/21 and I go back and see my doc on 6/1. So far I have little cramps that I know that are fribroid related and I also still have bleeding. My doctor is opting not to do anything about the stalk while I am pregnant because it could cause me to miss carry. SO I am just taking it day by day. If I do to much I bleed but if I take it easy it subsides. Currently my body is not my own and it’s a little hard to come to terms with that. BUT the reward in the end will all be worth it. Think positive and listen to your bodies. I’ll check in with you all later. Happy Mother’s Day!
May 13, 2007 at 7:39 pm
i thank you all for your posts on this helpful website. i am only 5 weeks pregnant and have gone to the ER 2 times this weekend due to extreme pain. friday night the doctor thought was having gastrointestinal issues. i thought of my fibroid (which has grown from 9 to 10 cm) but thought it could not be causing me pain as it never has before. i am 39 and this is my first pregnancy. anything is possible at this point, i realize, as it is very early in the game, but i am trying to keep the faith. so come today, the pain had gotten much worse…to the point where i had difficulty putting myself in bed, putting on jeans, coughing, etc. everything brought more pain. i went back to ER this morning. i got a great doctor who sure enough said it had to be my fibroid outgrowing its blood supply and therefore degenerating (my fibroid is outside the uterus on a stalk. the size of a grapefruit. lovely, right?). the OB on call there said the pain should subside eventually. i already feel a bit better today just having information. and the information on this post helps tremendously. ER gave me some vicodin to ease the pain and said that it was fine for the baby.
hope this helps. thanks!
May 14, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Hi Favored,
Yes I went to my doc. on the scheduled pre- natal visit (11th week) and he could not find the baby’s heartbeat. I was too upset to tell the incident in detail, so I did not post anything here.
Anyways, thank you for your advice. Now I (rather my doctor) is deciding if I should try to get pregnant again, or have the surgery first to remove the fibroids. I had a pelvic US and an MRI (don’t know the result yet) to help us make the decision.
Favored, I beleive I too could be able to keep my baby in the womb longer. But, I am curious about what you think we should do to do that. We are the ones who have this experience, not our doctors, not anybody else. So I believe what we *think* would prevent our losses, must have something to do to actually prevent so many losses (about 50% of all pregnancies end up in miscarriages).
Nobody is sure if my miscarriage was caused by fibroids. I read/heard many incidents where women carry pregnancies to term even with the fibroids. Myy aunt is one example, she has fibroids and is a mother of two healthy children. I am just trying to figure out what caused it so that women can be cautious next time they are pregnant.
Hope all are coping well with the horrible pain. Once that period is over, think of the little miracle you get to hold in your arms!
May 15, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Boy! I am so glad I found this website today. I just got back from the Dr’s office and was beginning to feel like a first time mom who is acting like a big baby for complaining about the pain caused by a fibroid. I’m 16 weeks and went into the ER early Friday morning for the sharp pains I was having on my lower right pelvic area. After 7 hours they finally realized it may be the fibroid I had prior to getting pregnant that was causing the sharp pains. I was told to go home, take tylenol and get rest. All weekend I was in horrible pain. At times I couldn’t move. I finally got an apt with a Dr for today. I was in with the Dr for 15 mins. The visit consisted of the Dr telling me I basically had to live with the pain, get back to work and take more tylenol . The only good thing was they checked the baby’s heartrate and found it to be normal. The only ultrasound I’ve had for the fibroid was before I got pregnant. Should I be requesting another ultrasound to take a look at the fibroid? After finding this blog I now realize I’m not loosing my mind and feel grateful to have people like all of you who are willing to share their experiences. Thank you all so much. You are all in my thoughts and prayers!
May 15, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Hello,
I wrote about my initial fibroid pain experience in early March. I did not even know I had a fibroid until that scary painful attack. I’m so excited to have made it to the 30 week mark! My pain has not returned since the initial bout subsided over the course of 2-3 weeks. I just wanted to report that because during the pain, I thought maybe it would last through the whole pregnancy! To Kimmer, I’m sorry that your doctor sounds like s/he is basically saying “suck it up”. Even if your doctor is not of the opinion to prescribe you stronger medications or extra rest, s/he should acknowledge your pain and your concerns as valid and serious. Also, I don’t think you should hesitate to insist on an ultrasound to examine your fibroid. My doctor ordered an ultrasound of my fibroid for 2-3 weeks after my bout of pain just to check on it. And even though there has not been further pain and you can feel through my skin that the fibroid seems to be in a safe position, my doctor said I will probably have yet another ultrasound towards the end just to make sure there are no concerns for the fibroid getting in the way of a safe vaginal birth. At your stage in the pregnancy, I would try visiting another practice if your doctor is not being supportive. Talk to any mothers you know to get some names. I feel very fortunate when I read some of the sad stories on this site, and thankful for having doctors with a cautious and understanding mindset. Best wishes to all you strong and enduring women!
May 16, 2007 at 12:25 pm
hello everyone i hear your stories and i hope you are all feeling better. i wrote a few days ago about my pain and well, i have to say it has gotten much worse! has anyone had bladder infections connected to all this? to kimmer, i am sorry you are going thru this and hope your pain is subsiding. i did get an ultrasound on my fibroid on monday and i must say it was fascinating. it at least put my mind at ease and made me realize that indeed this is what is causing my pain! sometimes that alone helps! in the ER on friday my fibroid just looked like a huge round mass. on monday, it had a couple of black holes in it! the dr said this is the degeneration happening! it was amazing. he also could barely point out my gestational sac that was a wee dot. (at 5 weeks). i will return again monday for another ultrasound and look forward to seeing the fibroid’s current path. i do think it helps to see what is going on so that it is not just left to the imagination.
i hope you are feeling better. good luck to everyone.
thanks for your dispatches.
May 16, 2007 at 11:52 pm
I am thankful I found this forum of amazingly brave women. I am 33 yrs old, at 13 weeks with a 9cm fibroid.
I am scared and worried of what to expect. I never knew I had a fibroid until I got pregnant. I will be meeting with my doctor in a week to discuss its interference, if any, with the development of our baby. I just i pray I can have a safe birth and delivery. Reading your stories gives me some hope. I’ll keep you all in my prayers. Thank you for you
courageous stories.
May 22, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Hi again Ladies.
I just wanted to give you all an update and maybe I can give you all hope.. The first time I wrote I believe I was having terrible terrible pains, now I am almost 19 weeks and haven’t had pain since my first episode. My doctor gave me advil. Told me to take 2 200mg advil when I start to feel the pain. I use to take 2 in the morning and two befor bed so that I could sleep without having pain. I must tell you. I feel great. I have another appointment with my doctor on the 29th of this month. The baby’s heartrate is strong and and everything else is great. This was great news to me. Ladies basically what I want to say is keep the faith, don’t give up. I know you will have rough days, just pray and things will soon be better. Thank you all for your stories. This is a great forum. I will pray for each one of you.
June 12, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Hello ladies:
I hope that my story will inspire you to think positively for the remainder of your pregnancy. I am currently 32 weeks pregnant. I have 3 very large fibroids. My biggest one measures 9cm. The 2 other fibroids are 5 cm’s each. I have experienced pain due to fibroid degeneration on two occassions; at the beginning of my 3rd month and at 6 month. On both occassions, the pain lasted for a little over 5 days. Peaking on the 2nd day, with SEVERE pain.
On occassion, I still experience discomfort while sleeping, but nothing comapred to the pain I felt during those 2 bad episodes. In addition to fibroid degeneration, I also had to go to the hospital due to menstrual cramps. I was given a shot of anti-contraction meds and was sent home. That was 2 weeks ago. I’m still having cramps, but continue to stay hydrated. WATER IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!
At my 5th month, I worried about carrying the baby full term. The negative thoughts and pessimism can be very consuming. I decided to take a different approach and began a gratitude journal/countdown. Everyday, I write something I am grateful for in relation to my pregnancy. This continues to help me deal with the fibroid pains that I frequently experience.
Hang in there ladies. Be conscious of the thoughts that are rumaging through your head…Although everyones circumstances may be different than mine, there is hope that even with 3 large fibroids, you CAN make it through the pregnancy. I am still counting down!!
Good luck,
Esther
June 22, 2007 at 11:45 pm
This response is for KIMMER
Always go to the hospital when you have pain. You are a first time mom.
I was a first time mom a few years ago… when I also experienced fibroid pain at 26 weeks. They gave me Tylenol and told me to go home. The next day I had more pain.. I called the doctors office.. they told me to take more Tylenol. 2 hours later I was in labor. My baby was delivered at 26 weeks…. 2 pounds 5 oz.
Here is my point… as a new time mom, I didn’t know the difference between labor pains… and pain from a fibroid. It was all pain to me.
So hopefully someone can try and diffentiate it to you. But I didn’t know I was in labor… I thought it was fibroid pain. If I new… I would have called the ambulance earlier than I did… and they would have been able to stop the labor.
If you feel pain… go to the hospital..let them check you out.. and make sure you are not in labor.
Gosh… in this day of skyrocketing healthcare… I know my suggestion is not practical. I don’t know what else to say…
June 25, 2007 at 3:01 pm
“Always go to the hospital when you have pain. You are a first time mom. ” – Very true.
I was pregnant for the first time and had already been to the doctor after the fibroid pain had started. But after 3-4 days, I bled, and fresh red blood was flowing down my legs.
The next day I called my doctor’s office to let my doctor know about the incident and left a message with the staff who answered the phone. My doctor usually calls me back the same day I leave messages, but not sure why he didn’t call me back that day. I thought that he didn’t think it was serious enough to call me back, so I waited and kept waiting.
That day was a Friday so I called again the following Monday. Again I explained what happened and this time the lady who answered the phone said in a worried voice that I should’ve gone to the ER the moment I bled. Anyway, my doctor called and said that my fibroid was degenerating and that was what was causing the blood (and the pain).
Only God knows if I could save my baby if I’d gone to the ER when I started to bleed, because from that day I started spotting (with old brown blood) until my next prenatal appointment when I found out that the baby was not alive since at least two weeks, and that time was the time I first started bleeding.
Actually I knew this at some level of my consciousness and I was scared that something bad would happen in that prenatal visit because I was not checked after I started bleeding. I told my husband and one of my coworkers about it before I went for the scheduled appointment. My doctor also thought that it was the time when my baby ceased to live. It was a missed miscarriage.
So please please ladies, always make sure everything is alright and do not hesitate to do whatever you think is best for you and your baby especially when you are a first time mom.
June 30, 2007 at 10:49 am
Hi all,
I have really appreciated reading all your posts and they have given me a lot of support so far through this pregnancy! At the moment I am 22 weeks and am 37 years old with my first pregnancy. Within the first couple weeks my fibroid (which i never knew I had prior to pregnancy) grew to 10cm. I’ve now gone for my 20 week scan and it is now 13cm. A couple of weeks ago I had about 2 weeks of solid 24 hour a day cramping pressure discomfort to dull aching pain – it was pretty misereable. It was also a bit of a shock as I run cycling tours and had done a fair few miles feeling absolutely great the whole pregnancy up until that point. My doctor put it down to round ligament pain – ok, hot water bottles , ice packs, – got through it. However, went for another scan a few days ago and found out it had grown to 13cm. Now, here is my question as I am working under the Spanish system, which although seems very good, they are really lax at giving any information generally.. All throughout the pregnancy, I have had a very hard obvious grapefruit sized lump on my left side just to the left of the belly button. Yesterday I woke up to find it scarely enough moved over to the right side looking huge and mightly ugly! (so much so it freaked me to lie down on my back to look at it!). Drove to my obstetrician who kind of said, well, why are you bothering us with this – if it hurts we dont do pain here go to the hospital – It hadn’t hurt any more than normal prior to arriving at her office but after keeping my on my feet waiting for 40 minutes whilst the docter finished her breakfast (hey, its Spain – very normal). By then, the tightness and pressure on my bladder was getting to be very painful and then I realized the big cantalope had totally disappeared???? After getting quite upset after seeing this obstatrician, we went directly to the hospital because now I was in severe discomfort and couldnt walk! They were very good and by now, due to stress and deyhydration put me on a drip as I was now having contractions and did several internal scans, basically tellimg me the fibroid had moved lower down. I guess, my question is, because noone I’ve come across in the medical profession here is giving me any info- can I expect this fibroid to do this often or can someone explain to me what the hell is happenin with my body?? I feel pretty stupid and scared for just not understanding this fibroid and its relationship to the baby, preterm labour, “normal pain vs fibroid pain”, etc..! The fibroid, so I have been told is both on the inner and outside of the uterus – I am so confused and at the moment it seems that lump which I can’t feel or see anymore is having a whale of a time sitting on my bladder making my life hell at the moment! Help and good luck to you all!
Maggi
July 2, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Well I am 7 weeks 41 and it is my first pregnancy. I have battled fibroids for several years. One is pedunculated to the outside of my uterus and is the size of a large baked potato, and the other is a golf ball on the right side. I know it is early on, but I am already feeling pains and strains. I pre-emptively spoke with my OB and have a prescription of Vicodin waiting for me. I guess my main concern is whether or not I will be able to discern between labor pains later on, and degeneration pains. I think spatially, mine will likely degenerate, so I can look forward the the excrutiating pain as well. Once the blood supply is cut off because of spatial and positional aspects, degeneration occurs, whereby sending chemical signals that translate to us as PAIN. I read all of your comments, and dread the inevitable, but my focus will be to try and manage it so that my baby is not negatively affected. That will be the biggest challenge.
July 19, 2007 at 12:06 am
Maggi… I am by no means a doctor, nor do I play one on tv, but this has been my experience with those dreadful things called fibroids. I have 3 large fibroids, but the largest one is 13 cm. I’m currently 37 1/2 weeks pregnant and my largest fibroid has grown about 2 cm in the last 4 months. Expect for the fibroid to totally distort your belly. It will do this whenever your belly contracts – kinda feels like your entire belly hardens for about 60 seconds. The fibroid, if on the front side of your uterus will bulge out and get really hard and ugly – quite the spectacle, I might add. My doctor told me this will happen throughout the pregancy (Braxton Hicks contractions) and that I should be concerned if the pattern becomes regular (5 mins apart) which could be a sign of pre-term labor. If you notice a regular pattern, go to the hospital – you may be given anti contraction meds. One other thing to note about fibroids…you may notice a shift in position in the fibroid. This is due to the fact that your uterus shifts. If the uterus shifts, the fibroid, which is embedded in the wall of your uterus will shift as well.
I hope this helps and wish you lots of luck.
Esther
July 19, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Hi,
I have not experienced any pain- yet as I am not far along. But I was wondering for those that have – is it worse for a particular type of fibroid, such as subserosal or intramural? Also, was anyone specifically advised bed rest or lots of rest?
Thanks for all the great posts above – scary though!
nic
July 21, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Hi Esther,
I read your post and thought, “I know EXACTLY what she is talking about!” I am 34 weeks pregnant and when I have the Braxton Hicks contractions, my tummy gets so distorted looking, too! When I first saw it, it really blew my mind. Now I am used to it. I have multiple fibroids, but the largest one is front and center. YUCK! It is good to read you are passing week 37. My c-section (due to a prior myomectomy) is scheduled during my 39th week. I am hoping to make it to the date without any complications.
Good luck to you!!
Summer
July 22, 2007 at 3:27 am
Hi everyone,
I am just amazed at how many women find out about their fibroids when they get pregnant. I am one of them and sometimes are tempted to advised to those who want to get pregnant: have an US and make sure you don’t have anything already in there! But it seems so rude that I never got to tell what I think.
I was really blessed and got through my first pregnancy without complications. My fibroid was 5cm back then (5 years ago) and with my awesome baby I totally forgot about it. When my son was about to turn 3 I got pregnant again and miscarried at week 10. Could it be because of the fibroid? No, said the dr. because it is ouside of the uterus and shouldn’t be a problem. 3 months later I got pregnant again and miscarried again at week 10. This time I want an answer so they run tests and do an ultrasound, and everything is fine, except the fibroid is now 7cm. I consulted 3 gyn and all agreed the fribroid was not the cause of the miscarriages, but if I wanted to try again (I am 40) it was better to have it removed because all the complications that could arouse.
So now, having reading all your posts and seeing the pain and the struggle and for some of you the losses and the frustration you experience, I want to ask: if you had had the chance, would you had tried to get rid off the fibroids before getting pregnant?
I just had a myomectomy done, this is my 5th day post op, and the fibroid turned out to be 10cm, a lot larger than my uterus. So, I might try a baby again, when the time is right.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! To express ourselves makes us stronger.
Gaby
July 22, 2007 at 11:25 am
Hi Gaby,
I had a myomectomy back in 2002 and they removed 20 fibroids then. They were back in 3 years. I did have an ultrasound before we tried to get pregnant and consulted with my DR. I did know that I had the fibroids again and that there was a chance I would not be able to conceive. We were able to get pregnant fairly easily. I know now that we were lucky and, for the most part, my pregnancy has been okay.
My DR did tell me that I would probably have to have another myomectomy if we wanted any more children. I don’t know at this point, this is our first and I am not thinking about anything else at the moment. I am 33 and think we are leaning toward just having the one. I feel lucky to have carried him this far and for him to be healthy.
Good luck with your recovery and take care!
Summer
July 27, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Hello wonderful ladies,
For those of you who are pregnant and are experiencing some pain – hang in there!
Also if one of the fibroids is on the right side, and you are experimenting the horrible pain of fibroid degeneration – make sure you tell your doctors again and again for them to check if it’s not just that – degeneration.
My doctors thought I had appendicitis and performed an appendectomy when I was 17 wk pregnant – but I never really had appendicitis … just a degenerating fibroid … and I told them too!
I just wanted to tell those of you who are new to this blog.
July 30, 2007 at 5:10 pm
SMJ: Thanks so much for posting! Your story sounds almost exactly like mine and it would be wonderful for the pain to finally go away . . . esp. as quickly as it showed up!
I also had a fun ER visit (same old appendix confusion), but the staff seemed to be on top of it and it was the ultrasound folks who nailed down the fibroid culprit. (I only know of one, but I’m guessing it ain’t alone in there!)
So, my big fear is the indocin I’m taking — it’s a low dose and for a 72-hour period, but it seems kinda freaky to be taking it even that long if the pain’s only going to come back again.
Anyone have any suggestions on tracking this anti-inflam med? (As in, did you get repeat ultrasounds to check the level of amniotic fluid etc.?) Baby seems to be good, but I don’t want contractions or scary meds to suddenly mess that all up!!!
Thanks to everyone for their candid responses and encouraging, helpful Good to finally find a place that gives some perspective on this strange, frustrating issue.
August 7, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Hello there… just checking in. I am now at 23 weeks. Wooo hooo. I haven’t had much pain. However my last ultrasound found 8 fibroids. (My first ultrasound only found 3). Apparently if the fiboid is less than 1/2 cm, they don’t count it.
Hang in there ladies!
August 12, 2007 at 1:03 am
SMJ – if you’re still out there, I’d love to know the outcome of your pregnancy and whether you were able to deliver vaginall. My situation sounds identical to yours and my Drs. are already talking about C-section…. Mines is pedunculated, subserosal and 7×2 cm attached in the lower uterine segment near my cervix. If you or anybody has gone through pregnancy with a similar situation, I could use some honest information.
Cheers,
Jessica
August 12, 2007 at 6:19 pm
iam not pregant but i do have fibroids and tring too get pregant i just had surgery done bout 4 months ago iam not sure yet if things r ok as far as the surgery i go back too the doc this month . but i want too know how long have you had the fibroids and how loong did it take you too get pregant, please email on my email. and good luck with baby!!!!
August 23, 2007 at 2:08 pm
I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have found this site. My pain started last Friday, it was just a little bothersome. Saturday I thought I was having Braxton Hicks, Sunday I went to ER because I couldn’t handle the pain. I am 24 weeks today. In the hospital I felt like they were just looking at me like I was a drug fein and wanted drugs in my system. This is my 4th pregnancy, I am 30 years old, and I have never felt this much pain!! The ER gave me a shot of Tordall and gave me some Tylenol 3’s. I went to see Nurse practitioner on Monday, they did an U/S and found what they called a medium sized fibroid in the painful area. I was given enough Tylenol 3’s till I could get in to see my doctor on Tuesday. Tuesday, in tears because of the pain, I told my doctor I don’t know what to do because it hurts so bad. Nothing helps the pain. He gave me some Darvocets and said there wasn’t anything we could do other then manage the pain. I feel like this thing is growing. I am able to sleep soundly if I am proped up. When I first get up in the morning the pain is much more manageable then it is around 10 or 11 am. I am a stay at home mom of 6, so there is no rest. Laundry, dishes, food, cleaning, it all needs done daily and on a pretty strick regiment so that nothing gets out of control. The more I move around the more I hurt. I keep hoping every day I will wake up and the pain will be gone…wishful thinking I know. Because of the way I was treated in the ER and the way I feel like I have to keep calling the doctor for more medicine, I feel like everyone thinks this is all in my head and I just want to be doped up. When in all actuality it is so opposite! I was so upset because I dont’ want my baby to be doped up from now till he is born. I don’t want to be doped up either. The only thing that the doctor said that was at all a relief was that he promised he would take the baby out as soon as he could breath on his own. All my pregnancy’s have been csections so I know this will be too. After reading posts on here though I really feel so much better that I am not crazy, and that I am not the only one that has every had to feel like I feel in this situation. Thank you everyone. Wish me luck with cohabitating with this pain!!
August 24, 2007 at 1:32 pm
I just wanted to post an update on my pregnancy. My son decided he wanted to come early, so I delivered him via c-section on August 9th. I was 36 weeks at the time, my original c-section date was August 30th. He is healthy and weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces. I will say the last few weeks were pretty uncomfortable and I really believe my little guy just ran out of room. The DR had to use forceps to move some of the fibroids so they could get him out. He was in some really tight quarters. I have recovered quickly and think that is due to the fact that I had a myomectomy 5 years ago. This recovery was no where near as painful as that was. My DR said we would discuss my fibroids at my 6-week check-up. They are shrinking, but I can still feel them.
Good luck to all you ladies!!! Thank you for sharing your stories!
August 29, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Wow. There are so many of us with similar stories. Like most of you, I was scared out my mind when I found out I had a fibroid the size of a small cantaloupe when I was 2 months pregnant. I was in so much pain I couldn’t even get out of bed without assistance. I had a VERY painful pregnancy. Had a c-section & felt soooooo much relief that the baby was fine. He was three weeks early. Continued to have pain with periods even though the tumor was shrinking. Had a myomectomy five months ago. Went to the doctor yesterday because of pain. Found out I have a golf ball size fibroid. I knew I had a high chance of getting them, but not five months after the myomectomy! We were going to try to have another child (my son is 2 years old now). ANYWAY. I have really found comfort in reading your stories.
September 7, 2007 at 2:11 am
Thank goodness for this site! I have learned so much from everyone’s stories. Here is mine so far: I am 38 years old and 30 weeks pregnant with my second child. Three weeks ago I started feeling the pain of my 6 x 11 cm. fibroid located below my bellybutton on my bladder. I was on Vicodin for a week then Indomethecin for 3 days. My doc. prescribed it for a week but had no plans for testing the amnio fluid or fetal heart and I was having horrible side effects. My doc did not have time to call me to talk about my side effects or testing the baby, so I found another doc!
I am now on week 3 of sleeping on the couch. My pain meds are Tylenol and some Vicodin (before “bed”). My pain seems to be lasting longer, but it has definitely gone from a ‘10′ to a ‘4′ most of the time. I am mostly worried now about delivery. My fibroid lies where they will cut- Yikes! ( I will most likely have a c-sect. as my fibroid is in the way and partially calcified- dang!)
Any positive c-section stories out there?
-Angela
September 8, 2007 at 8:30 pm
The assistant who works with my doctor told me it was ligaments stretching. This is my third child, I know how it feels when ligaments are stretching. I just looked at her like she was crazy. I have Tylenol 3 with coedine, sometimes doesn’t work for migranes, so how is it suppossed to help with fibroids. The ER doc told me I had a couple of fibroids, which caused the pain. They don’t realize how much pain unless they’ve gone through it. I’m only three months right now, and at this time in pain. I had pain in the middle of my belly while not only urinating, but also with a bowel movement. I also have excruiating pain in my right side, even when I get up or walk. Please don’t let them just shove it off as normal due to ligaments or anything else. Fibroids, as you see, can cause the lost of a child, and make it hard to have one. They think pregant women complain about everything, well, you know your body, not them. Take care of yourself.
September 12, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Wow! I have been looking for a website like this. My husband and I have just started ttc. I was diagnosed with subserosal pedunculated fibroid last year. I saw my gyn and he referred me to a fertility specialist to discuss options geared towards preserving my fertility. Specialist indicated that I could just wait and see what happened as the fibroid was not causing pain and we were not ttc. Well since deciding to ttc I have learned that my fibroid is bigger and have an appointment to see the specialist again later on this month.
I was wondering if anyone had a fibroid removed prior to conceiving and how long did it take. I just don’t want to deal with the possible pain or pregnancy complications.
I know that was an earful but I haven’t had anyone to talk to about it except for my husband (we are not advertising we are ttc yet)
September 13, 2007 at 8:51 am
wow. I can’t believe how many other people have the same problem. At frist when I started having pain, I couldn’t find anything other than websites telling me how rare it was for the fibroid to grow and cause pain. It apparently is not that rare. My problems started around 20 weeks, couldn’t walk, talk, breathe, laugh, sit ect. without excrutiating pain. This degenerating fibroid has flared up intermittently since causing days of bed rest and a perscription vicodin. I’m now 34 1/2 weeks and the pain has returned. All I can say is hang in there. When I get fed up with the pain I just think I’m almost there and my little one is healthy and moving around.
