My Fibroid and me

It's actually really nice that not very many people read my blog anymore. (I know you still do, Mama. :) (I also know I should change the name of this blog since it is barely about food and never about gardening anymore. But here we are). 

Anyway, the reason I am fine with not many people reading this I can now happily overshare some more medical information with very little qualms. And I like sharing this stuff here because, after all, this blog is my own personal life record. So if you are reading this, reader, strap yourself in for a bloody adventure.

It's Spring 2020. We are in lockdown and the world is completely weird as we collectively freak out about COVID-19. So I was not completely surprised that my body also started acting really weird. This manifested itself in my period going straight up bananas. At first, it was just crazy cramps and a heavier flow, all of which I thought was just stress taking form in my body. Turns out, that was not true.  

I think it was in April when the "flooding" started. So this is not a scientific term, but what I called it since it was hard to really get my doctor to understand the amount of blood coming out of body. The first time it happened I thought that maybe I was having a miscarriage somehow (even though I knew that was not possible). It was really scary. 

So, I went to my gyno. 

Looking back, this part makes me absolutely FURIOUS. She should've known almost right away that what was happening was connected to an abnormal fibroid as they aren't as common as I would've though (having never ever heard of them). 

Let's back up to 2019. Because of an previous MRI on an unrelated chronic pain rabbit hole, a small fibroid was discovered in my uterus. After that MRI, I went to my gyno and she said it was not really big enough to be much of a bother. (And at this point, my period was normal). So I didn't bother about it. 

Okay, fast forward to 2020, after the first flood. My doctor did not even mention that fibroid, and I had honestly forgotten about it. (Also I AM NOT A DOCTOR). She must not have truly understood what I meant when I said flooding even though I am pretty sure I described this basically the same way this entire time. I mean how many other ways are there to say that blood gushes out of me or blood surges out of me. Apparently, this just means, oh, let's try a IUD, maybe that will help regular your periods. 

So that's what I did. And sure it helped with cramps at first but pretty soon my periods became weeks and weeks long instead of the 5ish days it usually is. 

I think I new in my gut that an IUD was not the solution because this didn't have to do with birth control, but I waited out the allotted time the doctor said it would take me to adjust to it. 

Once I waited the recommended amount of time, I called the doctor again, this time a very grumpy nurse told me that I hadn't waited long enough, despite me trying to tell her that I did not think the IUD was the problem here. I was also very depressed at this point too and was trying to figure out if my hormones were out of sync. She also dismissed that and again, I was just told to wait it out. 

Insert emotional breakdown here. 

As I said earlier in case anyone forgot, I am not a doctor. I wasn't sure what else to do except carry on.

So I did. 

FOR ALMOST AN ENTIRE  YEAR.

Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out what was causing my chronic pain, a fun activity I try every 2 years or so. I got an MRI on my pelvis to see if I had any type of arthritis that could be causing my hip/leg pain. (I do not). But the first thing my arthritis doctor said to me when she walked into the room with my results was that I had a huge fibroid on my uterus. 

Duh. 

Fibroids are not uncommon. Most women have them during their reproductive years. They usually are just small and don't cause any issues that most women do not know they have them. The problems start when these bastards start to grew abnormally large, which, in turn, caused the uterus to enlarge and causes all kinds of trouble.

The thing is, no one really knows what causes fibroids or why they can get up to 20 cm (which is like being in your third trimester). It's not hard to guess that there is very little research done about a weird occurrences that only happens in women. (Sexism) And it's really not surprising that there is little research on fibroids because they mostly impact women of color, especially Black women. (Racism). No one knows why this is (because no research but maybe genetics somehow). This is changing, thanks in part to Kamala Harris. So hopefully we eventually find out more.

But back to my fibroid. 

When it was eventually measured, my fibroid was about 8 cm, landing me about in my second trimester. WHAT. Apparently, this does not alarm doctors (although, really, does anything?) It is just your run of the mill medium fibroid of mystery. Sure. 

After we figured that out, my gyno gave me three options. Just take out my uterus, take out the fibroid, leaving the uterus in tack or taking some kind of weird pill that would send me into early menopause temporarily. If you think getting a hysterectomy  is an extreme option, you are correct. Both my gynos (my regular one and the specialist I eventually went to) made it sound like it was no big deal. What. Don't I need that? Even if we don't have kids, doesn't not having a uterus cause hormones to freak the f out? Again, what do I know. I am not a doctor.

I eventually opted for a myomectomy, which just means surgery to remove the fibroid. Due to some summer scheduling things, I wasn't able to have this surgery until near the end of June. By this time, I was so ready. Despite being really nervous about my first real surgery (I've had my wisdom teeth out but that doesn't really seem to count), I was just ready to get this thing out of my body. I was tired of literally having my period every. single. day.

On June 24, I finally got this fibroid removed from my body. By this time, my fibroid was about 10cm. (It was still growing?!) This is roughly the size of a mango or one of Tito's balls.

Good lorde. No wonder my period was so weird and that my body has gotten bigger and that my hormones have been all over the place. 

My surgery was outpatient, but the first two days after surgery were really rough. Thankfully my Mama came out to Kansas to help us out, especially with Tito and cooking. I am not sure what we would've done without her coming. Levent is a wonderful caretaker, but with his work schedule, we were glad for the extra help. 

Cookies Mom made us

Classic seat stealer Tito move

Flowers from Mom

Flowers from my Mother-in-law

(On of my biggest issues was how bad my shoulders hurt after my surgery. Weird huh? Apparently this isn't uncommon. It took a few days before my muscles in my shoulders and at the top of my rib cage stopped spazzing out every time I sat up or laid back down). 

It's been about three weeks since my surgery now and I am basically back to normal although my wounds are still healing. I am hopeful that this next period will also be normal and that this fibroid thing is finally behind me.