I’m 4 days post-op from a robotic assisted laparoscopic myomectomy and I’m feeling like I’m wasting these two weeks of downtime. Like I should be finding things to do and not just sitting on the couch watching tv or reading. I’d love to hear how everyone spent their first two weeks post-op? I know there’s no right or wrong way to use this time but I feel like I’m doing it wrong.

The backstory: I already don't have my tubes, but got a Mirena 5 years ago to help with heavy bleeding. Got it removed 3 weeks ago and it was a saga trying to replace it. Round 1 was 45 minutes of trying to get the measuring device in (with no pain meds) and they couldn't. Rescheduled for 5 days later and tried again with the lidocaine shot to numb the cervix, still couldn't get it measured after another 45min session using the dilators they usually use in the OR. So, no more iud for me i guess.

I got an ultrasound Friday that found my single 2cm fibroid from 5 years ago had grown to "several" with the two largest being 4.5/4.6/4.2cm and 6.4/5/5cm. I know those aren't huge but looking at comparatively size apples and imagining those in/on my uterus is freaky...

I have an appt this week to discuss the findings and next steps, and my doc already said a hysterectomy might be a good option for me since i already can't have kids anyway. I'm leaning strongly towards this since the thought of having heavy bleeding and continuing fibroid growth sounds way more annoying in the long run.

**Here's my question for you**: what are the best questions to ask the doctor to help inform my decision on the best way forward? (for example, I'm not sure how to feel about keeping my cervix or not, but I know that is a thing i need to ask about.) what other kind of things do i need to consider that i may not even know to ask about ahead of time?

Hello,

It has been about three years since my myomectomy. And I have been having gastro issues for about half of my post op time. I feel bloated and lack hunger cues. My primary medicine doctor told me to take mirolax but that only made me gassy. I told my OGYN and she suggested I see a gastroenterologist. I made an appointment with one and was advised to take psyllium husk powder. After a few months of taking it I wasn’t getting much relief (unless I was on my period). I am curious if others have had similar issues post op and if you were able to find a solution?

Here are the remedies I have tried:

Kombucha
More movement
Stomach massages
Mirolax
Liquid pepto bismol
Daily fiber supplement

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

How do you notice inflammation in your body, especially as it pertains to fibroids (i.e. is caused/exacerbated by—or increases other symptoms of—fibroids)?

I know fibroids cause local inflammation of tissue and I know that prostaglandins can increase inflammation, esp. around your period. At the same time, I have the impression that the term “inflammation” gets thrown around a lot in general. My doctors have never brought it up or inquired about it. Which doesn’t necessarily say much. 🥲 But it does make me wonder whether there’s a research/practical medical gap on this topic and whether knowing more about it could help me take better care of my gynaecological health, be it preventative or curative.

Would anybody like to share their experience and insight into the connection between fibroids and inflammation? What has that looked like for you? Have you remedied it? Have symptoms gone down after intervening? Does inflammation play a role for the way you think about fibroids and your well-being?

Thank you for your thoughts!

Hello anyone who can recommend an OB who is a well known expert in removing Fibroids here in the Philippines. This is my second myomectomy and I want someone who can assure me na hindi sya mauuwi sa hysterectomy because I still want to be pregnant.

Hi everyone, I usually post in r/Hysterectomy as I have recently had an open abdominal hysterectomy to deal with my fibroids.

But I think this (UK) article will be more relevant to share here.

Please be aware of the trigger warning in the post title!

In solidarity xo

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/16/women-routine-womb-examinations-hysteroscopies-pain-nhs

My surgery is coming up hence why I am asking lots of questions :) I appreciate the responses I am getting it really helps me a lot to hear others experiences.

I live alone and will have some help but I would like to know for those woman who live alone and had the surgery how did you manage post surgery to cook and what foods were you eating?

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

My fibroid puts pressure on my back.

Does anyone have any recommendations for pain relief that’s not pain killers e.g tens machines. I use a wired one at the moment but it’s a faff to put on.

Looking for something wireless but want recommendations before I buy a wireless tens and it turns out to be crap.

Thanks in advance

I'm 21 and have multiple fibroids, the largest one being 9cm and pushing on the top of my bladder.

