Endometrial ablation experiences?

bailadora

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I'm contemplating endometrial ablation due to some issues I've had with my cycle the last few months, and I'm looking for input from women who've had this done. Specifically, I'm wondering how well the procedure worked for you, any complications you might have experienced, pain/discomfort after the procedure, and if you had any regrets about having it done.

For what it's worth, testing last month ruled out uterine cancer, polyps, hyperplasia, and fibroids. It's just crazy, heavy bleeding over a 2-3 hour time period that essentially makes it difficult for me to leave the house for fear of an accident.

Hormonal therapy is not an option due to my family history of heart disease and stroke. My two options are to either live with it, or the ablation. My doc is comfortable with whatever I decide to do, but she's leaning towards the ablation for a few reasons. First, we're done having kids. Second, she's concerned I'll become anemic over the long haul. And third, just the potential for embarrassment if I happen to bleed through my clothing while out in public, or while around others at home.

This has been going on for at the last two months, (not counting last month due to all the testing), but the first time it happened, I just chalked it up to stress. I was trying to get back home in time to say my last goodbyes to my grandmother. But this second time? Just no good explanation for why my body is doing what it's doing.

My doc can do the surgery as soon as early January, but I'm contemplating waiting at least one more month to give my uterus a chance to get it's shit together and behave. Plus, I'm still paying off medical bills from last month's medical stuff (it was an outpatient procedure, and the ablation would be, as well) . But, there's always the possibility I won't be home the next time my body starts acting up. Argh!

If any of my fellow Litsters have been through this, I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!
 
I have never had one, but a woman I used to work with an ablation. She said it was the best thing she's ever done. She never knew when her period was going to come and when it did, it was so heavy that she would usually call out of work for a couple days at least. She was nervous going into it, just because it is surgery, but she did not complain of heavy pain afterwards.

Her symptoms were going on for years, not months, however. Does your doctor think it's something that will straighten itself out? I say if you know you're done having babies, go for it.

Good luck with whatever you decide. :rose:
 
I had mine three years ago and am glad I did. Periods were heavy before and other problems. Now, no more periods and no possibility of pregnancy, the doctor had tied my tubes already.

I recommend you listen to your doctor and go ahead with the ablation.
 
Uterine Ablation

I had a uterine ablation 6 years ago when I was 43 yrs old. It was well worth the few days of pain afterwards. Before that I bled so heavily during the first couple of days of my period I couldn't leave the house, because I was gushing! It was horrible! It is a surgery I never regretted. I would definitely do it again!

Feel free to PM if you have any questions.
 
I had fairly heavy, painful periods in my teens & early twenties. Then I got on the pill for many years until my doctor insisted I stop taking it. During that time, my periods were fairly light and regular and not painful. But almost immediately, they became like what you're describing, gushing and soooo painful and almost constant. On top of it, I do have fibroids. I put up with it for almost a year until tests showed I was becoming anemic. I went ahead and had the ablation, and it's the best thing I could have done. I really don't remember any pain to speak of or spotting. For some women, the periods continue but much lighter, but I think for most it stops them almost completely. You may want to wait a few months, like you said, but I think you'll be happy with it if you do it. Good luck!
 
What type of ablation would you be having? I know there are several techniques.

I have not had one, but have friends who have, and it worked well for them. I think only one continued to have heavy periods, and had to have a hysterectomy in the end.
 
My best friend had one done about 7 years ago. She was bleeding heavily, lots of cramping, and even anemic some months. She had an ablation and bang! No more periods or cramping. Obviously she was thrilled.

I had one 5 years ago for pretty much the same reasons. There was one catch...I'm on a blood thinner for life because of a history of badly behaved blood clots. My periods got significantly lighter, but didn't go away entirely. I'm now in the midst of menopause, which means that if I do have a period, it tends to be one or two days of spotting and then all gone.
 
Thank you to everyone who has contributed. I'm still mulling it over.

Does your doctor think it's something that will straighten itself out? <snip> Good luck with whatever you decide. :rose:

She's not sure, Imekay. We don't know why my body is doing this, so I may or may not. She's just not sure. Her main concern is with the heavy bleeding and clotting I'm experiencing on the second day. I've had two cycles where over a 2-3 hour time span, it's like my body suddenly decides it's getting rid of everything NOW! I pass massive clots of tissue, and have to change my protection every single time I do. I've had to change as often as 5 to 6 times within that time period. I don't experience any pain, but there is no warning at all. Just, BAM, and I start bleeding like gangbusters. When she finally understood how frequently I was having to change, my doc grew concerned. She said that if she didn't know better, she would think I was experiencing a miscarriage. She also said that if she has a patient who is soaking through more than one heavy duty tampon/pad in an hour, she's sends them to the ER! :eek::eek:

Thank you for the well wishes. I sure need them!:kiss:

What type of ablation would you be having? I know there are several techniques.

