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Writer's pictureSheena Johnson

Honey I Shrunk A Fibroid!


Holy Fibroids! I recently started a new drug, Oriahnn, and have been chronicling my journey. on Twitter. Figured I’d blog it for those off the platform. This post journeys through the 1st month. I am only sharing my personal experience. This is not intended for medical advice or suggestions. Consult your doctor for information related to you.


The Beginning

When I was pregnant with Jaxon (2005), my OB discovered a few, little uterine fibroids. No biggie, they were small and not bothering anything. Fast forward 3 yrs, birth control and a major change in periods later, we decided to pay them a little visit. To our surprise, they were much larger than before. We discussed some options (hysterectomy) and I decided not to proceed without doing my own research. I jumped on the world wide web and tried researching holistic ways to combat these things my uterus was growing against my will. Not finding anything specific, I turned down my beer consumption and turned up the hope. Needless to say, you can’t hope away fibroids. In late 2020, we peeped in the oven again and by now we had us a grapefruit sized fibroid.


WELP! Since it insisted on growing, my ob/gyn referred me to a fertility specialist. While I’m single and have 2 boys, I don’t want to completely give up the opportunity to have more children so to the specialist I went. Not having any previous issues, I was a little nervous about seeing a specialist. Once I'm at the doctor he explained to me the situation and gave me a list of options based on my situation. Because of Covid surgery time was really far out. Since we have some time on our hands my doctor prescribed new medicine called Oriahnn. The goals was to A: get them to a manageable size to live with and/or B: get them small enough to remove via laparoscopic surgery.

Got my prescription and dropped it off. Few days later I went to pick it up and it was $942. Oddly enough, my company negotiated fertility benefits with a third party insurer so anything in that arena is covered separately. A few calls to my doc and a letter from the insurance and I paid $5 for it. From $942 to $5. While I’m fortunate, it really exposed the medical crisis we experience in this country. Money matters. When I first mentioned my symptoms, hysterectomy was the 1st answer. A little research and push on my side and we start with a $5 script to be as minimally invasive as possible.


I get my package home and break it out. To my surprise it looks like a book. It comes in a bubble pack similar to birth control. 2 pills per day, morning & night. It is not birth control. It works to stop and minimize the growth of fibroids. I will say I was surprised at the amount of packaging that it includes.




Here are my notes!


Week 1:

Days 1-3 everything is cool. By Day 4.... I feel like my appetite has increased. My mood is mostly bleh, kinda like when I was on birth control. Not bad just kinda there. Could very well be normal fluctuations of my hormones, based on my usual cycle. The hot flashes are the worst part so far. I’m already hot natured so these flashes are a bitch. I can imagine them being worse but it still sucks. It’s supposed to halt my period so I’m lowkey excited about that. Even if it is just a few months.

Day 7 : The warm flashes are bearable. Just gotta take my socks off a sec. It kicked my cycle on. I missed one of the Day Capsules and I wonder if that was it or just the hormone adjustments. It kinda burns going down. It subsides as it digests. I started taking my ashwagandha tincture in veggie caps & kicked up micro dosing my canna products. I feel like it’s been helping my mood. I had a really good, yet quiet week last week. Stick to your dosing schedule and don’t wait too late.This heartburn/sensation isn’t listed in the side effects. The night pill is insane. It’s like swallowing a screamer firework. Milk seemed fine ease it last night so Imma take it with milk and see if that helps. Taking with milk seems to help a lot. Trying to lay down before it hits your belly is a disaster.

Week 2:

Cycle 2 finally stopped. Hair loss is one of the stated side effects. My hair is definitely shedding heavier than normal. Nothing I’m super alarmed about. Gonna pick up some Hair Skin & Nails vitamins to see if that helps. Also gonna add collagen to my shake.

Week 3;

Kind of quiet. We are smooth sailing.

Week 4:

I think my large one is actually shrinking. It compresses part of my “evacuation” system. One thing I noticed this week a difference in being able to fully clear the system. Not nearly as much back pain as usual. This is a win. My hair is still shedding like hell. I’ve skipped the ponytails and opted for a simple twist down. Increased my collagen. The hair at my roots feels different than usual, thicker but a different texture. Warm/hot flashes have subsided. The evening pill afterburn has subsided. I added cookies to my milk. Not sure if there is any science behind it but who doesn’t like cookies :)

My mood is pretty good. I’ve been working more to handle/face my stressors. I think it’s helped manage my mood, especially the days I forget my ashwagandha.


Post Med Ultrasound:

After one month on Oriahnn I had a trans vaginal ultrasound to check the progress. My largest fibroid is down 40%. Roughly from a grapefruit to a peach. I was not expecting such a big change so soon but it definitely made me happy. It’s outside my uterus, he explained. Like a mushroom, it’s attached by a stem. It definitely compresses my bladder and small intestines. I got to see my pre-poop on the screen *giggles*. As I mentioned earlier this week, eliminating is easier, I noticed that Monday-ish. The other 4 fibroids are extremely small so we didn’t do much but locate them. Doc also did a good amount out belly smashing and poking. “Mapping out for surgery”., he says. Gonna stay on the meds until surgery (laparoscopic myomectomy) to make it easier to remove. So now we wait for a date.

The moral of the story is you really have to be your first line of defense. Take heed but be slow in responding. Sometimes the 2nd opinion you need is your own. When I first needed direction, hysterectomy was the option. Took time to research and ask for other opinions and we are here now. Since the drug is new I wanted to be sure to chronicle my Journey. There are hardly any reviews online from actual patients. It’s new so I get it but nothing, no where. Searched Google, Twitter, Reddit. I did gain access to a Facebook group. Most of us experienced the cycle restart/irregular cycle. It’s nice time interact with others about it. Having a community makes it feel less scary. Black women are the most impacted demographic with uterine fibroids yet have less resources to resolve them. Be sure to advocate for yourself!


*Only sharing my personal experience. This is not intended for medical advice or suggestions. This is not an endorsement or sponsored post. Consult your doctor for information related to you.*



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