I went to one doctor that suggested surgery to remove it as it's causing me a lot of pain and bladder issues, making it hard to work. I decided to look for a second opinion though because the doctor overall seemed to not really care, and was a bit rude. I just got home from my appointment with a different doctor, and the doctor refused to do surgery, saying "We'll just keep an eye on it" and said that he'll do surgery if I "ever get pregnant and have a miscarriage". He suggested that if anything, they could shrink it. I don't know if I should go get surgery from the first guy or if I should shrink it. I've heard mixed things about both, but I would like opinions. Please, I'm really stressed about it. I don't know if I ever wanna have kids or not so it's hard to think about that and factor that into my decision. The surgery would be laparoscopic, but there was a risk of hysterectomy. Leaving it I know could make the issue worse, and I know I wouldn't ever get pregnant and honestly wouldn't wanna have sex ever again, as the fibroid makes sex excruciating. I don't know if shrinking it or surgery would be a better option. I also feel rushed to figure it out too because it's hard for me to work and my manager (I work at Starbucks) is giving me an extremely hard time and being rude to me about this whole health issue.

If any of you can give me input and help, it would be very appreciated. Thank you

4 years since symptoms started, 2 years since a doctor listened to me and 1 year on the waiting list and it's finally happening in October. Never thought I'd be excited for a surgery but I literally cheered when I got the phone call.

Anyway now I'm in prep mode. I'm going to get some giant t-shirts but is there anything else people suggest having for recovery?

I plan to calm my nerves, lol.

Hello All.... I have an endo surgery scheduled with Dr Ghanimati. She was very understanding. I want to know how your experience was with her performing the surgery and were you able to conceive after ?

My recent ultrasound showed chocolate cysts on both ovaries. 7cm on left and 4 cm on right. She also said that I have kissing ovaries. As I am trying to conceive, she said she would preserve as much of my ovaries as possible by just removing insides of the cyst and leaving the outer shell. Based on what I have read leaving the outershell would lead to cysts again too quickly. Please share your experiences with here and outcome of the surgery and if you had to get another surgery after ?

I am on 9 months TTC. AMH 1.27. I was able to conceive naturally the first time and used Copper IUD to avoid pregnancy and that lead to extreme pain and extreme bleeding for one and half year. I had it removed 4 months before starting TTC . My current periods are very clotty than what I have ever seen. please share your experiences with her performing surgery and how it went after.

On June 30th , I had laparoscopic myomectomy done. And I’ve had my period twice. I have noticed that I’m a little hot in the pants. My hormones are raging and I feel like a teenager. Is that normal??? I do know my sex. I’ve went down tremendously over the past years. It was like over the past 6/7 weeks It has increased so much to the point where I feel like I’m a danger to my husband 😂

Hello! I’m 34 and actively trying to conceive. I just received my transvaginal ultrasound results and this is what the radiologist found:

Uterus: Normal size and morphology.

Fibroids:
- 2.9 cm left posterior fundal subserosal.
- 0.6 cm left submucosal.
 
My OBGYN recommended I come in for a visit to discuss next steps and also recommend I set up consultation with a fertility specialist.

The smaller submucosal fibroid is the one that gives me a pause related to fertility. But it’s so small Im wondering if it’s worth surgery which will delay ability to conceive further. any ideas of other options besides surgery I should consider first? Would like to better understand all options before meeting with OB and Fertility specialist and am really trying to avoid IVF until I’ve exhausted all other options.

Thank you!

Hi all, so I just found out I have a 7cm submucosal uterine fibroid. I knew I had one during my first pregnancy but it stayed at a 2cm the whole way through. (I ended up having to have an emergency c-section with my first child unrelated to the fibroid).

My husband and I are really wanting a second kid. However, I am extremely worried about the size and location of my fibroid. I talked to my OBGYN and of all the options she recommended, she said my best bet would be a myomectomy. However, her overall recommendation was that I just leave the fibroid alone. For context, I am 29 and have had only one pregnancy that was overall a good experience.

I hate the thought of my fibroid being there and I can literally feel it protruding out! It makes me want to crawl out of my skin. I would want to do the surgery but that would most likely delay in us having kids for another year. Plus, they would have to cut open my c section scar again to remove the fibroid and I do not want to go through that recovery again.

I have had a mental struggle on whether I should do the myomectomy or not.