I have not had one, but have friends who have, and it worked well for them

She prefers the Novasure method. She said all the literature she's read, and based upon reports from patients in her own practice, women who have had it done seem to be fairly satisfied. That said, true to form, I had to do some research on possible complications and/or failures. I know of someone who had an ablation that was initially successful, but then later had to have a hysterectomy because blood continued to build up behind the scar tissue, in response to the hormones her body was secreting each month. It seems this is a common enough occurrence to have earned it's own label: post ablation - tubal sterilization syndrome. I know every case is different, and that not everyone will experience complications. But if you happen to fall within the segment that does - man, does it ever suck to be you.

This is not something I want to dick around with, because I value my health. At the same time, this is an irreversible procedure that there's no coming back from, and I get nervous when people start talking about permanent changes. I want to make sure I'm making the most informed choice I can.
 
Good luck! I had fibroids so I had a hysterectomy in April. Best thing I ever did.. A uterus aught to come with a easy button - when a woman is do e with it she should just be able to push a. Button and pop that sucker out!
 
Mine was Novasure. It's a freezing procedure instead of heat. From everything I read beforeheand, it was significantly less painful both during and after the procedure.
 
No personal experience, but I've only heard good things about the procedure.

Could you wait a few months and afford to explore other avenues? For instance, have you considered consulting with a really good endocrinologist, or better yet, a holistic practitioner who specializes in women's health and hormones? How about acupuncture to see if your body can get itself back on track? Would you be a lot more comfortable with the ablation if you've tried one or two other options first?

I guess that's what I'd likely do because if there's an issue with bleeding, there's probably something else going on that I should check out and attempt to correct. However, especially after my own past two days of period hell, the ablation looks pretty damn appealing, and I wouldn't hesitate to go for it after my childbearing days were over.

Whatever you decide, I'm positive it'll be the right thing! And when you feel like pointing to cost as a reason to not move forward, consider whether you'd invest the same amount to help one of your kids or your hubby avoid what you're experiencing . You would in a heartbeat, I know. You deserve to invest in, and take great care of, yourself, my friend...your family needs you to do that, in fact! (Yeah, easier said than done, I know! :D ) :rose:
 
My sister had this done and my doctor suggested it to me as well but together we decided against it for the time being due to a few different factors that were a concern for me. Not sure if they would be the same for you, but I figured I'd mention them.

If you have a history of internal scarring/problems with scar tissue developing - I have this problem. I've had several surgeries and scar tissue has always formed both internally and externally which if this occurs inside the uterus can spell bad mojo.

If you have a personal or family history of uterine cancer - there has been some evidence that ablation may up your chance for uterine cancer or that it makes it harder to detect early. My family history is riddled with this stuff so anything that would prevent or deter early detection isn't in my personal best interest.

My sister only had relief for a few months before it started back up again, but my family has a history of growing missing or injured body parts back. ;) Each case is individual and of course, make sure you do the right thing for you.
 
Could you wait a few months and afford to explore other avenues? For instance, have you considered consulting with a really good endocrinologist, or better yet, a holistic practitioner who specializes in women's health and hormones? How about acupuncture to see if your body can get itself back on track? Would you be a lot more comfortable with the ablation if you've tried one or two other options first?

Funny you should mention the endo, Erika. My official diagnosis, at the moment, is that I have a DUB uterus. In doing some reading, I did see that thyroid issues can be a factor. I've been very sporadic about taking my meds since February, so there's a very real chance my thyroid is off kilter. I haven't had a full endocrine blood panel in about three years, but it looks like something that might be worth investigating.

After all the reading and research I've been doing over the last few days, I've pretty much determined that I want to give my body a chance to get itself back on track. I've read that as many as 20-35% of women who have had ablation have it fail within 5 years, and then go on to need a hysterectomy. If I had to have a hyst due to a failed ablation, I think I would be extremely upset. Even though I'm not using it for procreation, the cervical/uterine contractions I feel during orgasm are a definite part of my pleasure. My concern would be that it would negatively affect my libido, especially since it took me a hellaciously long time to get it to a level where both my husband and I were satisfied with it. I'm not going to be stupid, and put my health in jeopardy just for the sake of sexual pleasure, but I also don't want to chance having it diminished unless it's 100% medically necessary. And at this point in time, I'm not convinced I'm there yet. I think that if I were cycling for days on end, if I were in pain, if I were getting lightheaded, or if the heavy bleeding were lasting for longer than it is, I would be quicker to pull the trigger. But currently, it's 2-3 hours, one day a month. There is a large portion of me that thinks I should just double my protection and deal with it.

If you have a personal or family history of uterine cancer - there has been some evidence that ablation may up your chance for uterine cancer or that it makes it harder to detect early. My family history is riddled with this stuff so anything that would prevent or deter early detection isn't in my personal best interest.

Thanks for the additional information, Vivienne! No, no personal history of internal scarring, thank goodness. WRT to uterine cancer detection.: this was the one question that I could come up with when my doc brought up the topic, and she said that the effectiveness of u/s and endo biopsy were about the same. BUT, I've read in a couple of places, from what appear to be reliable sources, that seem to indicate otherwise. So that's a subject we will be revisiting. If I do decide to go forward, I'm interested to know what, if any, additional tests might be recommended.
 
