Étiquette : fibroids

Mounia, 30 years old – My pregnancy, my miracle

Posted on by Rosta Gayino

Hello, my name is Mounia. I am French of Beninese origin. I am 30 years old, and I have a fibroid uterus.

It all started a year and a half ago when I suddenly started having dizziness, menorrhagia (abnormally abundant and longer periods) and dysmenorrhea (pain during menstruation) more severe than during puberty. So I consulted a gynecologist and the diagnosis of uterine fibroid was made. The gynecologist prescribed me iron tablets to prevent anemia and I continued to ease my menstrual pain with a hot water bottle, because I am an “anti-med”.

A moment of respite: short-lived

Over the months, I almost forgot about my fibroids. Another pain came to disturb my daily life: a lumbar sprain. This caused unbearable sharp pains which prevented me from walking properly and from sleeping, and which, morally, wore me out. So I had to consult a GP in private who referred me to a gynecologist. This one, after several examinations, pointed out my fibroids and explained that it would be difficult for me to procreate (although not impossible) and that it was important to follow up on me to check their evolution.

My miracle

A month later, during an indoor training session, I suffer from violent vertigo that makes me lose my balance. Worried (my period being close), I wonder if I have anemia. As a result, I wait a few days to observe what will happen, but it doesn’t come…

Ten days after the expected date of my menstrual cycle, I decide to take a pregnancy test: it is positive.

I am regnant.

My pregnancy

I get back in touch with the gynecologist in private practice. Surprised, she explains to me that this is good news but that there is no guarantee that I will spend the first 12 weeks without losing the baby.

I am then referred to a gynecologist close to my home who, 12 weeks later, explains to me that the pregnancy is at risk because my fibroids have grown. I have six, one of which is the size of my uterus: there’s an 80% chance that I will give birth by caesarean section. It is disconcerting to receive all this information at the same time while carrying the miracle of life within us. But I cling to my faith and above all, I completely get out of my routine: I stop all my sports activities, I

don’t go out anymore, I watch what I eat so as not to gain excess weight. And the days are reduced to going to work and coming home to sleep. I sleep a lot, I eat healthy, and I drink a huge amount of water.

During my fifth month, I see my gynecologist again to plan a trip to Paris. After an improvised ultrasound, he tells me that my baby is in the breech position but is doing very well, and that my large fibroid has grown but does not affect my pregnancy in any way. I am recommended compression stockings, nothing more. I have the right to fly. My stay goes well. Back ten days later, I plan a new meeting with my gynecologist where we determine our next meetings and the date of the cesarean section: June 18, 2019.

The eighth month begins. My mother has arrived, I start my last days at work, and I feel that my “petit loup” is descending, my belly is big, heavy, it’s hard to sleep, but I maintain my good mood. New twist: trying to turn Kiyam so that his head faces down… Failure. The dominant fibroid is preventing my son’s head from going through.

June 15, 2019: I wake up at the end of a normal night of end of pregnancy, a planned day spent with mom, my spouse arrives from Paris in the evening, the day begins. Around 1 p.m., I feel an intense pain which shakes my body violently, but which, according to my mother, does not mean I am ready to give birth. An hour later, another back pain in the shower and mom tells me to hurry so my water doesn’t break if the process starts. Finally, during our errands, my contractions begin and accelerate. At 5:30 p.m. I find myself at the maternity ward of St-Mary’s Hospital Center; I’m 4 centimeters dilated. The team prepares me for the operating room, my partner has just landed and arrives around 6 p.m., I am 6 centimeters away, we enter the operating room…

Kiyam is born at 7:45 p.m. this June 15, 2019.

I am grateful and blessed.

There is the strength of medicine, personal strength, but above all, Divine strength.

 

Mounia

Cathia, I am a survivor who chose hysterectomy

Posted on by Rosta Gayino

Hello, my name is Cathia and I am a survivor.

I’d had very abundant menstruations for a week. I knew it was due to the fibroids I had had for years. At dawn on June 14, 2017, during my week’s vacation, I was losing a lot – far too much – blood (large clots). My instinct told me that was not normal. I had also become very pale, I had a lot of stretch marks on my legs, I was losing a lot of hair every time I combed my hair. My vision was very blurred, and I felt more tired than usual.

On June 14, 2017, in the middle of the night, I sat on the edge of my bed. I didn’t know for what reason. I simply felt a force pushing me to stand up suddenly. That’s when I got dressed and drove to St. Mary’s Hospital.

I had a friend who worked nights at this hospital, so I contacted her to let her know about my situation. As soon as I arrived at the emergency room, the nurse on duty took my blood pressure. While I was lying in one of the consultation rooms, seven different doctors came to see me to ask me about my state of health. I began to imagine all the bad news that these doctors were going to tell me.

My friend went to see the nurse to find out more about my condition. Instead of answering, she started asking her questions about me, asking if I got up every morning, went to work, and led a normal life like everyone else. My friend said yes, so the nurse explained to her that my hemoglobin level was extremely low and added that if I had waited even one more day, I might have died.

