New member, recent diagnosis

[Guest guest]

Hello, after 8 months of increasing, severe pain and non-stop, heavy

bleeding I've been told I have fibroids. No details on the sizes, but

my uterus is 8 weeks.

I'm 42, married, no children, none expected.

I have a laparoscopy scheduled for next Tuesday, the 13th.

I was alone during the consult with they gyn (husband travels alot),

and neglected to ask a lot of questions, maybe I can get some

additional information here...

During the lap, will the dr. attempt to remove the fibroids or is the

lap just to view them? He mentioned the possiblilty of hysterectomy

down the road, but we would discuss that later.

Also, is there much pain or down time after a laparoscopy?Husband

taking me to the hospital and will be with me that night, but will be

out of town the rest of the week.

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

ps--I found this group after much internet searching...

[Guest guest]

I think that you need to know a lot more about what your doctor plans

before you undergo this procedure. A close friend of mine went for a

similar proceedure and came out with a complete hysterectomy. Her

condition was not life threatening. Lawsuits in such cases are rarely

won.

Some things you can ask your doctor are:

-Why are you performing this proceedure and what do you plan to do

while you are in there? (I was never offered this in all the years

(5) of having my fibroids. The ultrasound was apparently sufficient

for a good diagnosis for all the doctors I saw)

-If I decide I want to save my reproductive organs and down the road

opt for a myomectomy, what is your opinion on this?

-Do you perform many myomectomies? If so, how many lead to

hysterectomy? (This will determine his surgical abilities.)

It would be good to know how he stands on these issues. Many regular

gynocologists just standardly recommend hysterectomy. Hysterectomy

requires less skill and is more profitable for the doctor. However,

there can be many long term negative health consequences from

hysterectomy it should be your option of last resort.

Tish