My Journey with Fibroid Tumors

I just had my third surgery to remove fibroid tumors.

I’m sharing this level of personal detail for any other ladies who are struggling with their feminine bits. There is just so much to women’s health — it’s not just the physical manifestation. Women’s health is a balancing act of hormones, which can be a balancing act of emotions and lifestyle. It’s a puzzle that I’m still trying to piece together myself.

One thing I do believe in my heart of hearts is that the emotional chaos I was living in for so long, as a result of my partner’s high-conflict co-parenting situation, took a tremendous toll on my health. My body was pumping out stress hormones non-stop and I was living in a constant state of fight or flight for several years. Luckily we were able to turn that stressful situation around, but the damage to my health had already been done. 

Removing the fibroid tumors for once and for all is just the first step toward creating real healing for me. While I’ve gotten much better at containing the stress I was allowing into my life, I probably still have a lot of inflammation and hormonal imbalance. Many women do. I will continue to educate myself and try to find more balance as I move through life. But for now, I have an overwhelming feeling of appreciation.

I’m grateful that the surgery went well and that I’m on the road to recovery. I’m thankful for the excellent medical care I got at Scripps Memorial Hospital here in San Diego. This wasn’t the case with my first surgery at Queens Medical in Hawaii, and it made all the difference in the world.

I feel extremely lucky to have found a surgeon who was able to handle such a complicated case of fibroid tumors.

The mass he removed from my body weighed close to 3 lbs (including my uterus). He said I was at the size of a 5-6 month pregnancy. Thank god he was still able to remove it laparoscopically. Not all women are given this option when they are a difficult case — not all women even know there is an option. The alternative surgery would have been a much larger incision and a horrendous recovery. And ladies, if you have no choice but to remove your uterus, please do everything in your power to keep your ovaries! Medical menopause can have a tremendous impact on your quality of life.

I gave it my best effort to try and prevent growth and heal the fibroids naturally ever since my first surgery over 12 years ago. I’ve worked with some of the best naturopaths, nutritionists, osteopaths, endocrinologists, energy healers, and acupuncturists. Chris and I even flew to New York to work with Dr. Warshowsky, who wrote the book, “Healing Fibroids — a Doctor’s Guide to a Natural Cure.” Which, by the way, I highly recommend if you’re still at a stage and your fibroids are small.

And that doesn’t include all the emotional work I’ve done!

But in the end, I couldn’t get a hold on it. From some reason, my uterus was a fibroid factory. As I’ve come to accept, “sometimes the body just malfunctions.” I used to get mad at Chris when he would say this to me. I’ve never been one to run to medication or surgery without first trying to get at the root cause of the problem. But sometimes, we just need help from modern medicine. And I’m so grateful it was available to me.

I’m grateful for:

•my insurance coverage.
•all my friends and family who helped me along the way.
•my fur baby Baloo’s cuddles.

I’m especially thankful for Chris putting up with me when I was freaking out in pain the day after surgery. He had to call the ambulance to take me to the ER. (Helpful hint: don’t ever let the hospital send you home until you know you don’t need a catheter anymore!)

I just wanted to share my story because I know so many women are struggling with similar health issues. If I can help one person know they’re not alone in their experience, nothing feels better to me.

I feel such a relief in my body now.

I’m so thankful for this fresh start.

XOXO,

Maiko