After their diagnosis, the doctors decided that it was urgent that I undergo an operation to remove the fibroids, but given the significant drop in my blood cells, they concluded that it would be too risky to operate on me in my current state. They decided to give me a blood transfusion and put me under observation to regulate my blood cell count.

After spending the night and the next day in the emergency room, I was discharged from the hospital and given about twenty types of medication to take a day to stabilize my blood loss while waiting for surgery. Despite the urgency of my condition, I was put on a waiting list for surgery.

During this time, the ultrasounds that had been carried out detected 6 fibroids measuring 10 cm each as well as a cyst on my left side, at the bottom of my belly.

After a few weeks of waiting, the hospital contacted me to inform me that the surgery would take place on July 25 at 12:30 p.m. I decided to have a hysterectomy (the removal of the uterus) despite the advice of my gynecologist who insisted that I was still young and could have children. I think that at the time I let fear take over and refused to hear anything anyone had to say. I said no and demanded that he remove the uterus. My doctor explained to me that the operation would last a maximum of two hours and that the next day I would be discharged from the hospital followed by a period of convalescence. On the day of my operation, I greeted my loved ones and added: “See you in two hours!”

When I opened my eyes in the recovery room, I looked at the clock in astonishment. It was 8 p.m.! The nurse said hello and I was shown to my room. Seeing me, my relatives shared an expression of relief after hours of worry without news.

Once installed in my room, I had urinary discharges. The stitches in my bladder were torn because they weren’t tight enough. Instead of urinating into the catheter, I had urine leaking out of the seam. A doctor on duty came to sew me up like a seamstress coming to do alterations on a suit. Phew!

Following my operation, three days go by without any news from my gynecologist for my follow-up. Finally, after a week to the day, my surgeon showed up to explain to me how my operation had gone. He began by saying to me: “Madam, I have never had to undergo an operation as complicated as yours!” He pursued. “During the operation, there were so many fibroids in your belly that they had made a hole in your bladder,” he says. Also, he couldn’t find my uterus. I never knew a uterus could move. I always thought it was all connected. The surgeon told me that he had finally been able to locate my uterus under my right breast and that after the operation, I could not wake up. OMG! I did not understand what this doctor was telling me. For me, it seemed like he was explaining the script for a horror movie released at the cinema. I couldn’t find any logic in his words. To conclude, the surgeon told me that everything was back to normal, that everything would be better for me and that I was like new. I thanked him. He wished me a speedy recovery and informed me of my release from the hospital.

This is my experience with fibroids! I consider myself a survivor. Now, by the grace of God, I’m fine

I hope my testimony can inform women of the importance of listening to their body, of paying attention to any unusual changes that appear suddenly or gradually in their body. If in doubt, ladies, go see a doctor, because it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

I want to thank the organization Vivre 100 fibromes, which informs, raises awareness, and gives resources to women who live with this scourge that affects so many women in the world. Good continuity !

Cathia, the survivor

Sandrine, 38 years old; I have a fibroid uterus and I had a child through in vitro fertilization

Posted on by Rosta Gayino

Hello, my name is Sandrine, I am African, I am 38 years old, and I have a fibroid uterus.

It all started 8 years ago when I discovered that I had a small more or less rounded lump in my lower abdomen which, although painless, worried me a lot. Yes, feeling that you have a mass in your abdomen can be very worrisome. Being a thin person, this mass was more accentuated when lying down than standing up. I actually felt it for the first time in a lying position. Before that I had noticed that I had menorrhagia during my periods; my periods had become abnormally abundant and long. Regarding dysmenorrhea, unlike my sisters, I had had it since puberty. I thus consulted a gynecologist, and the diagnosis of uterine fibroid was made. The gynecologist put me on progestin combined with iron because I had anemia. I was taking my anti-inflammatories as usual during my periods.

Over the months and years, the fibroids grew bigger. They became very bothersome, and in addition to the frequent bleeding I began to have excruciating pain which led me to the emergency room each time because I needed upper-level and intravenous analgesics to calm me down. I still remember my screams and my tears at that time: it was excruciating. In addition to living this every month, I was also very fragile mentally and psychically.

I underwent a laparotomy myomectomy in 2012, two years after the diagnosis.

This was made necessary because of the debilitating pain, the heavy bleeding, the severe anemia I had (the doctors had even considered a blood transfusion during the operation), and to facilitate a subsequent pregnancy. Three months after I recovered from the intervention, my doctor advised me to conceive a child as soon as possible because nature abhors a vacuum. It is important to know that depending on the location of the fibroid, the symptoms, its size, it is sometimes difficult to escape surgery. Hysterectomy is possible, but the uterus is kept if a pregnancy is desired, especially when you are still of childbearing age. A few months after my operation, my cycle became regular. I still had fibroids, but they were asymptomatic. During the operation, we only removed the largest, which measured about 16 centimeters.

