About

When science is widely seen as an integral part of what makes us human, our own connection to the cosmos will be significantly strengthened; truly, science is the thread that weaves us all into the fabric of reality.

Brian Greene (The Elegant Universe)

 

Me? Exceedingly inquisitive. Even as a young geek (AKA geekling), “why” was a favorite word. In my opinion, this has always been a good thing. My background includes Biology and Biotechnology with an extreme interest in Genetic Medicine and Pharmacology. Nope, not a doctor. Just an odd patient. After crawling into a doctor’s office with severe symptoms from my uterine fibroid tumors, I decided to ask a lot of questions, find answers, and blog about it. I hope you find my observations both interesting and useful.

Please read my Mission Statement.

If you want a quick peek at EclecticGeek and what’s on her mind, read these two entries:

How are you using your fibroid voice?

The real issue with fibroids

Wondering about that “taking over the world” reference listed in EclecticGeek’s Master Plan?
I love cartoons. One of my favorites is “Pinky & The Brain“. The Brain constantly schemes to achieve world domination. I just had to refer to it here.

Still want to know more about me? Keep reading.

I turned 40 in 2006. Not long after turning 30, my periods became outrageous. Heavy bleeding and bad cramps. Explained to my Gynecologist that because of family history, my problems were probably fibroid-related. Too bad they could not be detected by ultrasound at that point. Doctor wouldn’t listen so I walked away figuring I could deal with it on my own. So, for YEARS, I dealt with it.

Of course, the symptoms worsened and after passing enormous clots, I thought I should seek medical assistance. Got another ultrasound in 2004 and (surprise, surprise) fibroids were detected. I was so angry from being right that, once again, I walked away even though my new doctor was really trying to help. Yes, I can be stubborn and crazy sometimes. Continued to cope until I felt so weak and sick that I crawled back into my doctor’s office at the end of 2005. Anemia? Oh, yes! Hemoglobin was 6.7. I was put on iron supplements and sent to a Gynecologist. At that point, I knew the fibroids had to go. They were producing such severe blood loss that I was now non-functional.

I am so fortunate to have great doctors. We came up with a plan and I really mean we. I wanted the Uterine Fibroid Embolization procedure but had a couple of fibroids that would possibly cause problems. They were submucosal and produced a risk of infection post-UFE if they died and detached but did not pass from my body. That’s why I needed a Hysteroscopic Myomectomy first. The fibroids were on the inside so my Gynecologist used the opening nature created. No additional holes were necessary. He just shaved down those fibroids (~60-70%) using the Versapoint system.

My anemia was so bad that I couldn’t have the surgery until it improved. I was put on Lupron and Chromagen® Forte iron pills before the myomectomy to help. So, three months of Lupron shots + iron supplements (February, March, April 2006), one Hysteroscopic Myomectomy (June 7, 2006), and one UFE (July 18, 2006) later, I really do feel great.

The catalyst for me was realizing I could no longer function with the fibroids. They were impacting me physically, mentally, and spiritually. It was just too high a price to continue to pay. I felt faint and weak all day long every single day. I knew I had to do something to move forward and I definitely could not go back. I gathered information, weighed the options, and embraced a decision. It was not always easy but I do not regret any choice I made to improve my state of being. I have not felt this healthy (physically, mentally, and spiritually) in years. It is wonderful!

EclecticGeek

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