Finally Had my Robotic Assisted Myomectomy Yesterday

I’m 31F and just had a robotic assisted myomectomy for a very large pedunculated fibroid that was growing on a stalk off the back of my uterus. During surgery they found out it was double the size of my uterus (way bigger than the MRI showed) and they also removed a smaller 2cm one on the bottom/front of my uterus.

We originally found the fibroid because back in May I ended up in the ER from hemorrhaging blood with massive clots, bleeding through a super plus tampon in 6 minutes, and through an overnight maxi pad in 20 minutes, for 12 hours straight. My hemoglobin tanked and I became anemic (I’m not normally anemic). They literally had to put me in diapers with maxi pads and had to give me TXA through an IV.

I’ve always had heavy/painful periods since puberty, but everything went completely off the rails after May. On top of that, I’d been having severe pelvic pain for at least a year anytime I stood or walked too long.

So here’s my surgery experience, for all the girls (and anyone else) doom scrolling Reddit like I did before this, trying to calm their anxiety:

Pre-op

My surgery was at 10:30am. They made me drink an Ensure drink at 6:30am and be at the hospital at 8:30. My cutoff for food was 10:30pm the night before, but I stopped eating at 4pm because my nerves were so bad. I DO NOT recommend doing that lol. I ended up eating nothing but a couple of bites of graham crackers for the next 30 hours. Please make sure to try and eat something up until cut off time.

I was really anxious about anesthesia and I told the anesthesiologist that. HIGHLY recommend, they gave me something beforehand that made me feel drunk and floaty, and I literally passed out before even getting the anesthesia. 10/10

My doctor also gave me a numbing block in my hips + a mix of pain meds before starting, which helped later.

Post-op (Recovery Room)

I woke up in recovery in a lot of pain (according to the nurses - I barely remember this). They kept me back there longer than usual to get things under control. No surgical complications though. My doctor told my mom and husband - “No wonder she was in so much pain — these fibroids were remarkable.”

The Worst Part: Trying to Pee 😭

Once I got moved to the room with my mom and husband, the nurses were checking on me and waiting for me to pee before discharge.

I did have one wave of horrible pain + nausea where I was gagging, crying and shaking. they gave me Zofran and an oxy and it finally settled after 20 minutes.

I was supposed to leave by 2pm… but I didn’t leave until 10pm.

They gave me three bags of IV fluids. The first two literally did nothing.. when they scanned my bladder the machine basically said “empty.” My body was just that dehydrated.

We tried everything to get me to pee, pouring warm water on me while trying go a warm blanket, drinking anything and everything, walking laps, stool under my feet, running water sounds and I could not go. at all. not even a drop.

Then bladder pain hit so hard I was crying and shaking again. It felt like tortureeeee like I had to pee SO bad but physically couldn’t.

They then had to put a catheter in. it was horrible at first, but then it brought relief.

About an hour later, I was finally able to pee on my own !! the nurses literally cheered lol and they let me go home.

Nurses & Staff

Honestly, my nurses and doctor were absolute angels. Spending 13 hours with them, they were so sweet, comforting, funny, and kept my spirits up. I felt genuinely cared for the whole time.

At Home

I slept elevated. My husband and mom are here taking care of me since I can’t sit up by myself yet.

I haven’t had the severe gas pain everyone warns about (thank God), just regular gassiness. My incisions look fine — sore, but not horrible. The best way I can describe it is it feels like I did an intense ab workout.

I’m honestly so glad I did this. The fibroid was massive and causing so many issues. I feel like this is the start of finally healing and getting my life back.

If anyone has questions about robotic myomectomy or pedunculated fibroids, feel free to ask. I consumed Reddit for months before this and I’m happy to give back.