Re: Dr. Bruce McLucas experiences anyone?

[Guest guest]

Carla,

To be honest, I think I need clarification on what I wrote too! I'm going for

my follow up tomorrow w/ McLucas and will confirm what I now understand.

Here's my story...sorry its so long: I am 32 yrs old, no children yet. My

regular obgyn found my fibroids (5cm submucosal--this is the problem one, and

another 3cm outside the uterous) in an ultrasound about 1 month ago when I

was hospitalized for heavy bleeding, severe anemia. She tried treating the

bleeding temporarily by upping my birth control dose to 3x a day. This worked

for a couple days then BAM, back in the hospital again the following week for

my 1st blood transfusion and an emergency d and c. I was back on the birth

control and massive iron. I ended up in the ER again after another " bleeding

episode " about 1 1/2 weeks later, and I received a Lupron shot to try to

control the bleeding. During the next 10 days I had off and on bleeding

episodes and major cramping and ended up in the doctors office almost every

other day having my blood drawn to check my blood count after bleeding

episodes. In yet another attempt to control the bleeding, my doctor put me on

estrogen (was taking 4 premarin per day for a couple days). This worked for a

couple days then BAM, another bleeding episode and my 4th ER visit last

Wednesday. This is the day I was on the way to see Dr. McLucas for the 2nd

opinion. The strange thing is I don't even feel like I got a proper 1st

opinion from my current obgyn because every appointment I was " out of it " and

it was disaster management. So, last Wednesday I ended up at Cedars, on the

phone from the ER, and we figured out a plan of action that my family and I

felt comfortable with (my current obgyn, the ER doctor, and Dr. McLucas were

all involved in the decision). Because I was so anemic, Dr. McLucas and my

current obgyn thought it best to 1st do the UAE to stop the bleeding. The

next day after I had rested in the hospital and had an MRI, he did a

Laproscopic surgery to biopsy the fibroids. He also lopped off the 3cm

fibroid that was hanging outside the uterous. I guess this is sort of

backwards but he said it was more important to make sure the bleeding was

stopped 1st.

It seems to have worked. Unfortunately, the Lupron seems to have finally

kicked in now too so I am now in temporary menopause...owell. I feel better

than I have in a LONG time.

Hope this is info is helpful.

Respectfully,

[Guest guest]

Carla,

To be honest, I think I need clarification on what I wrote too! I'm going for

my follow up tomorrow w/ McLucas and will confirm what I now understand.

Here's my story...sorry its so long: I am 32 yrs old, no children yet. My

regular obgyn found my fibroids (5cm submucosal--this is the problem one, and

another 3cm outside the uterous) in an ultrasound about 1 month ago when I

was hospitalized for heavy bleeding, severe anemia. She tried treating the

bleeding temporarily by upping my birth control dose to 3x a day. This worked

for a couple days then BAM, back in the hospital again the following week for

my 1st blood transfusion and an emergency d and c. I was back on the birth

control and massive iron. I ended up in the ER again after another " bleeding

episode " about 1 1/2 weeks later, and I received a Lupron shot to try to

control the bleeding. During the next 10 days I had off and on bleeding

episodes and major cramping and ended up in the doctors office almost every

other day having my blood drawn to check my blood count after bleeding

episodes. In yet another attempt to control the bleeding, my doctor put me on

estrogen (was taking 4 premarin per day for a couple days). This worked for a

couple days then BAM, another bleeding episode and my 4th ER visit last

Wednesday. This is the day I was on the way to see Dr. McLucas for the 2nd

opinion. The strange thing is I don't even feel like I got a proper 1st

opinion from my current obgyn because every appointment I was " out of it " and

it was disaster management. So, last Wednesday I ended up at Cedars, on the

phone from the ER, and we figured out a plan of action that my family and I

felt comfortable with (my current obgyn, the ER doctor, and Dr. McLucas were

all involved in the decision). Because I was so anemic, Dr. McLucas and my

current obgyn thought it best to 1st do the UAE to stop the bleeding. The

next day after I had rested in the hospital and had an MRI, he did a

Laproscopic surgery to biopsy the fibroids. He also lopped off the 3cm

fibroid that was hanging outside the uterous. I guess this is sort of

backwards but he said it was more important to make sure the bleeding was

stopped 1st.

It seems to have worked. Unfortunately, the Lupron seems to have finally

kicked in now too so I am now in temporary menopause...owell. I feel better

than I have in a LONG time.

Hope this is info is helpful.

