Hysterectomy and Side Effects

Veronica -- I'm with you at the age of 37 each and everytime I go on vacation or go thru any kind of emotions I get my period and it last 10 days or more and are very heavy. The cramping is the worse, I feel like I'm in labor most of the time. I finally decided to meet with my doctor and go over all the diferent options. I do not want to be taking medications for the rest of my life so I decided to get a hysterectomy. Many friends and family members had it done and their lives is so much easier now. I would recomend you look at the choices before making any decisions.

I also had tremendously heavy and long periods after the birth of each of my children. This lasted for about two years after my last pregnancy. You might want to look into the new IUDs that are available. Mirena is an IUD that delivers birth control hormones directly to the uterus. It's effective for 5 years. It had no affect on my fertility. I was pregnant within a month of having it removed. When I had this device, my periods dwindled to almost nothing. I only had to wear pantyliners during the day. Nothing at night. Awesome! Woe to the man that accidently stumbles on this message board.

Do you want more children? If not then get rid of the devil.... I know, I too have your exact symptoms. I am 33 and have a 15/11 year old. My surgery is tomrrow...wish me luck

Do your self a favor and have the hysterectomy, I had on 4 months ago, after suffering with severe mood swings, and I could go on to name how miserable that I was. I also had 8 huge fibroids, When the doctor removed them, she told me the next day that what she removed from me was the size of a 6 month baby. I already have two beautiful children boy-15, girl 12. My husband and I get along so much better now, the only side effect that I experience is the hot flashes. The sex is 100% better and my attitude, and I lost 25 pounds. Do it, you won't regret it, it is a mind set, if you think positive about it, it will be, it you think negative, it will be negative. I feel like a brand new woman and look like one. My husband told me 2 days ago that I am so sexy.

Hello, I was diagnosed with endometriosis at age 20 (this was in 1981) I wanted a hysterectomy but the doctors refused and I went on drug treatment for 6 months. I gained weight but the drugs worked for awhile. After going off the treatment I quickly lost the weight. I ended up having a hysterectomy (with both ovaries removed) at age 39. I was told that because of the endometriosis the ovaries needed to be removed. Please read this carefully, do NOT get a hysterectomy at your age. Stay on the treatments and do not get a hysterectomy. I had difficulty at age 39 with the loss of hormones. You at age 26 will have a much worse time. If you must then do NOT let the doctors remove your ovaries. I know your pain but you will have a different kind of pain if you get a hysterectomy. Back, joint pain, not able to hold urine, depression, sex is different. One symptom I had that surprised me was the loss of liking children. Eventually this corrected itself after many years. Please read up on the surgery and treatments. There is no going back if you have this done. This operation can really change your outlook. Be careful.

