Menstrual Problem

I have a friend that had this procedure done. She was at work the next day with no side effects or pain at all. She said that it was the best thing she could have done, no more periods! Hope this helps.

I had this done about 2 years ago. I was walking around fine in a day and back to work in 2 days. It is a great way to fix menstrual problems. Unfortunatley for me, it wasn't enough and we are now looking at a hysterectomy. But I have had lots of problems with plumbing. From what I have learned about it and how you described your situation, it sounds like a good choice for you. I don't regret having it done at all. If you want more details about the actual procedure let me know I will be glad to share. Good luck!

I had a procedure done called thermal ablation which is basically the same thing when I was 35 and I am now 38. I had the fibroid tumors and polyps. None of this started happening until I had my second son who is 6 years old now. I could have gone back to work the next day after the surgery but the doctor had said to take a couple days off. My periods are much lighter but seem to last as long as before (2 weeks). That's just me, other people's periods might not last as long. I also had my tubes tied, but if you ever wanted to have more children and get your tubes reversed, this surgery is not for you as it pretty much destroys your uterus lining.

I had the procedure done when I was 40 and it was great. I slept the rest of the day after the procedure, but after that no problems, no pain. And 3 years later, no side effects and better no more bleeding.

Obviously you should take medical advice only from a physician, but I would get a second opinion. My best friend had a similar issue (bleeding for weeks at a time, back pain). She ended up having a cyst and did get on birth control to regulate her hormones and everything is fine now.

I am interested in why a surgical procedure sounds more appealing that short term birth control use, though.

R.,
Endometrial ablation has a quick recovery time so you can get back to your life sooner. Most women experience no pain after the procedure, and can return to work and regular activities the next day. Endometrial ablation is a procedure for premenopausal women for whom childbearing is complete. If you do not plan to have children in the future, you may want to consider endometrial ablation. In a small percentage of patients, side effects included cramping, nausea/vomiting, discharge, and spotting….I hope this is helpful

Ive had the procedure two times in the last five years, although my Dr. said I was an exception. My first was when it first came out of doing it the new way. In the last year I have again started bleeding at no schedule a couple times a month, he said the next step would be a hysterectomy, so im going along with it as long as is berable until I get to that point. I would say do it even if it gives you only a few more years of help!!

I had a similar problem a few years ago but I was bleeding for about 3 weeks then didn't bleed for 1 week, it was crazy. Anyway, my doctor gave me several options and I had a similar procedure done but it was called hydra-thermal ablation and it's basically the same thing except it's done with water. The uterus is filled with water the water is heated and swished around kind of like a whirlpool and then drained. I had it done outpatient at 7:30 in the morning and I was home by 10:00am. I spent most of that day in bed asleep but by the next morning I was perfectly fine. It's been 2-1/2 years and I have not had any periods at all and I have not had any other problems either. Of course, I am 45 years old and not planning to have any more kids or anything so I don't know if you are someone still trying to have more children and how it will affect that.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution that works well for you.

Hey R.,

I too had this issue and it was horrible I only had a few days a month that I wasn't PMS or having a period. My Ob/Gyn told me about the Mirena. It is like and IUC. I had the procedure done in September and I spotted for the first month (very light) and now I do not have periods and it is birth control. It is reversable as it just has to be removed. It is good for three years. Here is the websight with more information on it. http://www.mirena-us.com/index.jsp
Good Luck.

It actually sounds as though you may be starting to reach the change of life stage. Not knowing how active you are and what type of activities you engage in or have engaged in makes it difficult to say. I had similar issues when I was 35-36 and ended up having a complete hysterectomy. I believe part of my issues resulted from being overly physically active and not taking enough time to heal after the births of my children. Most doctors are now required to use hormone therapy or the other procedure before recommending surgery in order to prove to the insurance company that further invasion is required. I believe that a person should begin with noninvasive procedure such as the pill for 6 months or so. Then move on. I hope this helps.

Hello, I have had the same problem mine has lasted for 7 months straight. My doctor put me on the pill and it did'nt work then on Estrogen, that did'nt work. Since I don't have insurance I can't afford the surgeries so he tried me on stronger birth-control pills and finally "Zovia" worked no problems no surgeries all is well. I said that to say this if you can afford it the ablation I hear is wonderful with a fast recovery and NO PERIODS.

The ablation is supposed to be great at treating the bleeding. I was considering it too, but my problem is more the severe cramping and I understand it doesn't really treat that. I haven't heard but a handful of complaints (mild secondary infection) but have heard a lot of good responses for the treatment by ablation. The pill also will reduce the flow and make it much lighter..I did that for years and it helped minimize the cramping too. I got pregnant within a month after going off mine too, so don't worry about that. The only thing about the pill is the hormonal side effects and finding the right pill/dosage for you. (headaches, spotting, increased appetite are some side effects of the pill) Good luck.

