I was told I had a small uterine fibroid but didn't have to worry about it. However, I had cramping, back pain, the feeling of needing to urinate, and anemia. I was given iron pills for anemia and birth control pills to decrease bleeding. Unfortunately, I was in the small percentage of people who didn't tolerate iron by mouth. (I experienced nausea and vomiting.) So, I ended up getting iron via an IV. I think the birth control pills "fed" the uterine fibroids, and I ended up getting an emergency myomectomy because the fibroids caused me to hemorrhage. The doctor thought the fibroid was much smaller than it was, but she didn't know until she operated. My advice is to take care of them and not just take pain pills. I ended up on disability because I was so weak from anemia. However, after surgery, I never had any more cramps, back pain, the bleeding was miniscule, and I was like a new person. It took three months to recover though, because I had been anemic. Published: October 07 ::

I am a 39-year-old black female. I have had problems with bleeding since I was in my early 20s. Birth control helped with the heavy bleeding. I became pregnant in April of 2009, and I had a miscarriage at seven-and-a-half weeks. In September of this year, I was told that the uterine fibroids had returned, but just in the last two months, the pain has increased. I will be celebrating my one-year anniversary this month, and my husband and I are still trying to have a baby. So, I really don't want to have surgery. I am going to schedule a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) this month to determine where the uterine fibroids are and if they are blocking me from conceiving. Published: October 07 ::

I have uterine fibroids and have had them for years. When my OB/GYN first told me I had fibroids, we decided to take the watch-and-wait route because I didn't have any problems. Now about 10 years later, I have severe/killer cramps, backaches, and constipation. I do not want to have a hysterectomy and my doctor also feels the same. Since I am close to menopause, he suggests that I keep playing the waiting game. I don't have any heavy bleeding, probably thanks to the birth control pills that I take. I found that if I take a painkiller on the first sign of pain, it help lessens the severe cramps. I am also starting to watch my diet. I make sure to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water. Exercise also helps reduce the cramping. Published: September 11 ::

I am a 24-year-old Latina. In August, I was experiencing severe pain in my abdomen, so I went to the ER to get it checked out. The doctor told me that I probably had kidney stones, and they could not see them with the ultrasound. He did not want to do a CT scan because of my age, so he gave me medicine to help me pass the stones. Two weeks ago, I had to return to the ER because I was having more severe pain. This time they did an abdominal and pelvic ultrasound. The doctor said the results were inconclusive. I followed up with my doctor, and she scheduled a trans-vag ultrasound, which I did yesterday. She called last night to tell me the results had not come back yet, but she got the full report of my ER visit. She then told me that it showed a uterine fibroid that I have had since 2004! Nobody ever told me that, and I gave birth in 2006. I cannot believe that I have lived with this for four, almost five, years and no one said anything. In late 2004 early 2005, I had an ultrasound performed because I had lower abdominal pain that the doctors wrote off as a UTI, which is funny because the only symptom I had was the pain. I didn’t have any urinary symptoms at all. It also showed gallstones, which they also did not tell me about in the ER. Published: September 11 ::

My doctors prescribed progesterone, and I have been taking it for the last two months. The result is that this has caused the fibroids and my uterus to prolapse. I am scheduled for surgery on the 9th of December. Published: November 20 ::

I am 52 years old, and kept thinking that these heavy periods are going to come to an end. But they keep coming, disrupting my life, I have suffered with heavy periods for many years. I finally decided to go and have a uterine ablation done. They did an ultrasound, found out I have a 7cc Fibroid. So I was not a candidate for that procedure. After several months of still putting up with heavy periods, low iron, back pain and some urinary problems, I decided to have my uterus and cervix removed. The surgery is coming up next week, I am very nervous but I can't take it anymore!!! Published: November 16 ::

Hello. I'm a 33 year old African American female. I had been experiencing severe pain in my lower back abdomen and shooting pains down my thighs. My abdomen area was hard and swollen. I went into the emergency room because I knew something was wrong. To make a long story short...I had large uterine fibroids. My uterus was enlarged. I had 3 big fibroids that caused my uterus to be the size of a woman 4 months pregnant. My doctor suggested that I get a partial hysterectomy. I have been married for 10 years and have a 14 year old son. My husband doesn't have any biological children of his own so, a hysterectomy was out of the question because we want another child. We have been trying to get pregnant for years. I went in to see my OBGYN. She knew my concerns and that I wanted more children so she suggested that I have another procedure. I really didn't want to have the surgery again, but if I don't have the procedure done, my chances of becoming pregnant are dramatically decreased. In the end, I’m having surgery at the end of November. Published: November 16 ::