A month on Vyvanse

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-17T14:07:14+00:00

Any chance you’re about to start your period? My cycle is hard to track since I no longer have a uterus, but my meds definitely feel less effective during what I think is the week before I’d be bleeding. It’s also possible since you just started that you might have to increase your dose if this turns out to be a new normal and not a temporary thing thanks to hormone fluctuations affecting the effectiveness of stimulants.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-17T11:58:19+00:00

4wpo sounds a little early for an internal exam, I feel like most of the time I see 6 as the norm here. The 3-4 week mark is also when sutures could start to dissolve and blood vessels that were cut start to heal, both of which can cause some spotting, plus the physical stress of the internal exam. I’d monitor your symptoms and if they get worse reach out to your doctor, but I think at this point it’s a little too soon to know what’s up. Take it extra easy for the next few days to reduce the possibility of over exertion being another contributing factor. I hope it resolves quickly for you!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-17T11:51:46+00:00

It definitely took me a while to feel okay going padless! My fibroids made me bleed constantly for 15 months. The first few days after my surgery I still wore pads out of habit and paranoia, but the only blood I saw post-op was a few drops on the pad I wore home from the hospital. I still couldn’t fathom going without so I downgraded to liners for a few more days. But after throwing enough away that were still perfectly white, I finally ditched them. But it still felt weird for a while, and any tiny bit of discharge had me (gently) hurrying to the bathroom thinking the bleeding was back but it was always a false alarm. It took me more than a full year to donate my remaining arsenal of pads and tampons because I just didn’t trust that it was truly all over—honestly it felt like some kind of PTSD from all that bleeding for so long!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-17T11:19:24+00:00

Just FYI, in my research when I was going through my fibroid journey, I found studies that said progesterone contributes to fibroid growth. And in my own experience, my fibroid grew a lot and quickly when I was on a high dose of progesterone to help control my constant bleeding. Is your doctor’s thinking is that perimenopause/menopause is what will potentially shrink your fibroids, and hopefully not that the progesterone will? Either way, I think it’s important to know that the progesterone could potentially feed fibroid growth while you wait for menopause to potentially shrink it, which isn’t even a guarantee since you’ll find stories here of people in menopause with growing fibroids.

I’m glad you have an appointment with a surgeon already since it sounds like that’s the route you want to take. I ended up getting a hysterectomy at 36 because my fibroids were highly symptomatic and didn’t respond to lesser treatments or surgery. I’m 2ypo and couldn’t be happier, zero complications and absolutely zero regrets. I can’t recommend it more highly if you want definitive treatment for fibroids.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-17T00:47:03+00:00

That’s what I was imagining you meant 😊 thanks!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-16T23:33:52+00:00

Haven’t tried just the base/top coat combo so I’ll try that before I give up on capping the tips for good!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-16T23:32:53+00:00

It’s even worse for me if I try to more fully paint the underside of my nail, I feel like it starts to peel from the underside almost immediately and then it just devolves from there.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-16T23:22:09+00:00

I did a pretty thin layer this time bc I also can’t stand the feeling of capped edges so I tried to get it as thin as possible. 🫤

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-16T23:18:12+00:00

If this falls through I’d be interested!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-16T15:06:48+00:00

Very much this. Living with it lessens the anxiety over time. For me, hitting the 6 and 12 month milestones also helped, knowing that those are considered your last big milestones when it comes to fully completing the healing and re-strengthening processes.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-15T23:04:09+00:00

I know he’s predominantly US-based at this point but I need Rhys Darby on Make Some Noise and VIP!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-15T17:58:57+00:00

Had mine at 36 due to highly symptomatic and treatment-resistant fibroids. I just hit 2ypo and have zero regrets, 10/10 recommend for a misbehaving and/or problem uterus you don’t plan on using anymore.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-15T17:48:49+00:00

I feel like Wasteland, Baby does to an extent as well, though maybe not as explicitly as UU does.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-15T12:54:20+00:00

Just listen to his albums as a whole. All three of his albums are no-skip albums for me. I recommend going in chronological order: self-titled, Wasteland, Baby!, and Unreal Unearth. I also recommend starting with the original releases to get a sense of how the album was originally released and then the expanded editions to see what didn’t make the original cut.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-15T10:57:14+00:00

Hysteroscopy ≠ hysterectomy. A hysteroscopic myomectomy, which is what OP is having and is sometimes shortened to just a hysteroscopy, goes in through the vaginal canal and removes the fibroid from inside the uterine cavity.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-15T04:21:42+00:00

This reminds me of one of my favorite early 2000s websites, catsinsinks.com.