As for tk 08, I knew I had fibroids for a while but when my husband and I started talking about kids I saw a specialist and they removed the fibroids that would get in the way of conception and delivery. No one was to concerned about the fibroid at the top of my uterus or the pedunculated one outside the right wall of my uterus which is now 14cm x9cm. The laproscopic myomectomy worked, my periods where much better. About a year later I found out i was pregnant. I had had a miscarriage 8 months after the procedure. As I said above I’m 34 1/2 week and 41. I’m not a doctor but if the fibroids are there and they can grow during pregnancy, and your specialist can get them out without any damage to your reproductive organs, you may want to look into getting them removed.
Good luck to everyone on this board.
September 13, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I’m another one glad to have found this website. I’m 13 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. I have suffered with fibroids at least 7 years if not longer. My first pregnancy ended tragically at 24 weeks back in February due to premature labour. I suffered with what I now know as back labour for 4 hours before heading to the hospital with the false assumption my fibroids were degenerating. They cannot blame the fibroids for sure…. But now, any problems I head directly to the ER. I have been there 3 times so far with bleeding, bladder infection, and pain. Yesterday after about an hour of waking up I started getting a sharp shooting pain in my lower left hand side. I went to the ER but they dismissed at as constipation eventhough I went in the morning. I went home and slept for a couple of hours and woke up to the pain again. I then remembered when I had my 2 – 9cm fibroids the pain I would have when I was having my “visitor”. It’s the same pain and having a BM causes pain, although I now having a burning pain in my hip area. I am trying to think positive. I see the specialist in the morning for an ultrasound but after a prior premature birth, it’s hard……. I’ve read the posts here about other woman with multiple fibroids making it further than I did last time, so I know it’s possible. I just hope for me. Thanks for letting me vent.
On a positive note, a woman in my office is due in January, it’s her 3rd pregnancy with an 8cm fibroid that has never grown.
September 13, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Simone, I am sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I am glad to hear that you are on your way to the finish line. My fibroid is growing outside of my uterus and really doesn’t bother me. I don’t have heavy periods, no painful sex or really any other symptoms. Every now and then it will give me mild discomfort. I just don’t want to have surgery and the fibroids to come back quicker than I can conceive. BUT I also don’t want to experience the excruciating pain I have read about when the fibroid degenerates.
Brenda and Simone keep us posted on your pregnancies.
I am 30 years old and it seems like just when I feel my life is settled enough to be a mother all this stuff is getting in my way. I see my specialist on the 28th. I can’t wait for the date to get here so I know my options…my fibroid has grown from 6.9 x 4.4 x 7.4 to 8.3 x 5.6 x 9.6 since last year. Please keep me in your prayers.
I will keep both of you in my prayers. I am really looking forward to being a mom. My husband and I don’t have children (well, we do if you count the dogs
September 13, 2007 at 8:26 pm
p.s. do you all get tired of people being so nonchalant about fibroids?? For instance, one of my aunts said oh that’s nothing, everyone has them. She doesn’t know that I am ttc or understand that I really am worried about this fibroid. I mean I really didn’t think they were a big deal either until my gyn sent me to a specialist.
September 14, 2007 at 6:15 pm
My heart aches when I read some of your stories… no one prepares us for this. Fortunately I haven’t experienced a miscarriage, but I can’t imagine doing so, or going through some of the pain I’ve seen described here. It is heroic in a way, of course, we do what we have to do, there isn’t a lot of choice… But most people just don’t have a clue, and I guess women who experience this probably don’t want to talk about it very much — outside of a forum like this one, where at least you don’t feel alone and know that others will understand!
I used to think I should have waited longer before having my daughter (I was 23), but now that I read all these stories, I realize my future fibroids may have gotten in the way if I had. And I’m starting to think that maybe the wait and see approach may not be the best if the fibroid continues to grow and then gets in the way of a pregnancy or is harder to remove and then requires more involved surgery, or even a hysterectomy.
I heard stories about miscarriages, even multiple ones, from casual friends and acquaintances over the years — but never realized what might be involved… I never realized it could be so incredibly painful, physically. I just thought something went wrong with the baby and it died, or maybe something with the placenta (and I thought I was well-informed). I knew someone who had 7 miscarriages… before finally having two healthy girls. Now I wonder if it was fibroid related. Nonchalant no more.
You are all amazing. Hang in there.
September 15, 2007 at 1:08 am
Hello ladies
For those of you suffering from fibroids, I feel your pain. Although I am lucky to have gotten to 38 weeks withour much pain. I have managed to keep my fibroid the same size throughout my entire pregnancy. I suggest you seek the help of a Holistic Nutritionist to help keep fibroids in check. You will be amazed at what you eat greatly impacts the growth of fibroids before, during and after pregnancy.
Trace
September 15, 2007 at 4:41 pm
it’s so wonderful to know that a website like this where we can share our different experiences. I have been going through these pains for the last 3 days and like most of us going through the pain, there is really nothing that can be done except getting some bedrest and Tylenol. I am scare of taking too much medication because of the baby but an aunty of mine suggested Ice Pack which has helped a lot. I have not had any Tylenol in the last 10 hours. So Please try the ice pack and see if it will work for you too.
September 15, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Good news! My ultrasound showed the fibroid staying one size. I changed docs and like the new one- she has a lot of experience with fibroids during pregnancy. I still take tylenol or vicodin when the pain gets bad enough (to prevent premature labor). I have cut out coffee and refined sugars and although I am bored, I think that may have something to do with the tumor not growing. Through ultrasound she found a small place where they can make the incision for the c-section. I will probably deliver 2 weeks early as things will get pretty tight in there pretty quick.
I feel 100% better with my new doc and a successful c-sect on the horizon (though I still live in my lazy boy on bedrest and can’t do much activity without pain)
Take care
September 20, 2007 at 8:05 am
I just turned 40 and am 9 weeks pregnant for the first time. I had a myomectomy 5 years ago and have been watching for recurring fibroids ever since. I had three tiny ones, which have grown, the biggest to 5.4 cm, since I got pregnant. I’m in awful pain now, it’s so debilitating I can’t sleep at all, and am just hoping it’ll pass, as this is my second bout of fibroid pain since I got pregnant. I’m so happy this site exists, I thought I was the only one. On a positive note, I had no problems getting pregnant after the myomectomy.
September 20, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I am grateful to find this forum. I am 32 and have 4 uterine fibroids. The largest one measures 7cm wide and 5 cm long. I found out about the fibroids within weeks of being pregnant but had no pain or problems until recently. I’m now 36 weeks pregnant and for the last 2 days have been in excruciating pain especiallywhen walking and sleeping. I had a Dr.’s appoint today and his answer to coping with the pain was bedrest, warm baths and Tylenol. My little ones activity level decreased when the fibroid pain increased so having a stillborn baby is my biggest fear right now. I’m hoping that if this pain continues that my doctor will induce labor since I’m so far along. My heart goes out to everyone that started having these pains so early in pregnancy. I only have a few days/weeks left in my pregnancy and I couldn’t imagine only being halfway through the pregnancy and having these horrible pains hit.
September 23, 2007 at 11:39 am
Hi Ladies, haven’t posted in a while. Dawn, I am 30 and am ttc for the first time…if you don’t mind me asking, how long did it take you to get pregnant once you started trying and were you on the pill. I was on the pill for 11 years. My husband and I just started trying, my periods have been very regular; however, my fibroid has gotten bigger and my gyn wants me to see a specialist. I have an appointment on friday, so I am hoping for good news.
September 27, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Hi, Sam. I, too have a 4 cm fibroid. I am currently having pain and was sent to labor & delivery last night. I knew it was the fibroid. This was my 3rd trip there because of this. The pain sucks, but the baby is fine. My doctor said that at 20 weeks, your hormone spike will slow down and stop feeding the fibroid……….I’m 35 weeks and am having nasty contractions from it…….hope you feel better.
September 27, 2007 at 6:56 pm
~~~~tk08~~~
I would seriously take care of that fibroid before becomming pregnant! I didn’t even know I had one, and it has been painful during pregnancy. Not to mention you risk miscarriage and preterm labor. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with it pregnant! I’d talk to your ob/gyn befor TTC.
September 27, 2007 at 11:00 pm
–Vicky–Thank you for your advice. My appt is tomorrow morning with specialist. My gyn has suggested that I have it removed but to he referred me to a fertility specialist b/c this dr is supposed to really good at preserving fertility. I am just so scared that it will totally screw up my uterus. I know I really don’t have a choice…I was reading my medical records he sent over to the dr and my fibroid is the size of a 12 week pregnancy…I really am scared. I never thought fibroids were that serious and I now when I really want a baby..surgery and all this other stuff..I am so upset….
September 29, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I saw my doctor on Friday and he recommended that my fibroid be removed prior to any attempts at pregnancy. Because it has gotten considerably bigger he is also recommending that I take Lupron prior to my surgery to shrink my fibroid to make for easier surgery. I didn’t want to hear any of this and now I am even more upset b/c this means that I won’t be able to start a family until next year. I don’t want to take Lupron but on the other hand I don’t want to run the risk of my entire uterus being removed b/c of complications with the surgery. I am having a huge pity party right now and I really think that it is unfair. I tried to plan my pregnancy to a point when I was settled in life and prepared to be a mom and now it just seems like my body is not cooperating with me! Aaaaaghhhh!
October 1, 2007 at 12:07 am
Wow. I cant believe all these stories and women going through just about the same things that Im feeling. Im 31 weeks pregnant and I been to the hospital 2 times but last week was because I thought I was going into labor. Turns out to be the fibroid (4cm) dying from what the DR said. The last 2 weeks i been working and in alot of pain. Im on my feet alot and im hoping that the DR will listen to me tomorrow when i ask him to put me out. I think i done good working as a Nursing Assistant this far. Lower back pain the last 2 days have been ridiculous. I just want my baby to be ok and not to come yet. I still have about another 7-8 weeks left for him to grow. This is going to be my 4th C Section and im done after this. What are my chances of going into labor early? Does anyone know? I wish you all the best!
October 1, 2007 at 12:11 am
TK08 Research that lupron please!!!
My mom had a fibroid and the DR she was seeing at the time recommended it to her. This was in 2000. She began taking it and noticing side affects ie; high blood pressure and 2 mini strokes. At that time my mom was only 40 years old. She stopped taking the Lupron and felt so much better. She wasnt taking anything else at the time. Please make sure you do your research on this.
October 1, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I started having pain in my lower abdomen 6 days ago, and after the first two days it was so bad I couldn’t even walk around. I am 13 weeks pregnant and was so worried. I called the doctor’s office and the nurse said it was probably round ligament pain, take extra strength tylenol and use a heating pad 10 minutes at a time. I did this but it barely took the edge off. I was in so much pain Sunday night I called the doctor on-call and told her I thought it must be something else. She agreed and said I was welcome to go to the emergency room, although she wasn’t sure they would do much if I wasn’t bleeding, but to definitely call in to the office in the morning to come in so they could be sure everything was ok. Just got back from the doc and it is indeed the fibroid. I have never been so glad to hear that little heartbeat! The baby is doing well, SO well actually, that it is taking up the blood supply and, in doing so, “starving” the tumor and causing it to die off. Doctor says this can cause huge pain. He was very compassionate and perscribed loritab for the pain…he assured me that as long as I only take it when needed it will not harm the baby. Ladies I was so worried they would just say, “too bad, go home”, and I didn’t think I could stand to stay in that pain. I’m so blessed to have a good doctor. They are going to see me every two weeks now just to be sure everything’s ok…and the one plus from this, they want to do an ultrasound at 17 weeks to really get a good look at the baby so I get to find out the sex 3 weeks early! Anyhow, please make sure your doctor listens to you and if they don’t, go somewhere else. You don’t have to suffer! God bless and good luck, there is hope for the pain to end.
October 1, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I went to the DR today and they didnt even see the fibroid. The lady doing the sono said it doesnt really move so she doesnt know why she didnt see it. IDK! But the DR checked me b.c i been cramping with lower back pain and im 0 dilated and 25% effaced. What does that mean?
October 1, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Naty-
I am 34 weeks pregnant with a 12 cm fibroid. My doc said I could go into pre term labor because the fibroid takes up so much space, my body thinks I am farther along than I am. If I am in pain, that definitely puts me at more risk as it adds a lot of stress. Are you on bedrest? I was put on bedrest at 28 weeks due to preterm labor. Call your hospital’s Labor and Delivery if you have any questions about your contractions and can not reach your doctor.
October 2, 2007 at 5:46 am
Hi
Wow this is great! I am 33 years old have just found out that I am 4.5 weeks pregnant – first time for me. I went to the doc’s yesterday full of beans and he told me that I have 2 fibroids. One is 7cm and the other is 4. I was devastated, I had never even heard of fibroids before. I had NO idea. What I don’t understand is why women that are over 30 aren’t just automatically checked for fibroids. Then we can weigh up our options. I’m Australian and my GP just told me to go for it. I had no checks.
I am not experiencing any pain at the moment. But my question is how many women have fibroids and DONT experience any severe pain or discomfort. This is a great forum for those that do, and I am prepared for the worst (as much as I can be) but do having fibroids absolutely mean that I will have pain?
Hoping that my baby holds on for the time being is enough to worry about. Now there is the pending pain!
October 3, 2007 at 7:12 am
Hi,
Me again. This may not quite be what a lot of you want to hear .. and I deeply respect all of our stories. However for those of us that are researching because we have just found out about our fibroids and are looking for some information the fact is that the possibilities of pain and problems during pregnancy are minimal. I have just had a great conversation with one of Sydney’s top gyno’s and he said that it is only in rare cases that the pain is bad and MOST of the time fibroids don’t cause problems.
If you are pregnant that is your body’s way of saying that it is capable of doing it.
I have suffered in my life and I probably will do again… I hope that it isn’t from my fibroids, but it may be.
However, for the ‘green’ researcher like myself reading these stories the chances of having a tough time are minimal.
My deepest and best wishes to all that are having a hard time.
Jess
October 4, 2007 at 3:43 am
I am 17weeks now, amazingly so considering I have had unexplained bleeding on and off since week 5. No pain yet. As the fetus size approaches the size of my largest fibroid this has psychologically made me expect it more somehow. I am alert for every twinge & of course have to accept there is a higher risk of late pregnancy loss.
Anyway, I mainly wanted to say to tk08 that I had a uterus equivalent to 12-14weeks in size before I got pregnant, with the main fibroid being a large intramural one. Three specialists I saw in my quest for a myo all reccomended trying for a successful pregnancy first so I had a complete 180 degree change of view, despite reading all entries on this page and on the other fertility page on this forum. The main thing that helped me decide was that at least with the fibroid it was in a way “natural” to my body and I had a fair idea of the risks it could present, whereas with surgery it would be an intervention and possible scar tissue would be an “unnatural” presence in the uterus & I would not know how much would grow & where & with what risks. Also, if it doesn’t work with the fibroid present then the surgery option is still there, whereas if I had fibroid surgery to start with & it still didn’t work I would feel dreadful that I had done away with the first option without trying it. Best of luck with your decision.
(Btw to Jess – I am also in Sydney, hi! )
October 4, 2007 at 6:47 am
Hi Nic!
I am actually a Melbourne girl living in Japan at the moment. I have a friend who’s father in law is the gyn/ob and was able to give me the low down on what was going on. My Japanese gyn is great – but we have a bit of a language problem!
This is scary stuff! You have had some BIG decisions to make! May I ask how many fibroids you have and what size? Unfortunately for me my Japanese gyn only discovered these fibroids in me when once I was pregnant. Which I guess isn’t such a bad thing as I may well have a comfortable pregnancy.
However it might have been nice to be aware of them before so that I could make an informed decision. This is a great forum eh? Even if it is a bit scary! Some of the pain some of these women endure … its unbelievable.
Jess
October 4, 2007 at 8:25 am
Ladies…thank you so much for your insight. I went yesterday for my ct scan which would have been relatively uneventful if it didn’t take the nurse 3 sticks to get the iv going and if the contrast stuff I had to drink hadn’t given me a major case of the runs. I am waiting to hear back from my doctor. I am really scared to have the surgery, but my dr seems to think that the position that the fibroid is in would prevent me carrying a baby to term and that absolutely scares me. I have waited so long to have children, that if I lost the baby I would be devastated. My husband is supporting me fully, but he is really scared too and says that he thinks I should just get it out so that it doesn’t harm me or our future children. I know this sounds silly, but I don’t want to be cut and I don’t want to stay overnight in a hospital by myself. Silly I know. I have never had surgery before and this whole episode is very taxing emotionally. I just want to have a normal uterus and have children normally like every other woman in my life I know has. I am just really scared and not sure what I need to do. It is very comforting to be able post here and read other posts. My prayers are with everyone dealing with this issue.
tk..
October 4, 2007 at 11:53 am
tk08 — I haven’t had a myomectomy, but I did have an ovarian cyst removed when I was 20! I remember what it was like not wanting to be cut….I remember being in the shower the night before surgery and crying and looking at my abdomen and thinking it would never be the same and that they would be going where no one had been before. Pretty creepy. But we survive, and at least we have these options and we are clearly not alone…. keep reading the posts on the other threads, they have a lot of advice on what to do to prepare… hell, I was 20, I splurged and went to see Santana play the night before! It was great!
October 4, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Thank you Amy…this website is such a blessing! I am trying to embrace this things as best I can. What a trooper you are to have gone thru what you went thru at 20! Thanks again…are you currently suffering with fibroids?
October 7, 2007 at 8:58 pm
For Jess who was asking how many fibroids I have: I have one main one which is intramural to the right side at the rear which was sized to make the uterus 12-14weeks size before pregnancy, and one other that was pedunculated between the bladder & bowel. With the pregnancy, the stretching of the uterus has caused the pedunculated one to become subserosal and the position of the intramural one has moved so it will probably block the cervix, necessitating a Caesarean if I get safely to delivery, & possibly not the normal low bikini cut if the fibroid is in the way
… I was not aware beforehand that uterus growth in pregnancy would mean fibroid position could effectively move! My main worry was that implantation might not take if it occurred near a fibroid site.
In a way, you are lucky if you did not know about the fibroids beforehand as they weren’t causing you problems that needing investigating. But it is frustrating to find to encounter the lack of info about pregnancy & fibroids – there is hardly anything except this site!
October 9, 2007 at 4:33 pm
hi ladies.My prayers go ou to all of you dealing with this issue.I am 31yrs old and i’m pregnant with my first child. Like all of you i also have fibroids,2 of them and yes they are large.I am 15 weeks pregnant and also have high blood pressure. I’ve also had spottting and pains from the fibroids. Also i am constantly sick though not in the mornings but at night which only adds to my discomfort. THANK GOD I HAVE A WONDERFUL HUSBAND who is always by my side without him i couldnt even dream of getting through this.So because of this i would not even attempt to have another child,so i asked my doctor for a requested c-section and to also remove my uterus at the same time but he refused. I am afraid of surgery to remove my fibroids ,so i’d rather just have my uterus taken out one time instead of having to endure a separate surgery to have them removed. as i read this i was just in tears to know that so many women are suffering with this . GOD BLESS ALL OF U.
October 10, 2007 at 11:49 am
Vanessa, I’m so sorry to hear what you’re going through! Maybe you should see another doctor! But please keep in mind, there are several ways of dealing with the fibroids later on, and at least one doesn’t involve surgery, and others are outpatient procedures. Hang in there. Remember too, when you read all these posts, that you are getting women here who have more problems with fibroids and their treatment than others. Women who fly through some of these procedures generally won’t come here unless they are just really curious and want to find out about fibroids. So don’t let the really difficult stories get to you. Yes, they are out there, like your pregnancy, but just as there are others who are pregnant with fibroids and are not in pain, there are other women who get fibroid treatment, with no complications, and they go on to have more children. However if you are absolutely certain you don’t want anymore children, maybe you consult another doctor. Take care and let us know how you’re doing.
October 13, 2007 at 2:24 pm
tk08, oops missed your earlier question. Yes, I have at least 3 fibroids… with the biggest around 9 or 11cm, I don’t remember just now. Fortunately, after an endometrial ablation, I’m finally not dealing with clots and anemia anymore! But I would still like to get them out someday! I don’t like my big belly and I have some pain in my sacral area which I suspect may be fibroid related. I keep fearing that they are going to start acting up again…
October 13, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Hey all,
I often forget to look on the left side of this page for the research links, and I just noticed a potential help for all of us– look up there under the “Pubmed/Uterine Fibroid” links, it’s entitled:
“Dietary tomato powder supplementation in the prevention of leiomyoma of the oviduct in the Japanese quail.” Hell, I’m going to start trying to have tomatoes or tomato sauce every day… just in case it helps! I also heard it is good for preventing prostrate cancer…. so good for significant others too!
We’re always trying to find natural things that might help… and this certainly sounds like a possibility!
October 14, 2007 at 10:08 am
Hey Amy, do you have any children?? I was just curious b/c I have one fibroid that is approximately 9 cm. Just wandering if you did have kids if it gave you any problems.
I really don’t want to have surgery…but I don’t want to take a chance getting pregnant and having complications.
October 15, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Hello tk08 and everyone else.
I last posted in September at 34 1/2 weeks. Although I had a laproscopic myomectomy and I still had two large fibroids one at the top of my uterus and the other pedunculated on the outside of my uterus grow during pregnancy, I had a healthy baby girl. She was 11 days early but okay.
I had stopped working a bit early to ease the fibroid discomfort and it definitely helped. Get as much info as you can and take care of yourself. I stopped trying to “sail through” my pregnancy and accepted the fibroids and discomfort as long as I knew the baby was okay. I stopped reading some of the baby boards that made my pregancy seem unusual and kind of lonely. If they mentioned fibroids it was in passing with little to no information. Brigham and Women’s in Boston has uterine fibroid specialists and one the people who ran it is now at the Mayo clinic. she did my myomectomy.
Find a doctor you trust and their method of treating you. If it makes sense and seems right to you, you can get through it. I’m 41, with the largest fibroid being 14×9 cm, and the baby is here. You may not have the ‘normal’ pregnancy but you can still have your baby. I’ll be keeping you and everyone on this board in my thoughts.
October 16, 2007 at 2:36 pm
I am thankful to have found this forum with so much information on this topic & website. My prayers for everybody who have been & had gone through this pain..which I can totally understand because I went through this too. Reading through all this information, I find myself thinking that I was not the only one…but there are many and there is absolutely a hope!
I found out that i had 2 fibroids, bigger being of almost the 8cm during my first US. Things were still ok when I had severe case of morning sickness from 7 weeks till 11 weeks. Had some bleeding during 9th week & was put on bed rest, but things became harder during 11th week when I started getting acute pain of almost 8 on a scale of 1-10. These pains very sharp, cramping, constant throwing up..not being able to do any movements…tossing from side to side on bed wouldn’t still help..but hurt more., more pain came towards lower pelvic region, which was constant contracting. This went on for almost a week. I felt that with this kind of pain, im sure contracting during labor would be a piece of cake. DR gave me high dosage of pain relievers…we were hesitant to take them…thinking it might hurt the baby. But all in vain we couldn’t save the baby.
By all this I have learnt that
1. If doctors prescribe some pain killers which is safe for, I think we can consider it.
2. As somebody posted here keeping calm mind, meditate, being surrounded by dear ones…we absolutely need them mentally & to help us to do carry on physically.
3. As soon as the DRs come to know that there are pains & fibroids they most of the time become less reacting to our symptoms..reason might be that they have not encountered many such cases during pregnancy..or want our body to take its natural way. All we need to do is keep insisting & never give up..even if it means bugging the nurses & doctors..eventually they will know you are going through drastic pain & need full attention and might consult you to high risk pregnancy doctors.
4. Fibroids can distort the uterus..if they are big during pregnancy this can also be the reason for heavy cramping.
All in all i have still not found answers to whether go for a myomectomy or give another try for pregnancy.
If anybody can, please suggest me a good DR or specialist in Chicago surrounding area who is good at doing these surgeries. I don’t want to take chances at this early (im in my late 20s) for a myo which might end up in a hysterectomy. I still need to give time for my recovery too..
Meanwhile I pray for everybody who is going through this pain during pregnancy & which you all luck!
October 16, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Hi ladies,
I’ll try to make this quick. I was dx with three fibroids in Jan ‘07 during my first ultrasound. Fine. By my 12th week, I was in and out of the ER in horrendous pain. My fibroids had grown to about 6 cm. By 15 weeks, I now realize I was having contractions, and then my water broke at 16 weeks and I lost the baby. That was in March. I was sad, angry, depressed, and confused. There was so much conflicting information about there about whether or not to have my fibroids (one was pinging into the uterus) removed. After numerous doctors’ opinions, we (my DH and I) decided on a myomectomy. One high-risk OB said it best: The best predictor of future pregancies is what happened in a prior pregnancy.
I wouldn’t wish my pain and subsequent miscarriage on my worst enemy. Even with more potent pain meds and bedrest, it doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t have another miscarriage or premature delivery with them still there. So on 10/4, I had an abdominal myomectomy. Surgery went well, and after I heal for six months, we can try again. My recovery has been relatively easy thus far, and I’m glad we went through it. After sharing my story with friends, I found out that many women have myos, and many of them went on to have children.
Its just been 11 days, so I know I can’t really give information on whether or not the surgery has been successful, since I define success as a healthy delivery. But I can say I wish I had it months ago instead of stressing myself out doing research overload. I feel better mentally knowing those parasites are gone.
October 16, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Good to hear your news about having a baby daughter Simone! I have been fortunate to be able to give up work whilst pregnant & hope the increased rest will help towards a successful outcome (halfway through now but I’m still so apprehensive & anxious).
I too was really surprised to find so little information about fibroid experiences on the pregnancy internet sites. I haven’t had much contact with the doctors as yet – I think they are waiting until it gets nearer a possible delivery to get more involved.
