Very fast growing fibroid - frightened

[Ridingladybugs]

Hi everyone

Just posting as have health anxiety and am feeling very scared atm. I had a fibroid discovered last year, and an MRI taken ( as I’m lucky enough to go private). It all looked fine and no treatment decided.

Since then I have had increased heavy bleeding and ended up in hospital. Fibroid has grown significantly.

I’m 45 so consultant said he’s not worried as thinks likely it’s perimenopause with high eostrogrn. I could see he was thrown by it. He did say if I was post menopause he would be concerned. I’m waiting on a further MRI report atm.

I have health anxiety though and I am completely panicking . I made the mistake of googling and can see that uterine sarcomas have a very very poor prognosis ( and mine would have been growing for at least a year). I’m a single parent.

I really need to somehow get a grip whilst I wait for the MRI report ( and am also going to have a blood test). I can feel my heart racing and want to cry when I think of my kids

Fibroids are very common, and although they can get very large and can cause significant issues such as heavy flooding periods they are generally benign.

I have several average sized fibroids which are causing heavy bleeding and ovaries which, at the age of 56 now, are still stubbornly refusing to shut down permanently and allow me to go into menopause.

I do sympathise. Being a woman sucks at times, but do try not to worry too much, and step away from Google. It can so often come up with the worst case scenario, and also some utter bollocks of course. Wait for your test results and then discuss all treatment options with your gynaecologist and/or GP

Thank you for replying @Topseyt123. I think it’s the fact it grown so quickly that is unusual.

I’ve also had an injection which blocks my oestrogen and progesterone as I had such a severe bleed - that I don’t think is helping with me being able to think rationally/not react over emotionally!

I agree re google as well! Definitely lesson learnt then

I too have a huge fibroid that grows almost one cm every year, it's huge and causes very heavy bleeding. I'm 54 by the way and my period still comes mostly like a Swiss watch. No signs of perimenopause. I'm not stressed about it. I have discovered that staying away from meat, eating one banana a day and drinking daily lots of lime/lemon juice-vitamin c (real limes I mean) keeps the inflammation down massively. It's made a huge difference. I was told this by a Caribbean woman, apparently that's how they solve period pains in their culture: making juice from limes. Every culture deals with period pains differently.

My doctor has told me to get a hysterectomy. We'll see. Right now I'm handling it pretty well so not sure I want to go under the knife.

Thanks Sandra

Mine has grown at least 3.5cm in a year. Which is where the concern is. Although the consultant says it could be because I’m perimenopausal and having estrogen surges.

I was also recommended a hysterectomy as I ended up in resus as my bleeding was so severe. I’m hoping instead to try a different new procedure that isn’t invasive. But if they have any worries about the fibroid I’m guessing that will push back to hysterectomy.

Id kind of got my head round the fibroid thing - it’s the potential cancer that has worried me

It's very very rare that a fibroid turns into cancer so I would stop thinking about it, I believe that's your good ol anxiety playing tricks on you :-). On the other hand hysterectomies for fibroids nowadays are done laparoscopic, and they leave your ovaries (so that you don't go into immediate menopause), then you're back to normal life in two weeks. Getting a hysterectomy nowadays is not a big deal, specially if you plan to have no kids. Maybe that's your path?

Yes I would consider hysterectomy ( and it may be the best course - definitley not planning anymore children!)

Fibroids are not associated with cancer. I had one, (3cm) and a year later had 17, some as large as a lemon! I had a hysterectomy & it was brilliant.

Thanks all

Sorry I think I’ve been a bit unclear! The ( slight) concern is that because it has grown so much in a year it was misdiagnosed as a fibroid originally ( although had an MRI, hysteroscopy and TV ultrasound which all saw no signs of concern) and it has actually been a uterine sarcoma all along. If that makes sense. It’s a very rare cancer so I’d be very unlucky ( particularly for it to have been missed) but I guess it always is someone whose unlucky.

I do increasingly wonder about a hysterectomy even if it is just a fibroid - incase it just grows back after an ablation. Just seems such major surgery and I’m a sore for parent with two young DC one with SEN. Have no family near by so not sure how I would cope.

Im sorry to hear your so stressed and worried your health. The best thing you can do for now if your really as someone mentioned above is change your diet. You have private health care so try to remember your in a better situation than a lot of people and in safe hands whatever the outcome. I had a fast growing fibroid at 24 the nhs ignored it for about a year by the time i saw a consultant i looked like i was 5 months pregnant. Id complained and was eventually told i needed a myomectomy a procedure like a c section as it was so large. It was 15 cm width when they removed it. Worrying wouldn't have changed any of that. The op was fine, i had a baby a few years Later and im due with my second next week... Fibroids are pretty common, it will not be cancer and you will be fine. X

Thank you @Ladymama12 .

I now you are right! I think this is all partly because of my recent hospital experience ( where I was rushed into resus and they were very concerned as I’d had such severe blood loss my blood pressure dropped and I fell unconscious, had to have transfusions etc). It’s like it’s tipped me into panic mode and I can’t come down. If that makes any sense!

Sympathies, I am early 40s and had a fast growing fibroid.
Caused such horrendous bleeding that it ruled my life, had several emergency blood transfusions and then a hysterectomy.

