Pregnant with big fibroids

[KikiShack]

Hi, I've got a few fibroids - I got diagnosed a couple of years ago (I'm 33 now) and it brought forward when my partner and I were going to start trying for a baby.
I got pregnant straight away (so lucky!) and am ~10 weeks now and have just started having some pain.
I had a tiny bit of bleeding 2 weeks ago and had an early scan then and saw the heartbeat and an apparently healthy little one, but my fibroids have grown and I now have 3 measuring approx 10x10x10 plus a few smaller ones. Does anyone else have fibroids and is pregnant? I feel very scared about losing the pregnancy and keep checking whether I'm bleeding - I'm trying not to get obsessive but it is tempting! I'd be really grateful to hear from others in a similar position, also if they have any tips on how to stop the pain.
I think I might go for another early scan tomorrow to check the baby is OK but I feel over fussy doing this, I have my 12 week scan in 2 weeks so should I just hold on, take paracetamol and wait for that?
Hope you're all having happy healthy pregnancies :-)

Hi Kikishak - congrats!
I'm currently 26 weeks and have a couple of fibroids. I knew about them before TTC and since then they get measured at each scan. From week 5 to week 12 there was very little change, but from week 12 to 20 one of them has got much bigger (can't remember size and don't have maternity notes to hand)
I've been told that both of mine are quite high up in the uterus so they shouldn't have much impact on the pregnancy as they are out of the way. I haven't had much bleeding, apart from the odd bits of brownish blood spotting in the first trimester. Since that can happen quite normally during pregnancy I've never got too worried about it - but if it had been a larger amount of red blood then I would have been onto the midwife or EPU pretty quickly.
Sorry I can't help on the pain front - mine seem to be fairly harmless and I don't get pain from them. I did ask if they could be whipped out if I had a CS but apparently that's not done these days unless they are a problem. I don't like the idea of those things in there but apparently they're better left alone if they're not causing problems. (I just hope they reduce after pg - I don't want to still look pg when I'm not!)
By the way - the worrying is pretty normal, and from what everyone says on here it doesn't stop after the baby is born!!!

Hi Kiki, I have large ovarian cysts (not quite as big as yours) which I too have had for a few years. They haven't really caused any problems but now that I'm 10 weeks pregnant I have abdominal pain too and some spotting. My 7 week scan showed that they had grown but the midwives and GP don't seem concerned. My sister has fibroids and is trying for a baby, but the specialist wasn't concerned about leaving them in situ. They will check that all is ok at your next scan but try not to worry, fibroids and cysts are so common and usually better left alone (depending on size / symptoms), at least until after pregnancy anyway. I take paracetamol for the pain, but if you are increasingly anxious or it gets worse, call your GP / Midwife. Congratulations, try not to worry (hard I know) and hope you feel better soon

Thanks Stuck and Paula for you supportive messages! I've just been to doc and had a scan and little one is progressing nicely - it is the fibroids causing me pain which makes it a lot easier for me to just grin and bear it, with the help of some paracetamol! Only 4 a day though so I will have to think about when to take them.
I was wondering if a bath might help alleviate the pain, not too hot obv. Does anyone have any tips about how to judge if a bath is a sensible temperature? I have a thermometer - what should I aim for?
Got the 12 wk scan next Friday which will be good - it will be so much easier when this isn't so secret. I've told a very few close friends and family but most people at work don't know which makes it tricky when I'm wincing at my desk or running to the loo every 10 mins! Plus I look about 20 weeks cos of fibroids... how are others coping with this?

Hi I have fibroids, I'm pregnant with DC2. When pg with DD1 they grew to the size of a mellon, I have a cluster that sit on my bladder. They started to really hurt around 24 weeksn this is due to red degeneration this is where the blood supply to them couldn't maintain their growth so they started to degenerate inside. It was very painful and they were very tender. The consultant kept an eye on them and said it was nothing to worry about.
Do you have consultant appointments about them?

A bit anecdotal but my mum had fibroids with me which were very painful but other than that did not cause serious concern and this was in the 70s when scanning was very primitive. I was born via C section but that was because I was breech not because of the fibroids (though they may have been factor).

Hi I have a massive fibroid 20x16x18 and I am 23 weeks and so far all is good! Mine is very low down and near my cervix - I am starting to get uncomfortable now. I went to see a private doctor about them and he told me to expect pain because what often happens is that as they grow they do not get enough blood supply because your body looks after the baby first. He told that in some cases they can degenerate and it will cause pain but will have no adverse effects. I have done tons of research on them because I freaked out when I found out how big this thing is! I was paranoid and went for loads of scans in the early days because I was convinced every twinge was the unthinkable happening - I was in a bit of pain in the beginning but it did die down. FIngers crossed all goes well for you KikiShack

Hi - I can't speak from personal experience, but a close friend of mine had very quickly growing aggressive fibroids, which initially caused her fertility issues, and then once she eventually fell pregnant she was terrified that they'd harm the baby in some way, as she'd had a previous m/c. The fubroids did grow quite quickly, but thanks to lots of scans to keep an eye on things and an elective early C-section she had a very healthy baby girl just a few weeks back... She couldn't speak more highly about having a very good medical team to help her, and I think she ended up with a private midwife for support - my advise would be to seek out the best support network you can... Good luck! X

Hi everyone sorry to hear that you are having problems and a painful time with fibroids :-(. I had a girlfriend who suffered with fibroids which actually was causing her to not be able to fall pregnant, she found a lot of useful information about how to treat and understand the issues caused by fibroids here: www.wearwhiteagain.co.uk/infertility hope it helps.