3 weeks post UFE and feeling great!

I learned that I had fibroids this past July.  I had a pelvic ultrasound to confirm the sizes and locations and learned that they were pretty large (I was told that I had two that were the size of grapefruits and one that was the size of a peach and then several small ones.  My gynecologist told me that my uterus was enlarged to the size of a five - six month pregnancy!!  Until my diagnosis, I thought I had no symptoms.  I had no bleeding or pain in my abdomen.  I had noticed the weight gain and was trying (unsuccessfully) to diet and I increased my exercise regimen.  I attributed the pain in my back and the backs of my legs and my joint pain to my age (47) and to my increased gym workouts to combat the weight gain.

My gynecologist was adamant that a hysterectomy was the only option for me due to the size and location of the fibroids.  Even though I am done having children, I was very opposed to a hysterectomy.  I did some research on my own and went to an Interventional Radiologist to learn more about uterine fibroid embolization (UFE).  He did an MRI with contrast to get a better picture of the size and locations of my fibroids.  And he confirmed that I was a perfect candidate for the UFE.  I had my procedure on October 12.  

The actual procedure is not that bad. You're kinda semi-conscious but the only pain was when they inserted the catheter into the femoral artery.  I recall moaning in pain and I recall the doctor saying, "Sorry, this is the worst part."  I also recall the doctors talking during the procedure and I could see them looking at the screen as they performed the procedure.  Even in my haze, it was fascinating.

Afterwards, they had me lay still on my back for about 5 hours.  They gave me good pain meds and my sister stayed the night with me in the hospital.  By that evening, I had several visitors and could sit up and chat with them.  I didn't have much of an appetite and just ate a little soup and some tea.  

I went home the next afternoon and spent the next few days feeling really crampy.  The pain wasn't unbearable and the prescription meds helped a lot.  Within two days, I was feeling well enough to go out for breakfast with my family.  I had just a little bleeding on day two and three but nothing too bad.  It's since stopped and I've had zero bleeding since then.

On day three, I pushed myself to get some activity and I walked until my Fitbit read 3500 steps.  The next day, I increased it to 5000.  And continued to increase it daily until I reached my usual step count of about 13,000 per day.  

By day ten, once I had finished all of the antibiotics and felt good enough to not need pain meds, I actually returned to the gym.  I took it easy but was able to walk on treadmill for 45 mins nonstop.  By day 12, I was lifting weights and my cardio was also increased.  I was very active before the procedure so I think this helped me return to this level of activity pretty quickly.

The best part -- my stomach went down almost immediately!!  Within one week after the procedure, my stomach was almost flat again.  I returned to work today (I probably could have returned a week ago, but, I wanted to be sure), and feel great.  Everyone can see the weight loss (about 10 lbs), and my clothes fit again!!

I read some of the posts on this board before my procedure and I was really worried and almost canceled because some of you have had such awful experiences.  My experience was great and I highly recommend this procedure in lieu of a hysterectomy.

0 likes, 1 reply