I'm very sorry to hear that you're going through this. My wife had the procedure as an alternative to a hysterectomy, and it helped for a while. We went the route of trying to keep her uterus but for us it really just extended the misery for a couple of very difficult years. I am not familiar with all of the various versions of the procedure, but in our case we were told we still had to worry about pregnancy and it didn't stop her monthly cycle. The details are a bit fuzzy for me now, but I think it just thinned the lining and got rid of fibrosis and polyps. There are of course situation specific details but that's the short version.

As you mentioned, the relief turned out to be only temporary though although it was a welcome respite. The problem crept back over a period of years. Before her hysterectomy she was severely anemic and pretty much completely unable to function due to the bleeding, which was a major complication. That's another story though.

Our crystal ball was broken at the time, but I think that if we knew how much better life would be post hysterectomy we might have chosen this route first after exploring the non surgical options. Then again, hindsight being 20/20 who's to say.

I wish you the best moving ahead. I hope your Christmas was otherwise wonderful.
 
I don't want this to completely freak you the hell out but new studies are showing that women who have had albations show a slightly increased risk of cancer later on, so if you do get this done, PLEASE GET SCREENED YEARLY afterwards. Love you girl! :heart:
 
Funny you should mention the endo, Erika. My official diagnosis, at the moment, is that I have a DUB uterus. In doing some reading, I did see that thyroid issues can be a factor. I've been very sporadic about taking my meds since February, so there's a very real chance my thyroid is off kilter. I haven't had a full endocrine blood panel in about three years, but it looks like something that might be worth investigating.

After all the reading and research I've been doing over the last few days, I've pretty much determined that I want to give my body a chance to get itself back on track. I've read that as many as 20-35% of women who have had ablation have it fail within 5 years, and then go on to need a hysterectomy. If I had to have a hyst due to a failed ablation, I think I would be extremely upset. Even though I'm not using it for procreation, the cervical/uterine contractions I feel during orgasm are a definite part of my pleasure. My concern would be that it would negatively affect my libido, especially since it took me a hellaciously long time to get it to a level where both my husband and I were satisfied with it. I'm not going to be stupid, and put my health in jeopardy just for the sake of sexual pleasure, but I also don't want to chance having it diminished unless it's 100% medically necessary. And at this point in time, I'm not convinced I'm there yet. I think that if I were cycling for days on end, if I were in pain, if I were getting lightheaded, or if the heavy bleeding were lasting for longer than it is, I would be quicker to pull the trigger. But currently, it's 2-3 hours, one day a month. There is a large portion of me that thinks I should just double my protection and deal with it.



Thanks for the additional information, Vivienne! No, no personal history of internal scarring, thank goodness. WRT to uterine cancer detection.: this was the one question that I could come up with when my doc brought up the topic, and she said that the effectiveness of u/s and endo biopsy were about the same. BUT, I've read in a couple of places, from what appear to be reliable sources, that seem to indicate otherwise. So that's a subject we will be revisiting. If I do decide to go forward, I'm interested to know what, if any, additional tests might be recommended.

Speaking as someone with thyroid issues - an off-kilter thyroid can cause huge havoc on your body. I can only speak from a hypo point, but I do know that an unchecked thyroid can cause menstrual unbalance. I feel like I'm preaching but see if that is the root cause (especially if you have other symptoms that are so easily chalked up to everyday stress!) before you decide.

And I hate to say this, but a thyroid issue can take several weeks/months to balance itself.

And if you have medication that you aren't taking regularly... again, not preaching (okay, maybe a little, but that's because I adore you and am concerned :rose:), but it may very well be the reason why you're experiencing heaving bleeding.

Oh and by the by, there are many websites that claim that dietary change and particular minerals can realign thyroid hormones. They're a bunch of bullshit and have absolutely no reputable studies to back them up.

:rose:
 
I don't want this to completely freak you the hell out but new studies are showing that women who have had albations show a slightly increased risk of cancer later on, so if you do get this done, PLEASE GET SCREENED YEARLY afterwards. Love you girl! :heart:

Thanks, Satin. When we revisited the topic, she said that having an ablation actually reduces the chances of uterine cancer, because it destroys the layer in which the abnormal cells are most likely to begin and proliferate in.

And if you have medication that you aren't taking regularly... again, not preaching (okay, maybe a little, but that's because I adore you and am concerned :rose:), but it may very well be the reason why you're experiencing heaving bleeding.

Oh and by the by, there are many websites that claim that dietary change and

I hear you, Breezey. I've been hypothyroidic (I declare this a word, even if it isn't, so nyah!) for at least 15 years, and I know better. Truly, I do. I've just let anxiety and sorrow rule too much of my daily habits this year.

After speaking further with my GYN, I've decided to postpone the procedure. I really think I owe it to myself to see if my problems are thyroid related. I've made an appointment with a highly recommended endocrinologist, but won't be able to get in until the beginning of February (damn snowbirds!). In the meantime, I've got reminders everywhere wrt my meds. I'm to check in with gyn monthly, and she's going to be screening me for anemia. If that or lightheadedness from blood loss occurs, she's warned me that she will want to revisit the topic.

So that's where we are at the moment, ladies and gents. Thank you for all the well wishes and advice. I'll update again in a few months, when I have something to report.
 
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