My Fibroid Surgery Nightmare: A Cautionary Tale

I'm still trying to process the whole experience, but I'll do my best to break it down for you. It all started back in 2019 when I first discovered I had uterine fibroids. At the time, I only had two of them, and I didn't think much of it, but looking back, I wish I'd done more research.

Every year, I'd get an ultrasound, and by 2024, I had at least six fibroids, with the largest one being around 4 cm. I was starting to get a little concerned, but my periods were heavy, not painful, and I never complained about my cycle.

By summer, I'd changed jobs and was going through a tough relationship, and by September, my fibroids had grown by a centimeter. I was feeling overwhelmed, and my fibroids were just adding to my stress.

Since I didn't have health insurance for the first three months after switching jobs, I researched the possibility of surgical intervention on forums. I was desperate for answers, and I spent hours scouring the internet for information.

From January 1st of this year, I got health insurance through my new job, and I immediately started looking into my fibroids. My insurance covers all Medsi clinics, so I spent a long time choosing doctors and consulting with several surgeons. Almost all of them told me I needed to remove the fibroids.

They recommended a laparoscopy since there were only a few visible on the ultrasound. On January 17th, I got a referral and approval from my insurance company for a laparoscopy at the clinic on Botkin Street.

However, my insurance company didn't approve the surgery at Medsi, and they suggested several other clinics for me to choose from. I read reviews and reviews of the doctors, and I chose the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Health of Russia.

The next day, they called me from the clinic and scheduled a consultation with a doctor. I was nervous but trying to stay calm.

I went, consulted, and the doctor examined me and felt my fibroids. He said they were very dense and needed to be removed.

Naturally, he also asked why I wasn't having kids and when we planned to have kids. He said I should definitely have a child within a year (it would be worth it). I was taken aback by the question, but I tried to brush it off.

The doctor explained everything calmly, gave me a list of tests, and told me to come in during the middle of my cycle for the surgery. I took all the necessary tests, got clearance from my therapist, and arrived at the ward.

3.Surgery

I was a bit worried about the surgery, but I tried to stay positive. Interestingly, a year ago, I had a tonsillectomy in the neighboring hospital, and I was a bit anxious about the whole experience.

Following the advice of the woman who was coordinating my surgery, I arrived at the ward by 2 pm. There were no lines, and I quickly filled out the documents and was taken to the ward.

At first, I was placed in a two-bed room. The rooms are small but comfortable, and the renovation is recent. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't in a single room, but I tried to make the best of it.

The nurses sent me to the cafeteria to eat since I had already missed lunch, and I couldn't eat dinner. I went down to the cafeteria and had a meat pie - it was actually pretty good.

My roommate turned out to be a bit of a weirdo, had been there for a long time, and didn't even greet me. I tried to be friendly, but she just ignored me.

Later in the evening, they called me for an enema, and I was ready since I'm not sensitive to them. They did two enemas, and I calmly sat in the toilet, drank coffee, and was getting ready to go to bed.

It was almost 11 pm, and my roommate was watching TV loudly. I asked her to keep it down since I had surgery the next day and wanted to sleep. She freaked out, saying she had been in that ward alone and could watch TV whenever she wanted.

I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk around the ward. It was dark, and they had turned off the lights everywhere. I was noticed by the nurses, who asked me what I was doing there, since it was way past bedtime.

I told them I was just trying to sleep because my neighbor was watching TV. The nurse went to my neighbor's room and told her that according to the rules, the TV and lights had to be off by 10 PM.

But my neighbor started calling her friend and yelling at me, saying I was disturbing her and that she had complained to the nurses about the noise. She started getting pretty aggressive, so I told her, 'Are you even sane?' And she just told me to shut up.

I went back to the nurses and asked if there were any other rooms available or if I could be moved to a single room. They told me that the whole ward was full and that they couldn't move me anywhere.

I was getting pretty scared and upset, so I started crying and asking if I could at least sleep in the hallway, since I had seen people doing that in other rooms. The nurses tried to calm me down and went back to my neighbor's room, where she started yelling at them and being super aggressive.

They ended up finding me a spot in another ward and moved me there for the night. The nurse helped me gather my stuff so I wouldn't have to deal with my neighbor anymore, and the whole ward was super supportive and nice to me.

I'm really grateful to the hospital staff for looking out for me like that.

The next morning, I put on my compression stockings, which are way tighter than the ones I had after my last surgery. I managed to put them on myself, which was a relief.

It turned out that I was in a ward for people who come in for minor procedures, like polyp removals and small gynecological surgeries. I was also on a fluid restriction, which meant I couldn't drink anything, but I was happy to be surrounded by other women who were going through the same thing.

We chatted and shared our experiences, which really helped boost our moods. At 9 AM, my surgeon came to see me and said that he wouldn't be doing the laparoscopic procedure after all.

He wanted to be able to feel my uterus more closely, since there was a chance I had other fibroids that weren't visible on the ultrasound. He also said that there was a fibroid on the back wall that he needed to remove, and that would require a more invasive procedure.

I was getting a bit emotional, but I tried to stay calm. I went for a smoke and talked to my mom, who's a nurse, about the situation. I eventually calmed down and accepted the new plan.

I was moved to a single room, which was a huge relief. It wasn't until 2 PM that I was taken to the operating room.

I was pretty nervous, but I tried to stay focused. The anesthesiologist came to see me and offered to add a spinal block to the procedure, since there would be an incision and I might feel some pain.

I went into the OR on my own two feet, got undressed, and lay down on the table. I asked them to take a photo of what they were going to remove, which was a weird request, but I figured why not?

