Most of you know about our journey to become parents. So far we’ve had an interesting and very bumpy ride, and certainly gained a lot of life-experience.

After my miscarriage in January, my gynecologist told me devastating news. I had fibroids in my womb. Initially I didn’t quite understand why this is bad news. Lots of women post-35 have fibroids, and either live with them or have them successfully removed. But no, my fibroids had to be complicated.

I went for a routine gynecologist visit early 2013, oblivious of anything that could be wrong. Yes, we were still trying to start a family and things were taking a bit longer than we expected, so we thought it a good idea just to get our “plumbing” checked out. After all sorts of probes and tests and scans, it turned out all was well and we should just be patient.

As with most wannabe-parents with no results showing, we learned the hard way that babies won’t be rushed. And towards the end of 2013, with still no result, and after years of trying, we sort of made peace that maybe we were not meant to be parents. And then, wham! we were pregnant. Unfortunately after 6 weeks, I had a miscarriage, but now we knew – there really was nothing wrong, and we could!

And then…. the fibroids. Nobody understood how these aggressively growing fibroids were not picked up at my routine 2013 check. And now, at my January check-up, we saw that because of their location, they had to be closely monitored and negatively influenced the possibility of pregnancy. Then on my second check in February, these fibroids were even bigger. Big nasty growths of smooth muscle and fibrous tissue, and one a cervical fibroid, the other one a common intramural fibroid. The cervical one was the problem, as it could cause all sorts of problems.

My gynecologist explained to me that we may have to operate. There were two procedures that he recommended, a Laparoscopy and a Myomectomy. Unfortunately the fibroids were already too large for a laparoscopy. However, I baulked at a myomectomy. All sorts of things could go wrong, my weight is an issue, and this is invasive surgery and bleeding which could lead to a forced hysterectomy – which meant no babies at all, ever. I asked my gynecologist for more time so I could think about my options and lose a bit more weight.

I did all the research I could – I am sure that I am one of the most informed non-medical people on the planet about fibroids, which really, according to me, is just another type of tumor. I found loads of information about the benefits of cayenne pepper and turmeric, specifically related to tumors. As I already started my morning with a healthy green juice with added protein powder, I added three teaspoons of each to my juice, and took cayenne pepper tablets and turmeric tablets during the day. I also cut out all caffeine, alcohol, carbs – anything that could possibly be “unhealthy”. I followed this self-imposed regime for about two months.

Yesterday I went back for my check-up, waiting with bated breath for the results. I could see that my gynecologist was doing his utmost to put me at ease, but to me, everything depended on the result he told me. Initially, doing the abdominal scan, he couldn’t believe his eyes. We only found the one fibroid – and it had shrank! The other one is completely gone. He did the internal scan as well, and the sonar screen showed my uterus wall clean, beautiful and fibroid-free.

For us of course, this means “All Systems Go!”. And for all of you in the same boat – don’t ever give up – there is always a solution. Of course your gynecologist’s advice is always the best, and especially mine is as committed to our journey as we are, always willing to help with advice and support where he can.