We’ve recently heard from Lupita Nyong’o and Venus Williams about their health battles with uterine fibroids, which affect so many women and have a much higher incidence among Black women. Venus had a myomectomy to remove fibroids about a year ago (she only revealed this recently, after kicking ass on the court again) and Lupita has launched a foundation for awareness and advocacy for fibroid sufferers.
ABC News anchor Linsey Davis did a televised special this week about fibroids with Tamar Braxton and Cynthia Bailey. Linsey said that her bloating was so pronounced that people speculated she was pregnant. This is unfortunately relatable to me. Linsey has scheduled a hysterectomy after undergoing a myomectomy years ago. Her fibroids grew back after the myomectomy, causing countless health problems. Here’s a quick description from USA Today and the full special is below.
“ABC News” anchor Linsey Davis is revealing for the first time her yearslong struggle with uterine fibroids.
The “World News Tonight” weekend anchor explained during a “ABC News Live Prime” conversation with singer Tamar Braxton and model and actress Cynthia Bailey on Monday, Aug. 12, that she has powered through painful and severe fatigue behind the scenes due to fibroids.
Davis hopes to help women by revealing her fibroid battle. “I feel like if there is an 80% instance in anyone’s health, it should be a priority,” she said.
She also said a hysterectomy was the right path forward for her.
“I guess I just want to be final. You just want to be finished,” Davis said. “It causes me enough angst and grief, and planning my day differently, accordingly, that I really feel like I’m ready to be finished with this journey.”
This segment was hard for me to take as I could relate to everyone’s stories. I spent years blaming myself for how tired I was and how my fitness was suffering. I’m 52 and had a hysterectomy last November after describing my symptoms for at least a decade to countless OBGYNs who dismissed me. Before I had an ablation in 2019, I would have to stay in bed for a day or more with every period. I would get constant UTIs and had stress incontinence because my uterus was pressing on my bladder. There were weeks last year when the pain was as intense as labor. It wasn’t until I found my current doctor that I was quickly diagnosed with adenomyosis as I met every criteria. The hysterectomy was not an easy procedure and the recovery has been slow going, but I’m so glad I did it. They found a lime-sized fibroid on the outside of my uterus and multiple fibroids inside, confirming adenomyosis. My uterus was over twice the normal size and, like Linsey, I often looked pregnant. I appreciate it so much when famous women open up about their health. So many of us have extreme pain from fibroids, endometriosis and adenomyosis that we’re just expected to endure as part of being a woman.
Photos credit: Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon and screenshots from YouTube
I definitely can relate. I had a myomectomy at 27 and then a hysterectomy at 45 due to fibroids. The relief of not having to go through a “situation” every month was overwhelming. I hope other women who are going through this will be helped by raising awareness. Also, I hope there will be continued research into why black women in particular seem to be effected by fibroids so frequently. Its concerning that such research could be considered “woke” by the current regime.
Oh, wow.. I have the same symptoms and never heard of this.
Will check it out, thank you.
It is very hard to get a diagnosis, even when you insist on a sonogram. I’ve had multiple doctors tell me that fibroids couldn’t be causing the pain, or that it would go away when I went through menopause. Here is a YouTube video for doctors about adenomyosis. It’s a bit technical but it really helped me understand what was happening and how incompetent doctors have been in figuring out what was wrong with me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kQYuDFrmZU
Thank you for sharing that video and for being so open with your experience.
I had a total hysterectomy along with a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (due to fibroids, cysts, and suspected adenomyosis) a couple of weeks ago and I’m still in the recovery phase. When the test results came in, my doctor contacted me to let me know that they were able to confirm adenomyosis and to tell me that my uterus was one of the worst they’d seen due to the adenomyosis.
I felt validated when I heard the test results. I’d been having problems since the onset of puberty but was dismissed from the age of 12 until 52. It took me 40 years and several doctors to finally get an answer. The doctor who recommended and performed the procedure was the first to ever even mention adenomyosis to me!
I hope more celebrities open up about their experiences and share information because we often have to fight to be taken seriously and we need to be armed with as much information as possible.
The american healthcare is really bad!!!
I had a myomectomy and then an histerectomy 10 years later.
My gynechologist (a man) said it wasn’t normal to be in so much pain and proceeded to treat me to avoid both the pain as well as to avoid a possible anemia.
My physician (male family doctor) had an ultrassound machine and performed frequent exams (sometimes without even charging. Once I complained I had an ache near my breast and he did ultrassound to both breasts, liver, kidneys, bladder, uterus and I only paid for one exam. He was amazing. Luckily the ache was solely due to a fall.
Celebitchy, I think we’re almost the exact same age and I also had a hysterectomy last Nov because of fibroids. Best thing I ever did. I’m sorry your recovery was slow. Mine was pretty easy. The only downside was the restrictions on lifting and exercise for several weeks meant I gained more weight – a struggle I’ve had for the past few years because of perimenopause – and I’m still fighting to lose any of that extra weight. But it improved my life so much to get rid of the horrendous cramping and the excessive bleeding that was making life so difficult. One note from my doctor that I want to share re ablations (which I never did bc they said it wouldn’t help with the cramping, which was awful for me): she said she doesn’t like ablations because it can make later diagnoses of uterine cancer hard to make, because you can’t tell if the uterine walls are thickening.
