At 36 years of age and after 3 children, my OB/GYN and I decided that NovaSure would be a great word ay to reduce, if not eliminate my irregular, extremely heavy periods. I started my period at 9 y/o and spent my life dealing with excruciating menstrual cycles, including very heavy bleeding and sometimes two cycles per month. I never responded well to the various types of birth control my doctor prescribed to help regulate my cycles. The side-effects often seemed worse than dealing with my heavy bleeding. After deciding I didn't want any more children, and exhausted with having my life ruled by my bleeding, I was desperate to get my periods under control. NovaSure seemed too good to be true but my doctor of nearly 20 years assured me it was just the miracle I was hoping for.
I've always been mindful of my physique and enjoy a healthy diet and lifestyle. I'm 5'6" and my weight would range between 125 and 131 depending on my time of the month and how diligent I was being with my diet and exercise (I weighed 119 on my wedding day, but that was a little too aggressive to maintain). I never had a problem losing my baby weight or getting my weight back on track after an indulgent vacation. I had 3 healthy babies in just over 5 years and even after baby #3, I was at 130lb at 3 months postpartum. When my youngest was 15 months old, I went in for the NovaSure procedure. I was 126lbs the morning of surgery. The surgery went well and after a day of resting, I was back at life the next day. Miracle, right?!
The very next month, around the time my cycle was to begin, I had the normal pms symptoms - hunger, bloating, emotional, etc. totally normal for me and if this period was like every other period I'd had in my life, in a few days, maybe a week, it would all be over and the bloating would subside and I'd go on with my life. Well, the ONLY good thing I can say about NovaSure is that it did reduce my bleeding. But that bloated feeling never left. I gained 8 pounds the month after my procedure and it won't come off. All of my diet and exercise 'tricks' I've used in the past with great results won't touch this weight. It's mostly in my tummy area and it's only getting worse. It's now been a year since my ablation an I actually believe it's forced me into early menopause - at 37! I have horrendous emotional mood swings, hot flashes, I weigh nearly 140 pounds despite doubling my exercise regimen and being extremely mindful of my diet, zero libido (also not normal for me), and my hair is falling out.
I have seen two different doctors, a Natropath and a hormonal specialist, both of whom say that they absolutely do NOT recommend ablations and they wished I would've known about them sooner. The Hormone specialist pointed out something to me that literally made my SMH. He said "traditional doctors only know how to treat the symptoms, what I do is figure out what is causing the symptoms." Oh my gosh- duh!!! WHY was I having such horrible periods my entire life? WHY did I respond so poorly to the hormones in birth control? Let's figure out the cause of the issue, not just what pharmaceutical interventions can be used to mask the symptoms.
I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the NovaSure ablation has affected my life in an undesirable way. Instead of being inconvenienced by my period 5+ days per month, I'm now frustrated and miserable EVERY DAY of the month. If you are considering an ablation, please please please seek a different opinion, perhaps from a different type of doctor. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is. :(
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