Respectfully,

[Guest guest]

Oh, that was Dr. Adler...

[Guest guest]

Oh, that was Dr. Adler...

[Guest guest]

SWilli4608@... wrote:

> From the ER at Cedars Sinai Med Center, I

> got on the phone w/ Dr. McLucas and he arranged an " emergency procedure " to

> be done that same afternoon. I found him to be much nicer than I expected and

> felt he was genuinly interested in helping me feel better. The surgery went

> really well and I'm feeling so much better. The bleeding has FINALLY stopped

> and I hardly have any pain at all.

,

Need clarification on what occurred per what you wrote. Please tell me if I

have the following

correct:

- You had a lupron shot 2 weeks ago to stem the tide of bleeding due to severe,

unretractable bleeding

episodes, which required a transfusion at one point not too long ago.

- On the way to new gyn, Bruce McLucas, you had bleeding episode. (BTW, he's

" at " UCLA not as staff,

as teaching faculty, and his office is in the professional building adjacent to

the campus. He is not

part of UCLA's ob/gyn clinical staff.)

- You went to Cedars Sinai ER.

- You underwent embolization on Wednesday.

- You underwent laparoscopic myomectomy on Thursday.

Who did the embolization? Where was it done? Who did the myomectomy? Why was

the myomectomy

undertaken the day after the embolization? I'm not sure I understand the

reasoning behind this and

need some clarification.

I'm happy to read that you feel that all went well, the bleeding has stopped,

and you're now doing so

much better. In the end, that is truly what counts.

Rest. Take care of yourself. Creepy or not creepy...at least you're okay today

and on your road to

recovery.

Best wishes,

Carla

[Guest guest]

SWilli4608@... wrote:

> From the ER at Cedars Sinai Med Center, I

> got on the phone w/ Dr. McLucas and he arranged an " emergency procedure " to

> be done that same afternoon. I found him to be much nicer than I expected and

> felt he was genuinly interested in helping me feel better. The surgery went

> really well and I'm feeling so much better. The bleeding has FINALLY stopped

> and I hardly have any pain at all.

,

Need clarification on what occurred per what you wrote. Please tell me if I

have the following

correct:

- You had a lupron shot 2 weeks ago to stem the tide of bleeding due to severe,

unretractable bleeding

episodes, which required a transfusion at one point not too long ago.

- On the way to new gyn, Bruce McLucas, you had bleeding episode. (BTW, he's

" at " UCLA not as staff,

as teaching faculty, and his office is in the professional building adjacent to

the campus. He is not

part of UCLA's ob/gyn clinical staff.)

- You went to Cedars Sinai ER.

- You underwent embolization on Wednesday.

- You underwent laparoscopic myomectomy on Thursday.

Who did the embolization? Where was it done? Who did the myomectomy? Why was

the myomectomy

undertaken the day after the embolization? I'm not sure I understand the

reasoning behind this and

need some clarification.

I'm happy to read that you feel that all went well, the bleeding has stopped,

and you're now doing so

much better. In the end, that is truly what counts.

Rest. Take care of yourself. Creepy or not creepy...at least you're okay today

and on your road to

recovery.

Best wishes,

Carla

[Guest guest]

Sorry for the incomplete email earlier...

After my blood transfusion at Cedars I was transferred to Century City

hospital. Dr. Adler (IR), performed the UAE (has done over 330 UAEs),

Dr. McLucas was present during surgery. The following day, Dr. McLucas

performed the laporoscopy, at Century City hospital.

Hope that clears it up. Thanks for the input.

--

P.S.-The day I arrived home after my surgery, your book " Sex, Lies, and the

Truth about Uterine Fibroids " FINALLY arrived after UPS messed up the

delivery. So now I'm finally getting all the good info. after my procedures

have already been done, its all strange and backwards...owell.

[Guest guest]

Sorry for the incomplete email earlier...

After my blood transfusion at Cedars I was transferred to Century City

hospital. Dr. Adler (IR), performed the UAE (has done over 330 UAEs),

Dr. McLucas was present during surgery. The following day, Dr. McLucas

performed the laporoscopy, at Century City hospital.

Hope that clears it up. Thanks for the input.

--

P.S.-The day I arrived home after my surgery, your book " Sex, Lies, and the

Truth about Uterine Fibroids " FINALLY arrived after UPS messed up the

delivery. So now I'm finally getting all the good info. after my procedures

have already been done, its all strange and backwards...owell.

[Guest guest]

,

But who did the UAE?