An ablation was the perfect, less invasive option for me rather than a hysterectomy (endometrial polyps).
My surgeon took biopsies & we also did tests and went thru family history to make sure my risk of cancer was minimal.
I knew that, no family history or uterine or any type of cancer.
If I had certain risk factors or genetic markers than I couldn’t have that type of procedure.
The procedure changed my life.
The polyps made me bleed constantly and I was anemic.
I had an ablation but the damn things grew back and had to have everything out. Also had cysts on my ovaries and fallopian tubes. I’d have to go to bed for a couple of days every month I was hemmorhaging so badly. It was a nightmare. The surgery took over 5 hours and I was off work for 6 weeks. Full recovery (to the point where I could start working out) took close to a year.
I had a softball sized fibroid from my uterus removed in my early to mid thirties. And I felt so good in the years after. But yeah now I’m 45 and the last few years I swear I can feel em growing again. It’s not too bad yet but I think it’s just a matter of time.
I have a hysterectomy scheduled for a month from now due to suspected fibroids and adenomyosis. I am 44. Until I reached a crisis point, including a brief hospitalization for severe anemia, I didn’t fully grasp how much my issues were shrinking my life down to dealing with them and planning around them. Not especially looking forward to surgery or recovery, but the prospect of not thinking constantly about what problem my reproductive system will cause next is keeping me energized. All the kudos in the world to these amazing women who are making their voices heard, especially given the rates of inferior health outcomes for Black women. Things have to change.
You’ll be fine. I had a hysto when I was 38 after a D and C revealed that I had multiple fibroids that were causing me to bleed so heavily during my periods that my red cell count was down to half of normal, making me dangerously anemic, never mind the agonizing menstrual cramps. It was the best day’s work my doctor ever did. I was on my feet the day after the operation and back at work three weeks later. No more pain, no more cramps, and no more periods ever. I was a new woman.
I was diagnosed with fibroids in my late 20s after years on long and painful periods. I was put on a birth control regimen to manage my periods and pain. Which for the most part has worked. But I still have multiple fibroids – including one fibroid the size of a grapefruit on one side of my uterus. My stomach basically looks like I am in my first trimester of pregnancy. And now that I am in my mid 40s (I am 45) and perimenopause is in the picture my Dr wants to pay closer attention to the fibroids growth. My periods have gotten slightly heavier but not to the point they were before I was diagnosed and on bc. If push comes to shove I may consider having a hysterectomy but I want that to be a last resort since I know it can come with it’s own list of issues mainly with recovery.
I had an abdominal hysterectomy due to fibroids that weighed 1.5 kg. My uterus was retroverted and it was growing on the posterior side completely squishing my colon so not only did I have massive bowel problems, it was causing neuralgia of the pudendal nerve if I fell asleep on my back. The pain was like having the whole genital area ripped inwards. I could even feel my urethra about to rip.
Yet the gynaecologists kept dismissing my issues, saying that my bowel issues had nothing to do with gynaecology and that I should go to gastroenterologist instead, and that women’s bodies can carry babies so a 1.5kg fibroid was no big deal.
Unfortunately, after my hysterectomy, I suffer from such severe adhesions (I had had a c section many years ago), my quality of life is not much better. I did get even more UTIs after the surgery but I now have it under control with d mannose supplements so I’m quite happy about that at least.
Ah, geez! I’m sorry for your health problems & the awful doctors you’ve had to deal with! Wishing you well for your future. 💕
Thank you Beaniebean! I’m an irrepressibly happy person but I’ve been normalising discomfort for too long, partly because the doctors have been so dismissive of my issues.
I’ve had fibroids all my life and had surgery in 2001 and again in 2007. The first surgery removed a fibroid the size of a grapefruit and yes, I did look pregnant. The pain was awful. The second surgery removed more than 13 fibroids with one the size of a baseball. It took longer than they thought and I woke up in the middle of it because the anesthesia wore off. I could feel everything and couldn’t speak. They finally noticed and knocked me back out again.
I’m in my 60s now and very grateful menopause put all of that behind me.
I tried everything. IUD, birth control, myomectomy and the pain would not abate. It was awful. I finally told my gynecologist to just “take it out”. I had my hysterectomy in Dec 2022. I had complications and had to be hospitalized for a week due to infections. I kept my ovaries, but I still went into menopause almost immediately. For me, I had depression and the healing took a long time. It took about a year to be kind of okay. I still do not regret. No more pain and. No. More. Periods.
