boxofdelights (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
boxofdelights) wrote2022-08-23 01:25 pm
boxofdelights) wrote2022-08-23 01:25 pm
fibroids
So I had a pap smear. I don't remember when my last was, but it was overdue before the pandemic. The nurse practitioner said there was something protruding from the cervix. It looked like a polyp, which she would just remove, but it wasn't coming away when she tugged, so she thought it was something solider, maybe a fibroid. She called in a doctor, who poked and tugged for a while, and agreed it was a fibroid, and ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech took a good look at everything.
So I have three fibroids, one large (7 cm). The NP said, "That has to come out." Also there is some fluid in one fallopian tube. She said that means the surgeon will probably want to do something more invasive than the laparoscopic surgery that they would normally do for a fibroid, in order to see what's going on in there. I'm going to see the surgeon for a consultation next month.
I thought fibroids were supposed to shrink after menopause, not start creating new problems? I do think I'm in menopause. I hadn't had a period for more than a year before one final fuck-you in 2021. That has to be the last of it, right?
And everything I'm reading about fibroids say that if they're not causing any symptoms, don't try to fix it. I had several days of cramps after all the poking and tugging during the exam, but now I'm back to no symptoms.
I had surgery twice this year (bunions). I'm not going through that again to fix a non-problem.
In non-ick news, I'm participating in a study on healthy brain aging. I had three hours of mental acuity tests, now I'm wearing an accelerometer for a week, then I get an MRI. They'll give me a picture of my brain! I think they're looking for a correlation between activity level and brain health. It's just a snapshot though, they aren't following participants through time. They want as many participants as they can get, between 20 and 80 years old. My participant ID is AGE099, which I think means I'm their 99th, which sounds like anecdata to me. Science is hard.
So I have three fibroids, one large (7 cm). The NP said, "That has to come out." Also there is some fluid in one fallopian tube. She said that means the surgeon will probably want to do something more invasive than the laparoscopic surgery that they would normally do for a fibroid, in order to see what's going on in there. I'm going to see the surgeon for a consultation next month.
I thought fibroids were supposed to shrink after menopause, not start creating new problems? I do think I'm in menopause. I hadn't had a period for more than a year before one final fuck-you in 2021. That has to be the last of it, right?
And everything I'm reading about fibroids say that if they're not causing any symptoms, don't try to fix it. I had several days of cramps after all the poking and tugging during the exam, but now I'm back to no symptoms.
I had surgery twice this year (bunions). I'm not going through that again to fix a non-problem.
In non-ick news, I'm participating in a study on healthy brain aging. I had three hours of mental acuity tests, now I'm wearing an accelerometer for a week, then I get an MRI. They'll give me a picture of my brain! I think they're looking for a correlation between activity level and brain health. It's just a snapshot though, they aren't following participants through time. They want as many participants as they can get, between 20 and 80 years old. My participant ID is AGE099, which I think means I'm their 99th, which sounds like anecdata to me. Science is hard.
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Fibroids can cause problems if they grow large enough so that might be what they have in mind but I think they're way too zippy about ripping everything out in that area if you're past a 'certain age' when something more conservative might be a great solution.
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If you don't have symptoms, I agree, there is no reason to get surgerized, but if there are things that aren't causing symptoms that are worrying the doctor, it's probably prudent to at least get them checked out.
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Cool brainz!
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It sounds like getting it checked is a good idea.
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