will Fibroids stop tummy shrinking?

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shakybabe
shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When I started losing weight last June I was 12st 7 and at my scan had a fibroid that they said was 11x7x6. It seemed to be pressing on my bladder as I was having problems and had to be shown how to use an intermittant cathetar... so I started trying to lose the weight to relieve the back pain and see if we could get fibroids to shrink small enough to be removed by keyhole surgery under local anaesthetic.

I've lost 13" off tummy but it doesn't seem to be getting any smaller though my waist has shrunk another inch (finally down to 30 " waist!! :happy: ) and my boobs have shrunk from 40" to 35" .. now starting to fit in size 12 tops! .. but can't get in 12 pants/jeans cos of tummy. (currently 14's).

Is this as far down as my tummy will go now unless I go through surgery to get fibroid removed? I was told it would shrink at menopause anyway and I'm currently going through peri-menopause early so wondering if I hang on it will go down eventually rather than going through surgery?

Thanks

Leigh :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • BeeSunny
    BeeSunny Posts: 172 Member
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    Congrats on the weigh loss, I just had a ultrasound done. I am just starting out getting results on my fibroids, I have had issues I do not enjoy with them, trouble emptying my bladder, constipation, bleeding between periods, I have an IUD and have had 3 short days of spotting for a period since 2009, and now it is all the time, after exercise and sex is when it really starts to bleed. I have a while before I become premenopausal so hoping they will do something with them. All information I have read on them says yes your stomach will remain that way until they shrink, or they are removed. Good luck and let me know I will send you a friend request. :flowerforyou:
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    Hi

    Thanks for answering. Well I am now only 3lb off my goal, I'm trying to tighten tummy up a bit with exercises aimed at that area and slendertone.. lol!

    As it looks like I'll go through mine early anyway I've decided I don't mind staying at 14, I think my hips are too wide to fit in a 12 anyway even if lost the tummy, though I'm sure I was a 10-12 at university many years ago when I was also around 9st 7!
  • BeeSunny
    BeeSunny Posts: 172 Member
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    Where I am at I would love to get into my 14's!! Sounds like your doing great, good for you!!!
  • kantone999
    kantone999 Posts: 174
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    There is another option and that is UAE (uterine arterial embolization). That shuts off the blood supply to the tumor and it eventually goes away. It's usually an outpatient procedure.
  • AmyBeth719
    AmyBeth719 Posts: 184 Member
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    I had a fibroid that I had to have removed because it was causing me such bad pain and I could not even funtion. I basically had a "c-section" to get it removed and had to be put in the the hospital for 4 days and the recovery was rough, but it was worth it. Most of my pains and problems went away with it. It was worth the surgery for me. That was in 2008.

    I do have fibroid growing that they are watching now. I don't have as many problems as I did with the other one and since I have not had children yet I want to mess with that area as little as possible. Being on birth control helps slow the growth too. Mine has double in size in 2 years and has not shrunk with my weightloss either.
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    well mine was pressing against my bladder I had to be shown how to use intermittant cathetar then as I was losing weight I relaised I wasn't having the same difficulties and going without thinking about it and not using the cathetar and not having the constant urge to go after I had just been!

    What does the UAE involve? does it hurt and how long does it take? As have dog at home, would I need to get someone to stay with her if it would be full day?
  • Sharonks
    Sharonks Posts: 884 Member
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    hystersisters.com has a board with alternatives to hysterectomies. This is a great place to ask about thing like UAE/UFE and fibroid removal. I ended up having a hyst because there was no way to remove mine. Mine weren't that large but there ended up being a lot of other problems that were causing me pain, bleeding, bowel and bladder problems.

    Fibroids can end up being quite large and making your tummy bigger than it would be so it may not be you!
  • BeeSunny
    BeeSunny Posts: 172 Member
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    hystersisters.com has a board with alternatives to hysterectomies. This is a great place to ask about thing like UAE/UFE and fibroid removal. I ended up having a hyst because there was no way to remove mine. Mine weren't that large but there ended up being a lot of other problems that were causing me pain, bleeding, bowel and bladder problems.

    Fibroids can end up being quite large and making your tummy bigger than it would be so it may not be you!

    Thanks for the information!!!
  • BeeSunny
    BeeSunny Posts: 172 Member
    Options
    There is another option and that is UAE (uterine arterial embolization). That shuts off the blood supply to the tumor and it eventually goes away. It's usually an outpatient procedure.

    Does this work for embedded fibroids?
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    My tummy was 48" around. I'm only 5ft 3 and half and my arms and legs didnt show the same weight gain so I looked more pregnant than overweight all over if you know what I mean. My wrists have always been thin with thin fingers.

    I've also been in wheelchair since 2005 and there is such a thing as 'quad belly', which develops when the tummy muscles aren't used cos person is unable to exercise them by standing up, walking about etc.. though usually happens with high level paraplegics (paralysed from chest down but NOT including arms) or Quadriplegics (shoulders/neck down) and I have the opposite problem.. ie an excess of involuntary movement so couldn't for the life of me understand why my tummy wasn't shrinking as I can burn an extra 1,000 cals a day just sitting in chair from involuntary movements alone and 30 mins of physio stretches a day!

    It may have been a combination of the fibroids and a wheat intolerance as since I dropped wheat I lost 13" off tummy within a few months but its hasn't gone down much more since.

    My periods have also been changing the last year, they used to be really heavy and last the entire week, now they aren't as heavy, often late sometimes twice a month instead of once and only lasting an average of 4 days. sometimes water goes on, comes off they havent come but arrive a few days later. I think its peri-menopause so maybe the decrease in Estrogen has been shrinking them over the last year?

    My tummy does look better, a little sag underneath but its not bad considering my exercise options are limited and its gone from 48" to 34 " I'm wondering if slendertone belts will work to tone up that area now I've got the excess fat off the area... I think cos of width of my hips I'm unlikely to get in today's size 12's anyway, even if I did manage to flatten my tummy a bit more... so just looking to get this last 3lb off now to reach my goal of '3 stone lost! '

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