October 17, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Im really glad to found this forum. Im sorry for those who lost their babies and for those who are suffering from pain. I can feel the pain you have. Im 35 yr old and 14 wk pregnant for the first time. I was diagnosed with 8cm fibroid last june. The position of my first fibroid is at the back(posterior) of my uterus thats why my dr cant tell if its subserousal or intramural. After my husband and I had conference with my dr we agreed that i’ll have myomectomy on September but fate had a different plan for us. I got pregnant before the surgery. Right now I’m 14 weeks pregnant. I dont have the pain that most of the people in this forum is describing. But i have on and off discomfort on my right upper quadrant. And on my 7th wk and 9th wk i had bleeding episodes so my dr put me on bed rest. During all my check up my little one is always doing fine.. it’s so amazing to see him wiggle and move around. And hear from the doctor that his size is normal for his gestational age. But on my last check up Im so devastated when my doctor found out that there are 2 more fibroid in my uterus. Both of the newly found fibroid are intramural . One in the fundus of my uterus 10cm and the other one on the left side is 7cm. My dr told me about all negative effects like, premature labor, termination of pregnancy, terrible pain, cancer(sarcoma), or late miscarriage. He told me i might not have enough space for my little one. I’ll see a perinatologist tomorrow for a second opinion. I am really worried about all the things that my dr told me because i dont want to loose my baby. or see my baby ending in NICU due to prematurity. I know this forum is about those having pain due to fibroid but some fail to mention what kind of fibroid that they have. Im just curious about those succesful pregancy with fibroid, is there anybody who had succesful pregnancy with multiple large intramural fibroid?
ESTHER, I have a question for you. You mentioned that you have 3 large fibroid. Are they all intamural? did it grow towards your baby or away from your baby? Congratulations to you Esther!!! i wish my baby will make it up to 34weeks at least.
Angel
October 18, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Hi
Can someone try to describe the difference between degenerating fibroids pain and contraction pain?
I am 18 weeks pregnant (first pregnancy) and started to have this terrible pain. I have two fibroids (5cm).
I am concerned of not being able to understand what are contractions and this early time.
Thanks for all your input
October 18, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Wow to angel about the amount of information you are receiving from your medical caregivers! I have only seen an obstretician once for 5 mins during my pregnancy so far. Hopefully they will start to become more interested as things progress.
Revan, I am also interested in this question. I’m sure you’re aware that pregnancy can also cause other types of aches & pains due to growth,stretching etc so it could be that. If you are concerned, you should get it checked by a doctor asap.
October 19, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Dear All,
I wish you well. I am 35 and 13 weeks pregnant (my first) and I have been living with fibroid pains since 2004. I had an uterine embolization in 2005 and trying to get pregnant since that. I am in a lot of pains these days and I was wondering how much Tylenol am I allowed to take?
Please help.
October 20, 2007 at 9:44 am
tk08 — Yes, I have a daughter, but I had her when I was 23… I’ve always thought I should have waited longer, but after reading all these posts, I wonder if I might have had problems if I’d waited…so maybe it was a blessing after all that I didn’t wait. But you must remember the women without problem fibroids aren’t here looking for help… it just depends on the size and location of the fibroids I guess. It would be interesting to know what percentage of women with fibroids experience difficulties conceiving, carrying to term, and then with pain during the pregnancy. It is a hard choice… part of me say’s get it out! another thinks one should try with it and see if it is a problem…because it would be a shame to have the surgery cause another problem. Hope you find a good solution for yourself.
October 20, 2007 at 11:23 am
Hi
Revan, this is my first pregnancy too. And I am concerned about with even every little thing that I feel. And I want to know too the difference between fibroid pain and contraction pain. They say fibroid pain is constant terrible pain while contraction pain is intermittent. Always ask your physician about any discomfort you are having soyou’ll know what it is. One more thing ask friends or relatives about all their experiences during pregnancy. Though every women differ, you’ll still get something from their experiences. ANd always consult your doctor.
Sheel, if you are referring to plain tylenol(500mg) you can take not more than 8 caplets in 24 hours but if you are referring to Tylenol#3 (this is only prescribed by doctor) ask your doctor about the dosage.
Reading all your experiences in this forum really helps. I’m not experiencing terrible constant pain yet but my perinatologist told me last thursday that one of my fibroid is starting to degenerate and I might experience horrible pain. She describe it as having a wound without anesthesia. It really sound scary but my biggest concern is my little one. Im so happy that he’s doing well. still have risk for premature labor thats why i really dont plan to go back to work. I’ve been off from work since 8weeks of my pregnancy because of bleeding episode. Im just 15 weeks right now and I have a long way to go. I dont want to complain being homebound. All i think is this is best for my baby. So to everyone out there Be strong and have Faith in Him.
Angel
October 20, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Just an update- I just had a c/section to deliver my son at 35 weeks, 6 days. I went into early labor due to a large fibroid on the outside of my uterus. The fibroid was successfully removed during the surgery as it was calcified and necrotic, with barely any blood flow running to it. My baby is healthy and we are home after a week in the nicu.
Best wishes to all of you! Hang in there!
October 21, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Thank you angel. I just came back of one day at the hospital horrible pains and a little bleeding but everything is find with the little one. I too have stopped working and driving. I held up pains up to last week ( I did not want to take anything before the 12 weeks are over) when I started taking some tylenol, because I have a terrible cold as well. Anyways everyone be strong we are going to make it.
Sheel
October 21, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Amy.. I had my first shot of lupron on Friday. It was a 3 month shot. My surgery is being scheduled for January. I cried all the way home not b/c of pain but b/c for the first time in my life I really have no control over my body. I am praying that I don’t have any bad side effects and that it shrinks my fibroid. So far so good..but then it has only been 2 days. I really wished that I had planned a family earlier…but for me it was really impossible, I was in school and then after school I was trying to get accustomed to my job and the demands of it. My husband is so optimistic and I thank god for him. I suggested to him that we just try and get pregnant, but he was worried about my health and the baby’s health. I know that I would be devastated and he would too if something happened. I do trust my doctor and he specializes in infertility and preserving fertility so he knows how important preserving my fertility is. I am hurting now so I am hoping that lupron will work well for me so that we can finally become parents. The wait and the looming surgery are weighing heavily on me.
October 22, 2007 at 3:44 am
tk08 I’m sorry it’s so difficult! But I do think, knowing what I know now, I would probably choose to get it out if I were trying to get pregnant. I remember the feeling of not having any control over my body too… I guess the first time, was with my ovarian cyst and the subsequent surgery, and later when I was pregnant and realized that I had no control over the outcome of the pregnancy… short of inducing labor or having a c-section, what was going to happen would happen… and I had no idea if I’d be able to carry to term or when labor would start. I couldn’t ignore it, stop it or postpone it — things we can do with most things in life. it is a very strange feeling. Stay strong and optimistic. It is great you have such a supportive husband, and a good doctor.
October 23, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Thanks Amy, I guess I have finally come to terms with the fact that I have to have my fibroid removed. I cannot wait to get it out so that I can try and get pregnant. I still can’t believe that this is my situation, but it is so I am just going to roll with it and hope that the lupron isn’t so bad.
Sheel and Angel – you all are in my prayers. Just continue to pray for strength as you go through this.
Angela – congratulations on the birth of your son. I too have a large fibroid on the outside of my uterus…how much pain did you experience with your pregnancy. I am worried that after I have my surgery that while I am ttc the fibroid will come back. Did you know about your fibroids before you got pregnant?
Anybody else on lupron, either just beginning or almost finish…I am really praying that I have a smooth go of it.
October 29, 2007 at 3:34 am
My story is a bit long, and in process, but I think I may have some good advice for those with degenerative pain.
I too became pregnant without knowing I had fibroids, and mine is growing rapidly during my pregnancy. I am now 14 weeks along, and have two fibroids, the larger one measuring 17cm x 11cm x 11cm. My GP who reviewed my first u/s results when I first found out about my fibroids at 8 wks pregnant, said they wouldn’t be a problem. I had 2 visits with my OB, at 10 weeks and 14 weeks, and she said I wouldn’t have a problem in my second trimester, but could be at risk for delivering a few weeks early.
My husband is a doctor, and he did not feel confident about my OB’s prognosis, even though she has a thriving practice and more than 20 years experience. So we went for a consultation with a high risk maternal fetal medicine specialist. He has given me only a 50% chance of making it to 26 weeks, and virtually no chance of making it to 32 weeks. It was shocking to me that I got such different predictions from different doctors. I would urge all of you with fibroid issues to ensure that you get a referral to a specialist. The placement and size and development of the fibroids during pregnancy seems highly variable, and you need someone who is experienced with problematic fibroids. The reason my prognosis is so dire is that my intramural fibroid runs laterally and takes up almost the entire lower uterine segment. And it’s ginormous. Those women that have their fibroids outside their uterus or on the fundus run much less risk with interfering with the baby’s growth. And many many women have fibroids that are so small that they don’t cause any problems. Thus the average doctor doesn’t have a lot of experience with problematic fibroids, and so can’t tell which ones are headed for trouble.
Anyway, the specialist has told me quite a bit about what to expect regarding the pain of the red degeneration process, which he anticipates I will go through sometime between 16 and 22 weeks. He said that when the blood supply switches from the fibroid to the fetus, it causes the intense pain of muscle tissue death – the same pain that comes with a heart attack, but with fibroids the pain lasts the better part of a week. He has told me to expect to be hospitalised for 4 to 5 days when this starts. The idea is that in hospital they can manage the pain to lessen the stress on the uterus and hopefully stop the pre-term labour that the pain can cause.
I find it somewhat unsettling to see how many women with degenerating fibroids are told by their doctors to manage the pain with tylenol and warm baths, when my doctor is telling me the best thing for my baby is a lengthy hospital stay and plenty of IV pain meds. That’s a big difference in treatment plans. My doc has also said that while I am under no activity restrictions now, as soon as the degenerating process starts, I am to be on total bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy to try and make it as far along as possible.
The moral of the story if there is one is that we all should be assertive in advocating for ourselves with the doctors. If it really really hurts, and your doctor says take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning, be confident enough to demand more intensive pain management. If at all possible, make sure that you are being cared for by a doctor who has experience in this area.
October 29, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Rexalite – I have to agree with you about the referral to a specialist. My gyn recognized that my fibroid was out of his area of expertise and he referred me a to specialist. My specialist has been great and advised that I would need to have my fibroid removed to ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery. I am glad that my doctor recognized his limitations and sent me to someone who can remove my fibroid and preserve my fertility. Good luck and I will keep you in my prayers.
November 3, 2007 at 11:17 am
How did labor and delivery go?
We are just recovering from a hellish stint with an 11 cm subcerosal fibroid that began degenerating at 24 weeks. I am 26 weeks now and just beginning to feel like myself again. The baby is doing fine and I am no longer dependent upon pain management drugs. To say the least, it has been very scary and frustrating, and there are few concrete answers.
Moving forward, I am wondering about labor and delivery. I really do not want to have a c-section. Neither my regular OB or the high risk OB have given me any definitive answers as to what to expect for labor and delivery. I realize it is very likely they just don’t know.
My question is whether anyone who experienced a degenerating fibroid had successful vaginal delivery. Did the fibroid cause any additional complications with L&D?
November 4, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Good info from Rexalite – now I know why fibroid degeneration is said to be so painful! I wonder what criteria an expert with lots of experience of pregnancies and fibroids would use to predict which fibroids are likely to degenerate? I guess a combination of size, location, position and rate of growth so far. It’s a shame this knowledge does not seem to be widespread, unless of course it is too individualised to be useful.
Jenn & Alan – a word on caesareans, although not an answer to your specific question & you may already be aware of this. The need for caesarean can depend, amongst other things, on location of fibroids. If there is one bulging out around the cervix it may physically present an obstruction to vaginal delivery. And it may also rule out a tranverse incision for c-section (or if you have other fibroids in the lower region). In this case, a vertical incision c-section can be performed.
November 5, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Hi everyone
Thank you all for continuing to post here. I find it really encouraging reading the success stories. Its great to have so much information from across the world, and it does encourage us to be very assertive with our doctors, so they can’t dismiss us.
I personally don’t believe the lack of space argument that doctors use to explain how fibroids cause m/c. When u think how women can have mutiple births (twins/triplets/sexlets!), how can a lack of space be the issue? Our wombs have the ability to stretch and to accomodate. Many women have had successful pregnancies with multlple large fibroids.
However, I do think fibroids irritate the womb and can fool the womb into preterm labour, so if the pain seems to be coming in waves, then rush to your doctor, and don’t grin and bear it like i did. I think we can get to a stage when we’re being so good at dealing with the pain, that we can ignore some of the signs our bodies are giving us.
Therefore my advice is to consult the doctor if the pain changes or becomes pulsating… don’t worry about being a hypochondriac, its better to be safe than sorry…
For anyone who has suffered a loss, I am truly sorry. I know how it feels, and despite the cliches, it truly does get easier to cope with in time. Its been over a year now and I do feel more optimistic again.
Best wishes to you all, and i hope to one day post on here again when i have my own success story to tell…!
;o)
November 6, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I wish I found this site earlier. Mine tale is similar to most. My first fibroid was discovered on pregnancy it went to 19cm very quickly – I miscarried at 9 weeks. I sank inot depression was put on drugs to shrink the fibroid pre- surgery. My partner became nervous about being a parent. I had an operation in Septemer 2003 and once again miscarried in May 2004. Whilst the Mymemtophy(okay I can’t spell it) had been a success I seem to have become a breeding gound for them. I was broken hearted I was convinced I would never conceive. The of the fibroids never got really bad I was just uncomfortable.
In February 2005 I discovered I was pregnant for a htird time. Once again they discover fibroid this time there were two fairly large one 5cm and the womb it self was generally fibrious. I stayed focus – scared in truth. I did not dare to hope. I realise this has ommitted many medical factors. My entry is one of hope my daughter ….Sophia is an a miracle at just two she lights up my life and the fibroids, the pain, the uncertainty are distant memory….be careful but have a belief and stay strong.
November 10, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I posted in September saying I was having awful pains in my first trimester. Sadly I miscarried at 8 weeks, it was a missed miscarriage so I didn’t find out until 11 1/2 weeks, when I thought I was almost out of the danger zone. I already had a myomectomy five years ago. My fibroids came back, but were tiny until I got pregnant, then grew, and have not shrunk since the miscarriage. I’m now very confused. Do I need to have them removed before I try to get pregnant again? Will more surgery weaken my uterus? Did they cause the miscarriage? My gynaecologist, who did the d & c after the miscarriage says I do need to have them removed. I’m forty and horribly aware of the fact that I need to make decisions fast. I’d be really happy to hear advice or any stories from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.
November 14, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Hi Sam:
I would be willing to bet that your fibroids didn’t cause your miscarriage. 8 weeks is primetime for the regular miscarriage, that effect 1 in 4 pregnancies for mothers such as you and I of “advanced maternal age”, whereas the fibroid-caused miscarriages tend to happen after 18 weeks. I think your other questions are very tricky, and as it seems to be very tricky to predict how the pregnancy hormones are going to effect the growth and the direction of the growth of the fibroids. A fibroid that starts off benign and intramural can grow a lot and impinge on the interuterine cavity and cause a miscarriage. If I were you, I would get the myomectomy asap and then try to conceive. It’s a delay for sure, but so is being pregnant for 5 months, losing a baby and then having a trickier myomectomy with larger fibroids.
Jenandalan:
The size and location of the fibroids make a big difference in terms of whether you can deliver vaginally or not, but there is another factor, in that apparently the fibroids can make uterine contractions too inefficient to deliver vaginally. I don’t know if they can predict this accurately.
Be careful:
I agree that the lack of space argument doesn’t make sense. Those women who have multiples get huge, so why dont we just get bigger? I wonder if its something like we have only the hormones of a singleton pregnancy, and they have higher hormones so it makes the uterus stretch faster? I have no idea, am just guessing. It is amazing how little information there is out there. I can’t find anything really concrete.
I am 17 weeks along now, still haven’t degenerated, but have been put on bedrest anyway as it seems like the baby’s amniotic fluid levels are dropping. I wonder if this is the old lack of space thing. I dont know, but it is hard to keep a positive outlook with this development.
November 15, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Rexalite,
Boy do I wish I had read your insight earlier this year. I won’t bore you all with my story, but I found out I had fibroids when I got pg, then at 14 weeks I went to the ER in pain, was given Tylenol, then my second bout of pain was just as bad two weeks later. Told to go on bedrest, and take more Tylenol 3. However, the stress of the degeneration pain was too much, and I went into preterm labor (my water broke) at 16 weeks (March 24). Doctor never really took my pain seriously . . . . Long story short, I went to doctor after doctor, and I had a myomectomy on 10/4. The doc removed 5 – the largest was about 5cm and intramural. We can try again in 6 months, but I’m still recovering emotionally from my loss earlier, and I’m scared of trying again.
Ladies, inform yourselves and be a pest! Change doctors if you have to! Many are too blase’ about fibroids. Good luck with your pregancies and God Bless.
November 16, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Rexalite,
Thanks so much for your very sensible and useful reply.
I had a post-miscarriage/d&c ultrasound today, showing four submural fibroids, the biggest of which is 7 cm. I’m going to have a myomectomy to have them removed in december, then wait for 4-6 months before trying to get pregnant again. I should mention that I live in Azerbaijan, so this english-language forum has been a great help to me. I’ve found an Azeri female surgeon I trust, and will have the surgery here.
Strangely, I’ve found that doctors in this part of the world take fibroid problems more seriously than doctors I saw in Ireland, where I’m from.
November 20, 2007 at 12:35 pm
I had 4 fibroids 2 years ago and had a successful pregnancy in 2005. 2 of the largest fibroids were about 4 cm. I had the degeneration at about 27 weeks and went on bedrest and pain medication for 3-4 days. Then at 31 weeks, I began contracting and was in denial…I didn’t realize I was in labor…I thought it was just fibroid pain. Well, I started to dilate but went to the dr. in time to get medication (terbutaline) to stop the contractions. I was on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy. No big deal…my job gave me short-term disability and I had no more pain or problems. Just a little soreness. I went into labor again about 3 days after my due date. I did end up having a csection but had a healthy baby boy.
After that, I decided not to have a myo b/c my fibroids didn’t cause any pain or bleeding and 1 disappeared and the others shrunk a little. Well, now I’m pregnant again…4 weeks…just found out so I’m concerned about what problems the fibroids will cause this time. But I’m prepared to go through the degeneration and know more of what to expect.
One more note, my largest fibroid is outside my uterus at the top so it doesn’t interfere with the baby but it protrudes out….Ughh! and may push against the uterine wall.
Bottom line is to stay connected with your dr. and have any pain treated to prevent the strain on the uterus.
Good luck and God Bless to all who are going through this!
November 26, 2007 at 8:00 am
Hi
Another worrying husband. At the outset I would like to thank everyone for expressing their experiences. It’s really very informative and useful.
My wife is 19 weeks pregnant (25 years old) with one intrumural fibroid (7.35 cm). She experienced excruciating pains at 14/15 week for 2-3 days and admitted in to hospital. She initially refused to take pain killers (Panadol), but subsequently she took pain killers for 4 days as she could not bear the pain. She still has little bit pain whenever she walks or climbs stairs. She also took some antibiotics as doctors noticed increased white blood cell count.
She has been taking complete bed rest since the pain in 15 weeks. Pain is under control, but she is mostly restricted to bed with no physical activity.
Have been doing bit research on fibroids cure and found some books i.e how to cure fibroids naturally (http://www.curefibroidsnaturally.com/). Has anyone tried these during pregnancy?
Also, I read that right diet will give positive results in stopping the growth of fibroids, but not sure how it will help during pregnancy.
I appreciate your comments, as always.
Thanks once again,
November 27, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Hi Ch. Someone asked this elsewhere on the forum & I said that I doubted anything anyone tried to reduce fibroid size or keeep them from expanding during pregnancy wouldn’t work due to the strong effect presented by pregnancy hormones. This effect would just over-rule any natural effect which is likely to be relatively weak anyway. Also you wouldn’t want to do anything that could potentially affect hormone levels (taking certain herbs for example) as that could obviously impact the pregnancy too. Possibly acupuncture may help but of course only with dr’s advice. Any form of dr-sanctioned gentle relaxation therapy can’t hurt either, if only more so for mental state. Good luck.
November 29, 2007 at 10:52 am
Hi Nic, Thanks for sharing info. I fully agree that we should not do anything to reduce Fibroid which could affect pregnancy. So, the best approach would be “wait and watch”. My wife had a scan yesterday and they could not tell whether the fibroid started to de-generate, though fibroid reduced by half centimeter and most importantly baby is doing well. But, different people measuring, it is difficult to ascertain whether it actually started to degenerate. Next scan scheduled in 10 days time, when I can expect the same person to do the measurement again.
Any idea, what to expect when fibroid started to de-generate at full speed and how much will it reduce by size?
Thanks once again for your info.
November 29, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Does any one have any idea about what “toxins” docs are refering to? A few of you have mentioned that your docs have told you that degenerating fibroids release toxins, but I haven’t found anything on it at all. In fact, there is very little on degenerating fibroids, and I usually have really great google-fu. Does anyone have more info?
December 1, 2007 at 12:53 am
Hey Tara:
I don’t know about toxins, but my dr said that the degenerating fibroid releases prostaglandins, which causes uterine contractions. I share your google frustrations! I have found it very difficult to gather actual researched info – most of what I have gleaned so far is cobbled together from info from those scant resources and anedoctal info from the internet. My husband is a doctor, so I have access to all the medical books and journals, but it really has been surprisingly hard to gather concrete information. If you have any other questions I will be happy to share with you what I have learned so far, which is by no means authoritative.
December 1, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Hey Rexalite! Thanks so much for the info, I am glad it isn’t just me but that there really isn’t a lot of info out there. Interestingly, I always thought that fibroids being associated with pre-term labour was a question of space, but if they do release prostaglandins, that would also start contractions/effacing of the cervix. Interesting! Many thanks for that info, it’s another piece of the puzzle.
I had really bad pain last week that landed me in the L&D ward. The doc’s think is from red degeneration, but luckily I had no contraction & my cervix was shut. I have another US scheduled for this week + a doc’s appt, so hopefully they will be able to confirm the fibroids. I have been managing the pain with bedrest and tylenol and probably will stick with that. I am not too keen on harder meds.
Thanks again!
December 2, 2007 at 8:24 pm
I’m sorry I haven’t checked back to this site in a while…mostly due to months of freedom from fibroid pain after a few nightmarish weeks during my recent pregnancy – yay! Two people posted that they had similar circumstances to mine and maybe they’re still reading. My daughter Hope Elise was born healthy and VAGINALLY on 7/18/07, only five days before my due date! There were no complications from my fibroid. During the pregnancy, my doctors followed up the initial painful episode with a few cautionary ultrasounds. There was not a significant change in its size, but they felt it was not a threat to healthy vaginal delivery due it its positioning. One ultrasound showed that my cervix was shortening (effacing) rather early, but I think that was a coincidence unrelated to the fibroid. For this reason, I stopped working early. Thankfully, labor came naturally and on time. In spite of my cervix getting ready so early, Hope was rather stubborn. After 3 hours of pushing and I could tell the nurses were getting concerned, I was afraid a c-section might be considered. But the OB used a vacuum and Hope popped right out with no ill effects. I was totally unaware of my fibroid through the delivery and recovery processes. My next concern was whether I could count on a repeat experience with a future pregnancy. I was even thinking about my work schedule as a teacher and what months would be less disruptive for me to pencil in “lie on couch moaning from fibroid pain for 2-3 weeks” if I became pregnant again!!! But my doctor said there is no reason to assume this will happen again. I’m having a follow up with my OB in January and she said she might send me for another ultrasound then just to see what the fibroid is up to and whether there are others. I can no longer feel my fibroid through my skin as before, but of course my uterus has shrunk. So that’s my update! Best wishes if you are having a challenging fibroid ordeal and happy holidays to all!
December 3, 2007 at 9:38 am
Smj, Congratulations !!! Thanks for sharing your experience and glad to hear that you are doing well.
Can you share how much your fibroid grown until delivery?
Thanks again,
December 6, 2007 at 2:47 pm
thank god for this site. I am 40 years old, in week 12, first pregnancy, living in italy, and have 4 large growing intramural fibroids. After bleeding in week 8, gyno put me on strict bed rest. After checkup and last US at start of week 11 (which shows baby growth as normal), she has instructed me to continue with bed rest and told me to expect this until at least month 5. Having turned to self-help on the internet due to lack and the desire to read something in english, reading all your experiences has been most helpful and I believe will help me be prepared for what might or might not happen. thanks to all.
December 13, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Hello all,
I am 29 weeks, I have 6 fibroids and at least one of all the types (submucosal, intramural, and subserosal). My largest is 10cm and smallest is 6.5. I have been on medical leave from work since I was 15weeks and prescribed Tylenol 3. I have now been put on full bed rest and upgraded to percocet. My baby is in really good condition (heartbeat always very strong) and has good movement. I am very excited about this child and am looking forward to seeing it soon. I have had a positive attitude for this whole pregnancy and I hope that just hearing that I got this far encourages some on you who are feeling anxious. Good luck to you….
December 16, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Hi all
Just came acroos this page which is so great .I have been in bed since Wednesday wondering if anyone had these pains i was going through.I cant stand,walk,turn without pain I thought I was going to die.I am worried about the baby byt doc says baby is fine but i swore I was having contractions.I was told to take panadeine but that really does nothing for the pain.Can i put the ice pack on my tummy?Each time the baby moves the pain becomes intense.I am 5 months and haging on for dear life.will I be in pain for the next 4 months.
Thanksd for all the advise so far I really feel better about the pain
December 17, 2007 at 3:33 am
I thought I had got to 26wks escaping degeneration pain but just been in hospital due to extreme pain. Howver, it was in my back on the right side whereas my fibroids are in the front on the left. The drs couldn’t find any other cause (kidneys ok, not appendicitis) so have attributed it to degeneration pain deferred from the actual fibroid site. It seems a bit suss to me but the type & magnitude of pain is similar to degeneration pain so maybe I have been caught out too! The most horrible thing is that if it is degeneration pain then it can happen again at any time.
