Edometrial Ablation

I have had this done and it was fairly painless, although it did not take care of my problem. I still had my son after I had this done. I did eventually end up having a hysterectomy about 4 years later.
Good luck to you.

Hi J.,

If you don't want to be sterile, consider trying vitex, also known as chasteberry extract. It is not that expensive and it worked for me to stop really heavy periods that would just go on and on and on. I read reviews at vitacost.com, too and others had good experiences in that way.

Good luck. Health problems are so distressing!!

L. C.

My sister-in-law had that done a couple of years ago...I was considering it recently and called her to ask about it. She said it was uncomfortable, but not bad. Problem was, after a year her periods came back... She told me she wouldn't recommend it, but hers wasn't a necessary thing and her insurance didn't pay for it. Expensive and only lasted a year.
Good luck.

Hello...I am 24 with 2 kids ages 7 & 5. I had an ablation October 06 because I had very heavy bleeding and it was continous. It only helped for 2 months. Then I had to have the hysterectomy. So for me the ablation did no good. It was just a surgery I didn't need. It wasn't worth it cause I had to have the hystrectomy a few months later. The procedure itself wasn't bad. There was alot of cramping afterwards but pain killers helped that.

I had this procedure done 18 months ago. It was fairly painless and pretty easy to recover - just a few days on light pain meds. It didn't end my periods, in fact, at first they seemed only mildly different from the heavy ones I started with before the EA. Now though, I am very happy! My last period was Sunday - yep, just Sunday, one day, one tampon and over!

I was in a different position than you. I was already 36 when I had this done with two kids in elementary school. Plus my husband had already been "snipped" himself. Just to clarify for you, an EA DOES NOT prevent pregnancy or make you sterile. It is completely different from a hysterectomy which does prevent you from getting pregnant and which would also seriously screw up your hormone levels at age 23. What the EA does do is remove the uterine lining that an embryo would attach to after moving down your fallopian tubes. So, this means that it is VERY, EXTREMELY dangerous for both you and your baby/embryo because it has nothing to attach to.

If you know that you are done with having children, I would definitely recommend this procedure. By the time the EA wears off in 5-10 years, your hormone levels will be biologically slowing anyway so a hysterectomy at that point would be easier to deal with. Good luck!

J., I had a lot of bleeding problems. My doctor did all the necessary work up test to make sure that it was not cancer. Thank God that all came back negative. She did the endometrial ablation. I have several friends that have had this done and had wonderful results,no more bleeding or very little bleeding. I was bleeding after the procedure but the told me that was normal. I continued to bleed for 2 weeks. It was less than my cycles but at least my cycle only lasted for 7 days. Then I was supposed to go back to work on a Monday,the Friday before that I had to take my dad in to get his new pacemaker checked. He wanted to take me out to lunch after the check up. While he was in with the doctor I felt like I was leaking all over. I went to check and sure enough just like my periods, heavy again. I told my dad I was tired and really wanted to go home. I called my OB/GYN, she told me to stay off my feet for the weekend and come in first thing Monday morning. In I go, she does not know why this is happening but does not want me to go much longer bleeding like this. I was already anemic and this was not making it any better. On Wednesday I had the hysterectomy. I felt a lot better after I healed from the surgery. She left my ovaries because I am young and she did not want to do HRT with me. Everything has been fine until 3 years later I developed a cyst on my right ovary that was so bad it required surgery to remove. She told me that she had never actually seen one as large as the one I had. So far everything has been great. The endometrial ablation has a much quicker recovery time 5 days or so versus hysterectomy 4-6 weeks. If I had to do over again I would still try the ablation first since the recovery is less than one week. Good luck.

I have never heard of that procedure before.....But did have to have a hysterectomy at the age of 23 due to endometriosis. It is not the same thing, u may not be able to have kids anymore but I am guessingthat the reason he wants to do this first is that you will still naturally produce your own hormones. If that is the case, trust me girl this would be the way. Throwing your body into menopause at the age of 23 was not a fun deal to go thru, after a few years I did get all adjusted, but 9 years later it is still hard.

If you have any questions or just want to talk about endometriosis issues, please feel free to email me ____@____.com

My experience with endometrial ablation back in 1999 was that it fixed the bleeding problem for about a year. I have suffered from PCOS since I was a teen and since I was in my 20s would either go months at a time with no periods or bleed for months on end. I have three teenage daughters. Two of them are on birth control pills to treat painful periods. I ended up having a hysterectomy at age 39. I was begging for one when I had the ablation done, but the doctor wouldn't do it. I don't know what medications your doc might have tried? I was on Provera in an attempt to cycle me but it did not stop the bleeding it only controlled it somewhat. You are correct, an ablation will make it so you can't have any more kids.

My friend had this done in March and she did not get the expected results. She is not happy and has worse symptoms now than before the procedure! They told her the procedure would either make her issues better or make them go away completely. Getting worse wasn't even an option they presented. I'd ask more questions of the doctor before you have it done! Good luck!
S.