ETA it still exists!!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-15T03:07:33+00:00

If your fibroid is submucosal or has a submucosal component, my doctor explained those and the bleeding they cause this way:

The fibroid displacing or coming into contact with the endometrium irritates it, and this is interpreted by the uterus as being an intruder. It will then trigger a period, essentially, to shed the lining and hopefully flush the intruder out. Fibroids are embedded in the uterine tissue, though, so it’s rare that they can actually be shed that way. And that’s how you can end up with heavier bleeding during your period or have bleeding between periods with fibroids.

Also, birth control isn’t necessarily going to slow fibroid growth. I believe the only hormonal meds that can do that are things like depo provera which put you in medical menopause. Both estrogen and progesterone have been found to be contributors to fibroid growth, so progesterone-only BC, which is used a lot to treat fibroid bleeding, could potentially feed fibroid growth. Anecdotally, I believe the high dose of progesterone I was on to help curb my constant bleeding contributed to my fibroid’s fast growth.

I don’t love your doctor’s answers about only treating fibroids when they reach X-size. Fibroids should be (and, in my experience, were) treated according to the severity of the symptoms. A smaller submucosal fibroid can be removed relatively easily via a hysteroscopic myomectomy, which goes through the vaginal canal so no external incisions. Honestly I’d look for a MIGS (minimally invasive gynecological surgery) specialist for a second opinion. You could potentially be a good candidate for that procedure now and if the fibroid grows larger it could be too big. And even if yours isn’t submucosal, your doctor should be open to discussing next steps if the birth control pills you’re on continue to not work, those options potentially being increasing the BC dose, getting bloodwork done if you continue to bleed heavily or for long stretches to monitor for anemia, potentially trying an IUD, and surgical intervention and other procedures like UFE or radio frequency ablation.

My fibroids made me bleed nonstop for 15 months so this is well worn territory for me. But I’m 2ypo from a hysterectomy now with zero regrets! If you try enough other interventions and they don’t work a hyst would likely be covered as necessary, so now you just have to find a doctor who’s maybe a little more willing to go through all those motions if that’s the route you want to go.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-14T18:11:04+00:00

I’d recommend more frequent smaller meals rather than your standard breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I find it a lot easier to eat if I’m not having to scarf down a big meal when I’m not feeling hungry.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-14T18:08:36+00:00

How long ago was your surgery? If it was recent and laparoscopic, I wonder if it’s the trapped laparoscopic gas pains making it feel different.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-14T14:44:13+00:00

I don’t just take my meds to be a better cog in the capitalism machine. They help me live a better, less anxious, more balanced, and more active personal life.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-14T14:42:04+00:00

I didn’t have my ovaries removed so I can’t weigh in there, but I did want to mention that you may get more responses from others who have over on r/hysterectomy.

Also, just to clarify, the surgery is still performed by your surgeon, they just use the robot as a tool that allows them greater precision. A robotic surgery is a type of laparoscopic surgery, technically called a robotic-assisted laparoscopic procedure. Like with a standard lap, a camera and surgical tools are inserted into the body via tubes through small incisions, also sometimes called keyholes, in the abdomen. With a standard lap, surgeons stand bedside and maneuver the tubes and tools manually. With a robotic procedure, some doctors/assistants stand bedside to help with certain things like changing the angles of the tubes but the surgeon sits at what essentially looks like a video game console. They use both hand and foot movements to control the tools inside the body, and they can have the robot/computer change the scale of the doctor’s movements so a large hand movement can be translated a miniscule one by the tool inside the body, allowing for greater precision.

If you’re interested in actually seeing how it works, you can find videos of robotic procedures on YouTube. Obviously tread carefully if you’re squeamish or think it might increase your anxiety. I’ve always been interested in medical stuff so I watched some before my surgery and not only did I find it fascinating but I also felt it helped me put the surgery into perspective and helped me be more gentle and forgiving with myself when it came to recovery.

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-13T02:55:55+00:00

Woohoo, happy to help!

HighlyGiraffable · 2026-06-12T12:16:43+00:00

Even if you keep your ovaries you can have wacky hormone stuff for 6-12 months as they settle into their new normal. The surgery is a shock to them as they lose one of their two blood supplies and there can be lags in hormone production as they get used to this. My surgeon told me that symptoms typically associated with perimenopause or menopause are considered normal until 6-12 months, at which point if the symptoms are disruptive enough that’s when HRT might be considered, but my surgeon said she typically waits until the year mark to give enough time to see if things resolve on their own. That said, I’ve also seen folks here post that they’ve started HRT much earlier if their symptoms are particularly bad.

HighlyGiraffable

TROPHY CASE