I had a Uterine Fibroid Embolization procedure in 2010 when I was 38 (on my birthday, actually). I had tried Lupron, Mirena, and bc pills, but fibroids kept growing and I got dangerously anemic at one point from heavy bleeding. The next decade or so I had some residual pain from the fibroids shrinking–typically a stabbing sensation during periods. But now that I’m in menopause (HRT treatment means I have minimal symptoms), I don’t have any problems at all.
Heavy periods? ask for ultrasounds to diagnose fibroids. Get treatment. I chose not to get a myomectomy because it’s major surgery and many people have the fibroids grow back. I had embolization, which was same day in and out of hospital and about a 5 day recovery period (myomectomy is about a month). I found UFE helpful
My heart goes out to all of the women here who are sharing your stories!
❤️🩹
I’d like to echo this! Now that I’ve been reading through the comments, my goodness, y’all have gone through the wringer! Wishing everyone health & wellness from here on out, and access to doctors who LISTEN. And then know what actions to take. 💕
OMG – I suffered from fybroids for all of my 40s. Finally got relief via a partial hysterectomy. NEVER got offered HRT afterwards. It was a living hell to have to go thru 7-10 days of pain and bleeding every month AND be expected to work and carry on as usual. My heart goes out to anyone suffering from this. If your doctor pushes back or dismisses it, find a new one.
I have fibroids, PCOS, endo, HSV and HPV. Mirena IUDs used to help but don’t anymore, and I can’t get doctors to pay attention. I just moved to Seattle and wondering if anyone has doctor recs????
Well, you live in a much bigger city than I did (Wenatchee), but I was able to find excellent doctors in that small town so I think you should be able to as well. I use the ‘find a doctor’ search that’s available on the Blue Cross/Blue Shield website (that’s my insurance)–I’m sure whatever insurance you have has something similar. I always–always–look for women doctors & my preference any more is for someone not long out of medical school (seriously, these folks are all up to date on the latest & greatest not only in technology but in how to treat people like people). And if you’re not happy with the doc you see, feel free to switch. It’s OK. You’re not hurting anybody’s feelings & while this may sound harsh, they won’t miss you. Do what’s best for you.
My fibroids that started in pregnancy went bonkers during perimenopause. And because I didn’t really think about them it took awhile to get a diagnosis. And even then they couldn’t do anything. But yes for months I looked six months pregnant and was terribly uncomfortable. Now in post menopause it seems to be better.
I had no idea they were THIS common. I found my first fibroid during my first pregnancy and had never heard of it before. It was terrifying and the size of a tennis ball, pushing up against my baby. Thankful more people are talking about this <3
I now have a better understanding of what my mother went through. I remember taking her to/from the hospital to have her fibroids removed.
Was curious if anyone with fibroids waited until menopause and if symptoms improved? I have had fibroids for several years now and my dr had initially recommended waiting it out because she felt I would be hitting menopause soon – needless to say I have not (I am now 53 and my sister reach menopause until 56). My symptoms aren’t terrible but I am hoping that post menopause they will decrease/shrink but I also know they may not. Just curious if anyone did wait it out…
About twenty years ago, I had a complete hysterectomy. I had huge fibroid tumors, and I would bleed out every month, until it got to where I never really stopped. I was told I had used up all the iron in my liver and bone marrow, and I could hardly stand. I was given massive doses of hormones, progesterone, and it didn’t help. I had a female doctor, and I told her I can’t stand this any more, you’ve got to help me. Her answer was to raise one shoulder and shrug at me. I wonder if the huge doses of hormones had anything to do with my breast cancer last year, but I also wonder if the hysterectomy that I mourned was a blessing in disguise, in that I didn’t get cancer there. Until I got a hysterectomy, a friend took me to a Chinese medicine doctor, and that is the only thing that helped. Cut it down to 10 days. Blessings to all of you who have suffered from this.
I had a myomectomy in Dec 1998. I was on birth control and still having horrible cramps. Around 2005 I had an out patient procedure. In 2012 my flow was so bad I couldn’t leave the house. Had a full hysterectomy April 2012. I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with fibroids any longer.
I had a radical abdominal hysterectomy at 41. Two fibroids , one giant 25cm and it twisted and killed off an ovary, and another 10cm. I have nerve damage from it all, and yes I looked pregnant too. I call it my alien baby. Happy to be done with all that!
I recently got diagnosed with fibriods and adenomyosis in the UK. The healthcare approach is wait it out. Apparently I have more than one fibrioid but they don’t know how many from the ultrasound as the adenomyosis cannot let them see. The fibriods are 1cm or so and I’m 42. I am not sure how to approach it as I’ve had heavy periods which have reduce but never bedridden or anemic I’m not sure now if I only thought it was normal or it’s just the way I was told to think.
I don’t know if the adenomyosis cane scrapped the same way endometriosis with keyhole surgery but I do want those fibriods out. I have horrible lower back pain and I’m now not sure if is related to this or something else as from all I’ve read no one mentioned that pain. I’ll need to fight the NHS for an MRI as always. The system is so broken here that the only reason I found out was because I demanded for an ultrasound and on Mexico they confirmed the presence of a fibrioid.