On occasion, the pain may become severe. At Georgetown, patients are given an anti-inflammatory medicine to take continuously for four days. This is supplemented by oral narcotics as needed. Nausea may also recur and medication is also provided for this. Fever is common and is a side effect of the death of the fibroid tissue.
Most patients feel as if they have the flu for several days.
All these symptoms begin to improve after 4 to 5 days and most patients are ready to return to work 7 to 10 days after the procedure. We call the patient the day after discharge to be sure that there are no unusual problems and to answer any questions the patient may have. We will also arrange for a follow-up visit 1 week after the procedure. At that visit we will check the puncture sites and intravenous site to be sure they have healed and we will review the progress of your recovery. At that time we usually release a patient to return to full activity.