Recovery following endometrial ablation - Novasure surgery – Part 2

Hi:
I haven't seen your previous post, but I can share my experience. I had the procedure about 8 years ago to stop my out of control bleeding, which was most likely related to perimenopause. I am not currently menopausal. I don't have any signs of menopause. I have regular periods, however, as a result of the surgery, they are pretty lite. I did not have any side effects from the surgery. It went well, and I am very pleased, as I did not want to take hormones to control the bleeding. My experience was great. If you are having side affects, you should see your doctor and probably get a second opinion. I don't believe that you should have negative side affects except for the normal ones that your doctor should have described to you beforehand. I hope this has been helpful. Again, I apologize because I did not see your original post.

I am 51 and had the Novasure procedure five weeks ago. Had my period at the time (I was having almost constant periods and I just laughed when they said they wanted to schedule it between periods), ick! But not a problem. Also had a fibroid shaved down and a D&C. Recovery was very easy - almost no pain, just a few mild cramps. Discharge was continuous but light (used a regular pad a few days, then a lightdays pad after that), and nearly clear. After four weeks the discharge ended.

Then I started having very light discharge again, brownish colored, and my usual PMS symptoms. Three days ago I started what was definitely a period, but only involved perhaps two tablespoons of fluid! The period is definitely completely over today - nothing at all, not even a tiny drop. For the three days, I probably used a maximum of 6 pads, all regular size, no tampons, no super-overnight anything. Well, to be honest, I put on a super pad at the beginning because I was afraid my usual flood would return. It is an amazing feeling to have had such a short easy period! I have also been taking iron for a couple of months, and I have much more energy. I will likely stop the iron in another month; my hematocrit is normal, and supposedly I am now just replenishing the bone marrow.

By the way, for those anticipating the procedure, I took two days off from work - one for the procedure and one to sit around and recover. I did feel tired the day after the procedure, but I really could have worked at my office job with no problem. I would not have wanted to be on my feet all day if I was in a job that required that. This site was very helpful to me when I was considering the procedure, so I wanted to come back and describe my outcome. Procedure was May 11, and it is now June 9.

Had a hysteroscopy, D&C and Novasure procedure done on 5/11/09. Procedure went fine but had bad cramping for a couple of days with minimal bleeding. Was extremely tired and sore for about a week after the procedure. The discharge has been very sporatic and been my biggest complaint. I am very tired of wearing pads and liners! The first couple of weeks it had a burnt smell to it. I have experienced every kind of discharge possible -- from watery discharge to bleeding for several days to brown discharge to yellowy discharge. It has ranged from heavy to light. The first three weeks I needed a pad and now in week four I am down to a pantyliner and beginning to hope (and pray) that the discharge is finally slowing down. I am not sure if I had a period during these past four weeks since the discharge has not stopped. Two calls to the doctor's office has confirmed that the discharge is a normal and could last up to 6 weeks. As long as the smell wasn't horrendous and I wasn't soaking through a pad an hour, this was part of the healing process that some people go through. The doctor likened it to a blister healing in a moist environment. I'm very anxious to see what my next period (when it comes) will be like now that I think the discharge is stopping.

Hi... I wanted to share my story because it's a success story! I had mine done on Friday, June 19th, 2009. I went back and forth with my decision to do Novasure because of all the posts I read on the internet (particularly this site). Although I think it is good I did, I know I scared myself more doing that! But, we all do it... and reading some of the stories on here made me very scared. I went on this site the night before my procedure and said I don't think I can do it, but I kept reading. Most of the bad posts were from 2007-mid 2008. When you get more into 2009, you can see that a lot of the success stories are during that time. I am sure everyone has complications, but I think the procedure has come a long way since it first became available a few years ago.
So... I had a polyp in my uterus. They had do do a D & C, so they suggested the Novasure since I wasn't having any more children. I was having heavy periods, but not as heavy as some are explaining on here. I said of course!! But, then I read into Novasure and asked my doctor about some of the things I read. He said I shouldn't experience any of that. So, I left it at that and kept reading the horror stories online. SO, day of my procedure, I was very nervous but knew I needed to do it. After surgery, it turns out the polyp they originally saw in my uterus was not there, but there were several others. So, I knew then that I made the right choice to prevent them from coming back as much as possible and to have little to no periods. The Dr. said everything went great and I had very mild cramps, most likely from the D&C, not the Novasure. My bleeding was VERY little and very little yellowish discharge. I followed Dr.'s orders to rest for a few days after (I have 2 kids and loved to have Dr.'s orders to rest!). SO, that's what I did. I was tired from anesthesia, but still just mild cramps and little discharge on day 2. Because I felt fine, I would get up and do things and then notice I would have more discharge... a bright red and sometimes yellowish discharge, and then would rest again. Now, on my 4th day post op... I still feel fine and have a little pinch cramp here and there, VERY LITTLE discharge / blood which is normal. My Dr. said if you are having to 2 or more pads that are soaked from blood or discharge to go to the ER, it's NOT normal. They explained everything very well to me. Some of the stores on here are terrible and sounds like horrible doctors. I am blessed to have a good Dr. and the people in the Outpatient Surgery center were great too. So, I just wanted others to know, it is definitely a scary thing, but there are success stories and I think so many doctors have done it now (when I was in there, there were like 4 or 5 others doing it at that same time...) that it's more of a normal procedure. I wish you the best if you decide to get this done and I can't wait to see what happens in a couple of months! As we all know, everyone is different, everyone's situation is different and this may not work for everyone, but I think with the advancements made on this procedure, it doesn't hurt to try it!