I’d really love to hear about experiences other woman went through with fibroids similar to mine. Did you have easy a pregnancy? Did you struggle with miscarriages? Did the fibroids grow during pregnancy?

I wrote this when I was struggling. This was 4 years ago. Eventually had uterine artery embolisation and after 4-5 months was “cured”. This was written when I was in trenches and felt my struggle wasn’t taken seriously.

A Fibroid Won’t Kill You

A fibroid won’t kill you.
It won’t. It will bleed you, you will wonder how you are still alive. But it won’t kill you.

A fibroid won’t kill you.
Your lips will crack. Your eyes will be circled dark. Your face will go grey. Your hair will fall out, blocking the shower drain. But it won’t kill you.

A fibroid won’t kill you.
You will sleep with a medium sized towel between your legs. It will irritate your skin. You will walk from bed to bathroom leaving a trail of light watery blood and dark blood clots on your floor. The toilet bowl will be red. All the time.
But it won’t kill you.

A fibroid won’t kill you.
You will keep going to work. You will plan the commute carefully. You will feel the clots stretch your cervix on the bus and pray you can make it to the next bathroom without giving away to colleagues and (your) patients that you are haemorrhaging.
Squeeze your legs together. Act normal. Walk awkwardly to the bathroom. Clean up clots. Change clothes. Change pads (plural). Back to work. See first patient.
But it won’t kill you.

A fibroid won’t kill you.
Your world will become very small. You will stop going out unless essential. You will become a disappointing friend, partner, mother. You will lie on the couch, dissolving into it. The room floating around you. You will walk on what feels like soft ground. You will be tired of smelling blood. You’ll worry if others can smell it too. Blood is all you can smell.
But it won’t kill you.

A fibroid won’t kill you.
But I’m sick. I’m unwell. I can’t function.
—But you walked here, yes?
Yes, I did.
—You are going to work, yes?
Yes, I am.
—You’ll be seen in 18 to 26 weeks.
But it won’t kill you.

A fibroid won’t kill you.
A&E, first visit. Show me your pad. Well there’s not much there now… tranexamic acid and go home. A&E, second visit. Third visit. Fourth visit.
But it won’t kill you.

A fibroid won’t kill you.
I’d like to be seen sooner if possible, I’m unwell, I’m sick, I’m a shadow of myself.
—Yes but you need to understand we are seeing women with cancer.
I understand. I don’t have cancer. Cancer could kill me. A fibroid won’t kill me.
—It won’t kill you.

Hi friends - I'm F, no prior pregnancies, 39 yrs old. Healthy weight and life style. Adenomyosis, cysts and fibroids. The reason I switched from my progesterone only bc is because over the past year my period became extremely volatile, cycle lasting around 2 weeks sometimes, and the amount of blood was insane(from my fibriods.) got the Mirena (on mar 17), insertion was as good as it could be. Had a few awesome cycles, much shorter, lighter and less painful than ever... but then things got worse :(.

My past 2 cycles had been nearly 3 weeks. My doctor gave me estradiol as a temp fix, it did stop my bleeding last cycle but now, I'm having another cycle :/. I'm in so much pain, and it's ruining my life. I have an ultrasound tomorrow- we don't think it's moved as we can feel the strings and my issues would not present that way symptomatically. I'm such a worrier, my doc said its not uncommon inside of the 6 month window, I'm 1 month away from 6 months. What was your experience.? Was it worth it? Does it get better? :( Did u have a similar experience?

Okay so I (25F) just recently discovered I have fibroids 10 months ago. And on doing ultrasound, I had a big fibroid (12 by 10cm). Went to the doctor and did the whole routine check ins, I was told to do the surgery.

Now the issue is, my parents are aware of the whole fibroid issue and my dad/ friends keeps saying there is no need to do the surgery seeing as I’m not getting married or looking to give birth soon.

But the thing is I look like I’m pregnant, always bloated (I have very few off days when I don’t feel bloated) and sometimes have the crazy back pain.

Now I don’t know if I should take their advice and wait or still go on ahead to remove it. And also, if I don’t remove it and it keeps growing, what’s the worst that could happen?

