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    Endometrial Ablation help!!!

    Thinking of having the procedure, of course on of the possible side effects is "may cause tiredness". Any one had
    this, I know they have to say side effects for pt info but last
    thing I need is to feel more tired. My PMS phase already makes me feel like being a lazy bum. I am blessed so far with very minimal MS symptoms

    #2
    Hi Temple, I did have this done 4 years ago, best darned surgery I ever did. It was literally 15 minutes long but I did have to be put under general anesthesia. I wasn't even very uncomfortable after and I didn't have any pain. Didn't even need to take an Advil. I loafed around on the couch the next day watching the US presidential election, the day after that I was "good to go". My MS wasn't affected by it at all. Let us know how you make out.
    Jen
    RRMS 2005, Copaxone since 2007
    "I hope to be the person my dog thinks I am."

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      #3
      I had it done on Dec. 8. My bleeding was still heavy for 4 months, but not like the crazzzzzy bleeding I had before. The last two months periods have been very light for 3 days! So I'm hoping that will be how they are from here on out.

      Are you having heavy bleeding?

      Did your Dr. suggest a Mirena IUD?

      Sara

      Comment


        #4
        Novasure

        Hi Temple,

        I had this done Feb 2011. It was wonderful. I had no side effects and I am lucky that I had no bleeding afterwards. To this day, nothing. I did not have MS at the time.

        It wasn't until April did I start having problems with my eye with Optic Neuritis. Now I am diagnosed with MS after much ruling out of all other things. I did not have fatigue but I was glad the bleeding was over.
        STR

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          #5
          Had it done in Nov 2004

          Hi Temple,

          I have posted about this before so I'll keep it quick. Had this done in Nov 04 and have not had a period to this day. Every once in awhile I "feel" it is probably that time, but nothing. Of course that doesn't happen to everyone but I was a 7 full days and had horrendous cramps. My doc hoped to help my cramps and make my bleeding less. Way better than he hoped. I had not been diagnosed yet, but was the following Sept.

          Hope this helps some.

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            #6
            Hi Temple,

            I had this done about four years ago at the age of 41. I went from heavy, painful 7 day periods to a light 5 day period. I was put under full anesthesia and was home the same day. I recovered with Motrin and rest in just a few days. My periods were so miserable that I thought it was worth the risk of any side effects (and I haven't had any). I am very happy with the results!

            Hope it goes well with you if you decide to go ahead with it!

            Anne

            Comment


              #7
              More info?

              My gynecologist mentioned this as an option - but only if I was sure I was finished with having kids. Well, I probably am - 42, single, on interferons, never been pregnant - but I haven't quite been ready to commit. We've been trying other options, but it's not going well.

              Anybody have any advice? What you tried first? Or was this your first option? Also, I don't have anyone to take care of me. How long were you out of commission after the ablation?

              So far, I've tried the pill, and we switched it to an every-three-month period (like Seasonique), but that hasn't worked so well. So much breakthrough bleeding that I have to stop and have a period - that's sometimes okay, and sometimes really heavy. Thought about transvaginal removal of some of the fibroids, but I'm not so sure of that, either....

              What have others tried?

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Nabbosa View Post
                My gynecologist mentioned this as an option - but only if I was sure I was finished with having kids. Well, I probably am - 42, single, on interferons, never been pregnant - but I haven't quite been ready to commit. We've been trying other options, but it's not going well.

                Anybody have any advice? What you tried first? Or was this your first option? Also, I don't have anyone to take care of me. How long were you out of commission after the ablation?

                So far, I've tried the pill, and we switched it to an every-three-month period (like Seasonique), but that hasn't worked so well. So much breakthrough bleeding that I have to stop and have a period - that's sometimes okay, and sometimes really heavy. Thought about transvaginal removal of some of the fibroids, but I'm not so sure of that, either....

                What have others tried?
                I am sorry you're having such difficulties. Ablation was my first choice for treatment as I've never been able to tolerate birth control pills. As far as recovery, I believe if you are under general anesthesia, the medical facility won't release you without someone there to drive you home. I was up and about the day of surgery but mostly I just slept. I could have taken care of myself if necessary. If you decide to have the ablation, I suggest you stock up at the grocery store and rent a couple movies so you don't have to go anywhere for a few days.

                Anne

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                  #9
                  Answer to My Prayers

                  I had ablation done so long ago (~13 years ago) that it was called thermal ablation, it involved inserting a balloon into the uterus and filling the balloon with heated saline solution. Despite the fact that there some minor complications due to pre-existing scar tissue (the procedure took longer than usual but who knew? I was under anethesia (sp?)) The results were emotionally life saving. I went from losing ~5 days a month, I couldn't even leave the house and my daughters were 9 months old and 3 years old to having my life back.

                  I was an ideal candidate because I was in my late 30s and I had already had my tubes tied. It is kind of funny that less than 4 years later I had gone thru menopause and completely stopped having my period

                  I am sure many upgrades and improvements have been made to the procedure. I say go for it! Good luck!
                  M.
                  A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?
                  Albert Einstein

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Hi Temple. I had this done a year before my hysterectomy. That was before MS, but my recovery time was minor. Just make sure afterward, your doctor puts you on...can't remember the name - it's a hormone agonist, so if you doctor missed even a cell, it will die off rather than reproducing. And if you start getting symptoms on THAT, have him check your hormone levels. I needed a double dose of that medication after the ablation because with medication I was on, one dose didn't do it.

                    But really, getting this done is a great relief. If it's outpatient, expect to be there all day - my doctor kept me 6 hours after to make sure I didn't lose any blood - but that was 13 years ago. It didn't solve my problem because of the hormone issue, but it does for a lot of women.