dear helpme, I felt compelled to respond to you. You posted this question the very day I had my hysterectomy so the coincidence got me. this is a bit long and indebth, but please read. I am 39, have 3 adult children (18,20,21) a 10 month old grandson, and have had my tubes tied since 1990. I have suffered from very frequent and heavy periods since the beginning. I was 8 when I had my first period and except while pregnant, Ive had a heavy 5 to 6 day flow that came every 20 days or less. Besides the flow amt, they were also very painful, to the point of most of the time being debilitating. I experienced no less than 4 days of "ovulation pain" with acne, bloating, weight gain, and moodiness starting apporox. 7 to 10 days after my flow stopped each month. Between the flow and ovulation I'd have about 5 days that werent horrid but between ovulation and flow I'd simply feel "yucky" and have a clear discharge. I was put through every test imaginable and deemed "clean" of any type of VD, infection, or disease. I was simply told either it was nothing, or some would blame it on pantylinets, my soap, powers, etc. but stopping those/ changing Brands, etc. never changed the symptoms. Then about 15 yrs ago I started having extreme pain with intercourse. Not long after this began however, I was raped. Due to that, the pain issue was passed off at first from the trauma, and then as a psychological issue even though I insisted it was there prior. Anyway, for the past 15 yrs I have refrained from intercourse almost entirely. Except for maybe once or twice a year, my husband and I have only had what we call "outercourse" for over 11 yrs. Fortunately my husband has been not only understanding about this, but also satisfied. On Sept. 21st I had my "checkup". I had not had one in nearly 4 yrs due to 1) being deemed a candidate for the 3 yr schedule, and 2) a near fatal car accident. On Oct 1st 2007 I received a phonecall from my doctor telling me that my pap came back very bad and that I had carcinoma-in-situ (CIS / CIN III) and needed to have a biopsy and treatment asap. I was devastated and in shock. After talking with the doctors, testing, reveiw of the rapists records, and my husband being tested, it was determined that the HPV virus was transmitted to me during the rape and had laid dorment and supressed by my immune system until my car accident. When I had the accident in 2004, my immune system was comprimized by stress, pain, broken bones, lack of activity, and deminished food inttake. When this happened the HPV virus was able to become active. Then the resulting chronic pain and pain meds allowed it to flourish to the cancer stage in a fairly short time period. So, on Oct 19th I had ai colposcopy with cervical biopsy. That confirmed the pap results but left me in a continual menses state. On Nov 5th 2007 they did a uterine biopsy (basically a d&c without sedation or anesthetic) to see if the continual bleeding was due to the biopsy, the CIS, or cancer in the uterus. THIS proceedure left me in a continual state of pain, bleeding, and lethargy...but ruled out uterine involvement of cancer. I was told that they would do something called a LEEP proceedure to cut away the cancer they saw, would then repeat the colposcopy and biopsy every 4 months for 5 years and simply repeat the amputation proceedure (leep) to cut away the cancerous parts they seen at those times. I asked if they could simply do a hysterectomy instead. I assumed since I had the other issues (pain on intercourse, extreme periods, etc) and then to have to go through these colposcopy/biopsy and leeps every 4 months, it was going to be not only very painful, costly, and at times debilitating, but I'd still have the other issues...I figured a hysterectomy would solve a lot. Well, instead of the "over reccomending of hysterectomy" experience people talk of, I had the opposite experience. I was told that hysterectomy was a last resort reserved for women over 55 that have cancer in the later stages, have a traumatic uterine injury, and/or have severe fibroids. I knew this to be not entirely true so I pushed. He then said that hysterectomy simply was not indicated for my list of problems and given my age, was completely out of the question. I was therefor scheduled for the leep on November 19th. By that day I had been bleeding for 2 full months, and had been on bedrest for 45 days. I was weak and ill. To my surprise, he didnt sedate me (which is what I was told wouldbe done) nor even numb me for the proceedure. This proceedure basically is a heated electrofied metal wire loop that they use to amputate portions of your cervix where the cancer or dysplasia is. (envision a wire cheese slicer ran across a portion of a block of cheese and thats basically how it works) After cutting away the areas, they take a hot metal ball tipped instrument and touch the cut areas to sear them shut (called cauterizing) Well, because I wasnt numbed nor sedated, it was excrucsiatingly painful. I passed out twice, threw up once, and finally turned blue while he tried to cauterizebefore they stopped. Through my protests, screams, and pleading for them to stop over the 2 hours of torture, they never spoke a word to me, explained anything, nor comforted me. They simply held me down, spoke to eachother, and did the