I agree that the painkillers don’t touch the pain. I am trying to watch out for any warning signs a major episode will come on then immediately take rest. Also will cut down on activities like standing or walking for too long. If there are any signs of mild pain then I will take the painkillers anyway as they might help with reducing inflamation maybe.
December 18, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Nic – Sorry to hear the degeneration got you! I am on my 6th week of bedrest and pain, but nothing too intense so far. Not sure what you are taking for the pain, but FWIW at my last dr’s appointment, he specifically mentioned that Tylenol doesn’t have any impact on this kind of pain. He said it some fancy way regarding mismatched receptors or something along those lines, but that is why he prescribed me Tylenol 3. The aceteminophen still has no impact on the fibroid pain, but the codeine does have some effect. I find the codeine “takes the edge off” and helped me to sleep through the pain, but I could still feel the pain for sure.
Congrats to you SMJ – nice to hear a story with a happy ending!
December 18, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I am 27 weeks and 43 years old. I have four fibroids – one of them lodged just above my cervix, and 9 x 8 x 4 inches. I am placenta previa. Ironically enough, if it weren’t for the large fibroid sharing quarters with my son, I might likely have gone into premature labor already. Right now the concern is that the placenta is attaching itself to the fibroid, causing “placenta accreta.” I haven’t had too much pain so far – just mostly when i overdo it by walking too much or trying to change positions while sleeping. I am mostly scared now about the fact that the doctor says I will likely have to have a cesarean hysterectomy. I am worried about hemmoraghing to death.
December 20, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Thanks for the drug info Rexalite. We don’t have Tylenol where I am but I can “translate” if I need to.
Stephanie – your worries are perfectly understandable with your situation. I would think many women undergoing any uterine procedure worry about haemmoraghing, myself included for my future c-section. Having vascular fibroids of course increases the risk, but at least the operation will be well planned & you will not have the worry of being whisked into a full emergency c-section perhaps when you have already been in labour for hours. Even though it is drastic, if the drs decide that a hyst. is necessary at the time, this could well decrease the risk of a haemhorragh as the surgeons will not be trying to repair a uterus with problematic fibroids left in place and any effects caused by removal of the placenta. It may be reassuring to you to find out more about the procedure – what criteria will they use to determine if a hyst. is necessary, what will they do to prevent blood loss, will they leave ovaries and/or cervix? Although it sounds morbid, I will be making a will before my op (& I haven’t got one anyway) and I also thought about writing letters to my child & loved ones just in case. For some people this can be a way of coping with the worry, just as I have always been open to the risk of pregnancy loss throughout rather than trying to block it out. It depends how you cope with things.
But to be more positive start building yourself up for the procedure with increased iron intake, if okayed by your dr. Research taking supplements that can aid post-op healing – taking arnica afterwards is supposed to reduce swelling and extra Vit C has been recommended to me. And think of how you will cope when you are recovering with your little one safely arrived – do you need to reorganise the house, get relatives around to help, etc Focus as much as possible on the likely positive outcome as it can’t hurt!
December 26, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Hi, I was glad to have found this forum and the wealth of information provided here, as I too have found that the internet is vastly vague when it comes to fibroids. As is my midwife and doctor.
I am 32 weeks pregnant, and aside from some mild pain for a week or so around my 23rd week, I haven’t had any immediate complications from my fibroid.
My fibroid is in the wall of the left side of my uterus, and is taking up pretty much the entire left side of my pregnant tummy. At last measurement, which was 10 weeks ago, it was 13cm x 12 cm, and I was informed that it was degenerating, and that I may encounter pain for a couple of weeks until the degeneration process subsides. I feel lucky to not have had any of the debilitating pain I am reading that a lot of you have experienced. I have another ultrasound scheduled tomorrow to check it’s growth and to make sure it isn’t impeding the growth of the baby. She is constantly moving and has a strong heartbeat, so I’m not concerned with her well being at this point, but as the end of my pregnancy grows nearer and nearer, I am concerned with the possibility of premature labor. Because of the size of the fibroid, my uterus is larger than that of full term woman carrying a single baby. Strangers are constantly commenting on my size, saying that it must be about time for me to deliver. In actuality, I have a little more than 2 months left.
I just wondered if any of you know whether the enormous size of my uterus alone could be cause enough for me to go into labor early? I know that women pregnant with twins have a higher likelihood of delivering early, and that’s pretty much what I’m basing my worries on. I feel like I’m basically carrying “twins”, except that one of them is this large, disgusting growth instead of a cute little baby.
December 29, 2007 at 1:39 am
One of my drs told me that the main risk fibroids present to successful pregnancy for the first two trimesters are miscarriage then for the last trimester, premature labour. I’m not sure what the mechanism for prem labour would be, but I think fibroid degeneration can be an indicator as it causes local trauma to the uterine environment.
I entirely sympathise with you 32weeks on the size issue – I have been 3-4weeks larger than expected for a “routine” pregnancy throughout and it’s terrible seeing the textbook cutaway pictures when I know I am all distorted.
December 29, 2007 at 1:46 am
I feel like I am finding some answers at last to a very scary thing that happened to me the other day. I am 41 years old, and 17 weeks pregnant (for the first time!)
About 5 days ago I was feeling pretty crampy (I attributed it to round ligament pain) and I had trouble getting out of bed because the pain made it difficult. I made it to the bathroom and when I tried to defecate, the pain was absolutely astonishing. It was like, every time I bore down, the pain fired up to incredible heights of agony. I had to repeatedly get up and walk around (limp around), then come back and try again, for about an hour before I managed to get anything significant from my bowels. I did feel better afterwards, and the pain subsided, but I have been fretting about it ever since, wondering what the hell that was all about.
I had had a previous bout, much milder, a few weeks before. And I have been having pretty much nightly cramps in bed (again, attributed to round ligament pain). I was told at my first ultrasound (8 weeks) that I had a small fibroid on the outer edge of my uterus (it was news to me!) but that it wouldn’t be a problem. I have had 2 ultrasounds since then, and the fibroid was never mentioned again.
Does it sound to you like my pain was due to the fibroid, or is this atypical?
December 29, 2007 at 1:04 pm
32 Weeks – congrats on getting that far! That is my goal. (I’m 23 weeks now). After 32 weeks, you have hardly any risks of long term developmental problems so that is awesome. I totally know what you mean about the twins thing. At my 10 week OB appt my uterus was 22 weeks in size. They don’t even bother to measure me anymore. My fibroid takes up the right side of my belly,
Anyway, I think there are a few different reasons why fibroids cause PTL. I don’t think they even really know why so many twins are born prematurely, whether it is the lack of space, or your body decides its time to deliver because the uterus feels like its full-term even if the babies are not. But as you said the fibroid degeneration can cause PTL because of the prostaglandin release that triggers uterine contractions.
The other factor I am aware of is the limits of blood supply. The baby takes up more and more blood as it grows, and the fibroid diverts a lot of the uterus’ blood supply. Eventually the baby may not get enough blood to continue growing. This causes an IUGR situation, where the docs will consider delivering the baby prematurely if it is viable. I think if they don’t deliver in an IUGR situation, the baby might die in utero. This is why you should be having more frequent monitorings of the baby’s growth in your third trimester, and be paying close attention to kick counts and such. Make sure your doc is thinking of these things, as they are not all experienced in fibroid complications.
Patricia: Congrats to you on your pregnancy. I am by no means an expert on fibroid degeneration, but my experience with it has been somewhat different from what you described. My fibroid degeneration pain is not connnected to movement or position really at all. It just hurts no matter what! I have never had any change in degeneration pain with bowel movements.
I have had round ligament pain as well, and it is quite different. It does seem to be more correlated to movement and changing positions. Definitely getting in and out of bed and sitting down are triggers for the round ligament pain that i had. One of the ways I could differentiate the ligament pain from the degeneration pain is that they were both very localised, and in different locations. If you imagine your uterus having 4 corners, two down by your pubic bone and two up by your fundus, the ligament pain is always localized to one of those 4 spots. My fibroid is big enough that I know exactly where it is (at all times!) And the degeneration pain was always at a spot on my fibroid. Every few days a new spot of degeneration would start up, but it was always where my fibroid was.
So it is hard to say what is causing what, but if you go in for another ultrasound, fibroid degeneration will show up as dark spots on the fibroid. If you have a lot of degeneration, the fibroid gets a liquid center. It is really easy to see on the u/s. HTH.
December 29, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Thanks for the responses to my post. It really is reassuring to me to have other people to talk with who are experiencing the same conditions and concerns as me. As I’m typing, my baby is wiggling and kicking relentlessly, reminding me that all this worry and discomfort is definitely for a greater purpose, and will all be more than worth it in the end!
I just wanted to briefly update on the findings at the ultrasound I had two days ago. This was my third ultrasound this pregnancy, and it was mainly to check the growth/degeneration of my fibroid, to measure the baby and see if the fibroid is impeding her growth at all, and to see if she’s head-down or breech. I got less than desirable answers to just about all of those questions, but I’m staying optimistic. The fibroid is not degenerating anymore (which is good, no pain) but it has grown to 14cm around. It is impeding her growth somewhat, the doctor said she’s 3 pounds (not an exact science, of course) and her measurements are in the 39th percentile. Which is small, but they said not small enough to be concerned. Also, she’s head up, in a breech position, and because of the fibroid, there isn’t enough room in there for them to turn her around manually. There does seem to be enough amniotic fluid in there with her that they think she still has room enough to turn herself. They scheduled me for another ultrasound in 5 weeks to see if she has managed to turn herself around. If not, then we’ll have to schedule a cesarean section birth. Which, of course, I would never have wanted, especially after two normal, healthy, vaginal deliveries. However, after talking to the doctor, I’m thinking that that may turn out to be the safest option all around, because my placenta is still anterior (in the front) but it’s now on the left, over my fibroid, and there is a small concern that it may be sharing it’s blood supply with the fibroid, which could cause hemorrhaging during the delivery, which would be cause for me to be rushed to emergency surgery anyways. So I suppose the best case scenario in that instance would be to already be in the operating room in a planned surgery environment. They are unable to tell at this point if the placenta and the fibroid are connected by their blood supply, but given that the baby is growing and developing at a fairly normal rate (even though she’s on the small side, her organs all look good), they don’t feel that, by itself, it would be a strong enough likelihood that it would merit planning a c-section on it’s own.
So, the positive side of all of this is that the baby is healthy and at basically no real risk. The only risk likely is a risk of me bleeding too much during labor, whether it’s a vaginal birth or cesarean. But I have confidence in the hospital I’m delivering at, U of M is an excellent hospital to have caring for you in these kinds of situations. So I’m just going to pray about it and trust God and the doctors. I’m not going to bother worrying about something I have no control over.
So we’ll see what happens at the next ultrasound. I have an appointment with my midwife on Monday, but my husband and I decided that given all the “what-ifs”, I should start seeing an OB instead after that, until the delivery. So I’m going to call to make an appointment with one of the OBs on staff at my clinic next week.
January 2, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Its been 6 years since my twins were born, but the experience I had with my degenerative fibroids will never be forgotten. I happened upon this website and thought I would share my story…as back then I didnt understand what was going on while pregnant. Beginnning my 20th week of pregnancy (with twins), I started experiencing cramping sensations. My doctor immediately sent me to the hospital (one of the best in the country, Lenox Hill in NYC), where they saw I was having contractions. They couldnt see what was causing this, so they admitted me. By the next day, I was in the most excruciating pain imaginable. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the abdomen. They were able to treat me for the pain with demerol (safe for baby), as long as you are closely monitored. They also gave me some type of suppository..that really helped. I had sonnograms twice a day while in the hospital. I was in the hospital for 7 days so they could monitor the contractions caused by the fibroid (magnesium sulfate, etc). It really worked..the contractions subsided as well as the enormous pain…although I did have some irritable contractions for the remainder of the pregnany. I delivered full term at 38 weeks. My doctor was very serious about the fibroids as they can cause miscarriage. I was monitored constantly and put on bedrest. If it wasnt for my doctor, I dont think I would have the 2 beautiful childen I have today. So take degenerative fibroids very seriously.
January 4, 2008 at 7:36 am
Thaks Gwen for sharing your experience. Would appreciate if you give more details on the type of fibroid you had and also the size.
My wife is 24 weeks pregnant and is suffering from degenerating fibroids (intrumural – 6.5 cm) since 13-14th week. Though the pain reduced from 15th week, she still gets pain now and then. She is completely on bed rest as she get pain if she walks for longer periods (20 mins) or even if she sits on a soft for an hour.
January 9, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Thanks to everyone here for sharing experiences and giving sensible advice. I’ve posted twice before. I’m forty and had a miscarriage at 8 weeks in October 2007. I had a myomectomy five years ago and my fibroids were tiny until I got pregnant, the largest of four is now 7 cm, and hasn’t shrunk since the miscarriage. Today I called an clinic (I live in Azerbaijan, I’m a foreign correspondent) to arrange a myomectomy at a hospital here, because I want to get pregnant again, and local doctors have told me I need to have my fibroids removed before I can do so. A doctor from the expat clinic called urging me not to have surgery, saying it will weaken my uterus and that fibroids are very common and lots of women get pregnant and deliver babies with them. I’m at my wits end and just don’t know what to do. Can anyone give me any advice?
January 10, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I am so glad I found this site!! I am 31 and pregnant with my first child. I experienced severe pain that kept me in bed for about 4 days right around new years. I had to miss two days of work and the doctor simply said it was just my uterus growing and that I should drink lots of water and stay in bed. When I went for my us this week, (19th week) I found out from the tech that I had fibroids. One is so large you can see the lump outside my stomach. She indicated that the pain I had been experiencing was probably fibroid pain, not my expanding uterus. My doctor will not get the us report for a few days, but I am very anxious to see what she has in plan to monitor this. Your stories have given me alot of insight and I feel good about meeting with my doctor to discuss her plans. I will definitely switch to a new doctor if she just blows this off, based on your experiences I know that I have to be aggressive with my treatment to ensure that my baby has the best chance.
January 10, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Sam – sorry you have had a m/c. I would tend to say that if you have already had a uterine surgery then it would be better to avoid more if you can face trying for a successful pregnancy given your relatively recent m/c and then if unsuccessful again re-consider, but it could depend on where your previous surgery was and the size/location/type of your current fibroids. I doubt that no-one would be able to attribute your m/c definitely to fibroids at such an early stage so unless you felt strongly otherwise try to look at neutrally. TTC as you are is the most conservative option despite the potential for more heartache and possibility of future surgery anyway. There are no guarantees either way – what is important is that you commit to one course of action that you feel you can go with more than the other one. Have a look at the other fertility boards on this forum as there have beeen similar discussions there. Best of luck for your decision & future actions.
January 11, 2008 at 12:56 am
Hi All,
I found your posting looking for info on fibroids. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experiences and feelings. Well, here is mine story.
My Doctor found that I had a 16cm by 10cm fibroid attached to the outer wall of my uterus. Luckily, my only pain was constipation and I wasn’t pregnant. Thank goodness I went to get checked out before getting pregnant. My Doctor sent me to an OB that was suppose to be very good. He wanted to cup me open almost immediate to take the fibroid out and risk loosing my Uterus… Here I’m thinking .. Hello… i want to get pregnant not eliminate the chance. So I decide that there had to be another way and I kept looking. My husband also helped, he didn’t like what we were told. Through word of mouth we found a Chinese Doctor in FL that specializes on Accupunture and Herbal Chinese medicine. I heard from my Sister-in-Law that she has a friend that went there and her fibroid disappeared. I took a chance and flew to FL to see him, that had to be better than having my stomach cut open. From the moment I walked into this place, I felt at peace and confident that I was on the right place. I loved the experience, the Dr was funny, made me feel at ease during the interview, he gave me hope, he even told me that after I was treated by Chinese Medicine I would have a baby boy. I kept saying I just want a healthy child, and he would reply: “yes, and it will be a healthy boy”. It has been 2.5 month since I started the treatment, all the changes in my body that he said would happened, have this far. I am no longer constipated and I don’t feel pain when I go. I can definitely tell you that the lump on my stomach is way smaller and I don’t look like a 4 month pregnant woman the week before my period comes any more. I’m hoping to be done drinking this really nasty tea (that I have to cook almost every day) by the end of this month. I already made an appointment with an OB to get check out next month and find out the size of the fibroid if it is still there or is gone. Hence, the reason I’m here; I want to be very informed before I see another doctor.
Call me crazy, but I feel much better after I started drinking the tea, I’m not even as tire as I used to feel in the mornings before this process. Is a combination of many of your body functions that have to come into harmony so that you can be better. In any case, I hope my experience helps you find hope in other alternatives and not just take the one way we all have come to follow. If any of you is interested in more details, I’m open to questions.
My best wishes to everybody here, and I hope that it all turns out for the best for you.
January 11, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I am 17 weeks now – at 14 weeks my fibroid degenerated, I (as most of you girls can relate) experinced the most excruciating agonnizing pain. I didnt kno I had a fibroid b/cI am going via the british publich health system and my first scan was not due till 15 weeks, it started on a friday night, i could not move with the agony and did not sleep for 3 nights solid. went to the A&E on a sunday but b/c the ultrasound dept was closed i had to wait until the monday for a diagnosis and it was about 12.30pm before i could get the prescibed drugs – codeine 60mg x 4 times daily plus 4000mg of paracetemol. the ceine blew my head off but took the edge of the pain, however severe constipation was a side effect and the pain from that was tough too. my fibroid is 11cm, unfortunately close to my cervix and conflicting medical opinions between london and an irish hospital about the exact location of the fibroid and whther it is possible to give birth vaginally – i’m looking for clarity to prepare myself mentally and emotionally and no one seems to be able to be specific – London thinks its uterine and refuse to do an mri (the hospital here deliver 3000 babies a year) Ireland think it could be cervical and they deliver 10,0000 babies a year and have suggested an mri to be very specific about the fibroid and birth, obviously things change as the pregnancy progresses but it would still be good to have some clarity! . so another scan next weejk and hopefully an opportunity to plead my case otherwise i will go get this done privately. to all you women out there with painful fibroids, i truly sympathise.
January 11, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Ladies, does anyone know fibroids consultant / specialist in London? Anywhere is Greater London will work for me, SW prefered. Thank you!
January 12, 2008 at 9:53 am
Hia all,
I wrote quite a while back when all this fibroid stuff was very new to me. I have two fibroids, one is 18 x 14 x 10 and it is situated right up above my uterus, the other is relatively insignificant 6 x 3 or something – it never comes up in medical discussions as it doesn’t seem to be of any importance. I am 19 weeks pregnant and fortunately the fibroid isn’t effecting the baby at all as it is so far away. About 3-4 weeks ago I started experiencing general discomfort due to my rapidly growing abdomen and in the past week I have been doubled over in pain and struggling from one day to the next. I thought I had pulled a muscle from the fibroid barging down the right side of my abdomen causing intense pain and overall immobility. Fortunately I have an amazing husband who cares for me very well and I also have a great ob who seems to respond well to my pain. I couldn’t get on top of the pain … I saw a osteopath and a physio (physio was much better for me) but it got too much so I recently spent a few days in hospital as I just couldn’t get a handle on the pain. After a few days of hands on pain management (nothing more than the RIGHT doses of panadeine forte and the comfort of having a team of people care for me) I seemed to feel better. I went for a scan the day I was discharged and we noticed some degeneration which suggested the pain that I was feeling was possibly not muscular at all – I haven’t had a chance to discuss this with my ob as yet. This for me was good news as it means that 1) the fibroid is outgrowing its blood supply therefor it may not grow any more and 2) the ‘dreaded’ pain that I had been waiting for had started. I just wonder how much longer its going to last? I take panadeine forte when it gets too much but I HATE taking it.. but what else can I do when I cant walk or sleep? If anyone has anything reassuring to comment on taking P F during pregnancy I’d love to hear it.
My goal is to make it to 38 weeks. But I’d be happy with 32… or 34
The other thing is that I also have started seeing a Chinese practitioner who I have felt has done wonders for the pain… and my stress/anxiety levels. Combined with weekly visits involving cupping, chinese spoon massage and acupuncture he has also prescribed me some herbs that are designed to shrink the fibroid. It is called Guizhi Fu Ling Wan… Cinamon & Hoelen Combination … I have faith that it will work. If the hope alone is all I get then that works for me too!
Once again – great forum and its nice to know we aren’t alone.
Jess
January 17, 2008 at 1:56 am
So glad to find something valid on this subject of fibroids finally….I am 39 and 17 weeks with first preg. (I know it’s a boy, had CVS) I had pretty bad morning sickness the first trimester and was so happy to reach trimester two and to feel so much better. Then suddenly…pressure and cramping and increasing pain. I finally began thinking it wasn’t just normal pregnancy growing pains, was afraid I may be starting to miscarry and talked the drs into letting me be seen in labor and delivery late on a Sun night. (they usually only see women over 20 weeks along, others have to wait in the ER for 5 hours or more to be seen.) They did an ultrasound showing the baby moving and we could see and hear his heart beating, so I was relieved that he was alive and seemingly well. I told the Dr. that I already knew I had a fibroid. I got a fertility ultrasound done right before I got pregnant and they spotted it immediately but I was told that it would cause absolutely no problems in pregnancy….I guess they meant no problems if you don’t mind agonizing ongoing pain and a constant fear you may miscarry from it…then ya, no problem. What is the idea of telling women they cause no problem without even mentioning the problems they often cause?? Why would any Dr. do this? I don’t get it. I have to work right now, so if the pain keeps on, I may be in trouble because I can’t lay around on bedrest. I am single with no one to tote the load if I lose my job. I’m angry that the Dr. who saw my fibroid before he inseminated me didn’t at least discuss the possible problems and possible options of removing the fibroid before getting me pregnant. I swear I feel like if I miscarry I should have a valid legal case to sue. The L&D doc just kept trying to come up with other things that could be causing my pain…he suggested a hernia. And then said the only option for pain was Tylenol. He wouldn’t prescribe anything else. I’m just hoping this pain stops soon like was stated on here. I have no idea how I could go through this for 5 more months, and I am so upset that my confidence that chances were so slim I would miscarry after 12 weeks, has been shattered and now miscarriage is always on my mind again. Oh, ya fibroids are no problem at all…
January 19, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Kimberly,
I have been posting on another thread here for a while, but just found this one specifically about fibroids and pregnancy. I had my fibroids removed in May 2007 (all 18 of them), then I got pregnant in late October and am now 13 weeks pregnant tomorrow. My fibroids came back though, last Monday they counted at least nine. I am just praying they won’t grow to harm the baby. Just wanted to let you know that even if you had your fibroid removed earlier, nobody could guarantee they wouldn’t come back, and so soon too. And they grow faster in pregnancy too. So sorry to hear you are having pain. I myself would be ok with pain, as long as the baby is all right, I can go through anything. I am just terrified they will compromise my uterus, miscarriage is something I fear everyday, I read on the other threads about women losing babies at 16 or 20 weeks… I am 39 as well. Hope things go well for you, and for myself
Hang in there!!!
Best,
Jo
January 19, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Kimberly,
I just read thru my post, you know, I don’t know if I would be ok with pain, I don’t have it so I really shouldn’t say I wouldn’t mind it . My fibroids never gave me pain, just horrible periods and anemia from bleeding so much, I sure hope they won’t start now, well, blessings,
Jo
January 19, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Sam,
So sorry about your miscarriage.
I had the ab myo in May last year and was myself concerned about how my uterus would stand up to a pregnancy. My uterus was cut all the way through and kind of in the middle, and it was a large cut, so I stand a chance of a uterine rupture (mostly if I wanted to deliver vaginally, which would not be a good idea). I will never even go close to a vaginal delivery, as soon as the baby is ready (36-38 weeks) I will have a c section, fine by me, just give me a healthy baby
I was reading that chances for a rupture go down substantially if the uterus is cut on its lower part (less muscular) or if indeed the cut does not go through all parts of the uterine wall. It just depends on the kind of fibroid you have and where it is located. I was also advised to undergo a surgery with a reproductive surgeon, as opposed to a regular surgeon. Good luck to you!
Jo
January 23, 2008 at 5:34 pm
My husband found this website for me and I am SO grateful! I’m 19 and 1/2 weeks along and just started getting extreme pain in my abdomen a few days ago. I knew I had a fibroid, and at my ultrasound this morning, was diagnosed with a degenerative fibroid.
I was put on Indocin for 3 days and bed rest. I’ve read mixed reviews about Indocin during pregnancy, but am hoping for the best.
I am definitely grateful that my OB seems to take my concerns seriously after reading some of the experiences on here.
And, I am so grateful to know that I am not alone. Thank you to all of the posters. And, good luck to everyone.
January 23, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I just found this website and as many of you stated, I am relieved to see others understand this. I am headed into my 23rd week and I have been in excruciating pain in my pelvis since yesterday. I have been on ‘bedrest’ since the 15th week of my pregnancy. It’s hard to deal with when you have been working so long. And it’s even harder to get the looks of ‘oh, it’s just fibroids’. There is a dramatic difference of pain from period cramps and pregnancy pain with fibroids especially as the baby gets bigger. I am praying I can make it these last 14 weeks, and then like one of the posts said as soon as I can, I will schedule the birth. It’s hard because you look forward to the joy of pregnancy but this hinders some of it. Stay strong to those trying to see the light at the end of tunnel and thanks for having this forum.
January 23, 2008 at 8:42 pm
To CH…
You asked what type of fibroid I had…I don’t know, but I was told it was the common type that usually start out as pea sized non malignant tumors (I had for years) that are harmless and don’t usually grow until pregnancy. More common to degenerate with twins since they lose their blood supply quickly. The real concern is that they can cause contractions which is why many OBs require bedrest, and careful monitoring. The horrendous pain that many of us have suffered usually comes on pretty suddenly (over a day or so) and is excruciating for usually a week or so. Upon reading many of these comments, I’m surprised how many have suffered with just tylenol etc. There are definitely pain medications that are safe (and really great) when monitored. The pain does subside but one can be uncomfortable for weeks after the initial episode. However, just make sure the OB is really watching over your wife with regular ultrasounds. I’m sure every person’s situation is different. I was told by some of the nurses (and doctors) at Lenox Hill that degenerative fibroids are the most painful thing that one can have during pregnancy…worse than childbirth!!
