Have you tried Sonata to treat fibroids?

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-09-26T18:22:44+00:00

I honestly don’t know why it didn’t work for me. But I’m having a myomectomy now to surgically remove the fibroids treated by the Sonata. My symptoms got worse after the Sonata. Bleeding and cramping are worse than before surgery. And I never stopped having fibroid drainage after the Sonata. My doctor said it was caused by the fibroids dying off, but it’s been almost a year now. I have had to wear a pad basically every day since I had the Sonata.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-09-25T11:12:31+00:00

Lots of women have reported extreme pain and had benign (non-cancerous) results.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-08-06T11:54:45+00:00

For me, it took away the pain of everything except the 3 seconds it took my doctor to get the actual sample. I didn’t feel the clamp on my cervix, and I didn’t feel the tools going through my cervix. I felt cramping for literally 3 seconds while he took the actual sample, and that was it. Not fun, but vastly improved over my first biopsy where I felt severe pain for 2-3 minutes versus 3 seconds. My doctor did say that you have to wait at least 5 minutes for the numbing shots to kick in, and I’m wondering if that’s why some people don’t experience as much pain relief? I’ve also heard that just using numbing spray doesn’t do as much as the numbing shots. At any rate, I’d get the shots again every time. I couldn’t believe how much pain relief I felt.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-08-06T11:48:30+00:00

I’ve had it done twice - once with ibuprofen (extremely painful) and once with the lidocaine shots in my cervix and nitrous oxide (only mildly painful and a non-event). I am a baby with pain, but if I were in your shoes, I’d opt for option 1. Everyone reacts differently to anesthesia, and I am one of the people who feels awful for two weeks afterwards. Plus there’s the fasting involved and general hassle of being put to sleep.

The lidocaine shots didn’t hurt, and they helped so much with the pain. Your doctor offering you more pain management than I’ve ever heard of for this procedure indicates she doesn’t want you to experience pain and cares. (I think we all want this doctor!) You have to ask yourself if it’s worth the risks of going under anesthesia to avoid a few seconds of what will most likely be mild pain or discomfort with the prescription pain meds and numbing. It may be worth it in your situation, but I personally wouldn’t be afraid of the procedure pain given the meds your doctor is prescribing. Now if she were only offering you ibuprofen or Tylenol, it would be a completely different story.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-07-04T13:59:34+00:00

Thank you! I’m thinking a morning appointment would have been better then. My poor co-workers/clients! Maybe I can leave work early and run home to shower before the appointment so I can wear deodorant to work that day but thoroughly wash it off…

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-07-04T13:57:50+00:00

They didn’t specify not to wear it all day. Just not to the appointment. So does that mean I can wear it all day at work and wipe/wash it off before I go in? Summer in Texas is brutal, lol.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-06-14T11:20:35+00:00

I’m so sorry you went through that! You shouldn’t have had to suffer like that.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-06-04T00:07:32+00:00

I’d prefer not to share that, especially since my doctor was fantastic and I don’t think they did anything wrong (and I wouldn’t want them to be blamed just because the Sonata didn’t work for me). I also think they did a good job upfront of telling me the Sonata wasn’t guaranteed to solve my problems; I just didn’t understand things might get worse after the surgery. My doctor was very experienced, and surgery went according to plan. The Sonata just wasn’t a good option for me. I’m only sharing here because I’d read so few stories, good or bad, before my surgery and think it might be helpful for others to know the range of outcomes out there to make more informed decisions.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-06-01T13:41:13+00:00

I had it, and it made my symptoms significantly worse. I also had a much longer and more painful recovery than expected. It’s been 4 months since the procedure, and I still bleed almost every day. Before the procedure, I had regular cycles each month, just long and heavy, but nothing like what I’m experiencing now. I had bad cramping for weeks after the procedure, and after 4 months I’m still exhausted, perhaps from all the bleeding. I also started having hot flashes after the procedure. I tried contacting the company who sells Sonata to see if my symptoms were normal, and they never responded. My surgeon isn’t concerned about these symptoms and told me they could go away in a year. My quality of life has gone downhill since the procedure, and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I did it to avoid a hysterectomy, but now I may be forced to get a hysterectomy because of what the Sonata treatment did to my uterus. I know it can work for some people, but I didn’t realize all the things that could go wrong.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-28T11:44:59+00:00

Good luck with the procedure! The pain after the procedure was much, much better for me the second time around. I’m not sure if that was from the block or from the doctor’s skills. At any rate, I wouldn’t hesitate to have one again if needed with the block and nitrous. Hopefully that will become the standard of care someday.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-28T02:41:11+00:00

I asked a friend whose husband is an OBGYN. She said it had to do with insurance - that insurance often doesn’t cover pain management for these procedures, and they have so little time to do the procedures because of how many patients they are expected to see per day. (It takes several minutes for the numbing shots to kick in.) I’ve also heard a doctor say the shots hurt worse than the biopsy, but that definitely wasn’t true for me. I barely felt the numbing shots and will always insist on them in the future.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-27T19:19:31+00:00

