Hi,
I have been on here several times throughout the last 4 months as i seem to get more information and support on here than anything the hospital/GP gave me. I had an ectopic pregnancy at the end of July and was initially given methatrexate and monitored for 4 weeks but unfortunately it ended up rupturing and i had to have emergency surgery at the end of August and had my right tube removed.
During one of my first scans and then during surgery it was discovered I had a fibroid 6cms and several small ones which the surgeon and doctor didnt seem to be bothered about, in fact they said i could have had them years and basically they werent bothered about them.
I had a follow up appt with the consultant 4 weeks after surgery and i was discharged back to my GP as i wasnt having any issues but they wanted to give me a scan to see if the fibroids had grown. I had the scan a few weeks ago and ive since had a letter saying the fibroid is 7cm now and my ovaries appear normal. In between all this i have had my 3rd period since the op which was extremely painful to the point where i was doubled over on the first day of my period which scared the hell out of me as the pain was the same as when my ectopic ruptured.
Fortunately the intense pain only lasted the day but my period was very heavy which i know is a symptom of fibroids BUT what i dont understand is if id had these fibroids for years why have i never had periods/pain like this before?!
Im also having every thought running through my head such as what if it isnt a fibroid and something more sinister as they just didnt seem bothered at all about them, ive got a constant twinge, ache on my right side, which is the ectopic side and the side of the fibroid is on, is this normal still 3 months after surgery? I just feel like im being fobbed off by the hospital and GP and not even been given any info on my options, if i have any to treat/remove them
Has anyone else got fibroids?
Hi
I didn’t know I had fibroids until 4 weeks ago when I had the first scan. I have 2 or 3 and one in particularly partially blocks the left tube in which the ectopic pregnancy was in, and expectant management (watching and waiting for your body to expel the ectopic pregnancy naturally) has not been helped by its positioning.
However I believe many women have fibroids, I’m mixed race and a very high percentage of black women have fibroids. They’re only an issue if they affect your periods or if they make a problem conceiving but I think overall they’re not considered a problem in themselves.
Some people do get heavy periods with them. For me, I’ve had no heavy periods in my life and once this ectopic is resolved I’m not worried about them (I’ve checked this with the consultant gynaes and my doctor).
They did obscure the scan a bit so made my ‘pregnancy of unknown location’ a bit more difficult to confirm or detect as ectopic.
Hope this maybe reassured you - it’s quite common for fibroids which have been otherwise not symptomatic to just be left.
Dear Kazshuker39,
It is quite common for periods to change following ectopic pregnancy, so this may not be related to the fibroids that have been found. If however you do not find your periods settling down into a pattern that is more normal for you and if you continue with heavy, painful periods, I would advise talking things through with your GP as unfortunately I am not medically trained.
Experiencing some pain after an ectopic pregnancy is normal as your body has been through a great deal over the last few months. The pain may be due to adhesions (scar tissue that binds two parts of the body together) which form and take some time to settle. Your body may be preparing to ovulate and many women experience ovulation pain when they did not before their ectopic pregnancy - including myself. You also may have a heightened perception because of the sad loss that you have had to go through. If you find you experience offensive smelling discharge or an increased temperature of more than 37°C or just want to be checked out to be on the safe side, it would be worth asking your doctors to run tests to check for infection. If the pain persists, I suggest keeping a pain diary noting when the pain appears, the intensity on a scale of 0-10 and anything that helps the pain eg resting, hot water bottle, paracetamol etc. Visiting your doctors with this information helps them to assess how best to manage your symptoms.
Sending much love,
Karen x
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