Had procedure on June 15. Started Northindrone 5 mg on may 10 to thin the lining. Very important that a hysterscopy be done before so there are no problems with the ablation. Am still experiencing some cramping but could be due to possibly being that time of the month or overdoing it today. If this works I will be so happy. Had period cramps every month for 3 days like giving birth and nothing worked. Had extreme clotting and could not leave house. Since starting the northindrone had period may 22 which was a breeze had kids graduations and party no problem. Will post later if anything changes still have slight discharge not bad just once in the morning. Suppose to have discharge for 4 more weeks and possibly 4 more periods than they say will stop. Nurse said she had no more periods after the procedure. Advise is find a Doctor that will thin the lining in some way and will do the hysterscopy and will put you out. Aleve 4 pills in the morning and 2 in afternoon has worked out great for pain as nothing else worked.

After reading almost every single post throughout the thread (from Part 1 to Part 2), I'm shocked to see that no one brought up the connection between tubal ligation and endometrial ablation. It makes me wonder if all those doctors failed to properly inform their patients.
I had my ablation (NovaSure) done on Thursday, June 25, so I'm still in the recovery period; however, I did go in fully informed and with my eyes wide open. I had my tubes tied in 1992. Over the years, my periods got heavier, more painful and irregular, and lasted longer. My OB/GYN gave me a thorough exam, did blood work, and sent me for an ultrasound to check for fibroids. All tests came back normal. My best options were Mirena or ablation. I didn't care for adding hormones to my life in the form of an IUC, so I opted for the ablation. She gave me the percentages on how many women stop having periods, how many have lighter periods, and how many see no difference at all. I hoped I would be in one of the first two categories. Then she told me about a possibility I'd never heard before: some women who have the ablation done, who've also had their tubes tied, experience severe pain caused by fluid trapped between where the tube was tied and the uterine lining. If this happens, a hysterectomy is usually the next step. It may not be a very common problem, but it still needs to be mentioned by the doctor. I'd never heard it before while I was doing the research, and I've never heard another woman mention that they'd heard about the possibility. It's a shame, and I hate seeing so many women appear shocked when they have such extreme pain after having both procedures done simply because they didn't know it was a reported problem.

I had the procedure July 7, 2009. I had very minor cramping a few hours after the procedure and after that no pain what so ever :-) Even the discharge was minor. I should have started my period a few days ago and thankfully, I have had no bleeding at all. Granted, it is a tad early, but so far I am very happy with the procedure.

I had the Novasure in October 2007 after having heavy DAILY periods from April 11, 2002-October! I was put on a heavy does of BC pills and a D& C. Neither of them worked! After the procedure the bleeding slowed down and stopped within a few days! Since then (almost 2 years ago) I have only had 2 times where I had light spotting, until TODAY! Today I am cramping heavily and started bleeding what I would consider a normal 2nd day period. I thought I was done for good! It was quite a shock to me! I am curious if anyone else had this same experience where periods came back?

I had my Novasure procedure done yesterday. No problems so far. My doctor uses general anesthesia for ten minutes. He said the procedure went with no problem and also removed the 1 cm polyp I had. Cramping last night was mild to moderate (he said if you had children vaginally, cramping is typically not as bad as if you had no children or a c-section) but easily handled with Vicodin and Motrin. Today I have no cramping, but I'm really tired (no doubt from the anesthesia). I plan to lay low and go back to work Tuesday. So far , no discharge, although I believe it's coming. I went in there halfway through my period but so far no blood or clear/pink discharge. Maybe that takes a couple days, I don't know.

Anyhow, no issues so far, and as far as surgeries go - it was a piece of cake. My doctor said I should be one of his "happy customers" and have no more periods or at the most, very light flow.

If you have any questions, email me, I'm happy to answer what I can: redhotbeads (at) gmail (dot) com.

Kelly

I had my surgery done Aug. 22, 2009. Other than having a little spotting for the first three days and some discomfort on the first night, it has not been too bad. I was told to stay in bed for twenty four hours after surgery but with three kids and a husband that works out of state that did not happen which is probably why I had the discomfort. I had the surgery on a Friday and went back to work on Monday. Since I have a government job they insisted that I do desk duty for the first three days back so I had plenty of time to rest. Not sure how this will affect my periods but I am hopeful that they will stop. If this doesn't work my doctor will schedule a complete hysterectomy in December. I had a lot of nausea after the surgery and could not keep food down for a couple of days. It stopped on Wednesday but then came back with a vengence on Thursday, not sure if it was antibiotics or just some virus going around but it is better now..the surgery is worth a try is you have long painful periods with no concept of the 28 days theory. Mine were miserable but if it helps it will be well worth a couple of days of inconvenience.

