My Miscarriage Prescription

Here is my recipe for getting through the pain of a miscarriage, which works for any miscarriage physical pain:

Red Wine -- this helps to take the edge off the pain in a way that nothing else did. My acupuncturist told me afterwards that red wine "moves the blood" in chinese medicine which is why it works. It didn't cause any increase of bleeding just in case it sounds that way.

Marijuana -- the body produces natural painkillers called anandamides akin to THC in marajuana (which is humans are affected by THC at all). There are a large proportion of anandamide receptors in the uterus which is probably why marajuana is helpful for painful menses. Anandamines both dull the pain sensation and dulls the memory -- both useful affects to help women get through childbirth. You can just watch how your body's natural painkillers work or try supplementing with marajuana (which I do not use and didn't try in this situation so I'm not sure quite how it would work).

Dark Chocolate -- it turns out that chocolate helps keep anandamine in the body longer so why not have some chocolate. I can't say it is easy to distinguish whether or not this is working but it sure didn't hurt and it was a great distraction and an excuse to eat chocolate.

Herbal Tea -- lemonbalm and chamomile are nerve tonics and mild sedatives and are pleasant tasting. Passionflower tea is a little stronger but it helps soothe anxiety, it acts as a mild sedative and it reduces tension in the body. I found that passionflower tea helped to calm the pain and cramping for a couple of hours during the most intense part.

Hot Water Bottle -- use this pressed up against your belly or back and just rest against it. Also you might get cold so wrap yourself in a blanket if need be.

Tylenol -- helpful with the intense pain of my second miscarriage, which was all natural and at home.

Massage -- Follow up several days later with an abdominal (as well as full-body) massage by a professional to get rid of any residual pain.

Acupuncture -- With both of my miscarriages I had a lot of pain for days afterwards, acupuncture was able to help release the pain and help my body adjust to the change. I also had several grief treatments Internal/External Dragon (japanese treatment) after my second loss which released a lot of pent up emotion.

In case of bad bleeding, try these tricks for controlling uterine bleeding. This is a harder one as you really have to keep an eye on how much blood you lose. Factor in how far away the nearest hospital and get there ASAP if you think you are in trouble.

Hope this helps, keep it on hand for future reference in case you know anyone who can use it.



Updated 3/18/06.

Fibroid Embolization (UAE/UFE) for Women of Childbearing Age

(to a woman interested in learning more about whether or not it impairs fertility)

I considered this procedure in 2003 so let me share some of what I learned with you.

Women have successfully conceived and carried to term post-UAE (aka: UFE or embolization), however since there have no been many studies of the outcomes post procedure in women of child-bearing age many (if not most) doctors will not recommend it to their patient if they are wanting to have children afterwards. There have even been IVF pregnancies post UAE, though still, how many isn't well documented or studied.

Here's a link you might want to refer to, it treats the topic fairly:http://www.fibroiduae.com/fibro5c.htm

I haven't looked into it in a while but as I recall the risks of the procedure specifically for this population include:

• possible increase in risk of uterine rupture during pregnancy/delivery (small percentage)
  
• possible misembolization of ovaries which could compromise their function or cause menopause
  
• possible risk of infection from degenerated fibroid tissue
  
• possible misembolization of pelvic blood flow compromising sexual function

The SIR (American Society of Interventional Radiologists) qualifications for UAE candidate selection excluded women of childbearing age at this time until there is more study of the outcomes, though it does include women who are unwilling to have surgery -- even they recognize that there is a grey area here (I spoke with the author and that is how I know this).

If you wanted to have the procedure done, I believe that you would want to have an MRI ahead of time (as to the specifications of the IR), and know that other conditions should be ruled out -- such as adenomyosis or cancer (as someone reminded me the other day). The IR I consulted with said that in his experience fibroids greater than 1cm but not larger than 8cm were ideal for the procedure as these have both a large enough blood supply and will shrink enough to have a positive affect. If you check on the embo list (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/embo/) I bet you will find women there who have had the procedure with fibroids outside of that range.

I found doctors with differing opinions of the procedure myself, though I decided to try acupuncture and chinese medicine first (which did help to shrink my fibroid some over 4 months) only to get pregnant and have my fibroid double in size and cause problems that assured me that having a myomectomy was the best route for me in the end.

Good luck with your research and decision making.

To someone who is wondering whether or not to have a myo

Lots of women get pg with fibroids in place, it is an elective procedure however so in part you get to decide when it is right for you. Some considerations I've noted about when it is a good time to have fibroid surgery:

• you feel like you have exhausted all other possible treatment options
  
• you are feeling pain and discomfort, even some of the time. This can include back pain, pelvic pain, leg pain, etc.
  
• you are having bleeding problems (really heavy periods, or periods that don't seem to stop -- this can lead to problems with anemia which can impair fertility and put you at risk for other health problems such as clotting)
  
• you have had trouble conceiving or have had miscarriage/s
  
• you are wanting to try hormonal fertility treatments and your fibroids are already a good size
  
• you are having difficulty urinating or are having to pee all the time or you are developing urinary tract infections
  
• you can't stand the thought of having fibroids inside of you and want to get rid of them
  
• you fibroids are compromising the interior space of the uterus
  

Since you are already dealing with TTC with one tube I can see that it doesn't feel like a straight shot decision for you at all. There is a risk of adhesions after any abdominal surgery, but whether or not these will cause problems is another question.

The surgery is a big deal in that it can be quite invasive and most of us haven't had that much physical trauma before. It is also one that you will recover from quickly. An abdominal myo is very similar to a c-section and loads of women have those operations every day.

Have you read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibroids yet? It is a super book that really helped me to feel empowered about my body and my fibroids. It describes in detail about the various procedure options and includes info about fertility success rates post-op.