January 23, 2008 at 11:27 pm
naby and Tracey,
Could you please write (if you know) what the current size and number of your fibroids is? I am trying to relate it to my situation, and wonder whether the pain hits at a certain fibroid size, I have a bunch growing in there (nine…) (13w3d) and am grateful I am pain free as of now, but I have a feeling it might catch up with me eventually…. Blessings to you both, for the painless rest of your pregnancies!
Jo
January 24, 2008 at 10:45 am
Jo – You know, I need to ask for specific measurements and plan to do so in two weeks when I go back. I remember at my last ultrasound, the baby was the size of a lime, and the fibroid was about the same size as the baby then. As far as I know, they only saw one.
However, at the ultrasound yesterday, the OB said it has gotten bigger in size since he first checked, but that the “inside of the fibroid” has started to degenerate (if that makes any sense). When I saw it on the ultrasound, you could see the central part of it as darker than the rest.
FWIW, the Indocin has seemed to help, even though I’m a little leery about taking it. I’m allowed to take four 50mg a day, but am trying to limit it to only two 50mg tablets. Although it’s still painful, I am at least able to walk, get up/sit down, which is a HUGE improvement.
From what the doctor said, and from reading other articles, it’s possible to go through your entire pregnancy without the fibroids causing any issues. So, it’s possible that that will be your situation! Wishing you all the best.
January 27, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I am 22 1/2 weeks pregnant with fibroids. The two largest ones were the size of a lemon and outside the uterus when I was 8 weeks. I had an u/s at 19 weeks and I found out when I went to see my ob that the fibroids were not measured- why, I don’t know. In any case I have been experiencing the most excruciating pain going on 4 days and NOTHING has helped ease the pain. I went to the hospital on day 2 and was told everything with the baby was fine, I was not having contractions, and it was round ligament pain. The house dr told me to take tylenol around the clock but it did absolutely nothing for the pain. Because the pain was so persistent I began to search the web and my pain didn’t appear to be consistent with round ligament pain. I have found this site to be very helpful and I’m thankful to have found it. I think it’s terrible that I pay so much for health care and still have to find out what’s wrong with me on my own. It seems as if the doctors don’t care to find out what’s wrong with you and how they can help they just want to get rid of you. I told the house dr while I was in the hosp that I had fibroids and not once did she mention that my pain could be associated with them. I thank everyone for their posts as they have helped me tremendously and will help me in asking the right questions at my next appt this week.
January 29, 2008 at 8:22 am
Thanks once again Gwen for the infor.
January 30, 2008 at 1:17 pm
A big thank you to everyone for posting such helpful info on this site. My story is similar. At 19 weeks, I suffered from so much pain that I was absolutely terrified that I would miscarry. It was hard for me to imagine that all this pain would not affect the baby. I was given tylenol with morphine (which was only a little helpful) and the doctors kept a pretty close eye on what was going on. However, it was frustrating because there really wasn’t anything they could do except wait and see. The pain finally subsided after close to 10 days and the fibroids have degenerated, and while they are still there, but have not grown anymore. I am now 32 weeks and thrilled that my baby is thriving in there. I may have to have a cesarian because of the positioning of the fibroids, but as long as it’s necessary for the baby, it does not matter. Hang in there everybody and try not to worry too much. Things can work out well after the pain subsides. Take care.
February 1, 2008 at 3:18 am
All of this information has been very helpful!…My future daughter-in-law, (32 years old) is 14 weeks pregnant with my grandchild. She has a fibroid on the outside of the uterus, currently 8.3 cm. Her symptoms started at 12 weeks, when she began having sharp pains and was spotting bright red blood. Her OB attributed the pain to ligament stretching, and the bleeding to normal spotting that occurs in early pregnancy. The spotting continued, and the pain worsened. An ultrasound revealed a large fibroid, 6 cm at the time, on the outside of the uterus. She was told it would cause pain, but, most likely, not impact the pregnancy. Last week, while at work, she was suddenly overcome with severe pain and began bleeding heavily. She passed many large clots, something that looked like a sac, and much blood. My son rushed to her work to get her, then, fighting evening traffic, rushed her to the ER. Once there, though in extreme pain and bleeding, they told her to take a seat in the waiting area! She refused to be so easily pushed aside, and insisted on being triaged. They put her on a stretcher in the hallway, where for almost two hours, she cried in agony and pain, while my son held her hand. They thought they had lost their baby. Finally, she was put in a room, and after another long wait (45 minutes more or so) she finally saw a doctor. He was kind, if overworked. An ultrasound was done, and the baby was still there, strong and healthy! Wow! What rejoicing! God is so good! The doctor was amazed that she still had the baby after all the blood and clots she passed. She was given nothing for pain, was not admitted, and after a couple hours, was sent home to rest. She missed the next day of work, due to pain and exhaustion. She went to work on Monday, but had more pain and spotting, so missed the next day of work. On Wednesday, she was fired! Sigh. A follow-up appointment today revealed that the fibroid has holes in it, and appears to be degenerating. She is still having pain, though not as intense, and her spotting has stopped. Apparently, there is still a “pool of blood collected behind the placenta, which will come out,” according to the doctor. If the heavy bleeding resumes, she is to go straight to the ER. The doctor mentioned that miscarriage is still a possibilty. She is in good spirits, and we are hopeful and praying for a healthy baby!
February 5, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Greetings all:
I am 11 wks now and have 6 fibroids, one is 10 cm. I know from my last pregnancy, which ended at 9 weeks in m/c, that fibroid pain is no joke. While I miscarried, the fibroids were contracting along with the cervix, and the little head was backed up in the cervix behind one. The pain was excruciating and Morphine did not even take the edge off. I am a former RE and my OB is a high risk one, so he has experience with fireballs, as he calls them.
I highly recommend dealing with a high risk OB with experience in this area. The second I complain, he meets me at the hospital, as he knows I do not cry wolf. I got pregnant 2 months after my last d&c and presently, the baby is clear of fibroids but they are large and hanging very low, so it is only a matter of time before the fun begins.
He said he is ready for them! Lets hope I am!
February 6, 2008 at 12:05 pm
lynnie,
Hope this time works like magic for you and your pregnancy goes well. I am a little further along, 16th week and have multiple fibroids (they are relatively new, as I had my older ones removed last May)
Did your doctor say he can actually do something with/ for the fibroids? In my understanding there is really nothing they do for them, it really is just a waiting game and just wishing they leave the baby alone. Did your doc outline some method of dealing with them?
February 14, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I’m so glad I found this site. First my heart goes out to all who have lost a child. I’m 39 y/o with my 5th pregnancy. I have a son who is 16 and have had 3 m/c. I’m 13 weeks today with my second episode of breakthrough bleeding. I have several fibroids with the largest at 6.7cm and growing. I also had a hard time prior to getting pregnant with heavy bleeding and pain so much that I had opted to have a hysterectomy after years of trying to have another child I gave up. 1 month prior to registering at the hospital for surgery I found out I was expecting. Now I’m carring a daughter with constant fear of m/c, is this bleeding secondary to my fibroids and if so will the degeneration increase my risks? My doctor tells me this is a high risk pregnancy and that my bleeding are treatened m/c so we take it day by day? Can I do anything to help my chances with this pregnancy?
February 14, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Hi Nancy,
I am a little further along than you are (16w4d) but I had bleeding/ spotting in weeks 8-14, off and on. My doctor said that was not a threatened m/c, but rather placental, chorionic issues (if a little part of placenta tears or becomes loose it can cause chorionic bleeding and then the extra blood can be coming out for a while as spotting, brownish, no longer bright red) I never had pain during all this and my doctor said he was not worried, as long as there is no bright red, period like bleeding or pain. Just make sure you have pelvic rest and don’t lift anything heavy or exert yourself as long as you are spotting (plus one week)
I decided to take it day by day, and stay optimistic. My doctor said he doesn’t think my fibroids will give me trouble, well then, I decided I will think that too, and not worry myself crazy
Best of luck to you! Nice that you know the baby’s sex, how did you find out? I have to wait a few more weeks for that.
February 15, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Hi Jo,
I saw my OB yesterday and we heard a heart tone, my bleeding has just about stopped and I’m now just spotting with mild infrequent cramps. I will definitely ask if my bleeding could be a possible placental tear . My bleeding is bright red, heavy at first and I do pass clots. I will be on bed rest for a week before I see my doctor again with another ultrasound scheduled. Because of my pregnancy history I had early chromosome testing ( at 12 weeks ) and since found out I’m caring a girl. My doctor is very cautious and I see him biweekly but he can only give me goals; our next goal is to get to 25 weeks. I’m gonna take your lead and take this day by day and be more optimistic. I find strength in knowing that others are pregnant with fibroids with the same worries that I have. I feel so much more informed these last couple of days reading everyone’s comments. My prayers go out to all and thanks!
February 16, 2008 at 11:23 am
Nancy,
good luck to you.
I read your story. I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing problems so early in your pregnancy. I have a 12 cm fibroid and did not find out about it until 12 weeks into my pregnancy. At 24 weeks, I had degeneration, a brief hospital stay and 2 weeks off work. I am happy to report that I am still pregnant, and baby was due on Feb 6. Despite the risks, I have been able to carry my child to term (and beyond). When I went in the hosp at 24 weeks I was so worried and confused. No one could answer my questions and I only came to find out that there are no definitive answers. Take it easy on your body and insist upon assertive care from your providers. During my pregnancy, I have had 9 ultrasounds and each time the images showed the baby comfortably “sharing” the space. I had the same “goal” paradigm as you and your doc. It was very helpful to me and my partner to celebrate every day as an accomplishment. Now if only I could get the bugger to come out!!
February 16, 2008 at 4:27 pm
jen,
It is wonderful you made it to term, and then some
May I ask if you had any bleeding associated with the degenerating fibroid? I understand it is very painful but wondered if there is bleeding too. Also what pain medication did they give you in the hospital?
nancy,
I share your feelings about this website, it has been a lifesaver for me when I was getting ready for my myomectomy and still is now, it really helps greatly to hear from women in the same or similar situation.
February 17, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Jo,
No bleeding just blinding pain. Even though the fibroid is submucosal, its degeneration did not cause serious uterine contractions or disrupt the placenta. There was some concern that the location of the fibroid was directly across the uterine wall from the blood supply to the placenta, so I was lucky not to have any detachment or bleeding. As you probably know, the location and type of fibroid is important to the progress of your pregnancy and delivery. You may have a different experience presuming your fibroid even enters a degenerative state. You may luck out and not have to go through that.
While I was in the hospital, I was given a morphine drip for one night. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days, but I only had the morphine the first night. I didn’t tolerate it very well. I also received indocin (for six days total) and percocet (as needed for 2 weeks). I had a lot of pain again after I stopped taking the indocin but it slowly lessened after about 10 days with intermittent use of the percocet.
Also, I just wanted to say that I appreciate the opportunity to share my story with you. I was LOST before I found this website ~ I knew NOTHING about fibroids when I first experienced the pain and had no idea what was happening to me. Worse yet, the doctors were not willing to admit that they couldn’t answer my questions. I had to find that out on my own.
Perhaps, in the future, you can share your (fibroid removal) story with me should I need to consider that.
February 17, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Hi Nancy,
I’m 41 y/o and 16w1d. First time pregnancy, no hx. of m/c. I have four uterine fibroids, the smallest 7cm the largest 12cm. In the 11th and 14th week I had vaginal spotting, but no bleeding. I went to ER and was informed that the culprit was uternine fibroids. After each episode, I was told to AVOID stress, get rest and placed on pelvic rest for 1 week. In my 15th week I began to experience very mild adominal cramping which eventually turned into the worse pain I’ve ever experienced. I was hospitalized for two days, given IV drips for dehydration and Tylenol w/codine. Also, I found I’d dialiated 1 cm. My OB recommended a surcloage(sp?), The SPECIALIST said it was contraindicated when a women is experiencing contractions. Bottom line: bed rest, AVOID stress, pain medicine. I experienced intense, did I say INTENSE…yeah, intense pain for 6 days straight. The pain has subsided and tomorrow I have an OB appointment. My bleeding was on the first occasion BRIGHT red and it stopped the same evening. The second time, the blood was dark brown and dried looking. The Nurse, not the Doctor gave me the most comforting news. She said Women with fibroids definitely spend time admitted into the hospital, and most/many go on to delivery healthy baby’s. I met a nurse today who said she has fibroids and has delivered 3 children. I know it’s a scary time, but, celebrate each day that you carry your baby, WORRYING does not help the baby! This site, for me, has been the best source of information. I take information from the site and ask Doctors how it relates to me, before finding the site, I didn’t know what questions to ask. Stay posted on the site and I truly wish you a successful pregnancy! P.S. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you found out you were pregnant 1 month before your scheduled hysterectomy. GOD works miracles
February 19, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I’m very glad to have found this site (and am making my first blog post ever!). I needed to hear the success stories, and have learned much from you all. My (unfolding) story is somewhat different, in that I haven’t had severe pain (Yet?). Instead, I had contractions (coming at regular 5-minute intervals) that sent me to the hospital on Friday night, and to the doctor yesterday. Strange to have contractions/”cramping” without the pain (just discomfort from the tightening, and, of course, the paranoia). I’m 37, 1st pregnancy, just poking into week 23, have 2 fibroids (don’t know the dimensions, but after reading the posts, will ask for specifics on it), and am wondering what the weeks ahead will have in store for us (e.g., is the pain described in this page yet to come?).
At the hospital, they were quick to diagnose degenerating fibroid, as pain did come when the Dr pressed down on the culprit! After 48 hours on indo (25 mg q6h), and drinking approx 80 ounces of water a day, the contractions are no longer regular and rhythmic (but still present). Thankfully, the cervix was described as “long and closed” and the little one doing OK (although I’ve noticed less movement–perhaps due to her growing size?). I am scheduled for an US on Thursday to verify that there are no changes to the cervix. I’m lucky to have a OB and L&D staff that literally said “If you need to come in/call every day, then that’s what we’ll do”. I was on “bed rest” over the weekend, but am wondering what, exactly, that means?
The one day at a time motto is a good one…but each of these days seem SO long. June 15 is far away–I hope to meet my baby girl later, rather than sooner. My thoughts are with all of you dealing with this same thing, and the aftermath of M/C.
February 20, 2008 at 12:19 pm
jen,
Now I am grateful for every pregnant day and have faith that my body and my uterus will support this pregnancy beautifully, just as my heart and mind do 
Thanks for responding to my questions, blessings on your delivery!
My fibroid removal story was a very positive one, I had 18 fibroids (accumulated and grown over 7 years), they never degenerated then or caused me pain, just heavy periods which led to severe anemia. They also put pressure on my tubes which made conception impossible and that finally made me consider surgery. I found a wonderful surgeon (a RE, or a fertility doctor) and he removed them all. I was in great shape before the surgery so I actually spent just one night in the hospital and enjoyed a wonderful and quick recovery. On the other hand my tubes have not opened at the two month checkup (by hsg) and I developed an adhesion which was not a happy news. That was removed hysteroscopically and during that procedure I found out I was already growing new fibroids (three months post op!)
I was getting psychologically ready for in vitro when the miracle of getting pregnant happened ( 5 months post op) naturally
February 25, 2008 at 11:12 am
Wow! I’m amazed and grateful for all the stories I have just read. I am 31 and am 15 weeks into my 3rd pregnancy. 8 months ago I was diagnosed with fibroids and cysts on both my ovaries after experiencing extreme pain on and off in the pelvic area for a year and a half. I was advised at that time that the fibroids were not large enough to remove. In December I discovered (to my immense surprise and joy) that I was pregnant. I continue to have pain in my pelvic area (left side is worse) and of course the lovely back pain that comes with it as well. The baby is growing but so are my fibroids. Don’t know specific size at this point. I’m so tired of going to the Dr’s office and having them tell me its not a big deal. I don’t see them dealing with the pain that can put me in bed for anywhere from 3-5 days at a time. Tylenol does nothing for my pain. I also suffer from Rhematoid arthritis so the pain is double as everything else hurts as well. Its nice to know I’m not alone and more importantly that I’m not losing my mind!
February 25, 2008 at 9:41 pm
April
All our family and friends who know my husband and my story tell us the same thing about our miracle, it brought tears to see it in print and is a beautiful reminder; THANK YOU.
I had my OB appt last week and I went full of questions expecting to be a more informed patient. so I asked: Could I have a placental tear? ‘Not likely due to the bleeding stopping so soon’. Placenta previa? ‘Too soon to accurately diagnose’. Are my fibroids in my uterus and how close to baby? ‘Can’t really tell from the ultrasound’. How many fibroids do I have, ‘We wont know for sure until we open up the uterus.’. I wanted to cry and shake him at the same time. How has everyone been diagnosed so well? I’ve only had ultrasounds with a vaginal u/s about 2 years ago. He does ask about the pain and cramping and tells me about the degeneration signs to call in. My cervix was closed and the blood at that time was old. My cramps are still present and I think they are from my fibroid; they are speratic and feel “hot”?. I feel the pain all over my abdomen for a few seconds but are still very tolerable. I’m still trying to be optimistic but today I found out I should not drink diet drinks; that’s all I drink…UGH!
My OB mentioned cerclage at the beginning of my pregnancy and said we would discuss that later if he felt it was necessary. I see him next week and can’t wait for the ANSWER to that question. Did the specialist mention anything else about when this would be contraindicated?
I do intend to get some answers next week and yes I’m considering seeing a high risk MD.
Keeping optimistic…
February 26, 2008 at 12:51 am
nancy,
and b/c there is really nothing one can do for them, other than pain management. And true, the ultrasound may not show all fibroids too. You may get better answers at your 20 week ultrasound, just let them know what you would like to find out. Good luck!!!
If I remember correctly and you are about 16 weeks along now and so you will be having your 20 week ultrasound soon. I had an ultrasound in week 7, 10 and 12, all ultrasounds showed fibroids ( I could see them too ) and they actually measured them in week 12. Best to probably ask the sonographer (technician) who will be doing your 20 week ultrasound during the actual ultrasound. They can even show you things on the monitor if you ask them. Your ob most of the time won’t even have the ultrasound film/ photos unless there are some concerns that need his attention. I am assuming you are in a practice where ob does not perform the ultrasound himself (that’s my case, and I hear it is common) My feeling is the doctors are not so concerned about the fibroids until they actually cause serious problems. That is probably b/c they don’t always end up causing problems, which is great news for us
I am having level 2 week 20 ultrasound next week, can’t wait, and of course I am nervous too. I am feeling “things” in my belly, but it is not really pain, just strange sensations. So far so good
And I too am grateful for this site, where we know that fibroids are, in fact, big deal. One of my friends says that everybody worries about something during pregnancy, and while this may be right, it is definitely not helpful in dealing with the situation. Reading how other women are coping is, though
Best to all!
February 27, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Jo:
There is really nothing one can do. I had these fibroids for 6 years now, and 2 are growing with the baby. I opted not to remove them because they just come back, and judging from the position, and the result, it was very easy for me to get pregnant naturally. I am now approaching 14 weeks and still no real problems. I am lucky in that not only am I a former RE, but my practitioner does the u/s himself and we do it every 2 weeks to monitor things. The baby still has plenty of room and it unaffected thus far. I am hoping the demand for blood supply by the baby will outweigh that of the fibroids and they will eventually shrink. Cutting off the blood supply is really the only way they go away, and unfortunately, during pregnancy, we have all of the makings to feed these damned things and they tend to grow to a point.
Degeneration is not an inevitability. Sometimes it happens and sometimes not. Don’t anticipate it, but contact your doc at the first sign of the extreme pain that may be associated with it. Using heavy pain meds like Morphine or Dilaudid will not harm the baby. In fact getting the pain under control will prevent you from having contractions which is good for the baby.
Best of luck to you all. So far so good with me. I have 4 small ones and 2 large ones 9 cm and 13 cm. We shall see.
February 29, 2008 at 12:16 am
lynnie,
Thanks for writing. You wrote that your baby still has plenty of room in your uterus, and that same comment was made by a sonographer during my 12th week u/s as well. Do you know if the baby can run out of room on account of the growing fibroids? I was thinking that the uterus would just be getting larger to accomodate both the fibroids and the baby, but I thought you would surely know, as a former RE. As for my pregnancy I am trying to stay very optimistic about the situation, I am visualizing myself going through the whole 40 weeks without any major problems and pain, I believe it is possible. I will start worrying when the pain starts, if it starts (and I sure hope it won’t) Blessings!
February 29, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I think it is a very common worry that the baby will run out of room if you are pregnant with fibroids! I am now 37weeks with two main large fibroids each with largest dimensions of about 11cm and I haven’t ran out of room yet! My uterus size has measured about 3-4weeks bigger than a non-fibroid pregnancy throughout. The uterus will just push your other organs out the way as it would do in a twin/triplet/etc pregnancy. Depending on the position of your fibroids this can mean different symptons, eg if at the back you might get more constipation, if at the top more heartburn from stomach compression. I have found the fibroid positions have appeared to move around quite a bit due to the stretching of the uterus. In the latter stage of pregnancy the lower section of the uterus expands much more so if you have fibroids there they can seem to shift around.
Baby movements can be masked by fibroids, particularly if they are near the front. Later on as the baby gets less space due to its own growth, movements are naturally felt to a lesser degree – this is normal but can still be worrying.
March 2, 2008 at 5:33 am
Is there anyone who got pregnant with very large fibroids and managed to give birth to a healthy baby?
I am 35 years old had fibroids for some years now and in my last exam one of them measured 12cm!!! doctors said it might cause me problems with the kidney. I also have 3 more 6cm, 3 cm, and 4cm, none of which affects the endometrium. I had scheduled an abdominal myomectomy for Wednesday 5 March 2007 and I just found out I’m pregnant!!! Didn’t see that coming as we had unprotected sex for more than a year with no success and I didn’t even count the days this time.
Haven’t seen my doctor yet, but I’m so confused. My biggest fear is for the kidney and for delivering a preterm baby with all the problems this might cause.
I know it’s too too soon and I might lose the baby any time but I could use any support. My husband is too afraid for my health and doctors are too conservative in here. I’m from Greece by the way.
March 2, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Hi, I started reading your posts last weekend as I had the worst pains of the degeneration then. Unfortunately, I went into labor a few days later and had my baby boy at 17 weeks. The dr won’t concede that the fibroid degeneration had anything to do with it.
Best of luck to those who are still working their way (painfully) through their pregnancies.
Terri
March 3, 2008 at 5:11 am
Jo, Alikisti (and everybody else):
It sounds like you are both need to hear a success story, so here is mine. I did not know that I had a fibroid when I got pregnant and it rapidly grew to 13cm. My baby had plenty of space, though I got tired of everybody asking me if I was having twins because I was so big! I think that the uterus can accomodate both “inhabitants”. My OB was, of course, required to give me all the “worst case scenario” information and we just took the pregnancy one week at a time – each week was like a victory to be celebrated. I did, however, end up with pre-term labor contractions and strict bed rest from 33 weeks, after being hospitalized for 4 days to bring the contractions under control. We made it through to full-term (37 weeks), with the bed rest and meds. My beautiful daughter (now 3.5 years) was born very healthy and within the normal (but low end) of the birth weight range (6lb 3oz).
I will be honest, though. It was definitely a very stressful experience (though we shared the information with only a few people so we kept that stress mostly to ourselves), as I always feared the worst and bed rest absolutely sucked. No rest at all, with home monitoring 3-4 times per day, I was always getting ready to monitor or waiting for the results, which were often followed by phone calls to my OB’s office for advice on re-monitoring, adjusting meds, etc. I don’t mean to scare anybody on this site, as goodness knows how stressful the experience is, but I did not know anybody who had been through it (did not find this site until after my AM last year) so had nobody that could really understand what I was going through. Part of me felt robbed of the “glowing feeling” of pregnancy as I was too nervous to really enjoy it.
Stay strong and stay informed! Good luck to all who are pregnant – may you all give brith to beautiful babies!
March 3, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I have two fibriods and had lots of complications. I will be getting a hysterectomy next month. I have gained so much weight in the last six months and wanted to know about how much these fibrods weigh. They measure 8.3 X 7.1 X 5.2 cm and the second one is smaller at 3.1 X 2.4
Lastly a cyst that measures 3.3 X 3.2 cm
Any ideas or approximately?
March 5, 2008 at 11:35 am
Hello to everyone,
I haven’t logged on since the end of January. Since then I had a very scary episode with lots of pain where my husband and I thought I was in labor. The doctor checked to be sure my membranes hadn’t ruptured and that I wasn’t dilated. While examining me she felt the contraction and assured me it wasn’t the type for labor. It is hard to deal with a strict doctor at times the argument of why I hadn’t take the Tylenol with codeine she had previously prescribed for bad pain was a huge issue once they saw that it was just fibroid pain. Needless to say I felt like crying she questioned my husband and I if we trusted her and gave us the option of leaving the practice if we didn’t. Which of course was not true, but I also was not anxious to take a narcotic before that painful day. Of course that afternoon I did and finally slept for the first time in 2 days. A few days later I felt much better and went back to just Tylenol. I am 28 ½ weeks and still going strong. The pain is a lot less lately of which I am very grateful. I even was put on modified bed rest so that I can leave the house for 1-2 hours a day if I feel like it. We are praying to make it to the end, although I would like to be able to deliver at 36 or 37 weeks. The size of the fibroids have people who see me questioning if I am having twins. I measure 4-5 weeks further along then I really am. On the good days it’s really good, I even am having a baby shower next week and my husband and I went to a comfort/relaxation class. –Granted that proved to be a little to much for me and I was in bed for 2 days after non-stop but, we are being cautious and it was nice to feel normal again. Stay encouraged moms to be. I hope all of us make it the whole way.
