I had an MRI today. The doctor was not available to go over the images with me, but they sent me home with the CD (isn't technology amazing?!).
So I have spent the last hour looking through Google Images with the search terms "MRI fibroids." The pages describing UFE often show MRI pictures of fibroids, so I was able to get a good mini lesson. I can definitely see several fibroids in my pictures, and a couple of them look pretty big to my untrained eye. My uterus looks about halfway between the before and after UFE pictures on this page. It's definitely enlarged somewhat, and interestingly is very round. I can see what look like 4 of the fibroids in there.
I know I need to stop dwelling on the past, but it makes me annoyed that an MRI was not suggested to me earlier (I had sonohists instead, which are supposed to be pretty accurate, but maybe not...). Also, I should have gotten a second opinion when I first was told in late 2007 that the fibroids had gotten a lot bigger but that due to their position I was not a good surgery candidate. At that point before doing something so drastic as surgery (and not even engaged yet!) I thought I would give the natural methods a try for a few months. Then when I had another sonohist 5 months later, I was told that the cavity looked a lot better and that I should start trying to conceive, so I naturally thought I had tamed these beasts, at least sufficiently. I am now feeling very against ultrasounds and wish that I had known to ask for an MRI, or to go to a doctor who would do an MRI. So bottom line for readers, if you aren't sure exactly what your fibroids are up to and you are interested in preserving your fertility or just having better info, it seems like MRI is the way to go.
On the subject of a second opinion, I'm also finding to be interesting reading the website of the well-known fibroid doctor, Dr. Parker, which happens to have "second opinion" as part of its name. He outlines well many of the fibroid-related issues and options. He seems to be fan of the laproscopic myomectomy, which is the specialty of the doctor I will be seeing next week.
9 comments:
Sorry to hear about your MRI results. I have been following your blog for several months now, and I am always hopeful for you that you will one day fall pregnant.
One thing i did want to mention, I had a look at some recent studies, and there is some evidence that suggests a drug called mifepristone can shrink fibroids. I've copied the articles on my board here:
http://fibroids.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=pharmaceuticals&thread=28
I'd be interested if you have heard of this? Maybe you can ask Dr Parker when you see him, as to whether he knows of any alternatives, medications that can help?
Good luck!
Sorry to hear about your MRI results. I have been following your blog for several months now, and I am always hopeful for you that you will one day fall pregnant.
One thing i did want to mention, I had a look at some recent studies, and there is some evidence that suggests a drug called mifepristone can shrink fibroids. I've copied the articles on my board here:
http://fibroids.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=pharmaceuticals&thread=28
I'd be interested if you have heard of this? Maybe you can ask your doctor when you see him next, as to whether he knows of any alternatives, medications that can help?
Good luck!
Thanks, those are indeed impressive results! I wonder what the impact is though for those who want to try to conceive soon thereafer...will ask about it!
I actually, did reduce my fibroids naturally working with a naturopath. I used intravenous vitamins & natural hormones therapies! It took two years and I still had them (greatly reduced) when I did IVF. The first time I did IVF my egg quality was terrible and was told I would never conceive. The second time at 41 (after the two years) my egg quality was great and had my daughter nine month later. So, all the stuff you been doing could indeed make a big difference.
Good Luck with your appointment.
Hi Grace,
Good for you! So wonderful that you were able to shrink your fibroids enough to do IVF. That's what I was hoping to do, but it didn't work out. (I will still keep trying but my problem is that remaining time on my biological clock is limited) But so wonderful to hear that the natural work also helped the egg quality, that gives me hope!
Hi again Grace, both myself and the readers would be interested in learning about specifically what vitamins and hormones you used. Thanks!
Hi – I don’t exactly remember what supplements I took. For one thing I did it for two years. The supplementation changed often and most were intravenous. I took blood test every 12 weeks and we adjusted things accordingly. I think the main components of the drips were Vit C, Glutathione and different minerals. I also did injected B vits the whole time and testosterone for about a month. I’m sure I did oral dhea and a vitex herbal blend for awhile too. The nice thing about working with a naturopath (ND) is they customize a protocol for you. The downside is that it can very expensive!
We were not specifically working to reduce my fibroids. My ND said that fibroids take a long time to go away using supplements. At the start they were bad enough that I could feel them but they weren’t my only problem. I was thinking I would find an RE who would remove them. I’m still kind of pissed that they weren’t removed when I did my IVF but that’s another story. My ND’s approach was that when your body is under stress it turns off your infertility because it’s in self preservation mode. So, just getting yourself healthier in general will help you fertility. Also, anti-aging medicine will help because we all no that fertility decreases with age. As it turned out along with my infertility I had an undiagnosed H Pylori infection and my whole digestive system was a mess and I was malnourished as a result. That’s why I needed go intravenous to bypass my digestive system and heal it. Then in the process one day I realized I couldn’t feel my fibroids anymore! I was hoping that they were totally gone but no such luck.
Hi Grace,
Thanks so much for sharing the further detail. Really fascinating!
I really agree, it seems getting healthier in general is the key, and that having a personalized protocol is probably the most efficient.
It turns out I have a digestive issue I am dealing with too (candida) and I suspect that there must be a link between that and the fibroids...
Thanks again!!!
Hello SydT
Somehow your comment got lost in the system and I didn't see it until today. Interesting about the mifepristone I will have to look into it. Sounds however like perhaps not the best thing to do while trying to conceive?
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