I had the NovaSure done on August 18. I was about 2 1/2 weeks post period. I had mild to moderate cramps for about five hours after and since no cramping until today. In the past 2 weeks I have had discharge off and on. Sometimes it is water like and feels like I have "peed" my pants (for lack of a better term). It is often pink to light red. Today I believe I have started my period. It is bright red blood. I am assuming this is my period due to the cramps, color of the blood, and this would be the time I would have expected to start. I am EXTREMELY disappointed as I was hopeful I would be in the group of lucky ladies. Guess not.
I had a polyp removed and the doctor told me that I had a large bulky uterus that did not function properly. Due to the size/shape of my uterus she thought that I should be in that lucky category. I am not sad that I had it done, at this point I can only be hopeful that it helps some.
I have had 3 children. The first was a c section, second was a VBAC, and third was another c section and my tubes were tied at that time. Since my tubal my periods have been HORRENDOUS! I would go for 6-8 days, 4 of which were extremely heavy with terrible cramping. When I say heavy I mean that I was going through no less than one tampon an hour, and at night I would wear both and have to change both during the night, ruining many sheets and undergarments. So, I am optimistic that maybe I do not have that to go back to.

I just wanted to post a quick update. I had the procedure on I had the procedure July 7, 2009. I had very minor cramping the day of the procedure and some minor discharge for a few days after. Since then, nothing! It has been wonderful. So far, I have completely "missed" two periods. :-P At this time, I would highly recommend the procedure

I had a hysteroscopy, D&C and ablasion done on July 17th. My doctor explained all the possible side effects/complications prior and i was really nervous. He told me that I could expect to bleed for up to 21 days after the procedure. The odd thing was that I didn't bleed at all afterwards...until day 22. Then i think i got what is going to be my period. It was light, watery and i only had to wear a pantiliner. It lasted like that for 3 weeks. It was about a quarter sized drop every day for 3 weeks...just enough that you had to wear a pantiliner. Since that, I haven't bled anymore

I haven't had any cramping or discomfort although I swear my belly is still a little bloated or swollen. It feels like I've gained weight although it just appears to be in my belly. The other thing I've noticed since having the procedure is I have to pee all the time. I can't seem to hold it anymore. I know it's only been about two months for me but I'm really happy I had it done so far!

kathye wrote:

Hello! Dear Jillian, I can tell you that avoiding some kind of food probably will not help you with decreasing your pains. In first place you need to see your doctor and to establish which kind of arthritis you have (rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, etc.). I am sure that your doctor will prescribe you appropriate therapy for your kind of arthritis. Generally speaking, you can take Ibuprophen or Diclophenac to decrease pains, but, before you take some of these drugs consult your doctor.

OUT????



I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOUR COMMENT ON SAYING THAT FOODS DO NOT PLAY A ROLL ON PAIN ,, I SUFFEER FROM RA SINCE I WAS 17 AND NOW IM 35,, ALL THOSE YEARS I WAS ON DRUGS AND YES I WAS BETTER BUT BY DOING THE WRONG THING, TAKING DRUGS TO SUPPRESS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM,, WHY KILL YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WHEN THAT IS EXACTLY THE PROBLEM RA IS ALL ABOUT???? SO MANY SIDE EFFECTS FROM RA DRUGS THAT MAYBE NOW YOU MAY NOT KOW OF BUT LATER IN LIFE FIND OUT THAT YOU HAVE CANCER OR SOMETHING THAT WOULD KILL YOU FASTER THEN THE DISEASE ALONE!!!! EXAMPLE, DID YOU KNOW REMICADE IS MADE OUT OF RATS???? SOOOO DISCUSTING!!!!

SINCE APRIL I STOPPED ALL DRUGS AND STARTED NATURAL AND IN THE BEGGINING MY BODY WAS SO GOING THROUGH CHANGES AND I HAD AWFULL PAINS, BUT I ALL THAT TIME KNEW MY BODY IS WONDERING WHAT THE HECK!!WHATS GOIN ON?? uNTIL 3 MONTHS AFTER I SAW CHANGES, CUZ I STARTED EATING FOODS THAT WHERE BENEFICIAL TOWARD INFFLAMATION AND IT DID WORK, I WAS ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW AND I DID FEEL MUUUCH BETTER NEXT TO NOTHING PAINS,,, BUT DID FALL OFF THE WAGON WITH MY FOODS ON MY BIRTHDAY AND WOW, DID MY BODY EVER TELL THAT THAT WAS A WRONG THING TO DO, RIGHT AWAY I STARTED FEELING PAIN AND INFGLAMATION, SO I WENT BACK TO EATING THE WAY MY BODY NEEDED, THAT INCLUDES NO DAIRY NOR MEAT,OR ARTIFICIAL SUGARS ONLY FISH AND BROWN RICE, AND GLUTEN FREE DIET AND RIGHT AWAY I STARTED FEELING BETTER.
SO I AM PROOF OF THAT FOODS DO, DO , DO MAKE A HUUUUUGE DIFFERENCE,,,...