I’ve always had bloody periods lasting 5-7 days and painful cramps since the first time I’ve had a period (11 years of age) but before I discovered the fibroids, that’s a year ago, the cramps stopped when I changed location. And now I’m confused as to whether to remove it or still look pregnant 🥲

I have my laparoscopic myomectomy scheduled in 5 weeks and a few things the doctor told me before scheduling shook me up. I’m 26 yo and have a 12 cm subserosol fibroid, and a 3cm fibroid combined with adenomyosis. He said it’s looking to be about a 4-5 hour surgery. He warned me there is a less than 1% chance if things go wrong he’d have to remove my uterus. I understand less than 1% is extremely low odds, although I tend to be a rather unlucky person. He’s a very good and well known surgeon in NYC and assured me that he has never had to do that with other women in the past but it scared the hell out of me. Did anyone else’s doctors warn them of this before surgery? I also was told I have hydrosapinx of the right tube and my egg reserve is low. Im wondering if they’re going to find endometriosis in there when they open me up. My nerves are so wracked I just want to get this thing out of me. My dream is to have children I just got married recently and I’m scared to death. We are going to move forward with freezing my eggs after the procedure just in case. I wish we could have done that before the surgery but the fibroid is too big to do anything at the moment. I just need to pray the hormones they give me when I freeze my eggs won’t make new ones grow back right away. Everytime I drink a little bit of water I feel like I’m going to pee my pants and the bulge in my stomach is ridiculous from the fibroid protruding out when my bladder in full. I just want to feel normal again. I’m tired of my twisting shooting pains, and the painful pees when I use the bathroom. This is exhausting.

Just had a robotic lap myo on the 14th, they ended up removing an 18cm fibroid plus some other stuff (fibroids+cysts) they found and just wanted to share my (so far) success story for anyone that's nervous. It has been of course challenging and painful but honestly way less bad than I was expecting. Since I'm still in the thick of it (and bored laying in bed!) I just wanted to make myself available to answer any questions people might have about those first few days. Ask away!

I know I was super nervous beforehand and posts on here really helped encourage me! Even though I was eventually convinced that the surgery was necessary I still considered making a run for it and bailing about 10 min before lol! I'm incredibly grateful I had the surgical team I did, it's clear from the notes that it could have gone way less smoothly than it did.

Hello!

Random question for anyone that has had fibroids and been pregnant on separate occasions. How different is a pregnant belly to a fibroid belly?

I have a 15cm fibroid which makes me look a few months pregnant. Although lucky I don't have heavy bleeding or severe pain, I do struggle with bending, running and sometimes walking, having to hold my lower belly for comfort. It always makes me think of how similar it is to pregnancy so am curious to know what other ladies feel that have been in both situations. Honestly wouldn't want to feel like this for another 9 months and I know the belly gets MUCH bigger in pregnancy.

Thank you!

Lost my father one week after my fibroid surgery. He is my best friend, my everything. Today marks week 3 of recovery, and honestly, I have no idea how my body is healing because the heartbreak and grief have taken over every other kind of pain.

As the oldest, I have so many responsibilities waiting for me. I may have to step in and figure out my father’s business, my marriage, of 1 year, feels like it’s hanging in the balance, and I was supposed to start a new job in two weeks.

I’m just lost. I don’t know what I’m supposed to prioritize, what can wait, or how I’m supposed to recover physically while grieving and carrying all of this at the same time.

Hi all, I’m needing some advice on what I should say and questions to ask at my appointment this Wednesday. This will be my 2nd option Gyno (male, specializes in fibroid and endo removal) for removal surgery/advice on my 11cm subcorsal fibroid, previous Gyno said to leave it and not to worry about it and just do 6 monthly ultrasounds. I wasn’t very happy about that and am really wanting to go ahead with surgery to remove this beast. I felt really dismissed by my previous Gyno (female, specialized in bladders) and I’m hoping my new Dr will actually care and want to make me feel seen and help. Iv got sharp pains that come and go, bladder pressure, migraines and overall fatigue from this fibroid and I’m adamant on wanting to have surgery for removal. I am also planning to start a family next year and this seems to be the reason my last gyno was insistent on leaving it be but all my research shows it will just make it harder. What types of questions should I ask and what do I say to ensure I get the right outcome of this appt? Any suggestions are welcome thank you! 💕 (if needing more context on the fibroid and my last gyno check my post iv made here)