March 10, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Hi,
It’s been really an immense relief to find this blog and know that the situation I’m in isn’t completely unusual. It also helps to know that I’m not being a baby about the pain. I want to share my story so that it might help someone or maybe someone can give me some insight about my own predicament.
I’m 33yo and have had a single slow-growing fibroid for about 7 years. Before I got pregnant it was 12 cm and totally asymptomatic. I had differing opinions from doctors about whether to remove it before getting pregnant. I didn’t want to risk surgery, and since the fibroid was at the top of the uterus, I was told it wouldn’t get in the way of delivery,etc.
Well, my husband I got pregnant in Dec. ‘07 and my fibroid instantly started to grow at a rapid pace. I’d had it biopsied so I knew it wasn’t cancer. But now I’m at 15 weeks and I look like I’m 7 or 8 months pregnant. My fibroid is now 20cm or so (they’re having a hard time measuring it by ultrasound because of the size). It’s pedunculated.
At about 11 weeks I had increasing pelvic pain that occurred in waves and pain and tenderness directly at the site of my fibroid. It was too tender to be touched with out pain. I went to the ER and of course had to have sonograms done which hurt like hell. They gave me demerol and indomethicin and I stayed overnight.
My fibroid continued to hurt for the next 2 wks. I was hunched over and shuffling to work like an old woman. The pain has finally eased up but now the issue is whether I can make it to term or somewhere near enough that the baby can be born with a low-ish risk of mental retardation, etc. Anyone out there dealing with a fibroid this large? Getting any good news? I haven’t so far… This is my first pregnancy and I could really use some honest, good news.
March 12, 2008 at 12:42 am
Hi DK – there is no purely good news but I would say try to remember that some women manage to carry and deliver up to five (or more?!) babies in one uterus so space and competing blood supply is not always a barrier to a successful pregnancy, as well as women who do not know they have massive fibroids while they are pregnant. My fibroids are not that large individually but together they are larger & I am 2 weeks from full term (yet I still won’t rest easy until it’s all over hopefully safely). One is near the top which grew a bit at first but by now has actually shrank, so this is a possibility for yours. Until then it will do a good job of pushing your other organs out the way. You may have to put up with looking *really* huge! It sounds like you know what’s what with the fibroid situation so carry on & time will tell. Do keep in mind that there is nothing you can do and it’s not your fault etc as it’s all too easy to get overwhelmed and end up feeling pretty rotten. Maybe you could try to reduce working hours so you can get more rest as that is always a good thing for general health. You’re past the 3mth stage so the baby itself must be well established which can only be a good thing. In my experience it is a sort of relief when you get to the stage where it could be delivered in a “viable” state but also it is full of anxiety too as you then think of all the stress associated with finding out whether it would be disadvantaged…Until there is a babe in arms the worry doesn’t stop, & then of course new worries come!
March 13, 2008 at 10:23 am
I’m in in Week 18 of my pregnancy. Last week I experienced that same pain that several of the women are describing. It hurts so much to walk get out of bed or off the couch. I have a Pedunculated Fibroid on the left side.
http://www.obfocus.com/high-risk/Fibroids/fibroids.htm
When I went to my Dr about the pain they did a sonogram and the Fibroid is 10cm in diameter. He prescribed me a low dosage of vicodin. The pain was gone in about 7 days. However, even though the pain is gone I’m now having a very difficult time sleeping on the left side. Since the fibroid is on a stalk I can feel it when I lay down on that said and I feel a terrible pain. The catch is sleeping on the Right side I also feel the weight of the fibroid pressing down in my stomach and abdomen area. The unfortunate part of all of this is that I’ve read you should no longer sleep on your back after 4 mos. and it’s better to sleep on the left side for circulation. Needless to say I don’t get very much sleep. This morning I decided to locate a site to see if anyone else has any of these and that’s how I located this blog. I hope I find some type of sleep relief.
March 13, 2008 at 10:57 am
nic, thanks so much for your response. And congratulations on being so far along! I’m guessing you’re pretty huge by now… how are you managing that? Do you work, have you been able to keep working? Also when your fibroid shrank was there a lot of degeneration pain with it, did it cause any kind of a crisis?
FirstTimer, my fibroid is in the same place and I know how frustrating it can be to find a comfortable position. We have a daybed in our living room and for about a week I would sleep on that, wedged into a corner. I’d be semi-reclined with pillows around me and my arms on pillows. That worked for a while. then someone gave me on of those super long pregnancy pillows (mine’s a Snoogle).
I’ve managed to sleep on the left side with the Snoogle and 2 flat-ish pillows under my head. The pillows lift my upper body enough so that the fibroid isn’t pressing right into the bed. I turn the Snoogle so it goes under my head and down my back, and I rest my back it. So it’s like I’m turned three quarters toward my back … if that makes sense. Hope that helps!
March 13, 2008 at 9:15 pm
FirstTimer,
As for sleeping I am also getting a bit uncomfortable (21 week), I tried a pregnancy pillow but that was terrible. I am just using an extra pillow to prop up my belly a little and it’s ok for now. I also read it’s best to sleep on your left side, that way the pregnant belly is not compressing your vena cava. Hope you can get some good rest, best!
Is your pedunculated fibroid outside of the uterus or inside? I was just wondering since you mentioned you can feel it. I have a few but I don’t feel them when touching the uterus. I just have some round ligament pain sporadically, hopr my fibroids won’t act up
March 14, 2008 at 11:11 am
DK,
Thanks for the tips and I hope to be sleeping more comfortabely soon. I did order the pillow.
Jo,
!!! I slept propped up on my left side last night so that helped.
Yes my fibroid is outside of the uterus and that is something I don’t wish on anyone…
Good luck ladies with your pregnancies…..
March 16, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Hi DK (and everyone else),
My husband found this site for me a few nights ago when I was pretty much in tears over the pain and lack of sleep. We’re on Day 11 of the pain right now (this is my second round of pain, I was hospitalized for the first round because we had no idea what was going on. Even the doctors thought it was my appendix, they kept me for four days.)
I’m 37, this is my first pregnancy, and I have about 4 fibroids (at last count.) One is intramural and the others are pedunculated on the outside. Three of them are small and not giving me any problems, and my husband and I call the other one “The Twin.” Before I was pregnant, the twin was 4X6 cm, by 7 weeks it was 14X10 cm. When I was hospitalized a month (at 14 weeks) it was 18X14cm. I’m going for another appointment/ultrasound in two weeks….I’m curious to see what it’s at now. (It has very obviously grown….I’m 18 weeks and 4 days pregnant and I’m the same size as the 32 week woman on the growth chart in one of our books.)
My doctor gave us our first goal of getting to 28 weeks…at that time they’d give me steroids to help the baby’s lungs along in case of premature delivery. And if we make it as far as 36 weeks, she will do a C-section.
The Twin is also in the WONDERFUL process of degeneration. I’m usually pretty good with pain, but this has knocked me on my butt. I’m lucky in that I’m not working right now (my husband and I are living out of the country, and my visa doesn’t allow me to work) so I can be a slug and get a lot of rest, but it doesn’t seem to help. (The downside of living out of the country–aside from not having any family or friends here–is that we’re in a developing country and the doctors and facilities here aren’t very good. My doctor–who is supposed to be one of the best–is in her 50’s and has never done a surgery that involved a fibroid. She WATCHED a surgery when she was a resident thirty years ago, but that one was inside the uterus and they didn’t even try to save the pregnancy or do a “watch and wait”. (The Twin is one of my pedunculated fibroids…it’s resting on the top of my uterus.)
Anyway, I just want to thank all of you for being here and sharing your experiences. My husband and I have been reading all of the posts, and while it REALLY SUCKS that we’re all in this predicament, it’s such a relief to know that I’m not the only one, and that I’m not imagining this pain (or just being a wussy!)
March 18, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Hi DK & all,
I am lucky in that I gave up work when I was only 5 weeks pregnant which was pre-planned for other reasons. I had already had bleeding problems by that stage which continued up until about 16weeks & I don’t know how I would have managed work as well as those problems, it would have been so stressful. I have taken a lot of rest – probably too much really! I experienced degeneration pain at about 26 weeks which was horrendous but am grateful it hasn’t recurred. I don’t mind being huge as long as everything is going ok. There is uncertainty about how I will deliver which I am quite anxious about, but it will be over one way or the other any day now!
March 19, 2008 at 9:03 am
I am so glad to have found this site. In reading the past posts, I feel like I am reading about myself. I am 20 weeks along in my first pregnancy and have 3 fibroids. I was to have a myectomy in January, but found out I was pregnant in December. The biggest was measured @ 13 cm during my last u/s. That one started to degenerate about a month ago, causing me SEVERE pain. The dr. expects it to continue in stages, b/c of its size. This past week, I again had a tremendous amout of pain, but it seems to be radiating from one of the others that now is pushing on my belly button. I can actually feel it on the outside, when I touch my belly. Feels like a hard plum!
Throughout most of my pregnancy so far, with the exception of a few solid weeks of pain. I have felt great, and the baby seems to be fine. But sometimes, I feel like I am alone in this, as I read all the other sites for pregnant women to chat with eachother. I feel like I am being robbed sometimes, of that “pregnant glow”. That I have to take things day by day, week by week. This site is a comfort to me, knowing that I am not completely alone, and that you all do understand my pain.
March 25, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Hi Sara,
Try to stay as optimistic as you can manage, I think all pregnant women take it week by week anyway, there’s always something to worry about
I also have fibroids, but I am trying hard not to focus on them, I am viewing my pregnancy as a means to an end, so to say, which is a healthy and hopefully full term baby girl. You are definitely not alone, good luck!
March 27, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hello,
I’m new to this site but wanted to get some feedback opinions or something. Three weeks ago I miscarried my son at 21 weeks. My doctors told me that it was due to degenerative fibroids. They said that the fibroid was growing with the baby and had begun dying off because of the lack of blood flow and the dead tissue from the fibroid caused an infection in my placenta which caused my placenta to abrupt.
Obviously since this is so soon for me I’ve spent the past 3 weeks in shock and grieving. But I have spent time researching and haven’t been able to find anything at all to correlate with what my doctors told me.
I didn’t have any problems with pain throughout my pregnancy except for week 20. I knew that I had fibroids but the only thing that my doctors told me that could happen was that the fibroids could possibly grow with the baby and cause pain. They did tell me that they could lose their blood supply and degenerate and cause pain but they never said anything about the possibility of a degenerative fibroid causing a stillbirth.
Towards the last week (week 20) of my pregnancy I was in so much pain that I went to the doctor twice (on a Wednesday and two days later on Friday) and to the emergency room twice (Wednesday and Friday). Both times I was told that it was just pain from the fibroids and to get used to it and to just go home and take 2 tylenol and get some rest. This happened 2 times in one week and the last time (Friday) the hospital sent me home in tears from the pain telling me to take some tylenol and rest I went home and gave birth to my son less than one hour later.
I asked my doctor if there was any test that could be done to prove that it was a degenerative fibroid that caused my placenta to abrupt and I was told no… there are no test that can be done. I find this really hard to believe.
I just want to find out what happened so that I can prevent it from happening again if I do get pregnant again. The more I think about it the more leary I get and the more unsure I am of my doctors explanation. I’ve gone to this group of doctors for years and they’ve operated on me before and I felt comfortable with them but now I just don’t know.
They told me that I have to have a myomectomy to remove the fibroids before trying to get pregnant again and that having a myomectomy could actually reduce my chances of being able to get pregnant again due to scar tissue or damage to the fallopian tubes that may occur (my fibroids are on top of my uterus and attached to my fallopian tubes). I’m worried about allowing them to perform surgery on me to remove the fibroids without knowing for sure that’s what caused me to lose my baby boy.
I do have an appointment scheduled for a second opinion with a new doctor but I’m just petrified. I don’t feel like I can trust any doctors now. How can a degenerative fibroid die and cause so much pain and cause an infection and cause my placenta to abrupt all in just one week without my doctors noticing anything and why was there such neglect to send me home just 1 hour before I gave birth to my son?
I’m worried about trusting my old group of doctors explanation (3 doctors in the group conferenced called my case and collectively came up with this explanation). But I’m worried about going to someone new who hasn’t known me for years and who only knows me by my file. I really don’t know what to do.
Any advice would help.
March 27, 2008 at 2:28 pm
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March 27, 2008 at 5:26 pm
KB,
I am so sorry, what happened to you is my worst fear. In my dealing with fibroids, and the doctors, I came to realize the doctors really don’t know that much about what fibroids are capable of. Most pregnancies are not threatened by slightly increasing fibroids so the doctors seem not to dwell on them too much. It is strange that the hospital let you go home when you were in pain, just from reading this site from top to bottom it seems women are usually given some pain medications in the hospital and only then they go home. I read that it is possible to see if your fibroid was degenerating on the ultrasound (it is visible as darker spots), and that it is especially important to control the fibroid pain as either the pain or some chemicals the degenerating fibroid produces during that process can trigger contractions of uterus and so preterm labor.
It is understandable that you will look for answers and if you don’t feel like your doctors answers satisfy you you should look further, for a second opinion or another doctor altogether. You will need a trustworthy doctor when you get pregnant again.
I had fibroids for a while and could not get pregnant. I finally decided to have myomectomy which was performed by a skilled and wonderful fertility specialist surgeon. My tubes were closed b/c of fibroid pressure pre surgery and they opened a few months after, I got pregnant 5.5 months post surgery. Unfortunately new fibroids returned and I am now 23 weeks pregnant and have fibroids as well. I do not regret removing the fibroids, in my case it was the only option to have a chance to get pregnant. But if your fibroids are on top of your uterus and they have to make a cut through all layers of uterine wall (it depends on the position of fibroids and doesn’t have to happen) you will need a c section to deliver, otherwise your uterus may rupture with contractions. Because of uterine surgery you will be more at risk for placenta previa, I got that one, but it is not causing me grief now, just have to be very, very careful.
It probably is best to find a fertility specialist, they are especially trained to deal with your uterine problems with the goal of saving the uterus for a successful future pregnancy, maybe they also could answer your questions better than your doctor.
Did your doctor tell you to go to the hospital or did you go on your own? Also, do you know how large your fibroid was, from a previous ultrasound?
I sincerely hope you can heal well inside and am sending the warmest blessings your way, thanks for sharing and hope you can find answers you are looking for.
March 27, 2008 at 5:34 pm
KB,
One more thing, both my surgeon and my current ob are doctors I didn’t know before, and I have been very happy with both. It’s more a feeling that we are on the same page and I feel they understand my concerns etc. If your gut feeling is you are doubting your current doctor’s expertise or how he addressed your concerns I would not hesitate to look somewhere else.
March 29, 2008 at 8:29 am
Hello,
I have had severe back and pelvic pain since the start of my pregnancy. At 4mths I was quite ill so i had an ultrasound done to see if bubs was ok. In this ultrasound they discovered a fibroid,which was about 5cm’s in the uterus.
I was told it was nothing to worry about. I am now 28wks pregnant and have had to stop working because the lower back and pelvic pain is so bad, i find it really painful just to stand and walk. I went back to the docs and he said “the fibroid is located up the back of the uterus and I don’t know maybe as the babies growing its pushing the fibroid into the nerves in my back”.
This is all he has said about it and it is really upseting because the pain is so bad and he has pretty much said get over it it’s nothing to worry about It probably wont cause any problems. Should I be worried what should I do? the later my pregnancy the worse its getting. Will the pain go away.
March 31, 2008 at 3:25 am
Hi all,
This is a great site. I’m 28w3d and have two fibroids that have been giving me trouble since first trimester. Both on the outside, one in front and a big one in back (of the uterus). I’ve had many trips to ER and L&D, as well as being what my ob calls a “frequent flyer” to her office.
Definite pain issues (thankfully only one that has merited a trip to the hospital for pain meds) and have been given that wonderful term “irritable uterus” to contend with.
My question is this: anyone out there with degenerating fibroids that are making it difficult/impossible to distinguish between fibfroid spasmss and contractions? I get frequent tightening and hardening in the abdominal area (not painful, like BH). Sometimes it just feels like the fibroid in front is hardening. I always mention them to my ob, and she checks the cervix (vag u/s) – so far, long and closed.
It’s so frustrating, I have no idea if I should ride out the tightening or if it merits a trip to the hospital. On top of it, I’ve been contending with spotting (brown, haven’t seen anything red since early second tri) throughout this pg. Again, they keep checking, do swabs and urine, and all is fine so far. The spotting appears to be caused by a fibroid blocking the cervical canal, looks like it touches the cervix.
Any moral support or advice appreciated!
April 1, 2008 at 4:32 am
Just an update. The last time I posted here was last October. I’m 38 wks and 3days now and ill be having c-section tomorrow. I have 3 big fibrois and episodes of bleeding during the first trimester. I did’nt experience any fibroid pain the rest of pregnancy but I have terrible constipation. My doctor said my baby girl is very healthy and didnt run out of space. I just have to undergo c-section because one of my fibroid is partially blocking my cervix.
Hang in there!!! Keep on praying and entrust everything according to His will.
April 1, 2008 at 7:18 pm
KB, I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s completely understandable how you feel like you were brushed aside by professionals you were expected to trust and how you’re finding it hard to give them credibility again overall.
With that said, you are now armed with more knowledge than ever about your fibroids. You can now ask more pointed questions and really drill the medical staffers on what they do and don’t know.
I made a trip to the ER last night because I was in excruciating pain. I’m at 17 weeks now, and I never felt this kind of pain before. Was it gas? Round ligament pain? Appendix? After the bloodwork, ultrasound, poking and prodding, I was told I have a urinary tract infection and “multiple fibroids.” I didn’t get much else from the ER doc. While I was treated kindly and offered morphine for the pain, I felt I was lacking in information.
So, when I got home at 2 AM this morning, I jumped on the internet and did my research. I felt infinitely better when I went to the ER this morning for a follow up on some bloodwork. The doc in charge my second time around muttered something about having the fibroids removed because they’re going to get bigger. I took it with a grain of salt and I’m planning on handing my results to my regular OB and see what he says, because what I’ve found in my research is that fibroids are usually removed as a last resort. This is the kind of stuff you’ll run into with the various experts… various opinions!
So, my advice to you is: Don’t let your lousy experience make you a distrusting patient, use the experience to make you a well-informed one and help you make well-informed decisions. I hope this helps.
April 1, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Hello all,
Just wanted to give you and update and again ask your opinions. Per my prior post I had a stillbirth at 21 wks and was told that it was caused by degenerative fibroids which in turned caused a placenta abruption. I went for a second opinion today with a completely new OB. The doctor told my husband and I that no pregnancy is the same and that I have just as much luck having a successful pregnancy the next time around with or without the fibroids.
He gave me the pro’s and con’s of ttc again with the fibroids and the pro’s and con’s of ttc again after a myomectomy. He said that either way there are risk and it’s a decision that my husband and I have to make. He explained that next time around the fibroids could shrink, stay the same or grow again with the pregnancy. No two pregnancies are the same. The only way to know is try ttc again and see what happens. He then explained that if we chose to have the fibroids removed prior to ttc again then there’s the risk of scar tissue, damage to my fallopian tubes (due to the location of the fibroids), uterine rupture, sever bleeding resulting in a hysterectomy and not to mention risk of surgery such as anesthesia.
I left his office with more questions than I started off with. I’m totally confused. I just knew that I would leave his office with an answer… a strong suggestion at least? We asked several times… “what do you suggest?” The answer was always the same… that it was our decision and that he could not guarantee a successful pregnancy either way and that he could not advise me either way.
My husband and I are terribly confused. If we try again with the fibroids and we lose another baby then we’ll question our decision not to have surgery and have to go through this grief again. If we have the surgery and something happens to jeapordize my fertility then I’ll regret the surgery. Also the dr. told us that there’s no way to prove 100% that it was the fibroids that caused the stillbirth. He said that with pregnancy problems drs have to go through the process of elimination and with fibroids especially they really just have to guess at what happened.
What do you ladies think of my second opinion? I’m feeling a bit hopeless and confused…
Thanks,
April 1, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Hi, KB-
This is a lot to absorb in such a short time, isn’t it? I mean, it’s been only a month and here you are already grappling with the idea of ttc again with that recent loss still fresh in your mind.
Your second OB sounds like he was just putting out all the options for you by giving you all the info. Very good stuff but overwhelming, too. It sure must feel like it would be so much easier if you let someone else decide. But that’s not his job. Sounds like you might be falling into that hole again of just following others’ advice without putting your own foot down.
A few questions for you to ponder and ask the OB sometime: Where are the fibroids located? How big are they? How much have they shrunk (if at all) since your loss? Do they warp the shape of your uterus/fallopian tubes to the point they’d interfere with your fertility? And how much could they interfere? How much scar tissue are we talking about and where? What are your feelings on having a C-section to prevent rupturing if you had them removed prior to getting pregnant? Tell him to forget about insurance limitations that might affect his judgment, what kind of procedures would he recommend in order to gather the best information for you to make a decision?
And really, what’s the rush? Why not give yourself a little time to sort the loss out in your head and heart first while monitoring your fibroids in the meantime? Then you can make a more sound decision when you’re able to research some more about this condition and see how these buggers are behaving… hopefully shrinking. I know you want that child in your arms so much, but you’ve waited this long, a little bit more time isn’t going to hurt. Rushing things might hurt a lot.
April 2, 2008 at 9:11 am
angel,
Hope you have a great c section experience today, blessings!!!
Thanks for the update, it is music to my ears, I needed a no fibroid pain at 38 weeks story
April 2, 2008 at 9:25 am
KB,
I agree with Kat, her advice is great. And it needs to be your decision very much, the doctor will just give you all the options, like he did. Ultimately, you and your husband have to be at peace with the path you will be taking, whenever you are ready. It is hard to make decisions when you are still so grief stricken…
The truth is doctors really don’t know for sure how fibroids will behave during pregnancy, or what exactly will happen to your uterus post surgery. But the law of averages is on your side, most women with fibroids have pregnancies without complications.
April 2, 2008 at 11:45 am
Thanks Jo & Kat for your replies! It really does help to talk about it with women who’ve gone through similar issues. My mother had a hysterectomy at age 31 (5 years after having me) due to several fibroids and endometriosis that caused constant bleeding and pain. My regular OBGYN has been urging me for the past 2 years that if I want a child I need to try now and not later or risk the same outcome as my mom. Although I’m only 32 I have several health issues to consider… (several benign tumors, abnormal paps, blocked fallopian tubes… etc).
So, my regular dr wanted to be upfront with me and let me know that if having a child is serious to me then I need to be aware of the possibilities and that genes and time are not on my side. So, that’s one reason for the since of urgency. I know that we have no control over any of this but as humans we always worry. I worry that if I don’t decide soon that another health issue will come up that will make it even harder than it already is.
Keep me in your thoughts and I will do the same for you!
April 3, 2008 at 2:25 am
Hi, KB-
Ahhhhhh, I understand your predicament a lot more now. You’re caught between a rock and a hard place, definitely. When did all of your issues start? You must be so frustrated at having to find the right hubby and then finding the right time emotionally and financially to have a baby. I am kicking myself in some ways for not having a second child sooner, but my first marriage didn’t work out so I had to put everything on hold to get my life back together. It was horrible. I had really no support from him, and no support network of friends because for years I spent all of my energy on him. My first is 10 years old now, it was so much easier having her at 28. Having my daughter back then was easier on my body, but now it’s a different kind of pain with shuffling her back and forth between two homes. Sigh. Now I’ve got painful golf balls and a rather plump eclair that I can practically call my baby’s “twin.” But hey, my second marriage is wonderful and I’ve got a group of friends I adore. Even though I have that little pang of regret for waiting so long, I can honestly say that what I did with my life was the right thing. And I see that you’re trying to do all the right things, too.
Whatever you decide, you are doing it to the best of your ability and with the tools you have. And you do have great tools. You’ve got an involved hubby, a new OB who lays it on the table for you, modern medicine, and much more experience in this issue. When you stop and quietly look into your spirit, you will see that you are surrounded by caring people who want the best for you. That’s the kind of exercise I TRY to do in order to live in and appreciate the current moment. Try not to look back at past regrets and try not to look too far forward for fear of making “wrong” decisions. You will be supported no matter what the outcome, and this support is what really counts when all is said and done.
I hope I didn’t sound too preachy. I am often in need of being reminded of the same dang things to keep me grounded, and I will definitely have my bad days… like Monday night/Tuesday morning in the ER room wearing that ridiculous hospital gown with my bottom hanging out the back. What an image, huh?
Please keep us posted on what’s going on mentally and physically. I will definitely keep y’all posted, and I hope to do it with a sense of humor. Hugs!
April 3, 2008 at 2:33 am
Hey, Kirsten-
Keep racking up those miles! You’ll redeem them for peace of mind and a beautiful baby.
Better safe than sorry, you know?
April 4, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Kirsten, I know what you mean about the fibroid spasams. I was just telling my husband the other day that I was having a hard time telling the difference between those and contractions. They both have tightening and make my abdomen hard. Since I had three kids already, I’m going by that knowledge, and by the fact that the “tightening” isn’t happening at consistant times. But, when in doubt always call the Dr. By the way I’m 27wks, and on bedrest because of the fibroids.
April 4, 2008 at 8:57 pm
jlynae,
I am 24 weeks, I get this feeling, especially when I walk a while, that my whole belly becomes a tight, hard and a bit painful ball. I called the doc the other day, as it is my first pregnancy and I was unsure of what it was, she just said it was due to the uterus growing, not fibroid related. I’ve never heard of fibroid spasms though. Are you on bedrest because the fibroids are painful or do you have other symptoms?
April 4, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Jo, that’s the exact feeling I get all the time. my first two pregnancys I didn’t have fibroids and I never felt that hardness and tightness. So I guess if the uterus is growing then its really pushing on my fibroids, because it hurts something awful. I’m on bedrest partly because of the pain but mostly because my Dr is afraid I might go into preterm labor. My uterus is huge because of the fibroids so I look like I’m due this week even though its really only the beginning of my seventh month. Its hard. But I can tell you, my last pregnancy I had fibroids and I delivered a beautiful baby boy without any complications. I was going to have them removed this year, but then we had this unexpect pregnancy! I’m so happy I stumbled on this page. Its hard to explain to people what it feels like to be pregnant with fibroids. And most medical websites only describe things generally, its almost like they don’t quite get it.
