First time pregnancy and 17cm fibroid

[Sara2017]

Hi all I'm new to the forum. I would just like to share my experience of my first time pregnancy with fibroids and ask if anyone else has been in the same boat and how they coped.

I am 3 months pregnant I had a 5cm fibroid pre pregnancy and a few other smaller ones. I asked for them to be taken out I was not aware at the time that they feed off pregnancy hormones and grow but I was worried about not being able to conceive because of them. But the gyno was totally against it said it is major surgery could damage womb etc.

At 8 weeks pregnant my stomach ballooned and at 10 weeks I was measuring 7 months pregnant and I have quite a small frame. An emergency scan showed that the 5cm fibroid grew to 17cm.

Shortly afterwards I was hospitalised due to the immense pain. The consultant told me it was red degeneration of the fibroid, basically the blood supply was being cut off to it because of the growing baby hence the pain. The consultant I seen on the day of discharge however told me he does not believe in red degeneration and sometimes when you have fibroids it causes a lot of pain. They said there was nothing more they could do for me and it was all about pain management.

I tried to return to work but sitting at the desk for hours triggered the pain each time leaving me bed ridden for days so I had to eventually give up my job.

My stomach is still huge even tho I am only three months. The fibroid is hard and my stomach looks oddly shaped in places. I feel it is digging into my ribs especially when I sit which causes a lot of pain so I have to alternate between laying down and sitting thorougout the day. I can only walk a short distance before the pain kicks in. I am mostly housebound now. I am taking pain relief but the different positions seem to help more. Since week 11 I started to be quite violently sick and have developed a constant cough reflux cough which sometimes triggers the sickness and is probably making me more miserable than the pain right now. I am on meds for both and my gp has told me to stick to them for the time being before changing to something new.

I am also under the care of an obstetrician who I met last week who asked me some questions but who will not now see me again until week 26.

Everybody seems to say that there is nothing they can do for me and I understand but I thought they would monitor me more frequently. The good news is that on the 12 week scan the baby seemed fine. But I'm worried about the fibroid growing or the other smaller ones starting to grow.

I seem to be on a loop everyday just getting from one day to the next and feel sad I have not been able to enjoy the pregnancy so far and feel anxious about the weeks ahead. Feel miserable.

Has anyone had a similar experience and how did it turn out?

Thanks in advance

My experience is a much lesser version of what you are going through... I went from nothing to 8cm in the period from 12 weeks to 17 weeks. I then had degeneration at 21 weeks and I can assure you that the medical profession does recognize it exists and it is a 'thing'. I was in hospital for five days on morphine... it's not in your head.

Now, I don't have anywhere near the size or impact you are going through, you are a special case! Plus I only have the one. But I can sympathise with strange looking bumps and fear of the unknown.

Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing that can be done whilst you are pregnant which I guess is why they are quite relaxed, where you will be feeling scared witless. I was reassured though that baby will be fine, he'll just push them out of the way as he gets bigger. I would ask for a second opinion or referral elsewhere as I would be wanting a more involved care provider (I'm in the Netherlands so cannot compare medical systems really).

You will have to have extra growth scans later in pregnancy and your birth plan will be affected, but dependent on the location of the fibroids. Do you know if they are outer, intra or muscular?

There are others on here with something similar to you so hopefully they'll come along soon with some better words of wisdom than I.

Hello OP, sorry to hear your fibroids are causing issues and hope you're feeling a bit better now. I started a similar thread a couple of weeks back which might have some useful info for you:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/2977634-Pregnant-with-large-fibroids-positive-stories-needed?

I'm 21 weeks now and have at least three large fibroids, but haven't experienced any red degeneration (yet!). My main issues are that two of the fibroids are currently blocking the cervix, so I'm likely to end up needing a C-section (and possibly one of the old-school classical incisions due to the position), plus I found out at the 20 week scan that I also have a low-lying placenta, which they think is being pushed down by the fibroids. They've also warned me about bleeding during the C-section, and I've been prescribed iron tablets in the event of this happening.

Like you I have a petite frame (5'3 and 8 stone-ish before pregnancy) and I ballooned (or rather the fibroids ballooned!) in the first trimester - I was being offered seats on the Tube at 12 weeks! However the growth now seems to have tailed off, and my bump is growing at a steadier pace, which I'm assured is the baby developing normally. At my 17 week appointment I was already measuring 24 weeks, but there hasn't been anywhere near as much growth since then.

It's a worrying time, especially as fibroids can be so unpredictable and seem to affect everyone differently. Happy to chat/exchange fibroid-related horror stories if you feel in need of moral support!

