Vicki S.’s Story

I have always been an outdoorsy kind of girl. As a kid, I loved being outside. Running around with my friends and just enjoying the fresh air. My second love is animals. Throughout my life I have always been surrounded by animals and since I was a young girl horseback riding had been one of my most favorite activities.

As an adult, I was so lucky to find a career that included my two favorite things- dairy farming. I love what I do and I feel happy to have found my true calling. When my heavy bleeding started interfering with my work, I knew it was time to make a change.

I had to be really careful so I wouldn’t bleed through my clothes. I wore lots of black and long shirts that would cover my butt. I’d wear a super-plus tampon plus a pad, and I had to change it every hour or two. It became very expensive. I had very bad bloating and about every other symptom.

I would have to stop and change and go back out. I have horses and when I have my period, if I wanted to go on a trail ride, I couldn’t be out on the trail for more than an hour. We also have a pulling tractor and we travel quite a ways with it sometimes. We would have to stop every hour or two to run so I could use the bathroom.

At my breaking point I was willing to do anything – even have a hysterectomy. My mom had issues with birth control so I didn’t want to try that. Plus, I had my tubes tied so going on birth control was pointless. The doctor suggested Mirena, but two of my sisters tried it and had to have it taken out. I saw an advertisement for NovaSure and asked my doctor about it. At that point, my only choices were NovaSure or a hysterectomy. The doctor didn’t want to do a hysterectomy because I’ve had four C-sections and there might be some scar tissues, so we tried the NovaSure first. She did a D&C and then NovaSure.

Now, I pretty much have no period at all. I don’t have to worry about wearing dark clothes now, and I can wear shorter shirts. I don’t have to spend money on pads and go through all of the inconvenience. I went on a horse ride in North Dakota last year, and if I hadn’t had NovaSure I probably wouldn’t have been able to go.

Vicky had cramping for about three days after the NovaSure procedure and discharge for about a month. Now her periods have essentially stopped. The precautions she had to take before NovaSure are a memory.