Fibroids - My Story

I’d like to tell you what got me to where I am today, why I created Deeva Pilates & Wellness, and where my passion for helping others comes from.

When I was 25 years old I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids. My doctor told me that this was common among women my age and nationality (Meaning black women). I didn’t even know what a fibroid was, had never even heard of it before. So I asked my doctor and she told me that a fibroid was a non cancerous growth and nothing for me to worry about because mine were so small. She also told me that they would probably shrink on their own but that she would “monitor” them to see if they continued to grow.

Meanwhile I was not to worry because they wouldn’t hinder my life in any way as long as they stayed small. I asked if there was anything I could do to prevent the fibroids from growing and she said as long as I ate right, exercised, and took iron supplements, I should be fine. At 25 I did NOT have time to be worrying about fibroids, especially since I was told they were non-cancerous and small. So I didn’t concern myself with them anymore.

I lived my life. I became a model, a model instructor, I went out to parties, I had a lot of friends, I went to a lot of nice restaurants, got married, bought a house, got divorced, moved on, retired from modeling, started sewing, started an interior styling business, and so on and so forth. Honey I was LIVING my life…totally unconcerned about these “growths” that were developing in my body.

But then one day while I was at work, I noticed a feeling of heaviness and pressure in my lower abdominal area. I didn’t know what it was but I contributed it to the fact that I was menstruating and would ease up in time. But it didn’t. It got worse. By the middle of the day I was experiencing an extremely heavy flow with huge clots. It scared me so bad I actually started crying. Psychologically I was a mess. I imagined all kinds of things could be wrong.

When I went to my doctor she told me that the fibroids had gotten larger although I couldn’t tell because my stomach was still flat as a board. But x-rays showed that they had grown and there were more of them. She recommended a hysterectomy. I adamantly refused. She offered other alternatives but none of them sounded feasible either. One of those alternatives would have the fibroids returning in a year or two. And they would come back faster and grow larger. I was about 37 years old then, much more mature and concerned about my health, so I asked my doctor were there any specific foods I could eat that would slow down the process of the growths and she told me that I should eat lots of green leafy vegetables, take iron twice a day, and exercise. Ok…that was a start. But these changes only worked for a short period of time then things got worse.

I started to experience a lot of pain. I lived on ibuprophen. Some days I couldn’t wear anything tight around my waste because that would cause me so much pain I could barely walk upright. It got to a point where I would have more bad days than good. I would have maybe one or two good days a month that were pain free. My lower abdomen would be extended and wouldn’t go down no matter how many sit-ups or crunches I did. At one point I looked like I was about 4 months pregnant. It was a horrible time and my quality of life suffered. I wouldn’t go anywhere while I was menstruating because I was too afraid I would have an embarrassing accident. At work, I wouldn’t go out walking, and would “time” my traveling by how many times I may have to run to a bathroom to avoid accidents. I missed trains, boats, busses, etc. Soon, I would call out sick so that I didn’t have to travel on those “heavy” days. What a mess that was. Top all of that off with an extremely stressful job and you get the general idea of where I was in my life.

Stress is one of the main things that contribute to fibroid growth. Sadly, the hobbies and activities I liked to do to relieve stress didn’t have any appeal to me and I lacked the strength or will to do them. The turning point came when a friend of mine came to visit me at work and asked me to hang out afterwards. I had to refuse and when I told him what my issue was he told me about a woman who went through the same thing and said she used “Depends” on those days so that she wouldn’t have to worry about accidents while she was traveling. Damn…. Depends?????? What the??? But guess what. I bought some and used them and they did provide a big relief. But psychologically I was damaged even more. It didn’t sit well with me that I had been reduced to wearing something like that. I wasn’t incontinent so this was just wrong wrong wrong! Every time I looked at them I would start crying and feeling extremely depressed. I felt completely hopeless and alone.

I was watching TV one day and saw a commercial advertising a procedure called UAE – Uterine Artery Embolization. It was a procedure that was supposed the stop the debilitating effects of the fibroids by shrinking them. I did some research and learned more about it. The procedure was done by cutting off the blood supply to the fibroids. When the blood supply was cut off the fibroids would shrink because they wouldn’t be “fed”. I decided I wanted to have this procedure. I called my doctor, and told her about it and you know….she had never even heard of it and reiterated to me again that I should have a complete hysterectomy. Just hearing that made me want to scream. I refused and told her I would find somewhere to have the UAE procedure. I did more research and found a doctor who performed the UAE procedure, and he had done many of them successfully.

I had the procedure and it worked well. In time my fibroids shrunk drastically, my abdomen shrunk down to its normal size, my menstrual flow became very light and even better, I had no more cramping during my cycle. As far as I was concerned, I was done with fibroids forever!

WRONG!!! 6 years later they were back in full force, right along with the heavy and clotty periods. The only thing I didn’t experience was the extreme pain although there was some pain present. By then I was in my mid 40s. And things would only get worse. This time the fibroids would affect my organs. I had stomach problems, bladder issues, and bowel issues. Constipation was my middle name. And I dared not drink water if I had to travel, not even a sip on the hottest days because one of the fibroids was leaning on my bladder.