April 5, 2008 at 9:49 am
jlynae,
I have nine fibroids, all in the lower part of my uterus, interestingly I had all my fibroids (18) removed last May, but new ones came back almost immediately. I did have a little window of opportunity, thankfully, to get pregnant
My uterus is larger too, but I don’t have any pain so I take it easy but am not on bed rest. I have to limit my walking though, since the tight feeling comes only then. I also have previa, but the doctor still thinks I can walk and be carefully active, with total pelvic rest and no lifting.
Hang in there, it must be difficult to be on bed rest but it’s for the best outcome of your pregnancy! I stocked up on things just in case I have to be on bed rest too. Good luck and blessings!
April 7, 2008 at 6:04 am
jlynae,
I’m in the same boat as you….bedrest (I’m at 21 weeks) and a huge fibroid, last week it was measured at 21X18X19, with 16X15X15 being affected by degeneration. It’s pretty agonizing. My abdomen measures at being 39 weeks pregnant. This is my first pregnancy….I’m dying to know how much bigger I can possibly get!! I have that hardening of my stomach (the fibroid area, not the uterus area) all the time, and when I eat anything it bloats so badly that I can’t breathe. The big fibroid is pedunculated and is literally sitting on top of my uterus. I have a few others, but they are very small and haven’t been giving me any problems.
Here’s to hoping we both make it to the finish line….and that these darn fibroids stop growing in the meantime!!
April 7, 2008 at 11:58 am
Quick question for anyone who has degenerating fibroids…..am I the only one who has insane pain with a bubbling feeling (almost like carbonated liquid rushing from one area to another)? The area in question is a large degeneration area (seen on ultrasound) and every few days I have debilitating pain in that area, and the best way to describe what it feels like is that bubbly sensation.
Does anyone know what I’m talking about, or am I a freak with this one?
April 8, 2008 at 8:16 pm
TKP, I’m sorry to hear how much pain your in, and that your on bedrest. I don’t know about you but its pretty boring not being able to do much. I’ve never had that bubbly sensation, hopefully someone reading this site has and will be able to relate. I don’t think it makes you a freak. Especially when it comes to fibroids. It seems like everyone has a different story. The one fibroid I have that is sitting on top of my uterus is always pushing out and it’s weird how you can see it and touch it. That freaks me out a bit, plus it really hurts. You’ll be in my thoughts, keep us posted.
April 9, 2008 at 9:50 am
Hi, I have posted previously on this board about my pregnancy and can now report I had a baby boy successfully 10 days ago despite two large fibroids giving me some hassle as I have described in my previous posts. I got away relatively lightly with bleeding and only one serious episode of degen pain but I still related to what everyone is going through here. If I can I will post later about some aspects of the birth in relation to the fibroids but mainly I just wanted to impart some good positive news.
April 13, 2008 at 4:39 am
TKP- I think I can sort of relate to a similar sensation. I don’t feel like there’s carbonation, but sometimes when I feel a larger gas bubble in my lower intestines, I can feel EVERY millimeter of its path in painful detail, especially as it brushes past my uterus. It was really bad when I had the degeneration pain a couple of weeks ago and I had to just double over onto the floor. Now I just need to stop whatever I’m doing and hunch over till the sensation passes in about twenty seconds or so. Does that sound about right?
I can’t walk the dogs like I used to because my uterus seems to tighten up a lot after only an eigth of a mile and I feel winded. I’m tempted to teach them to pull me along in a scooter. I can’t believe the difference in pregnancies between this one and my first one ten years ago. It makes me want to tell all of my thirty-something year old friends to not wait to have children in their late thirties and forties.
And then the ultrasound I had pn Wednesday was both exciting and disheartening. The first things the doc measured were the fibroids before he got to my baby. I have to go back every four weeks to check on “everyone’s” growth. I asked him if degenerating fibroids shrank and he told me “not necessarily.” Nice. All that pain for seemingly nothing. Sigh. Only 4.5 months to go….
April 13, 2008 at 8:25 am
Hey Kat,
It sounds like we’re just about at the same stage….my due date is 8/14, so I’m still in it for a pretty long haul too. My degeneration pain has been almost daily since 14 weeks (I’m at 22 weeks now) but at my ultrasound last week my fibroid had grown again. (I have more than one, but only one of them is going haywire. It’s 21 X 18 X 19 cm, with 16 X 15 X 14 affected by degeneration. I look like a small planet at this point.)
My carbonation bubbles and your larger gas bubble seem to cause about the same reaction….I can’t move when it happens. And the leaning forward thing actually helps me too. If my husband is in the room, I’ll try to manage to choke out the word “bubbles” (because sometimes the pain catches me that I can’t say much else) and he’ll get in front of me and I’ll lean on him until it passes. (My husband is a saint, by the way. I’m completely convinced that he has figured out a way to suck half of the pain out of me and into him when I lean on him, I actually get that much relief just by having the guy hold onto me. And I’m a freakishly independent “I can handle it by myself” person…this is an alien experience for me.)
We did find out at our ultrasound last week that we’re having a boy, and they gave us one of those 3D scans…..I can see my son’s face and count his fingers. I cried like a baby when I saw that. Puts everything in perspective. I’m also on an “every four weeks” ultrasound schedule for fibroid measurement and to make sure that the baby isn’t being growth restricted because of the fibroid. So far, so good on that count. He has consistently measured a week ahead of his gestational age, and everything looks good.
When are you due?
April 13, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Hi TKP-
We’re having a boy, too! I’m due 9/6, a little bit after you. I’m also running a little bit ahead of schedule, so I feel pretty good about that. Your hubby needs to teach my hubby some of his neat tricks, lol. When I was crumpled up on the kitchen floor my hubby seemed to be at a loss. He’d lean over, maybe pat my back and say, “You need anything?” But I can’t fault him, really, he’s been doing just about everything else in the house so he’s always tired.
I’m wondering if you, or anyone else reading this thread, have any particular weird food cravings? I haven’t eaten beef in at least four or five years and then when I got pregnant, the only thing I was able to stomach sometimes during the morning sickness was a Big Mac. People at work took pictures of me with their camera phones to document the occasion. I had cravings for chili cheese dogs, too. I read on a holistic food web site that beef might contribute to fibroid growth. And since I wasn’t used to beef, maybe my body went whacky? But now that I’m back on a more normal diet (no beef and not too much chicken) I’m hoping the fibroids will not grow any more. I don’t know, it’s a long shot. I’ll have to research it more. I understand there’s a thread on this site having to do with alternative treatments. Maybe I can find something about diet. At this point, I’ll do just about anything to stack the odds in my favor!
April 15, 2008 at 4:27 am
Kat,
You and I are like war buddies……I have been very close to vegetarian for years. I’m 37 now, stopped eating meat when I was 12, had a couple of vegan years, ate meat a handful of times from 30-34 and then went to fish only. That is, UNTIL my first trimester nausea (which was horrific!) And what did I start eating then?? QUARTER POUNDERS WITH CHEESE!!! How freaking funny is that?? My husband nearly fell over dead the first time I said, “You know what I could really go for???” and mentioned a hamburger.
I’m not sure how much our diet will change our fibroid problems, though…..my fibroid started going nuts before the nausea kicked in. Plus, I had the fibroid since 2003 and it didn’t grow at all until I got pregnant, despite the fact that I eat tons of soy products which are a natural form of estrogen. (Even the “bad” ones for fibroids, stuff like veggie burgers. A few docs have told me that soy protein isolate is horrible for a lot of women because of how concentrated the estrogen is, so I should stay away from it if I have fibroids. But I ate it a few times a week for years and it never had much impact.)
My husband has had to do everything too, ever since my doctors put me on constant rest. It drives me nuts, I feel so helpless/lazy/useless. (He’s in medical school full time, so he has enough on his plate already.)
If you ever need to vent, drop me a line at surfergrl70@yahoo.com Being on this “constant rest” gives me A LOT OF TIME to be a fantastic pen pal.
April 30, 2008 at 5:29 am
Just an update….not good news…..
On 3/18 I actually went into shock and had to be admitted to the hospital for my fibroid. (23 weeks pregnant, 21X18X19 cm fibroid that grew to that crazy size during my pregnancy.) They had to do surgery, and it was a good thing that they did because the fibroid had begun to attach itself to my bowel and intestines. The baby and I made it out of surgery OK, and we thought we were out of the woods. Then on 4/22 I went into premature labor and they couldn’t stop it. Our son was born and lived for seven hours before passing away.
I really don’t have anything else to say, just wanted to give my story. I thought that it would just be a matter of my “toughing it out” with the pain for 40 weeks, but I guess my body wasn’t willing to go along with my stubborn will.
April 30, 2008 at 8:48 am
TKP,
I am so sorry. I know that doesn’t help because I’ve been there and my story is very similar except I lost my son at 21 weeks last month due to fibroids. I just wanted to say something to you to let you know that you are in my thoughts. Thank you for sharing your story… hopefully all of our stories can help someone else.
May 1, 2008 at 9:55 am
Thanks, KB….and I’m sorry that you know how I feel, because I don’t wish this on anyone. I hope both of us go on to have successful pregnancies when our hearts and our bodies are ready. I just keep telling myself that this can’t possibly happen again….it’s supposedly such a freak thing, so there’s just no way that it could happen the next time around, right?
Just an edit…..I went into the hospital on 4/18, not 3/18. Typo.
May 1, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Hello all.
This website is a complete revelation! I have not met anyone else with this problem and my ob/gyn claims I am “most unusual!” but now I know different! It makes me sad to hear that there are so many of us out there, but it’s great that this forum was created so we could share our experiences.
I am experiencing severe pain from two quite small fibroids located low down in the uterus, on the posterior wall. The pain began at exactly 18 weeks! I am now 19 weeks. Iam not happy because I know what’s coming….
I experienced the same problems in my previous pregnancy, which luckily had a very happy outcome (a healthy boy called Oscar). However it was not plain sailing and had total rest and was signed off work from 19 weeks. I was prescribed strong paracetamol and codeine (30/500) and tramadol ( a morphine-based pain killer) to take in conjunction, when experiencing spikes of pain. I found that despite the ante-natal dept at my hospital lacking in experience with this; they were very helpful despite the fact that I seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time at the ER. DON’T think you are imagining it (you aren’t), you are not being a wimp and it is not normal. I was persistant without being overly pushy and I was treated seriously; even being admitted for monitoring on 3 occasions.
I felt angry that I did not bloom in pregnancy (in fact I looked as dreadful as I felt) but I just looked on each successful passing day as a step closer to meeting my child.
I had an elective c-section( which was great, I think I’d already had my fair share of pains, so didn’t feel bad about missing out on labour!). The recovery was slow though, due to the position of the fibroids I had a classical cut (a vertical incision).
I will continue to check in on this site, to see how everyone is progressing. Best of luck and keep taking the tablets!
May 2, 2008 at 2:32 am
TKP & KB, so sorry to hear about your little ones.
It must be difficult to share and to see it in print, but it is important to hear everyone’s experiences… so thanks for sharing yours, and Best to both of you.
May 2, 2008 at 7:05 am
I am in the UK and 14wks, I like some others new of my fibroids (already before pregnant one was 9cmx8cm). I have three large fibroids, all located anterior wall two up high and one low down. Fertility not my problem, had a miscarriage last year, but am under the care of two fibroid specialists in the UK.
Unfortunately operations have just as much risk as trying to go through preganancy, so I thought why not see how far I can get. Baby very healthy but lower fibroid already impacting slightly on foetus. No major pain yet, just uncomfortable to get up and best diet I’ve ever been on, but I have been warned and advised Pethedine/Morphine will be the treatment in hospital if they degenerate.
I am obviously a high risk pregnancy as my fibroids have grown, scan this week at 14wks showed lower fibroid 9×11x10cm. Consultant very realistic and due to position of fibroids even a C-sec will have risks of following hysterectomy.
I have a very long haul and know my chances of carrying to term are very slim, but I have great doctors and advice and whatever happens I won’t give up. Don’t forget also the thousands of unwanted, unloved children out there – there is always a way to bring love and life into your own family.
May 2, 2008 at 8:59 am
TKP, did you have a myomectomy prior to conceiving this last time? I knew that I had fibroids when getting pregnant with my son but my dr. said that everything would be ok and he did not suggest that I have the fibroids removed prior to getting pregnant.
Well, after losing my son my dr. said that a myomectomy was really my only option. I was hesitant to schedule the surgery and wanted to just try again with the fibroids because like you I asked how likely is it that the exact same thing will happen again. Well, after some more thought I decided to just go ahead and schedule the surgery. I’m scheduled for June 24th. I pray that everything works out fine and that I’ll be able to conceive immediately after my recovery (I think it’s about 4 months for ttc afterwards). I just don’t want to even risk going through putting myself, my husband and any of my future babies that I carry through that again.
LC, my husband and I did consider adoption. We actually had already begun the homestudy classes prior to my getting pregnant with my son. We made it to thru all of the classes except the last 2 when I got terribly sick and found out that I was pregnant with my son. We dropped out of the classes only because I was terribly sick and because I felt guilty remaining in the class with women who couldn’t get pregnant and here I was pregnant. I felt guilty thinking that I may adopt and take an adoptive child away from someone who couldn’t get pregnant. After losing my son I regretted dropping out of the class but on the other hand after carrying my son for 21 weeks and then giving birth to him and holding him and kissing him and seeing the possibility of a combination of myself and my husband I really couldn’t even think about adoption. My friends told me to start the classes back and forget about trying to get pregnant again but adoption was really the last thing on my mind.
I became obsessed with the idea of having my own baby. I’m finally starting to come around again to adoption now that some of the grief has passed and I am trying to get my husband to consider restarting the classes so that we can at least get the homestudy out of the way. He’s still grieving and doesn’t want anything to do with adoption just yet. He says that he sees it as defeat and giving up on having a baby that’s a combination of the 2 of us.
I’m just sharing my experience. I know that we all think differently and we all have different experiences. Now that I’m not grieving as much I do want to keep the adoption idea on the table and I really want to get the homestudy out of the way just in case I’m not pregnant by the end of the year I want to be able to start the adoption process and not have to wait. But, I will have to get my husband on board and right now he’s not ready. It is hard. Believe it or not we had already even picked out a child that we wanted to adopt and called and gotten all of the information on her. We were just 2 classes away from finishing the homestudy then we found out that we were pregnant. I wanted to give someone else a chance to adopt that beautiful little girl that we had decided on. She has since been adopted so I’m happy for her.
My husband and I do not have any children. I think that if I had not carried my son so long and maybe if we had not seen him and gotten to touch him and hold him then it would be easier to just move forward with adoption again. But for me and my husband (again, I can only speak for us)… it’s just not as easy to consider that option right now… but we’re getting there! Thanks for all of you comments… it really does help to talk about it.
May 2, 2008 at 9:12 am
Quick question… have any of you ladies had fibroid pain after your pregnancies? The craziest thing happened… I was finally able to get my abdominal myomectomy scheduled yesterday and I woke up this morning in really bad pain and the pain is coming from the area where my fibroids are located. I never had fibroid pain prior to getting pregnant. I never had any symptoms at all prior to the pregnancy. My dr. found them a couple of years ago while removing an ovarian cyst but I never had problems from the fibroids til I got pregnant and thats when the pain started. Well, I haven’t had any other pain related to the fibroids after losing my son til this morning when I woke up (it’s been almost 2 months since I lost him). I’m wondering if it’s all in my head since I just scheduled the surgery yesterday. But, the pain is real so how can it just be in my head? I took 2 extra strength tylenol which seemed to help a little but I’m still in a bit of pain.
This is really crazy. I’m just wondering if anyone else experienced pain from fibroids after the pregnancy?
May 2, 2008 at 11:40 pm
TKP,
So sorry about what happened, I really have no other words, can’t even imagine how hard that must be…
KB,
I got pregnant 5.5 months after my surgery, my fibroids have come back but maybe one can get a better chance at a healthy pregnancy with them being small and new, rather than bigger with a well established blood supply. Who knows though, wish someone studied those suckers finally so we can all get some answers, and some relief from them!
I saw my doctor today, earlier than planned, since I experienced a noticeable decrease in baby’s movements and started to worry. It was good to see her moving along nicely on the ultrasound, all fine and growing beautifully. I still have the placenta previa but it looks like my largest fibroid actually got a little smaller, wow! My placenta is anterior and kind of acts like an extra bumper layer, hence the limited sensation of baby movements. 28th week and counting, so far, so good…
May 3, 2008 at 2:14 am
KB,
No, I didn’t have a myomectomy prior to becoming pregnant. I had two fibroids, but they were small and I had no symptoms so the doctors felt that they’d be OK. Only one of them went nuts. The other didn’t grow at all. The newer ultrasounds found that I actually had three of them, but that the third came around before pregnancy most likely, and it didn’t grow either. They did an ultrasound just before letting me out of the hospital last week, and they’re going to do another at my six-week checkup to see if the drop in hormones has any effect on the two small fibroids. If they don’t change, then they are less likely to “freak out” if I get pregnant again, as they didn’t the first time and they’re really small with minimal blood supplies. (The one that went nuts had a HUGE blood supply…..I lost 2 liters of blood during my surgery….luckily I have a common blood type here, and my husband and I have the same blood type as well, so he donated to me.)
This was the first time that I’ve ever been pregnant….my husband and I decided to start trying and got pregnant within 2 1/2 months. But we’ve both always said that if we couldn’t have a baby on our own, we’d definitely adopt. I’m not anti-adoption at all. I am hopeful that we’ll be able to get pregnant and have a successful pregnancy next time, though….we just hit a speed bump this time. I’m trying to stay positive that this won’t happen again…..it’s supposedly such a “freak occurence” that I can’t imagine it happening twice. But we’re going to monitor the other two little fibroids before trying to get pregnant again….especially their blood supplies. (They’re both outside of the uterus.)
May 3, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Dear LC
I too am in the UK, so perhaps our experiences with doctors might be similar. In my first pregnancy the largest of my fibroids (at the bottom and back of the womb) was 12×9x9 at 12 weeks but never grew anymore! My gynae also warned of possibility of hysterectomy, haemorrage, cord prolapse and other horrors and was clear from the outset that I would have a c-section. Now I am aware that they are obliged to give the worst case scenario. My husband and I were petrified for most of the pregnancy after the outcomes they discussed with us. However, it certainly made me sit up and take notice and seriously take care of myself. The rest aspect was the major thing for me. At 19/20 weeks with the beginnings of labour that somehow they managed to stop, I was told, “That’s it! Total rest.” I am convinced that this alone helped me to carry Oscar to term. I was miserable, frustrated, immensely unpopular at work and even had to ensure trips out in a wheelchair(!) but it was all worth it. Also just kept aiming for the next milestone, initially – Can I get to 28 weeks? Then 32? then 36? Eventually made it to 39 which surprised everyone! I was determined that my son would be a September baby (ever the teacher, didn’t want him to be the youngest in the year!) As regards pain relief, I was given tramadol (which is morphine based) when admitted to hospital. It was wonderful, the only thing that gave me relief and if given sparingly will not have a massive impact on the baby ( I was told!)
I’ll keep looking out for you on the site and see how you’re doing. Keep positive, believe me, it will all be worth it in the end.
Best wishes
LouG
May 3, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Dear Anna,
I’m from the Caribbean, Trinidad to be exact. I was diagnosed as having Polycystic Ovaries but never knew I had Fibroids until I was 21 wks pregnant. It had never shown in any of my prior ultrasounds that I had done so when I started have unbelievable pain I never thought it could have been a fibroid. I was admitted to the Hospital for about 1 wk and was given various kinds of pain killers the only one which seemed to ease my pain and give me some kind of relief, I was allergic to (Panadeine Forte). Subsequently, the pain passed completely after about 2 wks after my being discharged. Now I’m 32 wks pregnant and the pain has returned, the doctors say there’s nothing they can do about it at this point and I’d have to wait until after I deliver. I haven’t slept comfortably for more than 2hrs at a time, the pain is so unbearable that it’s even difficult to go to the bathroom, can hardly move or lift my left leg (my husband has to help me most of the time) I’ve lost my appetite and praying desperately for it to be over so I can have my baby. So hang in there, I’ll pray for you
May 9, 2008 at 11:32 am
Just wanted to say that my wife delivered baby boy on 1st may (Full term) by section not due to fibroid, but labour did not progress as expected. Baby & mother doing fine. So, the doctors carried out emergency section to deliver the baby. From my wife’s experience, the fibroid 6.5 cms (intramural RHS) did not interfere with pregnancy except at 14th week due to degeneration which caused lot of pain. Since, then she almost took bed rest as travelling caused pain. But, at 8 & 9 months no fibroid pain at all. Doctors expected normal delivery as everything looked right until the last minute as labour continued for 6 hours. During section, doctors also found another small fibroid. Also, the fibroid actually reduced during the course of the pregnancy.
We did have lot of concerns during the course of pregnancy, but fortunately everything went well. I also pray to god that no one should suffer from these fibroid pain as I was terrified seeing my wife going thru fibroid pain.
All the best.
Regards
May 9, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Ch,
Thanks, great and uplifting to hear everything went well for your wife and the baby. What a blessing!
May 12, 2008 at 3:05 am
Thank God for your posts!! I’m not alone!! I’m 21 weeks with a pedunculated fibroid at the top of my uterus, 17×10x10cm (at last measurement). Two weeks ago severe pain began, which I thought was extreme gas. Two days later I ended up in the hospital ER and told it was the fibroid “dieing”. The pain was gone in 4 days and I felt great. I thought everything was over and things would be fine. At 2am on March 6th I woke up my husband screaming, grabbing my lower left side, and hyperventelating. I decided to stay perfectly still until the morning and see if it improved. By 10am we went back to the hospital where they said it was the fibroid again. I was not aware this could happen more than once. I was admitted and given Toradol and Stadol which helped a lot, but only for one night. The next morning I was discharged from the hospital but I did not feel I should go home. I was terrified of going home and cried. I was told to take 600mg of ibuprofin over 6 hours for up to 2 days. It was a disgrace to patient care!! I do not have the home support necessary for a bed ridden person! My husband took the week off work and helped me as best he could but it’s just too much for one person. In order to get sleep I have to stay perfectly still, if I move in the slightest I wake up in pain. It’s nearly impossible for me to get sleep or get out of bed on my own and the pain in doing so has caused a few accidents before I could make it to the bathroom. It’s been 6 days now, how much time is my husband expected to take off work? All our family is at least 8 hours of air travel away and I can’t be left alone for long as I can’t take care of anything for myself. I’m now told this could happen over and over throughout my pregnancy. Why don’t doctors realize the difficulty and strain this puts on a couple?
After reading that so many others have experienced the same type of treatment I have, I now realize I need to be a “problem patient” and I no longer care what anyone thinks. I’m going to demand treatment for the pain and demand support from either home health care or admission into the hospital. I will no longer accept the “you just have to deal with it” attitude. “Dealing with it” could cause more harm than I’ve been lead to believe and I am not willing to allow my doctor to make my decisions.
Honestly, we should start an advocacy group and start making demands for better standards of care. We’re loosing too much….
Not being told the entire truth,
Control over decisions,
Our babies, and
Our minds (at least in my case).
May 12, 2008 at 9:31 am
PKP,
I’m sorry that you’re going through this. It’s disheartening to read stories of women going through so much pain from fibroids on top of dealing with a pregnancy which is supposed to be such a joyous occassion. Please demand the care that you deserve and don’t worry about being a “problem patient”. Take it from someone who lost her baby at 21 weeks… there have been plenty of days that I look back and regret not demanding more from my doctors and the hospital. My dr told me that the next time I get pregnant they will watch me more carefully and put me on bedrest with any minor thing and keep me in the hospital longer. It’s unfortunate that it took me losing my child for them to take me and my pain seriously.
But, I have to say that even if they would have kept me in the hospital I still believe that I would have lost my son because they had given me as much pain medication as they could that day. And because there’s so little research available on fibroids they just didn’t know what to do with me other than to send me home. But if they would have kept me at the hospital then it would have made me feel like they did every thing that they could to save him. It would have made me feel like they cared and that my pregnancy was just as important to them as it was me.
I really don’t want anyone else to experience what I had to go through. I know that each pregnancy is different but I wish that I could warn every woman with fibroids of all the possibilities because nobody warned me. I wish that I would have been able to find this sight prior to losing my son. At least I would have known what could happen. I had absolutely no clue and my drs didn’t seem to have a clue either.
My husband had the same issues. He had to take a ton of time off of work to take me back and forth to the doctor and hospital with the fibroid pain then we both took time off after losing the baby. I was still in terrible pain for at least 1 week afterwards and needed help moving around. He ended up losing out on his raise because he was out of work too much. Fortunately he didn’t get written up or fired but we were really worried there for a while.
The best advice that I can give is to continue to go to the dr and ER every time you have pain and demand care. Other than that try to stay as calm and relaxed as possible even when you’re in pain and think positively. I know that it’s hard to do but I think that will help. I don’t know if there’s as much research going on for fibroids as there is other health concerns. It would be nice to know that someone is doing something to get rid of these things for good.
May 12, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Ladies, I’m so sorry to hear about your losses. I don’t know what doctors are thinking when they don’t bother to inform women better about what can happen with fibroids. As I’ve said before, it was only after reading stories here and at a few other websites that I realized having a myomectomy was a good decision. Neither of my gynaes who knew about my fibroids suggested I do this– it was only my specialist who recommended it. Grrrr!
Does anyone know– when a fibroid degenerates is it gone for good, or could it plump up again and cause problems again? I always worry when I hear stories of women trying to get pregnant again with the fibroids still in.
