by Actual Viva Eve Fibroid & Veins Patient Josephine Montanez
For twelve years, my period ran my life. Severe cramping, heavy bleeding, clotting so bad it would last a good ten days each cycle. I went to gynecologist after gynecologist and never got real answers. The worst part wasn’t even the pain — it was not knowing why my body was doing this to me, and feeling like no one could tell me.
I’ll never forget the vacation that changed everything. My whole trip was ruined because I couldn’t even leave the room. I went through tampon after tampon, pad after pad, nothing worked, and I ended up texting my husband in tears from the bathroom. That’s the moment I knew I couldn’t keep living like this.
Finding Answers Through Facebook
Not long after that trip, I saw an ad for Viva Eve on Facebook. I remember thinking, let me just check it out, let’s see. I didn’t even know at that point that what I was dealing with had a name: fibroids.
As soon as I walked in, the team started helping me right away. We did a biopsy, and by December 2024, I had my procedure — a uterine fibroid embolization, or UFE.
What made the decision easier was how honest my doctor was with me. Because my BMI was slightly elevated, he explained that a hysterectomy would mean a much longer, harder recovery for me. He walked me through my options instead of pushing me toward the more invasive route, and he was someone I trusted right away. Looking back, choosing the UFE is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
It turns out fibroids run in my family — my grandmother had them, and my cousin ended up needing a hysterectomy. So much of what I went through wasn’t just bad luck. It was something I inherited, and something nobody ever sat down and explained to me until I got to Viva Eve.
Life After UFE
I hadn’t gone without wearing a tampon in twelve years. Twelve years. Now I can wear a light pad, or nothing at all. I can travel without planning my life around my cycle or worrying about pain taking over my day. It sounds simple, but it changed everything about how I move through the world.
And honestly, it wasn’t just about the medical outcome. The staff at Viva Eve is some of the best I’ve ever encountered. Every single person — from the doctors to the nurse who was with me during my procedures — treated me with genuine warmth and respect. I still don’t know how they hand-picked a team where everyone has that same kind, attentive energy, but I’ve never once had a complaint.
Then My Veins, Too
Fibroids weren’t the only thing I inherited from my grandmother — I also deal with pretty severe varicose veins, made worse by standing for long hours at work. I’d tried getting them treated elsewhere before, but nothing ever really got done. I was self-conscious about it. The bulging veins on my leg were visible even through my clothing, and it affected my confidence.
When my Viva Eve provider was doing a check-up related to my fibroid care, he noticed how bad it had gotten and connected me with Dr. Rami Sartawi for vein treatment. The difference was night and day. Where I’d gotten nowhere anywhere else, here it was quick, precise, and effective — the problem veins were treated in a matter of visits. Minimal pain, quick healing, and I finally stopped feeling embarrassed about my own legs.
Why I Keep Coming Back
I work as a cook at Columbia University’s Teachers College. I’ve been doing this for 26 years, on my feet the entire time. Between the physical demands of my job and everything my body was dealing with, I was running on exhaustion for years, even though — thankfully — I never fainted the way I know some women with fibroids do.
Now, I finally feel like my health isn’t working against me. I’ve told the Viva Eve team more than once that I’d have gone through all of this even without any of the extra kindness — but the fact that every appointment felt respectful, quick, and genuinely caring made all the difference. I’ve already referred a coworker of mine who was dealing with similar symptoms, because when someone is suffering the way I did, you want to be able to tell them: I went there, and they helped me. Three steps, and it’s done.
If you’ve been carrying this kind of pain quietly, for years like I did, please don’t wait as long as I did to ask for help. It’s out there — and it can change your life the way it changed mine.