                    Good luck!
                    Diagnosis: May, 2008
                    Avonex, Copaxone, Tysabri starting 8/17/11

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I had this done 3 years ago and it was not a good experience. I am one of the few I know that have done this and not had a good result. There is one other gal I know who had a nightmare experience.

                      First I'll give you mine. My gyno had just started doing this as an outpatient procedure in his office with the new Novasure device. I had to prep the night before with this medication that dilates the cervix. It created a ridiculous level of pain for me even before the procedure. Then when I got there, the anesthesiologist ran through her questionnaires and found the doc hadn't prescribed a premed for my prolapsed heart valve. I went through all of that pain and my husband used a vacation day for nothing. So we rescheduled for the next week.

                      The next week, all the same, plus an antibiotic, get put under only to wake up and find out my uterus was too small for this technique and I had to come back yet again. Mind you, each visit is a wasted vacation day for my husband, a $30 copay, plus a $10 to $20 copay each for all of these premeds - misoprostol, valium, hydrocodone, antibiotic, and by the third visit I needed an antifungal because of the antibiotic and tamiflu - to be sure I wasn't going to have to reschedule yet a fourth time! I started coming down with the flu.

                      The next week, they finally complete the procedure and race me out of the door in a wheelchair because the cramping started right away. By the time I got dumped in the car, it started getting severe. I was curled up in a ball the 40 minute drive home, called their office to tell them how much pain I was in and they told me if I could just hang in there another 6 hours the worst of it would be over.

                      I paced, rolled around, took another hydrocodone, took another valium, moaned and groaned, all the while my poor son and husband wondering what to do with me. I was furious. Absolutely furious they never warned me it could be that painful. I ended up going to the urgent care center where they gave me a CT scan to make sure my uterus hadn't been punctured, gave me a shot of dilaudid, and tried multiple times unsuccessfully to contact my gyno who never once returned their calls in the three hours I was there. Nor did he call my house to see how I was doing. Nothing. Nada.

                      Now mind you, this man was a wonderful doctor. I had been with him for several years and always had a wonderful experience until this visit. I was so angry I never went back.

                      And, worst of all, after all of that plus an extra $500+ for the urgent care center visit, I still have ridiculous cramps that I can feel down to my knees and beyond every month and my cycles only lightened up for the last three days. I was one of the unlucky 2% that didn't have a good outcome. I wish I would have had a hysterectomy. Everything is back to the way it was before. It's still the most miserable experience and I can't get through it without pain meds.

                      That was my experience. Now I'll share with you the experience of someone else I know - the only other person I know that had a bad experience.

                      Her doc used the Novasure device and either the safety mechanism failed or the doc didn't use it. It shot through her uterus, through her small bowel and through her large bowel. By that night, she was in so much pain she couldn't even crawl across the floor. In the ER they found perforations in all of these organs. She had to have an emergency hysterectomy and a colostomy. It was a very, very long time before she was back to work again. This woman was one of the healthiest people I know and I hate to think what this experience cost her.

                      I'm only sharing this because when I went searching for advice, nobody ever once mentioned having the level of pain I experienced until after I'd been through it. The internet seems to be scrubbed clean of bad ablation experiences. Then when sharing the experience with others, I started hearing, "Oh, we do that here and it's always a day surgery. We don't dink around and when people come out we go straight to the top and hook them up with dilaudid. We would never do that as an outpatient procedure."

                      And the other, major, major thing is what happened to this other woman. Nobody ever once told me there was a chance of serious injuries. I was shocked to be forced into a CT scan at the urgent care center, thinking they were just out to run a test. I guess perforations do happen after all. Whatever happened to informing your patients?

                      Just wanted to share the other side of this, and judging by how few stories there are out there like them, I'd guess they're few and far between. It's just coincidental myself and someone I worked with for a couple of years had the only bad ones.
                      It's not fatigue. It's a Superwoman hangover.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        When I had mine, it was for endometriosis. The kids issue didn't even come into it because it's just ablation, it wasn't a hysterectomy. I was 24 when I got it done. Then again, a year later, I did have the hysterectomy, but I still retain an ovary.
                        Diagnosis: May, 2008
                        Avonex, Copaxone, Tysabri starting 8/17/11

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by lusciousleaves View Post
                          Whatever happened to informing your patients?
                          Hi ll:
                          The standard of care still requires informed consent. Failure to obtain informed consent is medical malpractice.

                          This article by an MD lists some of the things you should have been informed about: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/endom...n/page5_em.htm

                          Malpractice insurers often settle claims involving relatively small amounts because it's cheaper than going to trial. That might be worth looking into to get your medical costs for at least the aftercare reimbursed.

                          As a side note, with all of the widespread, severe pain you have and have had, I still get the impression you might have some kind of central sensitivity syndrome.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Redwings View Post
                            Hi ll:
                            The standard of care still requires informed consent. Failure to obtain informed consent is medical malpractice.

                            This article by an MD lists some of the things you should have been informed about: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/endom...n/page5_em.htm

                            Malpractice insurers often settle claims involving relatively small amounts because it's cheaper than going to trial. That might be worth looking into to get your medical costs for at least the aftercare reimbursed.

                            As a side note, with all of the widespread, severe pain you have and have had, I still get the impression you might have some kind of central sensitivity syndrome.
                            Geez, I sure hope not. If that's the case, it might get worse, or constant. The only difference I see between that and my situation is that the pain only happens in select locations when triggered by something else. Then it disappears for very long periods of time, sometimes years. It's not a widespread, generalized, aching, constant, could show up anywhere type of thing.

                            Thanks for the info. I'm not going to consider seeking reimbursement for aftercare, although I probably should. These docs don't need any more reason to be leery of seeing me in their offices.
                            It's not fatigue. It's a Superwoman hangover.

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