I finally met the man of my life several years later, in 2014. We decided to form a couple in 2015. Both of us wanted children. I made it clear to my partner that I had undergone a myomectomy.

In 2016, as I was unable to conceive, we went to the procrea clinic (clinic for assisted procreation) to consult and discuss other alternatives.

We carried out several tests within this clinic to find out what was the origin of the problem. The tests, of course, showed that it came from me. The fertility check-up found several fibroids (I had 15 now and they had increased in size), a low ovarian reserve and the hysterosalpingogram showed that I had both tubes blocked. My gynecologist explained to me that given my “advanced” age, it was better for us to go directly for IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). But to guarantee its success, it was necessary to reduce the size of the fibroid. She also advised me to freeze my eggs. I was therefore put on Fibristal for 3 months to reduce the size of the fibroids. Artificial insemination had not been considered, because for that it was necessary to have permeable tubes, which was not my case.

However, I did not like the clinic, and we decided to transfer our file to the McGill reproduction center. I had in my entourage 2 friends who had been cared for there. For my part it was very important that I connect with the doctor who would follow us, to feel understood, supported and to receive answers to my questions. In terms of the cost of IVF, it was also relatively less expensive at the McGill reproduction center. I therefore went there with my partner where we redid the tests. I had been taking fibristal for 3 months already and, good news, the ultrasound showed the consequent reduction of my fibroids. It was agreed that I would take fibristal for another 3 months. After that, the hysterosalpingogram showed that I had permeable tubes. It was actually fibroids blocking my tubes.

As my fallopian tubes were permeable, I resorted to artificial insemination (AI).

We thus started the AI process, which is covered by the government for 9 trials. On the first day of my period, we meet a nurse who explains everything to us. We obtain the proper medicines which are available in specific pharmacies. We come back to see the nurse with the drugs; she explains how to administer the injections and for how long. An appointment is then made for blood tests and the follow-up ultrasound. The day finally comes when the treatment is modified and you are asked to inject yourself with the molecule that will trigger ovulation and to come the next day to do the insemination with your partner’s sperm.

I was very positive during this process because for me there was no reason for it not to work because neither I nor my spouse had other problems. I was always thinking about my treatment and doing my best to never be late for my injections. But we tried twice and failed both times, which affected me a lot psychologically. On the second attempt I cried a lot when I had my period. But luckily, I was not alone; my husband was fully by my side during these trials and he supported me a lot.

After these two attempts I needed to take a 2-month break.

After this period, we went back to see the gynecologist with the decision to do IVF.

The IVF hormone treatment was more laborious. Some AI molecules were renewed but there were several others and I had to prepare myself psychologically to resume these injections. On the first day of your period, we must call a number given in advance to make an appointment for an “IVF” ultrasound for day 2 or day 3 of your cycle. On Day 2, after the ultrasound, we are advised by a nurse to start our hormone injections (Puregon + Repronex). On the 6th day of injection, we start a new injection (cetrotide) which must be taken in the morning, while continuing with the other injections. The next ultrasound is done on the 8th day of the injections and a blood test is taken on the same day. Further ultrasounds are planned depending on how our body responds to the treatment. The idea being to maximize follicular stimulation.

My egg retrieval took place about 2 weeks into the process. I had been able to produce 5 follicles. My husband was also present to donate his sperm for IVF. A day before, on the recommendation of the nurse, I had injected the hormone HCG. After the egg retrieval, I received 3 more prescriptions to prepare for the embryo transfer. This took place 3 days after the egg retrieval. The culture only gave 2 embryos which were all transferred to my uterus.

After the transfer we made an appointment for the pregnancy test. The medical team at the Reproduction Center gave us recommendations concerning the lifestyle to adopt (diet, vitamins, exercise, hygiene, sexual relations, stress, etc.). In the meantime, I had to continue with the intravaginal endometrin. I did my best not to be stressed during this waiting period. It was hard. On the day of the appointment for the pregnancy test, about ten days later, I went to the reproduction center and they took a blood sample. The nurse reassured me that I would receive a call that same day to tell me if I was pregnant or not. On the way home I bought a rapid pregnancy test; I was so impatient; I didn’t want to wait. But I was unable to perform the test and waited. In the afternoon the center called me with positive news. My IVF worked on our first try. It was total bliss. The miracle had happened. I was going to have twins. I don’t remember exactly when, but 1 to 2 months later I had my first pregnancy ultrasound and the gynecologist told me at that time that only one embryo had survived. This news saddened me a lot because I wanted a twin pregnancy, “to have two babies for the price of one”.

My first and second trimester were pretty tough. The fibroids grew with the pregnancy and were sometimes so painful that I had to be hospitalized several times. I was always afraid of losing my baby. My third trimester was the easiest. IVF can be hard to bear both morally and financially, but it’s worth the cost! I was ready to make any sacrifice to be a mother. I think that at a certain age you shouldn’t wait too long and think about it but go for it with the possibilities of assisted medical procreation that are available to us. It is also important to believe that it can work and to persevere despite some negative results.

 

Sandrine