A woman who fought for 31 years to be taken seriously by doctors finally got a shocking diagnosis: a fibroid the size of a fetus growing in her uterus.
Uterine fibroids are tumors made of muscle that can grow on or in the uterus, and while they usually appear in women of childbearing age, they can show up at any age, according to WebMD.
The now 41-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, lives in Colorado, and from the age of 10 experienced “painful and overwhelming” periods, which continued throughout her life.
“I’m not a shy or mild-mannered person and have been very direct with every doctor I’ve seen for the past 31 years about my menstruation experience,” she told Newsweek.
“Consistently, I have been told ‘that’s just how periods can be’ and ‘come back when you want to get pregnant,’ with no treatments other than advice to eat healthy and get sleep.”
Having known from a young age that she didn’t want children, the woman eventually “stopped pushing for a solution and figured I just had to live with it”—unbearable cramps, vomiting, sweating, and heavy bleeding that impacted her quality of life.
“None of that was, or has been, a concern for my doctors—of which I have had many—so I have been left to deal with it on my own.”
But things finally changed when her menstruation became so heavy that her ferritin levels dropped, leading her to take iron supplements. And after moving to Colorado with her partner and setting up a medical appointment, a physician’s assistant noticed her ferritin levels weren’t rising, and referred her to a gynecologist.
It was during that subsequent ultrasound that they discovered the reason behind her decades-long pain: a large fibroid in her uterus, which she described as “the size of a 5-month-old fetus.”
The woman shared her diagnosis on Reddit‘s r/mildlyinfuriating sub on April 5 via her account u/avocadotoastwhisper, where she showed the diagnosis of fibroids.
Reddit u/avocadotoastwhisper
She wrote: “Been telling doctors for YEARS about how bad my period is, turns out I have a fibroid the size of a 5-month-old fetus in my uterus. Upon seeing the ultrasound results doc said ‘wow, haven’t your periods been painful? You should have said something.'”
She added in the post: “Doctors don’t care about women’s healthcare unless you’re trying to get pregnant. Hysterectomy incoming!”
The woman told Newsweek: “The diagnosis has been a relief because I now know what I have been feeling isn’t normal and I have a path forward.”
However, “because it has gotten so large, a laparoscopic hysterectomy is no longer an option and my recovery will be more intense.”
A laparoscopic hysterectomy is a minimally invasive keyhole surgery to remove the uterus and cervix, performed through small incisions, which should result in less pain and a faster recovery time, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Reddit users were horrified for her, with hundreds commenting on the post, which has over 15,000 upvotes.
“I feel so terrible for women when I hear these stories,” one Redditor wrote.
“Isn’t it when medicine doesn’t take you seriously simply [because] you’re a woman? I hate to say that but so many times I’ve had medical issues and they’re never taken seriously [because] I was overweight (not anymore) or it was a woman issue,” another commenter said.
Some shared their own stories, with one person recalling: “My dad went to the doctors for over a year complaining of pain in his throat and a lump. They told him it was acid reflux. Once they finally listened it was too late.”
“My mom’s ‘gas’ was colon cancer,” another person said, and a commenter replied: “My mom’s ‘heartburn’ was pancreatic cancer.”
The woman told Newsweek that, for her, the experience has been a “great reminder to advocate for yourself.”
“If something doesn’t feel right, insist that your medical professional follows up or get a second opinion,” she said. “Unfortunately, people don’t always have the resources or coverage to allow for the healthcare they need which is a huge challenge in itself and can have terrible consequences.”
She says she feels “lucky” to finally be getting the care she needs, and with a support system at home. And while she has chosen to be child-free, a hysterectomy “isn’t as devastating as it could be for someone trying to start a family—but I felt like I was never taken seriously because I wasn’t trying to get pregnant.”
“On the other hand, I have also seen close friends get overlooked, only to have a hard and often unsuccessful journey when trying to have a child. The comments on my Reddit post tell a sad story of their own.”
In a message to the medical community, she pleaded for doctors to “prioritize women’s health in the future, so hopefully there are fewer stories like my own.”