I am also single parent to young children.

I am sorry you are going through you this, believe me I know how draining and scary it can be.

Please remember that the chances of it being anything but benign are very small.

If you do decide to go the hysterectomy route please don't Google and worry too much.
I had laparoscopic hysterectomy and was walking my kids to school a week later.
I am a year on now and the freedom from bleeding is wonderful, I haven't looked back.

I hope your anxiety gives you some peace and you get your answers and solutions soon.

Thank you so much for your reply @TourmalineGiraffe . I really appreciate your understanding

Hi..I too had an enormous fibroid about 15x11x10 cm....the bleeding and clots were horrendous . I was offered (eventually) a uterine fibroid embolization..I dont know if this would be a possibility for you.....they go up through the vein in your leg to block the blood supply to the fibroid. Its less invasive.

I had been offered a new treatment which is embolism using heat - just approved by NICE and only on NHS.

When I had the severe bleed however that consultant felt a hysterectomy would be better.

Think I need to first find out if the fast growing does mean something sinister ( I have a blood test tomorrow that I understand can indicate this type of cancer).

Thanks to everyone for replying - posting here has somehow calmed me down a bit!

I didn't realise you had such a traumatic experience. Makes perfect sense why your so worried about the How's and ifs and your children .... Sounds like ur trying to find an answer so u can quieten your mind and fears understandably. Fear and anxiety can be so cruel and not leave us alone after such a bad experience and it does sound like ur very anxious. If i was you id honestly speak to a therapist or counsellor which i hope ud get on ur private health if not, a charity called health in mind would help calm ur worries and anxieties about the future. I believe you'd feel so much more in control and deal with that past awful experience. Just a thought. Hugs x

Thank you - I agree. I’ve had health anxiety for most of my life ( following a car crash in my late teens where I nearly died - unfortunately back then there wasn’t any sort of mental health support offered). I then had several events happen in my twenties ( major house fire, very early death of parents etc) that I think embedded the health anxiety.

I have tried so many things to get it under control as I absolutely hate being this way ( my mum always had anxiety and I don’t want it to impact my DC). I was actually doing quite well but this last episode has tipped me back. I describe it as being in a car and thinking every time another car passes ‘phew we didn’t crash’. It’s as if I’m now hard wired to expect the worst outcome ( I guess because I’ve had several occasions there the unlikely worst outcome has happened!).

apologies that is a very long brain dump!!

I had a hysterectomy for huge fibroids. It had to be done by full surgery because they were growing outside the uterus too. I also had the ovaries out. Once I'd recovered I felt brilliant and if I could live my life again I'd do it sooner rather than later . I was 45 and it was over 20 years ago.

Sending you a big hug, im so sorry. Sounds like you have been through many traumatic events and seems like you've managed so well with no professional help with processing it all.
If you need more information about the health in mind charity dm me, i think they would really help you, as they helped me to look at my own personal god fearing situations and learn to get a slightly better prospective and also process trauma. I think you'll find it so helpful having a professional ear, especially with the new fibroid situation.
One thing everyone who has posted has in common is that we all felt much much better once we took whatever action we felt needed. I hope you find some comfort in that. X

Thank you - will DMx

Hi lovely
I just wanted to send you hugs and love. I had a huge polyp grow out of nowhere (finger sized hanging down ) poking out down below which kept growing longer in 2019. I felt like you do and it's awful. I also have SEN child. I also have health anxiety and it was all horrendous. If you need to pm me to offload my inbox is open.
Mine was removed and all fine benign, and just got told one of those things/hormonal. I hope everything goes ok for you. I'm sure it will be fine. Fibroids can grow fast my stepmum had 4
Xx

Thank you @Mrstiggywinkle44 .

Sounds silly but these messages really do help - I don’t have a partner and feel very alone. Also the overwhelming fear of leaving my children is very hard to control.

Fibroids are a pain in the arse, I also have a huge one and have had nightmare periods for years.
They are not cancerous though, whether or not you have a hysterectomy is your choice but please don't scare yourself into thinking you have cancer. Hope you are OK.

Thanks clarepetal.

I agree fibroids aren’t cancerous ( and the vast majority are benign!) and I wasn’t worried about having a fibroid ( other than how it impacted my life).

My issue is the fibroid I have has grown extremely fast and this makes my consultant concerned that it may not actually be a fibroid but a uterine sarcoma. These are very rare and he has said it is still unlikely but I have needed to have a blood test and a further MRI ( although only actually biopsy can fully confirm). Uterine sarcomas can be mistaken for fibroids as they appear very similar. Again to stress they are extremely rare and most women with fibroids need never worry at all! But the speed of growth of mine has triggered a concern.

Understand the fear of it being more than fibroids.
I had to have a biopsy and wait for results. The biopsy failed and I then had to through it a second time.
I def was very anxious during this time and played scenarios of leaving my kids etc.
Obviously, I was one of the vast majority and it wasn't cancerous.
At times like this our minds can be the worst enemy as they try to solve everything and scan for threats constantly.
Please do try to not Google any more, you will deal with whatever happens in your individual case and worrying cannot do anything but make it harder. Easier advice to give than take, I know!

Did you have a blood test today?