TTC with (LARGE) fibroid...

Hi all,

Regular reader, first time poster :)

I recently found out through a routine pap/exam and followup scans that I have a large fibroid. It's 13cm and at the top of the uterus. I've seen a OBGYN who outlined my options as either being surgery or TTC and 'hoping' it can happen and knowing that if it does it is likely to be high-risk pregnancy.

The surgery will require about 6 weeks off work / recovery and 1yr - 18mnths before we can try for a baby afterwards. There's also the risk of damage to the uterus or bleeding out which could result in an emergency hysterectomy.

Given that I'm only 27, recently married and wanting several kids I've come to the conclusion that it's not a risk I'm willing to take just yet. Sooo now I've come off birth control pill, started prenatals and diet changes, and we are TTC. If we get no results or m/cs only in the next 12mnths then I may need to conceed defeat to the fibroid and have it removed. But I feel like I need to try first so I have no regrets later.

I've read of a fair few ladies finding they have them once they're already pregnant but not beforehand and not this large....

So I guess i need some hope!! Has anyone else been able to successfully conceive with a large fibroid and carried close to term??

Welcome to BB. You'll find lots of support here.

I dont have personal experience with fibroids, but I did recently read an article of a woman in your situation. Instead of surgery, she had some kind of extreme ultrasound on her uterus that ended up reducing the fibroid. It was done at Royal Womens Hospital, Melbourne. She went on to have a healthy baby. It may be something worth discussing with your doctor. I understand pregnancy hormones can cause fibroids to grow so I imagine that will increase the risk if any pregnancy.

GL

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Welcome to BB. You'll find lots of support here.

I dont have personal experience with fibroids, but I did recently read an article of a woman in your situation. Instead of surgery, she had some kind of extreme ultrasound on her uterus that ended up reducing the fibroid. It was done at Royal Womens Hospital, Melbourne. She went on to have a healthy baby. It may be something worth discussing with your doctor. I understand pregnancy hormones can cause fibroids to grow so I imagine that will increase the risk if any pregnancy.

GL

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Thanks Tashy!

I saw that article too and thought I was saved!! So I contacted the hospital and looked into that ultrasound method, looks really promising! Unfortunately they won't accept anyone with a growth larger than 10cm. My Dr also said it's still quite new and there's been limited studies of fertility post-treatment.

I'd much rather try that than the full on surgery though, if only I can shrink it a bit!! I've been trying some natural therapies (garlic tablets, blackstrap molassess) but I don't know if that will make much difference.

And yup, last thing I want is it getting any bigger!

At least the scans show it's not blocking anything really (tubes and cervix not blocked/affected). Just a case of whether implantation might fail if it tries to embed in the fibroid. In the meantime, I get bad lower back pain and need to pee ALL the time :redface:

Hi BunnyBunny and welcome to posting on BB!

I have fibroids, none as large as yours though. Mine get big during pregnancy and then shrink back. As far as me TTC goes, I fall pregnant somewhat easilly. I too try to eat a healthy diet (darn chocolate though!), and I haven't been on the pill for years. But I have had two miscarriages and we don't know if they are related to the fibroids or not.

Being pregnant with my daughter was scary. The fibroids just grew. One was at the entrance to the birth canal and we didn't know whether DD could get through or not. If she didn't and I needed a c/section, it would have to be a vertical incision as a fibroid was sitting where the incision is normally made during a normal c/section. But she got past it and I gave birth naturally four days before her due date. I was scared about going into labour too early, due to the fibroid risk, but it didn't happen.

By the time DD was born, I had five fibroids, the biggest being around 6cms. My ob spoke to me about getting them removed, so I went to see him in January after having an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that I only had two fibroids and one of them had calcified. The one remaining had shrunk to a few millimeters in size. He's advice was to leave them alone - he outlined the risks that your ob gave you.

The other thing to consider is that it isn't uncommon for fibroids to shrink during pregnancy. And breastfeeding helps shrink them too. My ob told me that because I breastfed for a good amount of time (14 months), that's probably the reason that one calcified.

So although mine wasn't as big as yours, as a fibroid by fibroid comparison, I did have five of the buggers and had a full-term baby. Good luck :hug:

My SIL had alot of fibroids and had to have surgery to remove them. She was told her chances of conceiving naturally were virtually impossible and she would possibly need to look at alternatives. (IVF/donor) SIL & her partner were pretty much 'not trying not preventing' and when she went for her follow up after surgery she found that she had 40 new fibroids but was also pg! She has now had a baby boy, so it it possible, albeit a small possibility. GL

Hi sweetie, and welcome to BB!!! I feel like you're talking about me 3 years ago! Basically, I had a massive 10 cm fibroid which grew to 14 cm as my pg progressed but sadly it had caused me a late term m/c at 21 week. Basically my doc told me exactly what yours did, either leave it in and risk a high risk pg or try to remove it but worse case scenario I might bleed out during the op and lose my whole uterus. We all bit the bullet still believing leaving the fibroid was the best option (even my doc thought it was the best option), and then the worst case scenario happened. The only 'good' thing that has come out of me losing my son was that the pg has starved the fibroid off the oxygen (by the uterus growing and putting a fair bit of pressure on it) and when it finally got removed 4 months after my loss, the fibroid was 'dead' and removing it was a piece of cake. 6 months later I conceived again and now have a 14 mo son. GL in your TTC journey hun.

Thanks everyone, has definately helped knowing that it is possible! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't full of blind hope...

And good to know that pregnancy and breastfeeding can shrink them. If I can have a baby, maybe I can shrink the fibroid enough in the process to get the ultrasound treatment instead of surgery. Then have many more babies with less worry hanging over me!

Miss.B my heart goes out to you, losing a child late term like that is my biggest fear. The biggest concern we had with choosing the 'try first' method was that if we did get pregnant that I would lose it or the fibroid would push on it and cause pre-term labor.

I went to my GP today and have had some blood screens done, to rule out any other potential issues (hormones etc) - have followup next week *fingers crossed*

I'm also currently in the dreaded TWW stage!! I know the chances are slim, but still there's a chance. My cycle has been regular, I had a positive LH surge, we DTD at all the right times....so now we wait....TWW ends next Friday :pray:

Good luck hun :bluedust: :pink-babydust:

Hi,

I had some unexplained bleeding and long periods so went to the Dr who sent me for an US. turns out i had a 12cm fibroid. This was while we were TTC Dd. This was in the January.

They said to just leave it (not sure why now as it was a while ago 4 yrs) We ended up falling pg with DD a couple months later.. The Fibroid was of some concern to begin with but by the 20 week scan they couldn't find it and when I had my c/s they said it was gone..

Usually (i think) they grow with the pregnancy but mine didn't.. Hope that helps you out