Hi it is hard for me to imagine anyone prefering a surgical procedure over taking a few hormones. That said I am 48 yrs old and have been on the pill most of my life. The dr. put me on it to regulate my periods when I was a young teenager. I would bleed for 40 days and stop for 8-10! Anyway it did the job and after a few months I was off the pills. As I grew a bit older I had terrible periods, too gross to talk about! and horrible cramping! It is "VERY" bad for a woman's body to have very heavy periods. So when I came of age I went back on the pill. I still had what most people would call a normally slightly heavy period. I have been on the pill most of my life since then except for the time that I took off to get pregnant. Also I would take a month or two off every few years to give my body a break. when ever I took off the pill I would have very heavy periods. Well For several years now all of my girlfriends have been jealous because I have very light spotting for 2-3 days! I joke that 3 squares of toilet paper folded is my Kotex! anyway my gyn has kept me on a low dose and says that I will hardly even notice menopause because of the pill. I missed my first period for my 48th birthday and joked that I got menopause for my birthday! I've had a light spotting each month for the past 2 mths for a couple of days. but I am definitely in the begining stages of menopause and I am not having the severe effects that most women complain about! For me the "PILL" has been a real lifesaver! not to mention that I have never had an unwanted pregnancy! The only time I ever got pregnant... I was trying! Hope that this helps!

You never mentioned if you had a normal pap smear. That would be the first line of defense. You may have something going on. Don't WAIT, as you doctor has suggested. It's not normal to bleed like that and there is a conclusive reason and waiting or masking symptoms by taking magic pills are not answers! Be aggressive! Doctors are busy and you know best what you should do. Do not ignore these symptoms as they may be something more. Good luck, and take care of yourself!

Hello R., I have heard of ablation and am going to have it done in a month or so. I just have to coordinate with my wk schedule. I know of a midwife that I work with had it done and she was back to work in 2 days. The only thing that would prevent you from returning to wk the next day would be the anesthesia that can stay in your system for up to 24 hrs.She absolutely loved having it done. She does not have to worry about having periods or cramping every month. That is the real kicker for me. As long as you are not going to have anymore children it is a great option I think you would benefit from it if you are anything like me- Hate cramps and heavy bleeding. Imagine planning a vacation around the time you want to go instead of around your period. There are some pamphlets you can obtain from your Dr that should explain how easy it is.. if you haven't already. It usually does not work well if you have fibroids. Anyway,hope this helps. I can't wait to have it done. Good luck in whatever you choose. R.

Hi R.
I'm 41 yrs old and just went through this last month bleeding the whole month my Dr. said lets just wait and see. Then my sister reminded me, because I was the one to tell her about Relacore. When I was overweight I started the Relacore diet, I still haven't lost all the weight that I wanted to, but Relacore worked miracles with our cycles. She would hurt so bad that she laid in bed the entire week of hers, and I became "Atilla the Hun" with PMS. Relacore took all that away. I had to skip a dose to start my cycle, back then so last month I tried the Relacore. Not even a whole dose 1 relacore a day for 3 days my cycle was gone. It's been 2 wks. I started Monday, and I am down to a trickle today I've had no pain no PMS all is well.
I know that I'll probably catch flack for saying the dirty words OTC diet pill, but it worked for me and mine and perhaps someone out there can use the info.
The only side effect I had was a reaction to the Niacin in Relacore (itching) so I took 1/2 of a Zyrtec, with the Relacore. My sister has had no reaction.
Just an option, Hope everything goes well.

Hi.R. well im 29 years old i dont have the problem you do i cant have a period its been 3mos since i had one i have went 6mos before i been on the pill before and they did not seem to help me all they did was put the pounds on me so if i was you i would try something esle if i was you i dont like the risk of the pills they can cause alot of stuff to go wrong with your health.well i hope every thing goes ok for you i will pray for you take care.

I'm on the pills now, and they are workinge a pain in the butt because if I miss one, I'll start bleeding. So, I think I'm going ot have the ablation. I know several people who have had it done and every one of them os so happy with the results. Good luck!

I have had very similar problems. I chose to find a natural solution. It has been a long road, but with good diet and determination I have made a lot of progress. It sounds like you may have some kind of hormone unballance. There is a lot of evidence that both those solutions are not very healthy over a long term, that's why I've chosen another route, but you really should just research for yourself and come up with the plan that you feel best about.

-R.

this may be a hormonal change, and you could help the situation. there is a woman who i have "met" on this site, and her name is jamie ngyen (i think i spelled the last name wrong) but she seems to know a lot about hormonal issues, and is organizing a two night conference here in houston that is called "let's talk about hormones". check it out before you have the surgery, it seems from other readers that it is an easy recovery deal, but still, there might be a natural way to handle this. if you want more info on the conference, pm me and i can send it to you. take care...

I had the procedure performed and have several friends that have also. Recovery time is minimal - it really depends on your activity level. I am a single mother who works full time, is committed to spending time doing several charities, etc... So my down time is minimal...I had several (6) weeks of medium bleeding following the surgery. Others who have "normal" (if there is such a thing) lives stated that they bleed for 2 - 3 weeks and no problems. I would highly recommend the surgery to anyone that is experiencing menstrual problems and knows that they do not want any more children.