Hi lovelies
I'm having my 2nd baby by elective c section in 2 weeks, I'll be 39+1.
I discovered at my 13 weeks scan I had a huge fibroid growing. It measured 15cm by 15cm and at my 36 week scan last week it has grown to 17cm !
I agree I had a huge oddly misshapen bump at a very early stage, it was uncomfortable and I felt pain but the consultant prescribed me codeine as and when i needed it.
Thankfully I haven needed to go into hospital and have managed the pain. My baby is measuring small but the scans every 3 weeks have shown he's ok and doesn't need to be born early. I'm on my 2 week countdown and and so ready. I can barely walk and if I try to do too much I really feel it and I've been warned I could go into early labour.
I found hardly any information on fibroids! Which I found odd since I thought they were very common in pregnancy.
It was scary but I'm just happy I'm nearly at the end of the pregnancy and the consultant has told me that it will be dealt with after I've given birth and recovered.
I've come to term with having a planned c section and after my horrific 1st birth I'm well prepared for the recovery and healing process.

I'm sorry you are suffering love xx have to been prescribed any codeine? I was reluctant to take it to start with but it did help the pain. It did ease as my body grew and the baby shifted. He's always been breech which was uncomfortable when he pressed against the fibroid.

I do think it was so much more uncomfortable and painful at the start of the pregnancy so hopefully it will improve for you x
Big hugs x

Thank you for your replies.

My fibroid, well the largest one is at the top of the womb so I probably won't need a c section although it is more appealing after the pain of red degeneration!

I hope that like you Temps the growth will become steady as baby grows.

At 15 weeks I feel I have such a long way to go and everyday is so slow but what to do.

Good luck lilyborderterrier I hope everything goes well for you it's good to know you have made it through that.

I have been prescribed codeine and like you was a little hesitant to take it due to the horror stories of baby becoming dependant on it etc but take it as and when needed otherwise try to manage through rest changing positions etc.

Thanks I hope things will improve xx

Hi well im 38+2 and a week today I'll have hopefully safely delivered my nearly full term 2nd baby a boy !
We went to the hospital for my pre op for my planned caesarean. I'm strangely calm and fully prepared ( I think 😀)
I've been warned I might need an epidural as well as a spinal, just in case I need to be put under a general anaesthetic due to loss of blood but they're fully aware of the fibroid so fingers crossed it will be ok !
I'm seeing my consultant on Monday and so I will hopefully find out what's going on with my hideous massive fibroid as my pregnancy is nearly over
I hope you are all ok . Xx

Best wishes lilyborderterrier thinking of you pray everything goes well xxx

Hi there, just wondered how you're all doing with your fibroids? I have a large one (13x13 approx) and recently saw a fertility doctor who said I might have to have it removed before I can try for a baby, because of the risks it could carry. It's not in a bad position so I think it's the size that worries him.

I'm 42 so I don't want to wait for it to be removed and recover if I can avoid it. It's very confusing as I had my first baby 19 months ago and that's when I discovered the fibroid (10x11 at that time). My pregnancy was normal but he was breech cos there was no room to turn.

I don't know if the doctor is being ultra cautious. I want to keep trying but perhaps I would regret it if it endangered the baby.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks so much!x

Hi rachelg

Well before getting pregnant I wanted the fibroids out (the largest was 5cm) as I was more worried about not being able to conceive because of them, at the time I was not aware of them getting bigger feeding off pregnancy hormones etc. To an extent I feel I was scaremongered by the gyno who said they would only do it as a last resort due to the huge risks it carries being a major operation and basically told me it may damage my womb and I may not be able to conceive etc. I'm 20 weeks now and so far my pregnancy has not been an easy one due to the constant pain and misery of the massive fibroid. However I can only stress that this is my personal experience and there will be many women who have had minimal if any problems due to fibroids. And you are right there is also the constant worry about the pregnancy and baby, what will happen, will it get bigger, will there be room for the baby, will it harm baby etc. But it's hard to advise when everyone's pregnancy is so different. From my experience knowing what I know now, having the experience I've had I will definitely have them removed before trying for a second child. However if I was trying for my first child and a gyno told me the risk of having the op is never conceiving due to womb damage I probably would do the same thing all over again. I'm probably not much help as it's so hard knowing what the right thing to do is sometimes without the benefit of hindsight and everyone having unique experiences. I'm only halfway so fingers crossed the remaining half of pregnancy goes well. Perhaps you should ask the doctor of possible risks, waiting time to have the op and recovery time after the op? I hope you make the right decision whatever that may be for you. Good luck xx