Zoë from Leighton Buzzard

A Successful Pregnancy

My fibroid was first diagnosed in October 1998. I went to my GP, because I had been bleeding, even though I was on the pill. At first he thought it was hormonal, as I was only 28 at the time. However, after an internal examination it was obvious that there was something wrong.

I was referred to my local hospital, where they found that I had a fibroid the size of an 18-week pregnancy. My only options were to leave the fibroid, have it removed, which could potentially lead to a hysterectomy or have uterine embolisation. After 4 months of heavy bleeding and pain, I was referred onto the Churchill Hospital, where I had my embolisation in March '99. The relief was apparent after a month and the bleeding stopped almost immediately. The fibroid shrunk quite rapidly and by December was almost 50% smaller.

The most noticeable success was that in November '99 I became pregnant and gave birth to a perfect baby girl, Ottilie, in August 2000. Because of the embolisation and the fibroid I had regular ultrasound scans to measure both the baby and the size of the fibroid. A year after giving birth my fibroid has shrunk by 80% and I no longer have any symptoms.