Fibroids - help!

[Runningalongnicely]

Morning,

I am 99% certain I have fibroids - have an appt next week to investigate/confirm.

Sorry for TMI but I am on day 15 of very heavy bleeding with no end in sight. Is this normal? I can’t leave the house as I am flooding. I am changing san pro every hour and am exhausted. I have no pain at all though which is good!

does anyone have an tips/recommendations to stop the bleeding or do I just have to wait it out? What treatment should I expect to be offered as I can’t keep having this happen for weeks on end. I have done some googling but real life experiences/advice would be useful too.

many thanks

I started with a myomectomy as I wasn’t ready for a hysterectomy and I had too many for other options (like ablation). When they came back (about 12 years), we tried tranexamic acid for a bit (which did help reduce the heaviness of the periods) but I had a hysterectomy and am so glad that I did (I did keep an ovary, so didn’t get thrown into menopause).

Thank you - I’ve been reading about these options this afternoon. Everything has happened so quickly and Im trying to research all my options before my appt.

In the short term, go and see someone and get prescribed tranexamic acid - it will help slow the bleeding a little. But do seek help.

Long term options are myomectomy if you want to preserve your womb or hysterectomy if you don't. I had a myomectomy but still appear to have an 'inhostile womb' as have never conceived since.

They can give you a depot injection called Zoladex which effectively puts you into a temporary menopause and stops the fibroids growing.

Yes, this was me. Nothing helped for more than a month or two then I was back to flooding so bad I couldn’t leave the house. I had surgery in the end - a uterine ablation - not had a period since.

I had the fibroids removed and then the mirena coil put it - it has been life changing. I became really unwell with the amount of blood loss I had and worse I put up with it for years, when I didn’t need to. Because of the coil I don’t have periods at all now. I would recommend anyone to do the same if they are experiencing the same thing.

I would second this. I had no idea I had fibroids until I lost weight and I could feel a lump. I’d had a Mirena coil for 15yrs. No periods and no problems. The gyni said my fibroid had probably grown rapidly when I started HRT, something they don’t warn you about, and was the root cause of chronic sciatica that was getting worse.

Unfortunately I was diagnosed with breast cancer, but have been taking Anastrazole. I had the coil removed when I was diagnosed because blood tests showed I was post meno. I had it towards the end of peri menopause in parallel with estrogen patches.
The Anastrazole had been used in studies for fibroids , but the side effects can be a problem. I take it to reduce the risk of the cancer returning but it has very effectively reduced the size of the fibroids and the sciatica has pretty much resolved.

Sciatica is more common in older women and is a recognised side effect of fibroids because they can impinge physically on the sciatic nerve as it leaves the spinal cord.

Excessive bleeding needs investigating. A simple abdominal scan can diagnose them easily and rule out other causes.

thank you everyone. For now it’s just the bleeding causing the main issue. My stomach is swollen but has been for many years. I think I can feel something hard in my lower abdomen, and something moving, but then again it may just be fatty tissue. I have never experienced anything like this before. I’m 52 BTW so clearly something is happening. I just don’t know what! Hopefully I’ll get some answers at my gynae appt but it’s good to have some points to research beforehand.