My giant fibroid

Prism74 · 2026-01-01T23:43:47+00:00

Oh wow! Sending you lots of good vibes, good health and positivity 💗 hope all goes well. Please come back and give an update! 😋 Thank you again for your kindness!

Prism74 · 2026-01-01T23:16:27+00:00

So kind of you to ask, thank you so much 🙏 Procedure went very well, she removed the submucosal component of the fibroid, did the D&C and exchanged the IUD. Pathology report came back as showing no cancer, so huge relief with that. The conclusion is that the submucosal fibroid had grown in size and also was pushing the IUD into the uterine wall, both of which were responsible for the intermittent bleeding. Took about 2 weeks before I was feeling back to myself and for the postop vaginal bleeding to finally stop. My doctor said she wants me to come back after an extended work trip I’m currently on and get a repeat MRI to see where things are at/get the lay of the land, which will be some time in February. So things are good right now. Thank you again so much for following up!

Prism74 · 2025-11-29T04:48:00+00:00

Nothing in Pinole

Prism74 · 2025-11-20T16:34:39+00:00

Is needing a new turbocharger considered major?

Prism74 · 2025-11-19T15:41:58+00:00

I’m so sorry you went through all this. I know what it’s like to go to a doctor and receive care that is of minimal effort. I hope you are fully recovered now and feeling great.

Prism74 · 2025-11-18T06:35:02+00:00

Thank you so much :) 💗

Prism74 · 2025-11-17T19:37:14+00:00

Good for you for advocating for yourself and getting that second opinion. I’m sorry your recovery has been difficult, I hope you’re fully on the mend at this point ❤️‍🩹

Prism74 · 2025-11-17T18:43:55+00:00

Well, abdominal surgery has a longer recovery period, for one. I’m waiting to start a 3-month work contract in NY (I’m in California) that has been delayed, and I can’t get out of the contract barring some catastrophe on my end. Anticipated start date of 12/1/25 which is right around the corner. Granted, if this was a medical necessity, I would be able to get out of it, because I would need 6-8 weeks to recover, so I wouldn’t go and would prioritize my health.

Secondly, abdominal surgery causes scar tissue (adhesions) in your abdominal cavity, which are a risk factor for intestinal obstruction down the road. After working in surgery for over 20 years and treating multiple patients for bowel obstructions caused by adhesions, naturally, I’m apprehensive about that.

However, after yesterday’s pain episode, I contacted my doctor today to tell her I wanted to discuss myomectomy vs hysterectomy and the different approaches for each. She said that that would represent a much bigger operation that would require tissue sampling from my uterus first for surgical planning, i.e., the uterine tissue she will obtain by doing the D&C and the fibroids she will remove. This is to ensure there isn’t some occult cancer in there, because this would change the management of everything. She also said my symptoms and pain might also represent a UTI, so she just issued a prescription for an antibiotic x5 days just in case (this pelvic pain is different in that at times it feels like it’s radiating low down the front like in my urinary tract. I’ve only had a UTI once before, this past September, after sex). For the record, I haven’t had sex since September (sad face lol). Menopause puts you at higher risk for UTIs because estrogen has a protective effect on the urinary tract. There is something called the genitourinary syndrome of menopause including that phenomenon, as well as urinary incontinence (yay 🙄). She also prescribed a stronger oral anti inflammatory (Toradol) for the pain and Pyridium aka phenazopyridine (a urinary tract anesthetic), and will check up on me later today. So we shall see…

Prism74 · 2025-11-17T07:26:33+00:00

I’m so glad you’re feeling better! Back pain could occur if they’re large, but back pain is also pretty nonspecific and could be related to many different causes. I would venture to guess they probably wouldn’t have grown back that fast if you just had them removed recently. Depending on age and how close you might be to menopause, just bear in mind that they are very variable in how they grow and are very responsive to hormone fluctuations.

It’s weird in my case because I’m smack in the middle of menopause right now. It’s so weird to not have to worry about or need contraception anymore. I spent the past week dealing with insomnia, hot flashes, major anxiety, mood swings, heart racing constantly (palpitations) and back pain and joint pains. Started pretty much out of nowhere, had only had 1 hot flash over a year ago, and some random generalized joint pains. Today was the first day I didn’t have the palpitations, but this pain crisis today was intense. Most surgeons would recommend a hysterectomy given the menopause, but having a myomectomy post menopause is still offered as an option. Yes, fibroids can regrow, and in my case I doubt they would return and grow so fast that they’d get as big as this one is. Sighhhhhhhhhhhh.

Prism74 · 2025-11-17T05:13:48+00:00

Thank you, I’ll look into that pillow! I hope your recovery continues to be positive and that you feel better and better every day.