May 12, 2008 at 1:48 pm
InShape and all,
When I asked my doctor he said doctors won’t tell you (most of the time) the worst case scenario about fibroids, simply because the worst case scenario does not happen to everyone. It may get bad or it may not, so they just watch you and see and treat as needed, which kind of makes sense. You would not want to be scared crazy by your doctor. The first doc I saw about removal of my fibroids painted such a grim picture of the operation and my situation I was sorry I went and saw her. My great doctor (who ended up being my RE surgeon later) told me there is NOTHING they can do to your fibroids once you are pregnant, it is just watch and see, no treatment. So I guess pain management is the only option and for that they may or may not keep you in the hospital. I guess it is a disability of sort, so maybe if one has some disability allowance from insurance that could work…
And once the fibroid degenerates, which may or may not get painful, it doesn’t go away, and once it reestablishes good blood supply it may grow again, it is only as good as the blood supply that feeds it.
I gave my 18 surgically removed fibroids to research, hope the researchers can have some answers for us all not too long from now.
I won’t make any real comments about my pregnancy until it is all happily over, but what I myself am using in my dealing with the fibroids in pregnancy is staying very positive and an impeccable diet, well, with the exception of small amounts of coffee I have not been willing to give up, but it is a limited intake.
Good luck to all!
May 13, 2008 at 10:50 am
Jo, I hope that you stick around this sight and chime in every now and then after your baby is born! For those of us who hope to be where you are we will need your suggestions and support when we’re preggers again! I just worry so much that like yours mine will return after the surgery and during pregnancy. I know that the surgery is worth it but sometimes it does feel like what’s the point if they’re just going to come right back.
Are yours smaller now or about the same size as before the surgery? I agree with you in regards to degeneration. Mine started to degenerate in March when I lost my son. They are still inside me and I can still feel them if I press hard enough on my stomach so I don’t really even think that they’ve shrunk that much but I will be able to check back in and let you all know for sure next month when I have the ultrasound. My dr ordered an ultrasound to map them out a couple of weeks prior to the surgery.
The end of September is the earliest that I can start to ttc again after my surgery. Maybe I’m looking too far ahead but I’m finally starting to feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it gives me something to look forward to and something to be excited about.
May 13, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Hi guys. I am sorry to hear about what you guys have been going through. In this sadness, I also find a little joy and thanks a million. I am 35. I was diagnosed with fibroids Oct 07 (two intramural. Don’t remember the measurements). Not a lot of problems but periods got really heavy. Found out I was pregnant (first time) last month. I am now 8 weeks and already have had two spotting episodes and just an ache in pelvis region on and off. It has now become constant last 4 days. Have spoken with ob doc and have had us done at 5, 6 and today at 8w4d. Have tried to talk to docs about achiness and written off as ligament pain (I can tell the pulling with the round ligament pain). Tried to talk about pregnancy and impact of fibroids and they said no problem. I already look more pregnant than I am. It is amazing to see the lack of concern for women pregnant with fibroids. It is so hard to be positive with pain already starting and the fear of miscarriage. Reading the posts has helped a lot with knowing that I am not alone and scary as well. It is hard to stay positive and enjoy pregnancy with so much going on so soon. At least now I have an idea of what to expect, to be proactive and will be armed with questions for my next appointment in two weeks. No more getting blown off). I will also get a measurement to check on the status of my fibroids as I know what I am feeling is not “normal” as I am being told. Got to listen to your body. Sorry with all of my heart for the pain you guys are going through and God bless you all for this site.
May 13, 2008 at 5:00 pm
karen,
I had bleeding between 8 and 14 weeks, some was like spotting, and once I had a really heavy bright fresh blood bleeding, really scary, as I thought I am having a miscarriage. First u/s showed nothing, another at 12 weeks showed some placental tearing that might have been responsible for it. So even though I had 9 fibroids they were not the culprit. Hang in there, I know how scary it is, just take good care of yourself and rest if you feel pain. Your fibroids may act up, or then again may not, blessings and good luck!
KB,
I know what you mean about the possibility of fibroids coming back, it seems crazy to undergo a major surgery and then have those things back. I myself could not believe it when they were back so soon, but I don’t think they come back so soon for majority of women. Maybe you will get a nicer, longer break to get pregnant. MY uterus pre surgery was completely deformed by the fibroids, so I had no chance of getting pregnant, they are definitely smaller now. Maybe you get a better chance of the pregnancy running smoothly with the fibroids staring out small, than with larger ones with a well established blood supply. Tomorrow is my first surgery anniversary, I was honestly going into it not knowing what the outcome will be, part of me doubted if I ever will get pregnant, but there was simply no better way to repair my uterus.
AS for the wait to ttc after surgery, if you get pregnant sooner it’s great, if you wait longer for it to happen, you can always be glad you are giving your uterus a longer while to heal. There is a risk of a uterine rupture after myomectomy, usually only with labor contractions, but sometimes in the third trimester. I think it would be wise to discuss with your surgeon what kind of uterine incision he will make to remove fibroids (lower is better) and ask if they will make several uterine suture layers (apparently those hold up better that single ones) I did not ask those questions before surgery, but my surgeon reassured me he did close the uterus well, and some of my fibroids went in and out of uterus wall (transmural) so there was really no choice as to where to cut the uterus. I am just preying that it will all hold up really nicely until my c section. Supposedly you only have 10-37 minutes to save the life of the baby in case of uterine rupture, so if it happens outside of the hospital the chances are grim. But I know how blessed I am to be 30 weeks pregnant now, I have faith that this blessing will continue!
May 13, 2008 at 5:56 pm
KB,
I’m so sorry for what you went through. Your strength is inspiring. I’m not sure if you realize the help your providing us but I’d like to say thank you. You’re right, pregnancy is supposed to be a happy time but for me the pain made it depressing & stressful. I feel cheated and this being an emotional time anyway, I find myself crying a lot. Before the fibroid pain and especially before the pregnancy I never cried, I was annoyingly happy. It’s as if I’m loosing myself in this.
I know what you mean about staying in the hospital. Even if the outcome was the same, at least you would have felt cared for and supported. That makes a huge difference no matter what the outcome. I talked with my doctor yesterday and explained that I was not ready to leave the hospital last time, and if it happens again that I expect to stay in the hospital (medicated or not) until I’m ready to leave. He also agreed to write an order for a hospital bed rental if necessary. I feel a bit better about the future but just a bit.
*TIP*: I had an idea I’m going to look into. We’re going to see if we can rent an electric recliner for our bedroom until the baby comes. This way, if the pain comes back I can sleep in the recliner (which should be more comfortable than laying on the bed with pillows proping me up) and it can raise and lower me when I need to go to the bathroom!! We’ve rented a regular recliner for a sick family member and it was very cheap, like $20 a month!!
Like you I was never told the fibroid could do anything more than cause pain. Yesterday I asked my OB what the risk was of miscarriage/pre term labor and he said there’s nothing to worry about, implying there’s no risk, as if it’s not possible. I don’t think he’s aware of the possibility. I even gave him the name of the medication several others mentioned had worked for them (Panadeine Forte); he’s supposed to look it up and get back to me. It’s scary that he’s so unfamilliar with this condition. He seemed surprised when I told him that I was discharged in a condition where I couldn’t get myself out of bed, lay down in any way except on my back proped up on pillows, wipe myself after going to the bathroom, go up and down the stairs, or stand for much longer than a minute. Then he lowered the exam table so fast I nearly jumped out of my skin. Then he had no clue how to raise me up again. He’s oblivious as to the actual level of pain! I’m not sure if I should find another OB. I live in Anchorage, Alaska and the pickins are slim.
At first I felt alone and that made me depressed. Now that I’m aware that others are being treated the same, I’m ticked off.
May 13, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I just felt like venting, folks. I’m here at work and I just sneezed. Now I’ve got this nasty crampy feeling where my first fibroid episode started and I’m dreading dreading DREADING the pain that might follow in the next day or so. This is a first for me where I experienced more than a few minutes of cramping after sneezing or coughing. Does anyone else go through this?
May 14, 2008 at 1:18 am
I recently became pregnant with my first child (35), the ultra sound revealed 6 (some calcified) fibroids.
One is blocking the cervix. My OBGYN said we would just have to wait and see. She said normally women carry with fibroids but usually the pregnancy will self terminate.
I chose a woman OBGYN mistakenly thinking she would have a better grip on current procedures available to my situation. I found this information only after researching the subject on the Internet. When I proposed this solution to my doctor, she said using this procedure during pregnancy was just to cutting edge.
I am having my information sent to a new OBGYN, I think too often people forget doctors provide a service and while some are nice, they are not all necessarily very good at what they do. This said, if your doctor is uninterested in helping you, find another doctor who is! DON’T WAIT.
I contacted these doctors in a location nearest to my state, they do use this with pregnancy if what they offer can help!
If you have these and your doctor doesn’t seem concerned, you can email these doctors. If your doctor doesn’t want to cooperate, remember YOU EMPLOY THEM. Ask to be referred elsewhere.
http://www.uterine-fibroids.org/
http://www.uterine-fibroids.org/mr_guided.html
Most OBGYN are just delivering for NORMAL pregnancies, if they make you feel that you are not important, you don’t have the right doctor.
by the way, this procedure costs less than a 1/3 any other solution offered surgically.
May 14, 2008 at 4:45 am
Hi,
I’ve been following this blog for sometime but writing for the first time. I am pregnant with huge fibroids, also an MD, specialist in Internal Medicine, so I know quite a lot what is in (and not in) in the medical literature about fibroids and pregnancy. After reading Catherine Kennedy’s post, I felt obliged to write. What she is suggesting is IMPOSSIBLE with the current medical knowledge!! It is not even cutting edge, there is nearly no evidence on the use of Exablate in pregnant woman. Even the web pages she has quoted has this info: “ExAblate treatment is not intended for women who are pregnant or desire future pregnancy. The effects of ExAblate on the ability to become pregnant and carry a fetus to term, and on the development of the fetus, have not yet been determined”.
This is procedure pratically “burns” the fibroids with increased heat, can you imagine burning some parts of your uterus when there’s a baby in there?
I am afraid conservative treatment (wait with a close follow-up and pain management) unless there’s a real emergency (like what happened to TKP) is the only standard of care for now.
Good luck to everyone!
SA
May 14, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Just a thought for those who are unhappy with their OB. I think it is reasonable to expect that some doctors have more experience with caring for pregnant women with fibroids, and some have less. I got a recommendation for an OB who had experience from my RE surgeon. Maybe if there is a fertility specialist in your area you can call and get a recommendation for an OB. Or probably a high risk OB could be the right choice. It seems that choosing a doctor who will support you and understand your situation makes dealing with this kind of pregnancy much better, if I can speak from my own experience.
Thanks, dr.SA!
May 20, 2008 at 9:37 am
I’m so thankful that I’m not alone! I had a perfect pregnancy until 18 weeks then I woke up with my first fibroid “attack” (paralysing burning pain to lower right abdomen and lower back)… I went to the ER thinking I was having another m/c (had one last year at 10 weeks) but it turns out that it was the fibroid degenerating. My OBGYN put me on modified bedrest (no work, cleaning, long walks…) for 2 weeks then, he said “we’ll see”… meaning that if the pain attacks continue, I would have to stay off work for my ENTIRE pregnancy. He said that the more active I am, the more pain I’ll have and the more pain I have, the more chances I have of having contrations/ going into pre-term labour.
I’m almost 20 weeks now and the attacks come about every 3 days with dull aching in between when I walk too much… the only thing I can do during the intense pain is lie down, deep breath, visualize my healthy baby and apply an ice pack.
Thanks for listening… courage and positive thoughts to all!
May 22, 2008 at 11:03 pm
sazzy,
I’m glad you wrote a post. Starting at 19 weeks I got my first “attack” (oddly we describe it the same way). Since then, I’ve returned to the hospital every 2 weeks on the dot, in extreme pain (hyperventelating, and unable to talk). After a shot of Toridol I’m usually much better and try to return home as soon as I’m comfortable. Each attack is worse than the one before. My last attack was 2 days ago and right now, I can hardly walk and go to the bathroom by myself. I was going to write a post asking if anyone else was going through multiple episodes, but it seems you are. Is there anyone else out there that’s experienced more than one degenerating “attack”?
May 24, 2008 at 4:37 am
Congratulations Nic on your baby ;o)
I’ve been checking this site from time to time and its great to read positive stories… good luck to everyone.
It’s 2 years now since I was pregnant, but I havent had a chance to try again due to an unstable 7 year relationship with an unsupportive partner, so finally decided its better to walk away at 34 and hope i mean someone else, rather than waste anymore precious time…
Probably worth starting a separate thread re: partner support!? ;o)
May 26, 2008 at 1:46 am
Thanks Be Careful – I was just wondering the other day how some of the folk who were posting on here when I first started posting were getting on. Good to hear from you but a shame you don’t have a more positive story yourself …yet!!
I won’t post too much about my birth (& post-birth) story as this is not what the thread is for & it would take ages to get it down, but just wanted to mention to anyone that is having a sucessful pregnancy despite fibroid pain & thinking about the birth, it is worth asking your dr about the risk of haemhorrage & how they would deal with it, & also whether fibroids will have any impact on delivery of the placenta (if you are not having a c-section that is), as everyone focuses on delivery of the baby of course.
May 29, 2008 at 4:50 pm
It has been awhile since I’ve posted but I wanted to update all on my experience. I had been having problems with my pregnancy very early on and was very pro-active on the care I was receiving thanks in part to the information I got from this web site. I was seeing my regular OB bi-weekly and had taken on the services of a maternal fetal specialist every month. We all had set up a plan for my pregnancy that I thought would give us the best outcome; including pelvic rest and fetal fibronectin tests every 2 weeks to check for preterm labor. On 4/23 I saw the specialist, had an ultrasound, discussed my pregnancy, had my fibronectin test and sent home; I had been experiencing lower abd. pain, occasional cramping but generally okay. I got a call later that evening to tell me that I needed to go into the hospital to be placed on a monitor to check if preterm labor had begun because the test had come back positive. I was admitted due to 3cm dilatation, I was given mag sulfate to try to stop my contractions ( which I did not feel ) and put in an awkward position to try and get my water bag slip back into my uterus ( it had partially slipped out ) After alot of tests, prayer and consultation we decided to deliver my daughter at 23 weeks via c-section ( I had dialated to 7cm with no cramping pains and the monitor only picked up some uterine irratability). She lived for 14hours but her blood pressure and oxygen rates could not be stabilized. My OB could not specify if what happened was due to the fibroids. The fibroids were not removed during surgery due to increased risk for hemorrhage. I can feel/see the larger one still. I have pain and have not completely stopped bleeding since this happened. I have been passing large ‘clot’ like tissue that my doctor believes are the fibroids liquifying.
With all that happened I feel I need to thank everyone on this site that gave me great advice, I took them all, and helped me be so active in our care. I want everyone to take an active part in the prenatal care they receive and really that is all we can do. If you are not satisfied with the care you are receiving get a second opinion; the specialist I saw was more than willing to follow my care along with my regular OB. Best of luck to all.
My prayers go out to all, mother and child
May 30, 2008 at 10:50 am
Nancy,
I am so sorry that your baby girl didn’t make it. I’m sorry that even after all of the proactive care you still had to experience such a tragedy.
I often wonder if I would have had all the facts about pregnancy and fibroids and been proactive if my son would still be here. But, reading your story helps me to come to terms a little bit better that sometimes even when you’re as on top of the fibroids and as proactive as you can be sometimes it still may not be enough. I’ve gone through beating myself up with guilt that I didn’t do enough but I just didn’t have all of the information and even if I had it still may have ended up the same way.
Thank you for sharing your story. Your experience will help someone else to be more aware about their own pregnancy with fibroids and it may actually save a baby’s life. Had I known that all of those options were available to me and what test to ask for and to be more concerned about the pain then I would have definitely been more proactive. When my doctor said… “just take tylenol and rest, women go through this every day” then I trusted that she knew what she was talking about.
We can learn so much from each other here at this post and I really do appreciate all of the input. When I read about successful pregnancies and births with fibroids and after myomectomies it gives me so much hope. When I read about tragedies such as yours it reminds me to stay on top of everything the next time around when I’m able to try again.
So again I am sorry for your loss and my prayers to you and your family. Many hugs to you.
Karmen
June 2, 2008 at 5:30 pm
This website is wonderful, I am new to this whole fibroid issue. I am 13 weeks and I have one that it 8cm and it is extremely painful to the point that I just cry. Its the worse physical pain I have ever experienced. My doctor says that the fibroid is getting larger each time I go in for an ultrasound. It started at about 4cm, now its 8cm. And so far its much bigger than the baby. I am concerned and don’t want the baby to run out of room. My doctor perscribed to me Tylenol 3 for pain, which only puts me to sleep and does not take the pain away. Does anyone know if cold compresses/warm compresses could provide some relief. I am trying to find some relief without having to take so many different types of drugs. Anyone with a fibroid larger than the baby at the end of the 1st trimester??
June 3, 2008 at 8:51 am
Hi WSF – I had two fibroids that made my uterus the size equivalent to 3mths pregnant before I got pregnant. I was somehow lucky & they didn’t grow too much bigger. From what I’ve picked up it is extremely rare for the physical size alone to impact the pregnancy – the body will just make space by squishing other organs. The main things with fibroids are how much blood they take (which can be related to size but not always) and position. Painwise I only had one bad episode of fibroid pain & I found it excruiating at the time, but when I went on to eventually be in labour I found that to be a million times worse! When I was in hospital for fibroid pain I had a warm pack and it didn’t really do much but I guess it offers a bit of comfort so no harm in trying one.
June 3, 2008 at 12:50 pm
WSF,
Hi, I am now in my 33 week of pregnancy. I had nine fibroids since the beginning of pregnancy (even though I had 18 removed 6 months earlier) so probably altogether they were close to your size or bigger by the end of first trimester, the largest one grew throughout the second trimester and then stopped growing. I think what you are experiencing is the degeneration pain, so maybe when your fibroid outgrows its blood supply it may stop growing. With fibroids they won’t do anything during the pregnancy, but I believe you may still have good outcome, not everybody develops problems. Maybe your belly will be more on the bigger side (mine is) but as long as there is enough amniotic fluid your baby should be fine.
As for the pain medication I remember reading earlier in the thread that Tylenol often fails to help, women were given other medications, maybe you can check it out, I don’t remember the specific names.
Anyway, good luck, try to stay positive, I found that continuing to be optimistic about the pregnancy despite the ugly facts (fibroids and placenta previa that I also have) helped me enormously so far… I still have about 5 weeks to go! Good luck and blessings!
Nic,
You mentioned about talking to the doc about how to handle hemorrhage, do you have any tips? I will be having a c section, and I know that they can’t recycle my blood (like they could during myomectomy) but I would be interested in any advice or thoughts.
June 3, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Nic and Jo, Thank you so much for your reply!! Its nice to know there are others who have experienced the same thing but remain so positive. I did go in for an ultrasound this morning and dicovered that there are 2 fibroids that are about 9cm. Which explains the frequent pain. The baby was fine and bouncing around, so despite the pain, seeing the baby made me smile. Jo, all the best to you and the remaining 5 weeks to go!
Thanks Ladies!! 
June 3, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I found out i have 5 fibroids during my first ultrasound. i was one of those that had regular menstrual periods so i didnt suspect fibroids prior to getting pregnant. The fibroids caused a lot of pain for me. I’m currently 24 weeks and on bed rest for almost two weeks due to the pain.I will characterize the pain as the worst pain i have ever had in my life. I could not walk, I cried all day. At some point i had to be admitted and received morphine for the pain. My doctor prescribed Vicodin for the pain which works sometimes and other times didnt. If you have this kind of pain please know you are not alone. The fibroids also started causing contractions but I complained to my doctor as soon as i suspected it. The morphine helped calm my uterus down. Also, drinking a lot of fluids helps a lot too.
June 4, 2008 at 3:36 am
WSF-
I think my OB put it very well when I first found out about my fibroids: We don’t care how big the fibroids are as long as they don’t interfere with the baby’s development. A couple of mine are about 8 – 9 cm and I have about five in all… I do have to say it’s a little alarming watching the ultrasound doc measure not only the baby’s growth, but the fibroids as well. They did seem to calm down a little in the second trimester and after they partially degenerated. Not a fun experience when they degenerate. Almost every time I sneeze or cough, it seems like they’re just waiting for an excuse to flare up again. I am very fortunate that my ultrasound doctor is so good, he pinpointed exactly which fibroid last degenerated and which one is likely to go next. I don’t know if I should be pleased or frightened.
Sandra-
I’m at 26 weeks, and I definitely agree with you about the pain level. I’m so sorry you’re laid out like you are. But to add a little humorous perspective, at least labor may feel like a cakewalk if you’re going to deliver naturally!
June 5, 2008 at 1:50 am
Hi Jo – about haemorrhage during delivery: I would ask about whether they will have blood matched to your type on hand in case a transfusion is needed. In my country this is called cross-matching – this means it is available in the fridge ready to be used if needed rather than needing to be requested from the hospital blood bank, which could take a few more minutes and with a big bleed, every second counts. Also if they needed to intervene what measures could they take to stop the bleed, such as artery embolisation, partial or full hysterectomy, attempted myomectomy – so you are prepared for what they might ask you about if you happen to be in this worst case situation. My surgeon said that if it were not my first child I most likely would have had a hysterectomy to stop my bleeding as this is a general principle they work to, but it may not be the same everywhere of course (I had to have a 6 unit transfusion – more than half the body’s blood). You could also ask how likely a post-delivery (secondary) haemorrhage would be & how they will monitor for it.
I should think with a c-section this risk would be minor, as they can have a good look around (!) and make sure all arteries are closing off properly & nothing is left behind (eg bits of placenta, necrotic fibroid tissue).
Best wishes for the delivery!
June 9, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Hi,
I hope my story is comforting to all of you who are pregnant with fibroids. About 2 years ago I found out I was pregnant. I had 2 fibroids one was 12cm and the other was 3cm. Three months into the pregnancy, I went through fibroid degeneration. I have never felt so much pain in my entire life and I was much rather deal with a few hours of labor than days of fibroid degeneration pain. When the pain got really bad ,I went to the hospital and they gave me some pain killers. After that, my pregnancy went smoothly. My fibroids eventually grew to 14cm and 5cm by the time I delivered. My baby was born at 38 weeks and I delivered vaginally. She was 6lbs and 3oz. and she was healthy. I know how worrying the whole pregnancy experience is and it’s multipled by 10 when you have fibroids. I really just wanted to let you all know that God is able and He can bring you through it.
June 10, 2008 at 11:12 am
Dear Marissa,
Thank you very much for sharing your story.
I am 8 weeks pregnant with 2 subserosal fibriods, 6,5 cm each. From week 6 I experience pain (nasty cramps rather than sharp pain) and was wondering if there is any possibility for me to have this child without having myomectomy. Doctors of course can not promise anything….Every positive story gives hope and inspires!
Marissa, do you know what type of fibriods you had and what happened to them after delivery?
Thanks!
June 12, 2008 at 9:30 am
Hi Breta,
One of my fibroids is subserosal and the other is intramural. I still have them both. The last time they checked they were 9cm and 11cm. They don’t cause me any pain, but my periods are very heavy. From the research I have done, it’s likely that the intramural one is causing the heavy periods, so you may not have that problem. Eventually I will probably get them removed, but I am holding off right now, because I want to have another baby. Before I got pregnant I saw quite a few doctors to go over my options for the fibroids. I was told I may not be able to get pregnant because the fibroid may be blocking my fallopian tubes (well I know now, that wasn’t the case). They gave me the option of either doing nothing, gettting a myomectomy or uterine fibroid embolization. Both the myomectomy and uterine fibroid embolization were very scary to me as they had their uncertainties, so I opted to take my chances and try the natural way. Everything worked out and if can work out for me, it can work out for you. The uterus is amazingly strong and resilient. I really don’t know what to tell you regarding the pain that you are having, but I hope that it will subside and you will be able to carry your baby to term without any invasive procedures. Also, make sure you have a good doctor. If you are not comfortable with your doctor or you detect any incompetency with them, request a second opinion.
Breta, please keep me posted as I will put you in my prayers.
June 13, 2008 at 3:52 am
Thank you Marissa for encouraging words!
Am almost 9 weeks now and luckily pain has faded away. Occasionally I get one or two cramps per day, but it is bearable. Saw good doctor yesterday. Baby is growing well. Fibroids haven’t changed their size, which is good at this stage.
Docs believe that no invasive treatments will be necessary during pregnancy, only pain management.
Marissa, your story gives the light to me! Good luck with your plans regarding second baby! I will keep my fingers crossed for you! Will inform you on developments here.
June 13, 2008 at 5:01 am
Dr. SA,
I hope you’re still lurking here…..I have a question for you.
My doctor here in the Philippines says that she might want to do surgery on my remaining fibroids. (There are 2 or 3 of them, they are very small and didn’t grow during my pregnancy like the freak-show one did.)
My concern is that I’m going to be 38 this year…..my husband and I would like to try to get pregnant again after a few more months. I know that surgery doesn’t keep the fibroids from coming back. (OK, I’m just going to say it…I don’t want anymore surgery….here OR even in the US….I’m done with surgery!!)
I just want to know if I’m on crack for wanting to try to get pregnant again without having these removed. And while I addressed this to the Dr., I’m actually asking everyone for their feedback. Anyone’s feedback is OK….I’m trying to make an informed decision and (as we all know) there isn’t a lot of information out there that doctors are able to give us. Not through any fault of their own….it’s just that “fibroids during pregnancy” is something that there just isn’t much information about right now.
June 13, 2008 at 10:39 am
TKP,
I know how it is not wanting more surgery, I kind of dread having to possibly go through it again myself. One option for you would be to try getting pregnant with your small fibroids in place. I had myomectomy, but by the time I got pregnant five months after surgery, fibroids were back (some were back three months after surgery already!). I think the advantage was that they were small to begin with, and th