Carla

[Guest guest]

,

But who did the UAE?

Carla

[Guest guest]

$$$$$$

[Guest guest]

Oh Dr. Adler was the radiologist?

[Guest guest]

Oh Dr. Adler was the radiologist?

[Guest guest]

Oh Dr. Adler was the radiologist?

[Guest guest]

SWilli4608@... wrote:

> After my blood transfusion at Cedars I was transferred to Century City

> hospital. Dr. Adler (IR), performed the UAE (has done over 330 UAEs),

Was there something wrong with the IR at Cedars? Or, was he simply not

consulted or considered?

carla

[Guest guest]

Understandably, Dr. McLucas wanted to use his one of his IR's. He was

squeezing me in as an emergency surgery that day. This was the closest, most

available hospital for all of us.

[Guest guest]

Understandably, Dr. McLucas wanted to use his one of his IR's. He was

squeezing me in as an emergency surgery that day. This was the closest, most

available hospital for all of us.

[Guest guest]

Understandably, Dr. McLucas wanted to use his one of his IR's. He was

squeezing me in as an emergency surgery that day. This was the closest, most

available hospital for all of us.

[Guest guest]

Let me confirm the reason he didn't use the IR at Cedars and get back to you

on that.

Meanwhile, I'll attempt to answer your other questions:

I need to reiterate that this all happened so quickly...there was a rapid

progression of the bleeding symptoms making every doctor visit more about

damage control than calmly discussing options. I was pretty weak, crampy each

time I went in. I desperately wanted to have a couple days that I felt good

to do research and get a 2nd opinion...didn't happen. I was really desperate

and at wits end.

Anyway, it was not known until my second ultrasound (hysterosonogram) was

taken a few days after my first hospital visit, that the problem fibroid was

known to be submucosal. The day following the hysterogram I ended up in the

hospital for a blood transfusion--I didn't even make it to my doctor appt. to

discuss results of hysterogram.

About 1 week later I was given the Lupron in an attempt to stop the bleeding

and shrink the fibroid. My doctor was hoping I wouldn't need surgery

(myomectomy--not sure what type), but a myomectomy was discussed as a

possible necessity/option if the Lupron didn't work.

No one mentioned the risk of Lupron before surgery. Yikes. I made it a point

to tell Dr. Adler, Dr. McLucas, and the anesthesiologist. No one seemed

overly concerned...main concern was to stop the darn bleeding. I'm afraid to

ask now but, what are the risks of Lupron in my system w/ the UAE?

Thanks for your attention to my crazy story. I look forward to hearing from

you.

--

[Guest guest]

Let me confirm the reason he didn't use the IR at Cedars and get back to you

on that.

Meanwhile, I'll attempt to answer your other questions:

I need to reiterate that this all happened so quickly...there was a rapid

progression of the bleeding symptoms making every doctor visit more about

damage control than calmly discussing options. I was pretty weak, crampy each

time I went in. I desperately wanted to have a couple days that I felt good

to do research and get a 2nd opinion...didn't happen. I was really desperate

and at wits end.

Anyway, it was not known until my second ultrasound (hysterosonogram) was

taken a few days after my first hospital visit, that the problem fibroid was

known to be submucosal. The day following the hysterogram I ended up in the

hospital for a blood transfusion--I didn't even make it to my doctor appt. to

discuss results of hysterogram.

About 1 week later I was given the Lupron in an attempt to stop the bleeding

and shrink the fibroid. My doctor was hoping I wouldn't need surgery

(myomectomy--not sure what type), but a myomectomy was discussed as a

possible necessity/option if the Lupron didn't work.

No one mentioned the risk of Lupron before surgery. Yikes. I made it a point

to tell Dr. Adler, Dr. McLucas, and the anesthesiologist. No one seemed

overly concerned...main concern was to stop the darn bleeding. I'm afraid to

ask now but, what are the risks of Lupron in my system w/ the UAE?

Thanks for your attention to my crazy story. I look forward to hearing from

you.

--

[Guest guest]

Let me confirm the reason he didn't use the IR at Cedars and get back to you

on that.

Meanwhile, I'll attempt to answer your other questions:

I need to reiterate that this all happened so quickly...there was a rapid

progression of the bleeding symptoms making every doctor visit more about

damage control than calmly discussing options. I was pretty weak, crampy each

time I went in. I desperately wanted to have a couple days that I felt good

to do research and get a 2nd opinion...didn't happen. I was really desperate

and at wits end.