It was freezing in there, and there was music playing, which is pretty standard during surgeries. I paid close attention to the medical staff as they inserted the catheter and took my blood pressure.

The anesthesiologist came over and told me to sit up and bend forward. There were also some residents who were there to observe, which was kind of cool, I guess.

The anesthesiologist started inserting the needle, which wasn't painful at all. He asked me how I was feeling, and I told him I was good to go.

I have to admit, things got pretty wild from here. I was saying I was feeling really bad, and they asked me to cough, so I coughed, and then I passed out.

I was really hoping when they woke me up that it was all over with the operation. But it turned out it wasn't even started yet.

They put me back on the table, inserted the needle, gave me the medication, and I started feeling bad all over again.

They were laying me on my side, and I was shaking with fear, crying, and the doctors were trying to calm me down, telling me I'd been through a lot. They turned me over and gave me anesthesia right away. I fell asleep immediately.

I woke up with a tube down my throat, and they pulled it out. They moved me to a recovery bed.

They took me to the recovery room, and I was in agony from the incision area. I started complaining to the medical staff that I was in a lot of pain, and they'd given me a shot in my thigh.

The pain actually went away really quickly, but I was feeling queasy, but I didn't throw up. I asked for the time, and it was around 5 o'clock.

Half an hour later, they took me to my room, and the first thing I asked was, 'When can I eat?' They said dinner would be served soon, and I could eat then.

I called my mom, my ex, and texted all my friends to let them know I was okay. They brought me fish patties, mashed potatoes, and pickled herring for dinner. I couldn't even eat the fish patties or the herring, but I devoured the mashed potatoes.

I had some hidden-away marshmallows, juice, a brioche, and jellies. The first night after the operation, I mostly slept, watched TV, ate marshmallows, and played with my e-cigarette.

They told me not to roll over or get up yet. I had a catheter, which wasn't very pleasant – it felt like you really need to go to the bathroom all the time.

Sometime around midnight, I woke up, and my back was all wet. I thought I must have sweated a lot, but the smell was chemical.

They woke me up in the morning, took some blood and urine from the catheter, and removed the catheter. They told me after breakfast to try getting up and walking around to prevent adhesions.

Around 9 am, I asked a nurse to take a look at my back, because I thought something was off with the spinal anesthesia. It turned out I'd been without anesthesia the whole night because the tube had come loose.

Here's a photo of the medication thingy.

I didn't really feel any difference between being without anesthesia and having it. I was able to get up on my own after breakfast, went to the bathroom, and started walking around the ward, the hospital – I took around 8,000 steps that day.

They told me to walk a lot, so I did. The only thing that hurt was coughing or sneezing – it wasn't like I was in excruciating pain or anything.

It felt like I'd overdone it on my abs. I had a huge appetite right away, and my ex brought me a ton of food from Yandex Market. I was lying down, walking around, and eating.

I went for a walk around the hospital area – it was really pretty. After lunch, my doctor came in and said he'd removed 23 fibroids from me! 23!!!!

He saved my uterus and did a great job with the sutures. I was told to take birth control pills to regulate my hormonal balance, and within a year, I was already planning to get pregnant.

I had a pretty bad swelling in the first two days around the incision site - my stomach looked like I was pregnant. But the swelling went down pretty quickly, and I was able to see my stitches on the bandage, and they looked great, not scary at all.

My doctor used the most dissolvable sutures they had. They removed the spinal anesthesia after two days, and I didn't notice any difference.

I asked to go home on the weekends, but after the surgery, I ended up staying in the hospital for two days before going home under observation.

Once I got home, I rested, got a manicure, went for a walk, and then went back to the hospital on Monday for discharge.

3. After the surgery

The pain went away pretty quickly. I had to apply betadine to my stitches twice a day for a week. The usual restrictions applied - no baths, no heavy physical activity for a month or two.

I ended up being on bed rest for a week and a half, and then I went back to work. By the time I went back to work, I was already able to get up and move around normally, without any issues.

I didn't take any painkillers at home - everything was fine. I attribute this to my good physical conditioning and well-developed core and abdominal muscles, as I regularly go to the gym, do cardio, and work out with a trainer using heavy weights.

It's been a month and a week since the surgery, and I've already been going to the gym for two weeks, working out with my trainer, and gradually getting back into my routine - the only thing we've avoided is any exercises that target my core.

I feel great, and I'm getting plenty of exercise.

4. Complications

I didn't have any complications, but I did develop a post-operative hematoma. It caused my first period to be really heavy - it was like water pouring out of a faucet.

An ultrasound showed that the hematoma was about 5 cm in size, and after three weeks, I went back for another ultrasound, and it had almost completely resolved.

My internal stitches are healing well, and my uterus is starting to recover - several gynecologists have praised my surgeon's work.

After I was told that the hematoma had almost resolved, I did something crazy - I went to the sauna and soaked myself!

Now, for the next year, I'll need to take birth control pills to help my hormonal balance and aid in the healing process.

I'll write a separate review for the birth control pills I'm taking, called Yarin.

5. Conclusion

I would definitely recommend this surgery, especially since it's a great way to get rid of multiple fibroids. Since fibroids don't usually occur alone.

Photo taken a month after the surgery

Photo of my stitches and how I'm feeling on 05.07.2025

Everything is fine, my iron levels are normal, and my periods are perfect.

Photo taken on 05.07.2025
When I palpate my stitches, I don't feel anything, and my muscle is smooth.

This thing's design is pretty sleek, and the image quality is top-notch. I mean, just look at that screen - it's crystal clear!