What should I expect from consult?
Hi everyone,
I recently had a transvaginal ultrasound to investigate ongoing cramping and spotting throughout the month. Some background: I had an ablation 3 years ago due to heavy periods and the biopsy prior to the ablation suggested adenomyosis. This makes sense given my history of very heavy bleeding, debilitating cramping that extends into my lower back and inner thighs, and a feeling of fullness in my abdomen. I had a laparoscopy prior to this because when I had a c section, the doctor transferred endometrial cells into my incision and I ended up with a lump of endometrial tissue that would grow and shrink each month 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️. They looked for endo elsewhere but didn’t find it.
Fast forward to these results…. I have a heterogenous myometrium- which is suggestive of fibroids or adenomyosis (which I already know I have), a 1cm uterine fibroid on the fundus, and fluid in two areas. At this point I just want a hysterectomy so I can stop having to deal with this pain. I will not do hormonal contraception as it affects my my mental health and I have tried IUDs and my body rejected it violently. In your experience, is it likely I will be offered a hysterectomy at this point? I clearly don’t need my uterus anymore as I’ve had one child and then had an ablation, which would have destroyed the chances of having more kids anyway.
Thanks for any thoughts or feedback you might have for me. I feel very lonely and alone in this as I don’t know any other women going through this experience.
First, I want to say I’m sorry you’re going through this. Second, we’re here to let you know you’re not alone!
I can’t say what your doctor will say, but I can offer my experience. I’ve been offered a hysterectomy by every doctor except my first one, who operated on me when I was 24. The first time the option came up was when I continued to have terrible period and pelvic pain after about 7 different types of birth control didn’t help and after my cysts came back after my 2nd laparoscopy. To me, it felt like the doctors offered the option because they didn’t know what else to do, not because I wanted it. But they definitely put it on the table when I “failed” other treatments over the course of several years.
Personally, I’ve always wanted to explore non-hysterectomy options to ease pain, including pelvic floor therapy and a prescription anti-inflammatory for period pain. With that said, I don’t have fibroids or a definitive diagnosis for adenomyosis. But my excision doctor, who I trust, said that a hysterectomy would likely be my only true option to get rid of period pain — which has only gotten worse in my 40s — and that would be an option for me if I wanted.
To me, it definitely sounds like you’d be a candidate for a hysterectomy as a treatment for bleeding and period pain since you’ve tried hormonal options and an IUD and they haven’t worked for you. But don’t be shy about asking your doctor to go over all the pros and cons if they don’t mention the option first. In the meantime, let me leave some of our community member stories with you.
In case these are helpful: https://endometriosis.net/living/hysterectomy-stories ; https://endometriosis.net/living/story-hysterectomy ; https://endometriosis.net/living/hysterectomy-cure
Keri - (patient leader)
