In 2017, I went for a health check-up and was diagnosed with uterine fibroids but at that time there were no symptoms, the doctor said Uterine fibroids are benign tumors, the doctor just asked me to monitor the uterine fibroid by going for an ultrasound every 6 months. If the uterine fibroid is getting bigger and has symptoms, it needs treatment, but the fibroid remains the same and has no symptoms, it does not need treatment, until menopause, the uterine fibroid automatically shrinks and disappears.
Then, I went home and searched for information about uterine fibroids, and learned that about 70%-80% of women aged 35-50 have uterine fibroids, but not all have symptoms and have treatment, so I’m very optimistic. After more than a year, the uterine fibroid’s symptoms appeared like hypermenorrhoea, at this time I did not go to the doctor for examination and treatment, until something happened: on the sixth day of a period, I felt short of breath, tired, irregular heartbeat, numbness in my right arm and leg, so I went to the emergency room at the Heart Hospital, because I was afraid of having a stroke or having heart problems because I have congenital heart disease. After the doctor in the emergency room examined, did an ultrasound, and did tests, the cause was that I had severe anemia. So the doctor prescribed to transfuse 2 units of blood for me and the doctor prescribed me to take iron supplements for 3 months and then go to check my blood again and the doctor also advised me to go to the doctor for treatment of uterine fibroids soon.
So I started going to the doctor to treat uterine fibroids, the first doctor I visited was the head of the obstetrics and gynecology department at a hospital, I was treated with drugs. During treatment with this medicine, along with taking iron supplements, I often felt dizzy, headache, fatigue, stomach upset, bloating, exhaustion. And I was also extremely nervous and worried whether my body would produce enough blood for the next period or if I would need to have a blood transfusion. After 4 months, I took iron supplements, I still had mild anemia, so I was less stressed and worried about anemia.
After taking the medicine for 9 months, the symptoms and size of the uterine fibroid did not improve, so I went to another doctor, the doctor asked me to do tests such as ultrasound and MRI scans. After having the results, the doctor diagnosed to have a surgery. The doctor said that I could choose to have open surgery to remove the fibroid or to have a hysterectomy. The doctor advised that if I still intend to have children, I should have an open surgery to remove the fibroid, and if not, I should have a hysterectomy so that there is no longer a risk of uterine fibroids coming back. I asked the doctor if I could choose to have laparoscopic surgery? The doctor explained that I had to have an open surgery because my fibroid was under the mucosa, and the laparoscopic surgery was not as effective as choosing open surgery. I told the doctor to let me think about this surgery decision.
I went home to find out information about the surgery for uterine fibroids and asked people I knew who had fibroids and had the surgery. I do not choose to have a hysterectomy, because it is too invasive and affects the body and I do not want to remove a certain part of the body because it will cause an imbalance in the body. In my case, if I decided to have open surgery then: One, I would be required to have a full blood transfusion because at that period, I was in an anemic state, and blood transfusion is what I do not want. Second, I had to have my heart checked and my heart rate was stable before I could have surgery, but at that time I was anemic for a long time, my heart was weak and my heart rate was unstable and I often had heart pain, so in order to get a stable heart result before surgery, I also spent time and effort on this, it would make me more tired and stressed. Third, there would be pain, or there was a risk of infection after surgery. Fourth, with open surgery to remove an uterine fibroid, after 3-4 years, new uterine fibroids would appear and I might have surgery again. Fifth, open surgery would leave scars on my body, I don’t like this. After careful consideration, I realized that my illness was not urgent to have a surgery and my health at this time was better than when I went to the emergency room and I also wanted to try another drug treatment.
After that, I went to the other doctor, who had a doctorate degree and was the director of the international obstetrics and gynecology hospital at that time. I went to the doctor’s private office, after having an ultrasound and doing tests, the doctor said I could be treated with medicine and said if I followed the doctor’s prescription within a year, the symptoms of the disease would stabilize and by the time of menopause, this fibroid will automatically shrink and cause no more symptoms. So I agreed to take the medicine prescribed by the doctor.
After 3 months of attending the Health Coach Training Program, I have learned that our body can heal itself and that I needed to give it a chance with the right diet and the right lifestyle. According to what I have learned, I have practiced and listened to my body when eating each food and monitored the body’s reaction after 1-3 hours and even after 1-3 days. In fact, I’ve noticed that certain foods were causing me to have hypermenorrhea during my period, so I talked it to my doctor at my follow-up visit. However, the doctor said that food did not affect the period, and that I could eat normally and took all the medicine as prescribed by the doctor. But sadly, my periods were getting worse and worse, it lasted for 14 days in the 5th month and 21 days in the 6th month according to drinking prescribed medicines by the doctor. After that, I visited the doctor again, the doctor said that she would change another drug for me to try within 1 or 2 months, see if my body responded well to that new drug or not? if the drug responded well, I would continue to take them, otherwise the doctor would prescribe the injection for me, if the injection did not respond well, I would need to prepare for open surgery to remove the fibroid. After listening to the doctor’s advice, I told the doctor that I didn’t want to take the medicine anymore. The doctor said that I am suffering from hypermenorrhoea, I should take the medicine prescribed by the doctor to stabilize the menstrual cycle.
After 15 months of drug treatment, my uterine fibroid’s symptoms got worse, my stomach, liver, and kidneys all had problems due to the side effects of the drugs, sometimes, my heart was pain and my heart beat was irregular. The body is weak and the energy is exhausted. And I suffered from most of the symptoms of perimenopause such as night sweats, or freezing cold at night, trouble sleeping, insomnia, mood swings, anger easily, cry easily, even though I used to very good emotional balance.
With the decision not to treat the disease with drugs anymore and let the body heal itself, I adjusted my diet, took herbal supplements, and herbs, spices and enzymes to reduce disease symptoms with targets: reducing symptoms of the uterine fibroid and reducing the size of the fibroid, balancing hormones, relieving perimenopause symptoms and problems on the stomach, strengthening the immune system and improving inflammation, balancing body temperature, detoxifying the liver, and enhancing heart function and kidney function. At the same time, I also used a natural therapy to support in the first 2 months, then I found that the disease symptoms were mainly affected by the food I ate so I stopped this natural therapy. Meanwhile, I also combined physical activity and meditation to increase my energy and reduce stress and did psychological practices to heal the fear that I had been haunted by for a long time b/c of suffering the symptoms of the disease.
Gradually, my period improved significantly and my energy recovered better every month. And after 9 months of adjusting to the right diet and right lifestyle, my health has recovered and my period had been controlled and stabilized around 7-8 days. I really didn’t believe that I could cure my fibroid’s symptoms and recovered my health within 9 months and completed Health Coach Training Program on time. Now my period is 6 days and I’m living at peace with uterine fibroids in the body. After all suffering from illness, I have gone through the process of illness, experienced anxieties, fears, and know people’s needs when they are sick, so I can understand, support, and guide others to activate self-healing mechanism in the body to prevent chronic diseases.