Anyway, it was not known until my second ultrasound (hysterosonogram) was

taken a few days after my first hospital visit, that the problem fibroid was

known to be submucosal. The day following the hysterogram I ended up in the

hospital for a blood transfusion--I didn't even make it to my doctor appt. to

discuss results of hysterogram.

About 1 week later I was given the Lupron in an attempt to stop the bleeding

and shrink the fibroid. My doctor was hoping I wouldn't need surgery

(myomectomy--not sure what type), but a myomectomy was discussed as a

possible necessity/option if the Lupron didn't work.

No one mentioned the risk of Lupron before surgery. Yikes. I made it a point

to tell Dr. Adler, Dr. McLucas, and the anesthesiologist. No one seemed

overly concerned...main concern was to stop the darn bleeding. I'm afraid to

ask now but, what are the risks of Lupron in my system w/ the UAE?

Thanks for your attention to my crazy story. I look forward to hearing from

you.

--

[Guest guest]

Carla,

I forgot to answer one important question you asked. No Dr. McLucas did not

remove the fibroid he lopped off...definitely concerns me and seems slightly

risky to leave that inside of me. Both he and my regular obgyn said that in

most cases the body absorbs or passes the dead tissue in the 1st 6 months

after surgery. Today my obgyn said there is a slight possibility I will have

contractions for a short period of time before passing it...something to look

forward to. Its scary to think both of these suckers (fibroids) are still

inside of me...

[Guest guest]

SWilli4608@... wrote:

> Understandably, Dr. McLucas wanted to use his one of his IR's. He was

> squeezing me in as an emergency surgery that day. This was the closest, most

> available hospital for all of us.

Okay. Now I'm confused again. I thought you were in Cedars' ER?

also, choice of IR is YOUR choice, not his. there are IRs at every hospital in

the LA region doing

UAEs. including Cedars. what was wrong with the IR at Cedars? since you were

there, why couldn't

McLucas work with him?

when you were initially given lupron by your prior gyn, was the idea to shrink

the fibroid for an

eventual hysteroscopic myomectomy?

did anyone communicate to you, in all those prescribed doses of BC pills that

you wrote about

previously, that the submucosal fibroid was the culprit behind your bleeding and

needed to come out?

when McLucas did that laparoscopic myo the next day, did he combine it with

hysteroscopic removal of

that submucosal fibroid?

did anyone communicate to you the risks/benefits of doing UAE with Lupron in

your system?

carla

[Guest guest]

SWilli4608@... wrote:

> Understandably, Dr. McLucas wanted to use his one of his IR's. He was

> squeezing me in as an emergency surgery that day. This was the closest, most

> available hospital for all of us.

Okay. Now I'm confused again. I thought you were in Cedars' ER?

also, choice of IR is YOUR choice, not his. there are IRs at every hospital in

the LA region doing

UAEs. including Cedars. what was wrong with the IR at Cedars? since you were

there, why couldn't

McLucas work with him?

when you were initially given lupron by your prior gyn, was the idea to shrink

the fibroid for an

eventual hysteroscopic myomectomy?

did anyone communicate to you, in all those prescribed doses of BC pills that

you wrote about

previously, that the submucosal fibroid was the culprit behind your bleeding and

needed to come out?

when McLucas did that laparoscopic myo the next day, did he combine it with

hysteroscopic removal of

that submucosal fibroid?

did anyone communicate to you the risks/benefits of doing UAE with Lupron in

your system?

carla

[Guest guest]

SWilli4608@... wrote:

> Understandably, Dr. McLucas wanted to use his one of his IR's. He was

> squeezing me in as an emergency surgery that day. This was the closest, most

> available hospital for all of us.

Okay. Now I'm confused again. I thought you were in Cedars' ER?

also, choice of IR is YOUR choice, not his. there are IRs at every hospital in

the LA region doing

UAEs. including Cedars. what was wrong with the IR at Cedars? since you were

there, why couldn't

McLucas work with him?

when you were initially given lupron by your prior gyn, was the idea to shrink

the fibroid for an

eventual hysteroscopic myomectomy?

did anyone communicate to you, in all those prescribed doses of BC pills that

you wrote about

previously, that the submucosal fibroid was the culprit behind your bleeding and

needed to come out?

when McLucas did that laparoscopic myo the next day, did he combine it with

hysteroscopic removal of

that submucosal fibroid?

did anyone communicate to you the risks/benefits of doing UAE with Lupron in

your system?

carla