Dear All,
Pls help me to find answers to problems bothering me about my impending surgery for fibroids.I am getting unduly stresed up due to certain unanswered questions.
Here is not so brief background
I have been dignosed with fibroids and have been thinking of removal, which means have to undergo hystrectomy, as I dont intend to have more kids. I went to a doc here and ended up paying an arm and a leg for 2 tests. Now I am scared to even go for re consulatation. To avoid expensive treatment here, I am planning to undergo surgery in my own country as i dont have a medical insurance that can cover my entire expense of surgery. My company will pay me a percentage but still I will have to pay a substantial amount.So thinking of getting it in my own country. How sensible is this ?
anybody out there, who has undergone this surgery and who could tell me about things I should consider when scheduling the place of the surgery( as in difficulties i might face when i come back to Hk after surgery), precuation that I should take, Post- surgery precuations, or anything worth thinking abt before and after surgery.I will have to travel back to Hk in 3 weeks time , after surgery.
All help is appreciated
Thanks
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I had surgery to remove fibroids many years ago and I pretty much made a full recovery after 3 weeks, however, I did not have a hysterectomy at the same time. Your comment "I don't intend to have more kids" implies that you're older than me when I had this surgery (I was 21) so recovery may take a little longer for you. Is there a medical reason why you need the fibroids removed?
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Hi turtle , thanks for the reply.
I am in my thirties. Have to remove fibroids cause of excessive bleeding. last few months have been bad.
How did u get ur fibroids removed? Any precuations that i shld keep in mind?I dont want to go under the knife, without fully understanding the implications.I am scared.
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The doctor had to cut me open (I'm sure there has to be a medical term for this!) to get the one fibroid out. My mother had the same surgery done last summer and she did it using micro surgery (ie the doctor only had to poke 3 holes into her). I'm not sure what you mean by precautions as I didn't have much of a choice when I had mine but depending on where your fibroids are located in your uterus, it can be quite a painful recovery.
I can give you the name and contact details of the doctors that operated on my mother and myself if you want any second opinions. I know that you're concerned about the cost of the consultations but assuming you have done tests before and have the results/ultrasound printouts, it shouldn't be too expensive.
I'm suggesting you contact a doctor for a second opinion as my situation is different to yours (I was much younger then I didn't have a hysterectomy at the same time) and I don't want to give you any wrong information.
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thanks , would very much appreciate the name of the doc.Yes am scared of the fees involved.
So ur mom didnt have to remove the uterus? may be i can consulte the doc abt the same.
thanks so much for all ur help
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The doctor suggested she remove her uterus as well as there is a chance that the fibroids will grow again but she didn't want to do that for psychological reasons. I'll try and get hold of the contact details for my mom's doctor and post here later on today.
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The contact details are as follows:
Dr CHAN Kuen Ting
804 Leighton Centre
Causeway Bay
Tel: 2576-4422
Let me know if I can be of further help.
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golden> It not always necessary to remove the uterus to remove the fibroids. I appreciate that many surgeons - and many insurance companies (get the female bits out of the way so they don't cause more expensive problems later) - prefer this but you should see if you can find a surgeon who will not do this.
BTW, uterine fibroids are caused by oestrogen dominance and I just wonder if you have tried/checked out a non-surgical option which may help - or at least get you to menopause without a hysterectomy? Unfortunately this option is not widely known by doctors who get their information from pharmaceutical companies or surgeons who prefer to cut.
FYI, if the uterus is not removed then fibroids can return if you go on HRT at menopause. So if you are certain you will go on HRT later in life then you should get the uterus removed.
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Thanks turtle for the number. will get in touch with the doc.Possible for u to let me an approximate amount u paid for the operation, just to make myself ustand what figure i am actually chasing. Were there any emotional and pyshological changes invloved?
Claire thanks for the insight. Yes, I am also getting stressed abt the removal part.Would research on non surgical procedures , which i wuld really prefer to adapt rather than just cutting things out from the body.
A very diff question, but something imp. how do one get abt being an organ donor?Whom shld one contact?
Thanks
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golden> The alternative option is natural progesterone which will balance the oestrogen dominance. The important part is the word "natural". Some pharmaceutical companies made a synthetic progestin which is not found anywhere in nature and can cause other problems.
Dr John Lee was the pioneer in the use of NP. This short article is from his website.
http://www.johnleemd.com/store/fibroids_uterus.html
If you do a search on Google for "natural progesterone" and fibroids you will find further information.
I do stress that many doctors are not aware of NP or the terms "oestrogen dominance" or "unopposed oestrogen" and could be reluctant to support this option. Therefore you could be on your own, which you may feel uncomfortable about.
If you choose to give NP a try I'll let you know a very good cream (yes it's just a cream you apply) to use. I also use NP (not for fibroids) and have tried a few creams till I settled on one which I like and order it online. Fortunately HK allows the importation of NP which many countries, such as UK and Australia, do not.
On your other question:
You can download an organ donor card from here:
http://www.ha.org.hk/odhk/od_home.htm
Cards can also be obtained from:
Department of Health's Central Health Education Unit, Donormobile, Maternal & Child Health Centres and Student Health Service Centres
Indoor games halls, swimming pools, libraries, civic centres, cultural centres, city halls and museums of Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Environmental Protection Department's Environmental Resource Centre (Wan Chai)
Water Supplies Department's customer enquiry centres
Treasury Department's Collection of Payment Office and Sub-Treasury
District Offices of Home Affairs Department
Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service's Donor Centres
Hospital Authority's institutions and General Out-patient Clinics
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My mother paid around HK$70,000 altogether for her surgery last summer (hospital fees and doctor's fees) and I think her insurance covered all of it. As for changes post surgery, I haven't noticed any with my mother and the only way it has affected me is that my doctor didn't recommend natural childbirth for me and thought it safer if I had a C-section (my son was born less than 2 years after my surgery). As you don't plan to have anymore children, this doesn't apply to you.
With regard to returning to your home country to have the surgery (if you choose to have one), something to think about is do you want to recover in your own home or someone else's home or hotel? It's a personal decision but just something to think about. You'll be quite slow moving about at the beginning so you might want someone around to help out and watch out for you.
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thanks turtle and claire.
Yes , i will pay attention to what ever u both said.
claire would look into the natural method also.
thanks so much
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golden> You mentioned that insurance coverage was a concern. I don't know if you have factored in any potential cost of HRT post-hysterectomy. HRT may be necessary as it is possible to go into early menopause even if the ovaries are intact. The ovaries can stop producing hormones 1 or 2 years after a hysterectomy so you will need regular blood level checks.
Premature menopause is menopause occuring before 40 and increases the risk of osteoporosis. Early menopause is menopause occuring before 45. In both cases HRT is recommended till about 50, or the average age of onset of menopause.
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I've had friends who had two different procedures for excessive bleeding that were not hysterectomy. One was uterine "ablation" the other was a "fibroidectomy". If hysterectomy is the only option you've been offered, and especially if you think your doc is more after the $$, I'd suggest second opinions.
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For what it's worth, a Chinese doctor here gave my friend some Chinese herbal medicine that's supposed to reduce bleeding. Has anyone tried this?
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My mother did and she ended up having to be rushed into hospital for surgery.
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have you thought about going through the public system seeing as you insurance doesn't cover you? or is the waiting list too long?
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Hi there,
The waiting list is long, the appointement with the specialists takes atleast 6 months.
Tried that also.
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