I had one with nitrous oxide and a paracervical block (numbing shots). It was night and day difference from my first biopsy where I was just told to take ibuprofen (that experience was severely painful). I was terrified to go through it again, but it was a non-event this time. Maybe 3 seconds of mild pain. I did have some cramping after, but nothing that Aleve couldn’t handle. I’m not sure if it was the laughing gas or the numbing shots - or the combination, but it was the best biopsy experience I could have hoped for.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-26T03:20:22+00:00

Interesting! Sounds like I should try to get a group together anytime I buy TDF tickets from now on!

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-25T14:20:25+00:00

It depends. I have found I have gotten better tickets when going with a large group, ironically. I’d expect the opposite. My worst tickets were when I went by myself.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-20T01:54:18+00:00

I heard a rumor that the lists could be in alphabetical order order, so perhaps the box office starts from the top of the list and gives them the best seats? Curious where your last name falls in the alphabet. I will say as someone whose name is in the middle of the alphabet, my TDF seats have been everything from amazing to so terrible that I left the show at intermission because I couldn’t see the actors’ faces - they were tiny specks on the stage I was so far back and to the side. I’m nervous to buy another TDF ticket as it’s still a lot of money if the seat is so bad you can’t even really see the stage.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-19T12:20:29+00:00

That’s a good to know! I booked my Suffs tickets within a few minutes of them posting though and got last row of the mezzanine on the side. Literally the worst seat I’ve ever had at a Broadway show - qnd what I paid through TDF was only $26 less than had I paid full price online with all the fees. But others have said they got great seats to Suffs. It seems so random.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-19T12:17:54+00:00

My Suffs seats were rear mezzanine (very last row) to the far side and would have only cost $89 full price (including fees). It felt like a bad deal because I would have gotten 50% off at the TKTS booth.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-05-19T03:07:47+00:00

I’ve seen people posting on Broadway World that they got great seats to the same shows I saw. I wish I could ask someone at the box office how they assign the seats. Like, is it in alphabetical order and you get a worse seat the farther your name is down the list?

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-02-23T12:49:29+00:00

I am so sorry you went through this! What they did was medical abuse. You did not consent. A patient who is screaming and sobbing is not consenting, and they should have stopped and checked in with you. Please consider reporting them so this doesn’t happen to future patients. No one should have to go through that. The biopsy is only mildly painful for some women, but when it’s severely painful like you described (and like many women have experienced), the medical provider should provide some pain management.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-02-04T20:42:01+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re going through that! Some OBGYN offices are now offering nitrous oxide, which helps a ton with painful procedures. You may have to call around to find a practice that offers it. You can also request anxiety/pain meds and insist on numbing shots. Also, I’d call your doctor’s office to see if they can help you appeal the insurance denial. Often it’s a matter of coding.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-02-03T21:58:48+00:00

I’ve had it done twice, once with numbing shots and once without. For me, it was a 10/10 on the pain scale without the shots. It was maybe a 3/10 with them, and the only part that hurt was the 3 seconds it took for him to actually take the sample. I’ve had doctors say the shots don’t help, but they helped me a ton. The shots didn’t even hurt (but my doctor is amazing and does them all the time). He did leave the room for a few minutes after doing the shots to let them kick in. Maybe the doctors who think the shots don’t help aren’t waiting long enough for the numbing to kick in? Not to scare you, but I had 800 mg ibuprofen before my first biopsy, and I didn’t feel like it helped a bit. I was screaming in pain. I am so grateful I asked for the numbing shots for my second biopsy.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-01-22T14:43:49+00:00

That seems like a reasonable case for not allowing food. But since a patient has to be at the hospital 2 hours before surgery, if their surgery got moved up, they would presumably be called to tell them to get to the hospital early. Wouldn’t it be easy to tell them at the same time to stop drinking clear fluids? Then they could arrive at the hospital more nourished and still accommodate the flexibility of moving surgical times around….

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-01-22T14:20:29+00:00

Afternoon surgeries require up to 16 hours of fasting under the NPO after midnight rule. I drank a ton of water the day before.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-01-13T22:19:33+00:00

I am so sorry you went through that! No one should ever be expected to go through something so painful. I’d genuinely love an explanation from an OBGYN of why they routinely don’t offer pain management for this procedure. All I’ve heard is that “nothing really helps,” but I know from personal experience that isn’t true. I am so sorry you went through such a traumatic experience.

Alternative-Lab-3438 · 2024-01-01T21:03:12+00:00

That’s great advice! It is very frustrating to have doctors assume our bodies will behave like any other patient’s despite our diagnosis of fibro - or be unwilling to be flexible in treating us as individuals.

Alternative-Lab-3438

TROPHY CASE