Hi ImImportant,
I am in the same boat. I'm 41 years old and have more fibroids than they could count on last ultrasound. Three are significant. (I'm comparable to a 5 month pregnancy.) My largest fibroid was 12cm the last time it was checked. Yet, I do not have any typical symptoms either. I cannot have surgery unless I'm willing to give up my uterus. If my boyfriend and I didn't want children so badly, I think I might just opt to have the partial hysterectomy. I always had a flat stomach and now I feel like a buddha-belly. My doctor warned me that I may not be able to get pregnant, and if I do, I will be twice the size of an average woman in the waistline.
I like to really work my ab muscles in the hopes of "holding it in". Ab ripper (P90X), running, pilates, anything that will strengthen the muscles can help.
I think if I were not considering children, I would have the partial hysterectomy. (And fully expect if I have a child, the uterus is going to be taken at the delivery - which is a bummer, because we want two children.) But it's not just vanity. My fibroids are heavy and uncomfortable. It's just so gradual that I think I've gotten used to it. Peeing so frequently, feeling full and bloated even after hours of not eating, discomfort bending over to tie my shoes, twisting poses in yoga knock the wind out of me. And for every year they grow even a mm, by volume it's a lot of extra space. Ultimately, my doctor said, they can block off either my urinary tract or my bowels (because of where they are located) and I will need emergency surgery.
How do you feel about the rest of your body other than the stomach area? And do you know your family history on when the women typically hit menopause? I don't like the idea of elective surgery at all, but I guess it depends on how much your quality of life is being affected. Sorry you're stuck with the little buggers too!
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