I was surprised to see this thread at Mudcat. I am ambivalent about whether this topic should be posted here at all. It would be more fruitfully discussed on a women's health board, but on the other hand if the subject doesn't appear in diverse media, too many people will remain ignorant of this common condition and its treatment options. As a participant in fibroid discussions hosted by www.groups.yahoo.com and www.smartgroups.com , I've read of women who suffered heavy bleeding and anaemia for years before they were diagnosed with fibroids. One wonders why the possibility that fibroids were the cause of these symptoms was not considered earlier, as diagnosis can usually be made simply with ultrasound. (On the other hand, even if a woman has fibroids she may have other conditions causing her heavy menstrual bleeding and/or anaemia). I myself had fibroids without heavy periods so I only discovered them when a tumour grew large enough to feel with my hand! I have also come across a number of women with similar experiences. If I'd known more about fibroids, I would have consulted a doctor sooner about very mild symptoms which I'd mistakenly thought were perimenopausal signs (urinary frequency and menstrual periods lasting a bit longer).

The word "fibroidectomy" is unfamilar to me; I know this procedure as "myomectomy". There would be no straight answer to such a question, for depending on the size, number and position of a woman's fibroids myomectomy can be a simple procedure or a very complicated and – due to the large blood supply to fibroids – potentially hazardous operation. Other considerations are (unfortunately) the skill of the available surgeons, insurance cover, the woman's feelings about hysterectomy, and the fact that myomectomy is likely to leave behind some tiny fibroids that may soon grow and become symptomatic. Obviously, if a woman strongly desires to bear children, even a window of opportunity of a couple of years is useful.

Hysterectomy sometimes has adverse effects and I think of it as a last resort. As several of the previous contributors to this thread have pointed out, this is not a straight either/or question as there are now other options for fibroid treatment. If your fibroids are small but bleeding is a problem, in some cases either conventional drug-treatment and alternative/herbal treatments may be helpful. If these treatments don't work, or fibroids are getting large, there are less-invasive therapies such as Uterine Artery Embolisation (UAE or UFE, particularly useful for woman who have large numbers of fibroids) and MRI-guided laser ablation (ablation of the fibroids, NOT of the uterine lining; variants of this rather new treatment is offered only in a few centres which I believe include the U of Missippi, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass, and St Mary's Hospital in London, England)

...more to follow ...