Every month my period is heavy, but I didn’t realize that that wasn’t how women are supposed to bleed. My Mom bled heavily as I did. I thought that was our lot in life. It had been heavy for a long time, but when my doctor asked me if my periods were abnormally heavy, I said no. I didn’t think they were abnormally heavy, they were “normal” to me.
The periods did increase in the number of days of bleeding over the years, but I thought that was part of the normal aging of a woman. My four or five-day period began lasting seven, eight, even ten days or more. On the heavy days, I would need to change the heaviest of pads less than every hour to ensure I didn’t have an accident in blood. At night, I slept in a diaper and on a towel so blood wouldn’t get on my bed sheets.
I saw my doctor, and he noticed my iron and hemoglobin were low and he gave me iron pills to take. I don’t like taking medicine, but I took the iron at first. I stopped taking it, however, because it caused horrible constipation. I became increasingly tired. I tried intravenous iron infusions and while I felt better temporarily, as soon as I had the next period, all that blood loss caused me to be very tired again.
I had been an avid runner and walker. The running stopped and even long walks became somewhat of a chore. My work suffered as my fatigue worsened. Exercise ceased altogether.
I no longer had interest or the energy for sexual relations with my husband. I developed migraine headaches and was given a medicine called Sumatriptan by my doctor. When I went for a walk, the slightest incline would cause my heart to start racing and I would even get a little short of breath. I started to chew and crave ice. I would eat it by the cup full.
My fatigue was not only physical but mental as well. It was so taxing to battle these fibroids month after month. I wondered how I could continue to suffer with these fibroids. I always had to be prepared for the “crime scene” periods, having extra clothes with me at all times, and knowing where every bathroom was. My marriage suffered, my work suffered, and I felt I was letting so many people down in my life.
My Gynecologist kept telling me to get a hysterectomy, but this option didn’t sit well with me. So I kept suffering with this month after month until one day a co-worker noticed that I kept having to go to the bathroom to change my pads and asked if I was suffering from fibroids. I said, “Yes”, and she told me that she had been suffering like I was and asked if I had ever heard of UFE. I said, “No”, and she said, “Girl, I’ve got just the thing for you.” She gave me Dr. Lipman’s name and phone number. I said, “Is this his mobile number?” She said, “Yes, he gives it to all of his patients. He saved my life and I know he can help you too.”
If you’re tired of being tired and want to be transformed and not transfused, contact the nation’s leader in Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) and the nonsurgical treatment of uterine fibroids: Dr. John Lipman of the Atlanta Fibroid Center. To make an appointment, please call (770) 953-2600 or online at ATLii.com.
