I’ve been having “female trouble,” as my friend puts it, and it turns out it’s uterine fibroids. Let’s talk about it in public!
My issues started in July, I got a transvaginal ultrasound in August, and ended up with a biopsy in September–I didn’t handle that news well and also a uterine biopsy HURTS, even with pain meds. (The gynecologist wanted to make sure the thickened uterine lining was benign and not the beginnings of a tumor.) (It was benign, just thicc.)
Then this month I started noticing that everything at the gym felt REALLY hard and I was getting out of breath doing things like going up the stairs or even just walking. I asked my primary care D.O. for blood work, since all signs pointed to an iron deficiency–which makes sense, given that I’d been bleeding since July. Despite her saying, “It could be stress or perimenopause, you could try acupuncture,” it turns out I AM anemic. Good times.
I finally was able to get an ablation scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving, which should help with the bleeding (most of my fibroids are on the outside of my uterus so only a hysterectomy can get rid of them, which I want to avoid). I’ve also started prescription iron this week. So in the grand scheme of Women Trying To Get Treated, this is a pretty good timeline. (It took my friend twenty years to get diagnosed with endometriosis; another friend’s symptoms of DVT were passed off as perimenopause and now she’s rehabbing her leg after a blood clot wrecked it.)
Why am I blogging about this? Uterus stuff and being taken seriously as a woman is on my mind this election season. One of the treatments for fibroids is a D&C–a procedure also used for abortion. What happens if that’s not available? How many women have already died from lack of abortion care? Why are we still begging to be believed when we say something’s wrong?!
I’ve also been waiting for a chance to post this, which–even with my overall positive experience–is way too accurate:
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