You are young, which I'm surprised they are suggesting this, but you have had a couple of kids. I know for me, I had horrible cramping and I had this procedure done. It is fabulous - no more periods, occasional spotting, but that is it. I'm 41, so in a much different position than you. The other options thrown my way were medication (the pill, etc.) which does reduce bleeding significantly. I really didn't want to do medication b/c I've had a tubaligation already and side effects (especially after 35). I'm glad I did it.

Hi J. this is all the new thing now, everyone is getting it. many with the mis understanding that they wont get preganate after the procedure, it is NOT a form of birth control. people may still get pregnant but the uterine lining will not allow the fetus to stick and grow. I have had friends that still continue to have cycles, which is supposed to be another benifit. My thing to you is if your looking for no more babies look further, if it is for a decease in bleeding than good luck.

If you want to talk with a doctor who understands this procedure and can explain why you would not want to do it and what you might do that would be a much healthier option, I would talk with Dr. Duane Marquart at Primary Care Chiropractic in Manchester, MO. I am a therapist who has worked with him for many years. I have seen his natural approach to helping women with menstrual issues and fibroid tumors and he has a marvellous success rate. He also offered free seminars to the public so you can learn how to take care of you and your family. He also offers a great and affordable program for children.

I've heard him speak on the procedure you mentioned. I really think you would want to know what he has to say before making a decision that might affect your life in ways you might not have imagined. If you don't speak with another doctor, you might want to ask your doctor about the percentage of women who experience high blood pressure following endometrial ablation. According to a medical website, a full third of the women receiving this procedure require another procedure within 5 years, most often the second procedure is a hysterectomy. According to research I did on the subject fifteen years ago when I considered a hysterectomy, 60% of women receiving a hysterectomy come out of it with permanent high blood pressure. It makes sense if you understand that the uterus is part of a womans circulatory system. It connects to a main artery. When the uterus is removed, they have to cauterize a main artery. If burning the lining of the uterus stops menstruation, I would want to know if it has the same affect on blood pressure.

Hope this helps you in making a more informed decision.

I had this done in November of 2006, because of severe bleeding and cramping. It was a very easy procedure.  They put me to sleep, and I woke up about 45 minutes later and went home within a hour of that.  It was just done at an outpatient clinic.  Almost painless-I think I took motrin for a couple of days, but I was back to chasing my 3 boys around the next day. It worked wonderfully for the 1st year. Only slight spotting once a month, then, things got really bad for me. Horrible cramping and bleeding off and on for the entire month. I ended up with a hysterectomy about a year-and-a-half after my ablation.
I would definately do the ablation again, if I had the choice. It was a fairly painless procedure that really helped me out, for awhile.
If you are looking for a hysterectomy, I recently had a Supracervical Laproscopic Hysterectomy-a fairly new procedure that was much less invasive than a traditional hysterectomy-all they took my uterus-left everything else. It was one night in the hospital, and within 3 weeks, I was back to myself. Again-best thing I ever did! I feel so much better.
From what I read, the average length that an ablation lasts is 2-5 years, then, typically it stops working. Since you are so young, you'll probably end up with the hysterectomy in the long run (I was 33 when I had my hysterectomy), but I would start with this-it will buy you some time and maybe by the time you end up with a hysterectomy, your kids will be in school full-time and it will be easier-the first 2 weeks of recovering was really hard! Good luck, if you have any questions, you're welcome to contact me.

My mother had this done but she was much older. Almost to metipause. She was in extreme pain for a few days with heavy bleeding but now has no period at all. You definately need to be sure because it means no more babies ever. Has your doctor tried everything else? This is definatly a last hope procedure.

I had this procedure in December of '06 and couldn't be happier. I was 39 and done having kids--I'd had a tubal years before. It was an outpatient procedure and I was in and out within 3 hours. I'm giving you a link to a wonderful site. I found it when I was getting ready to have mine done. It's great and you can ask any questions of any kind. If you have any specific questions, feel free to send me a private message. Good luck with your procedure, should you decide to go through with it!!!

http://endometrialablationboard.yuku.com/

J.-this is the best thing I ever could have had done. I had this procedure about 5 years ago. Same reasons. Heavy bleeding. So much that I wished for a hysterectomy. My OBGYN wanted to try this first before she did the hysterectomy. This is a real easy procedure to be honest. I went in to outpatient in the morning and home in a few hours. Just very mild cramping for a day or so. Advil took care of it. After the procedue I did not have a period for about 3 months. And ever since then I have had very light periods only using panty liners and only having a period about every 6 weeks. They say you can not get pregnant but my OBGYN did sugest some sort of birth control because she had a patient who did get pregnant. So it can happen. My husband has had a V-sectomy so I really dont worry about it but I was 40 when I had it done and dont want to have any more kids. Take my word for it, this is a very easy procedure and I have recomended it to many people. Consider it. S. Dyche