QuestionTo start with a little background--when I was pregnant, I was diagnosed with HPV---after my delivery I had a couple colposcopys, and eventually a LEEP surgery. Two years later, I finally had a normal pap smear. In the meantime, I started having what I thought was horrible ovulation cramps. My gynocologist suggested to get an IUD---which I love, but the cramps had only gotten worse. I got an ultrasound and found that I had uterine fibroids (I believe the kind I have are called intramuscular). My doctor then suggested, in addition to my Mierna IUD, to also take birth control. A year later, and still sleeping with a heating pad two weeks out of every month, I finally told the doctor that wasn't working. I stopped the birth control, and he gave me 7 months worth of Lupron Depot---one of the one month shots, and two of the 3 month shots. While on lupron, I was taking 5mg of norethindrone a day. During the entire 7 months I was on the Lupron, I only had severe pains once. However, as soon as the Lupron wore off and I stopped taking the norethindrone, the pain came back worse than ever--to the point where the ER was considered on a nightly basis for two weeks (the pain gets worse at night---ibuprofen works in the daytime, but at night the only thing that works is a heating pad). I finally went back to my doctor yesterday and he suggested just trying the norethindrone by itself---or go back on Lupron (which I declined as I've read about the bone loss it causes). I am considering getting a second opinion. From what I've read online, after years of dealing with Fibroids, I don't understand why we haven't found an option that is going to solve my problem long term. I am only 26 years old and I have one child. I would like another but have to wait until I'm not undergoing any treatment for the fibroids that supresses my hormores. Any suggestions are welcome. I am desperate!
AnswerThis is a complicated problem, especially since you are planning for a bigger family. Fibroids are hard to treat without affecting fertility..... lupron, surgery, etc. Also, if the IUD made it worse, you could have some low grade endometritis... a course of doxicycline might help that or you may have to consider another birth control method instead of the IUD. Sorry, I don't have a great solution for all of this......