At one point I became peri-menopausal which wreaked havoc with my menstruation. I started to get a cycle every two weeks!!! And the bloating was phenomenal! By then I was remarried and the intimacy aspect of my life was being affected by this. Now I never knew WHEN I would see spotting and when a cycle would come. It was devastating for me. Even after my cycle was over, I would still spot. And sex would just bring it on more. NOT GOOD! So here I was again faced with this fibroid issue. I thought maybe I could wait until menopause started and hopefully they would shrink but there was no guarantee on that either.

By then I had a different doctor and she was very straightforward with me. The fibroids had grown so large that I looked like I was about 6 months pregnant. AND…one of them was sitting right on the top of my stomach! You could actually see it! I couldn’t lie on my stomach. If I did it felt like I was lying on rocks. And it felt like there was a pulse in my stomach! In fact, the fibroids were shifting my organs around. I remember after I would eat in the morning and walk to the bus stop I could actually hear liquid moving around in my stomach and feel it too. I had serious digestive problems, and would feel sick all day on some days. On top of that I was eating the wrong things. The worse thing anyone could eat with fibroids is sugar and chicken. Yes chicken. But only because of what is put in the chicken, but that’s another story. I didn’t know this at the time. I also didn’t know that my increased intake of leafy green vegetables and fruits would also create more damage than I knew because they were inorganic. That’s also another story, but be sure these things also contributed to the rapid growth of the fibroids.

When my doctor saw how the fibroids had completely distorted my abdomen she immediately told me that I would have to have surgery. In fact, the way my upper abdomen was protruding, she didn’t believe it was a fibroid but that it might be some other growth AND it could be cancerous. So I had to have all kinds of tests done. But believe it or not by the grace of God it was not cancer and it WAS a fibroid. It was on my stomach! WOW! It had pushed my stomach up! Another was sitting on my bladder and bowel. Another one was on my uterus and had completely destroyed one of my ovaries. Yes! This is how I was living.

By then I was learning so many good things about organic food, and my husband who is into the martial arts was teaching me about Qi Gong, and I was seriously into Pilates, although most of the moves I couldn’t do because of the fibroids. Through Qi Gong, I learned about deep breathing, and through Pilates I learned about “correct” breathing. Unfortunately, I got to a point where I felt too exhausted to do anything! I would walk some evenings after work but even that proved to be uncomfortable so I stopped after a while. I did continue to exercise though. I wouldn’t give up on it. I lifted weights, did cardio, Pilates, rode a bike, anything to keep me moving. And these things did give me energy but I just didn’t feel it was helping me internally at all. I still had the problems with the fibroids and it was getting worse by the day! At my doctors urging I decided to have the surgery.

On the day of my surgery I was nervous so my husband had me do a short Qi Gong exercises. It calmed me so well that I remained calm right up until they wheeled me into the operating room.

After my surgery I became serious about my internal healing. I learned more about Qi Gong and practiced healing and cleansing Qi Gong daily. I also learned and practiced deep breathing exercises daily. While Practicing Qi Gong for internal healing and cleansing I could actually feel my body internally healing and correcting itself by degrees. And I mean all kinds of internal healing. Bladder, bowels, stomach, digestive, etc. I could feel the difference in months. My energy level increased and I started walking again.

I started menopause a year after my surgery. I had hot flashes and heart palpitations from the hormone surges. I learned and practiced Qi Gong heart healing exercises and soon was able to stop taking the meds the doctor had prescribed for me to protect my heart from the hormone surges. With Qi Gong you use your body’s own energy to heal yourself internally. We all have it. It gets stagnated but Qi Gong practice moves the energy around and wakes it up! I gained about 15 to 20 lbs in about 3 months during the beginning stages of menopause and through the deep breathing, Qi Gong, and Pilates I was able to lose some of it.

Pilates strengthened by body better than any weight training ever did because I use my own body weight to perform the moves. It also improved my balance and strengthened my ankle that was weakened from an old injury. To do Pilates I have to focus on my breathing. I have to be aware of the position of my body. I have to be in tune and focused. I love that!

Qi Gong allows me to heal and cleanse my body internally by using my own body’s energy. It also helps to tone and strengthen my body and improve my balance and gives me peace of mind and focus. I believe that Qi Gong is what helped ease the hot flashes and chills I experienced during the beginning stages of menopause. There are Qi Gong exercises for practically everything that ails you but there are SPECIFIC Qi Gong exercises for women who are in menopause and they work! I’m living proof. Deep breathing calms me down after a tough day and even before the day begins. It also heals my body internally by increasing the blood flow to my internal organs.

Deep breathing strengthens my heart, my lungs, improves my digestive system, my nervous system and keeps my skin clear. And that’s only a FEW of the benefits.

These three things together are what helped to heal my body internally and give me unending energy and stamina and it’s why I started Deeva Pilates & Wellness. Yesssssssssssss!!! It also didn’t hurt that I did a 28 day Detox also! I figure, I’m on my way to wellness, might as well have COMPLETE wellness. A Detox was exactly what I needed and helped me to lose those last few menopausal pounds AND give my metabolism a much needed boost. My hope is that I can let women know that they are not alone if they are fighting the same battle I did. It’s also to let women know that there are other alternatives and that healing is possible. If this story can help one person I will be completely happy. If it helps more I will be beyond ecstatic!