torture. When I turned blue, he stopped, told the 3 holding me dowto let go, turned the machine off, then sternly, meanly accusatory said to me.."Since your reacting this way I cannot finish cauterizing you. That means your going to bleed for awhile so dont call to ask about it. Maybe next time you'll do better" Then he told me to get dressed and go home, and they all walked out. It took me nearly 20 Minutes to be able to get up and dressed due to the pain and dizziness. Then sobbing, I had hubby take me home. After 4 days of severe cramps, vomiting, and dizziness, I began asking around for referrals to gynos. I vowed that there would never be another leep preformed on me, even if it meant a death sentence, and there would never Be another painful proceedure at all without numbing or sedation. On Dec. 15th I met with an ob/gyn that was referred to me by one of my husbands workmates. She said she really liked him, but the nurses and my family doctor warned me that he was new (had just finished a 10 yr internship and only been in practice 8 months) and that my eatment up until then had in fact been appropriate and "textbook" so not to expect a different approach from him, or anyone....so I went in with near hopeless expectations. We spoke in his office first. He explainec that yes, my treatment was standard, how ver he wasnt sure he would call it appropriate. He then went on to tell me all of the options. They ranged from doing nothing more to proceeding as recommended except with sedation, to hysterectomy. Then he thoroughly explained to risks and benefits of each option. He then did an exam, where he discovered that nearly 3/4 of my cervix had been amputated (only slivers should have been removed) and that the proceedure had introduced bacteria and t us causing me to have a severe infection. After the exam we went back to his office, where he told me that because of my painful intercourse problem, the recent amputation issue, my bad periods/ovulations..land taking into consideration Ive had my tubes tied over 18 yrs, and have no intention or wants for more children, he recommends a hysterectomy as a cure for all of my issues (a very slim risk of hpv related vaginal cancer still exists..but only a .009%) of corse I said yes and on January 22nd I had a total vaginal hysterectomy. This means he removed my uterus and cervix only, and he did it from the vagina so I have no external cuts at all. The proceedure took 4 hrs (was suppose to be 45 min) because my uterus was the size of a 10 week pregnancy and full of cancer. Had I went by the other doctors "results" I would have most likely died within a year. The first couple of days I was really sore, but each day I felt better. At 3 weeks post op we took a trip to Florida (im in ohio) and spent 7 days walking through universal studios, orlando, punta gordaand gasparilla island. I rode rides, and did just about everything. Although I tired easily, I basically felt good. I'm now 12 weeks post op and feel wonderful. Ive felt like nothing happened for about 4 weeks now. I no loer have painful intercourse, my vaginal pap came back clear, and even though I still have my ovaries, I no longer have a week of ovulation symptoms. Maybe a twinge or two with a chocolate craving, but no pain, swelling, moodiness, or fatigue. So, the reason I wrote this long, indebth note is to show that it all depends. What doctor you have, symptoms you have, your personal needs, thoughts, wants, and what your willing to stand up and fight for. If your in pain, have ied other ways, dont want anymore children, want a definative cure, and believe a hysterectomy will help you, then stand strong, demand to be heard, and if your doctor wont aee, find one who will...AND if its the opposite, you want to avoid hysterectomy but doctor insists..same goes...demand you receive the treatment you want as long as it isnt life threatening.

I'm glad to hear you're doing well, and I wish you an uneventful recuperation. At just six weeks since the surgery you're in that time frame where the focus is on rest, eating healthy, and taking good care of yourself. When fully recuperated (not recovered, because recovery would mean that you would as you were before the surgery, and that is not possible) if you experience the common adverse effects of hysterectomy it would be helpful to you to understand the well documented effects of the surgery. There is a new 12-minute educational video that you can watch by going to http://www.hersfoundation.org/anatomy. After watching the video click on the Anatomy charts to the left of the video. You can also view the statistics that reflect the most commonly reported effects of hysterectomy at the web site by clicking on Adverse Effects Data. Best wishes for a speedy recuperation.

I here Dr Cracker is one of the best over there at Glen Meade. I don't think he has ever been sued over anything and everyone I talk to seems to like him. Can you give me any more info on him or the Glen Meade Practice.
Thank you

Well, I must be one of the few then that feels so much better after having the pain taken away. Sex is outstanding better than ever before. So do women blame their lazy butts on the hysterectomy and continue being a couch potato. As we get older, we gain weight with or without a hysterectomy. Get up and exercise.