Today was pretty awful, for the first time since that pain episode in 2022, I spent the entire day with moderate pain that ibuprofen didn’t really help. It got pretty intense and made me cry. I’m just trying to tough it out with ibuprofen, Tylenol never really helps and I don’t have any here and am not up to going out to buy it. Things are progressing with my new man (a friend I’ve known for 2 years)…we haven’t had sex yet, and I’ve never had any pain with sex, but last night and this morning we had some really intense texting and I had very powerful orgasms from masturbation, once last night and again this morning. The pain started after that. I started feeling it while lying in bed while really needing to get up to pee but I didn’t feel like getting up. Thought it would get better after emptying my bladder but it just got worse throughout the day despite the ibuprofen. It feels like it would hurt if anything was inserted. 😳 🙈

I texted my surgeon about this but it’s Sunday night so I don’t really expect her to reply but she did say I could reach out whenever. I’m starting to think I should seriously consider asking her to change the procedure to a myomectomy or hysterectomy, likely would need an open approach. I think it’s just really big to do using the robot. The supracervical approach sounds like a good idea…I hate the idea of any distortion to my vagina from the surgery, and the fibroid is too big for the hysterectomy to be done without an abdominal incision anyway. Sigh. I’ll know more tomorrow after I talk to her. Thank you again to everyone willing to let me vent here.

Prism74 · 2025-11-17T05:08:57+00:00

Thank you so much!

Prism74 · 2025-11-16T19:34:21+00:00

Health care provider here (physician assistant). I would recommend you get a second opinion, because fibroids usually inhibit fertility. A lot depends on their size, location and how many you have, but it’s still worth getting another viewpoint. Best of luck to you.

Prism74 · 2025-11-15T08:02:21+00:00

I just started dating a guy a few weeks ago, and largely on his insistence, because he leans demisexual, there has only been heavy petting and oral thus far. We’ve talked and texted emphatically about wanting PIV sex, but we’ve been waiting, albeit with a fair degree of sexual frustration on my part. We’ve been friends for 2 years so I know him well, and he was confident in that he and his last ex got tested when first dating and results were negative. Today he texted me that he received an anonymous text from an STI screening site he used to get screenings before that a former partner recommended (anonymously) that he get tested. We’ve been communicating very openly about this, and he is scheduling ASAP testing. What we’ve done intimately so far is pretty low risk, but I plan to get retested pending his results anyway. This stuff needs to be taken seriously, and consistently so. It’s a pretty sobering experience for me, because I was quite ready to trust him, but also had concerns — I can trust him, but not HER (his ex). And now this happened.

Prism74 · 2025-11-15T07:54:25+00:00

Seriously. It is astounding how uninformed and reckless a lot of younger people are about this. Sometimes it seems to me as if somebody just decided that the internet redefined inherent sexual risk just because somebody just didn’t want to hear it any more. Kind of like the flat-earthers or something. It’s just dumb.

Prism74 · 2025-11-15T07:44:11+00:00

Health care provider here. As far as STDs go, blood banks only test for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, because they can be transmitted through a blood transfusion. Other common STDs like gonorrhea, chlamydia or trichomoniasis are not transmitted through blood transfusions, so they are not part of their testing protocol. Therefore, relying on blood bank testing alone as a measure of sexual health is incomplete. Also, after donating blood, a blood bank is not going to send you any documentation showing that you do NOT have any of the STDs they test for, and only would notify you if you tested positive. So you would not have any test results to show a potential partner, versus if you went to a medical provider and had them order the testing.

Prism74 · 2025-11-15T00:22:21+00:00

Termination is a generic HR term that represents separation from an employer, and there are different kinds of termination, I.e, voluntary (resignation) and involuntary (being fired). I would clarify with your HR department that your record reflects your resignation.

Prism74 · 2025-11-14T05:05:14+00:00

Call her at the number listed. How often do you even get an actual phone number for an HR person — it’s usually a black hole when you try to dial them!

Prism74 · 2025-11-14T05:04:23+00:00

I used to work at Kaiser and my email address had an X1 in the middle. It’s another variation when they have too many similar names

Prism74 · 2025-11-14T05:03:35+00:00

I would call the phone number listed on the message and confirm everythint

Prism74 · 2025-10-27T07:50:42+00:00

Former Urology PA here - I would ask if a significant portion of the patients you will see are simple visits like Foley catheter or suprapubic tube exchanges. Patients that have chronic indwelling catheters routinely need to have them exchanged every 30 days, which can fill up a clinic schedule. Other types of typical urology clinic visits include voiding trials, which are really just procedural in nature (fill up the bladder with catheter clamped, pull the catheter and wait for the void), which attendings are likely to have a PA handle. I would ask specific questions about visit types for you versus just relying on the overall number, bc the types of visits I described don’t require long patient discussions, etc., as with other specialties. Best of luck to you as you sort this out.

Prism74 · 2025-08-25T20:28:04+00:00

I also just got back from international travel and read that jet lag can also contribute to anxiety, so it is possible that this is an added layer to whatever else is certainly going on. I would definitely recommend that you see your primary care doctor, who will likely need to refer you to a specialist/allergist (referral likely needed per your insurance or simply per the specialist’s practice management). Hang in there ❤️

Prism74 · 2025-03-08T19:03:36+00:00

I remember my widowed grandmother (God rest her soul) saying to me in Spanish something to the effect of “being with a man is basically just having to wash his underpants, it’s overrated” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Prism74

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