Upcoming Hysterectomy

I had a hyster back in May, they took everything but the overies. I am only 30 years old and did not want to go through the whole menopause thing yet. I LOVE IT! Best decision. After my 2 year old I had my tubes tied and started bleeding all the time. I had ablation done and that did not work. My mom and all her 7 sisters and my grandmother had the same problem and had hysters. No idea why no pulps or anything, just out of control bleeding. I had a LAVH ( laproscopicaly assisted vaginal hyster) and recovery was easy. Also a good web site to go to for advise is hystersisters lots of good advise and info. Good luck.

I had a complete hysterectomy at 40, (9 yrs ago) and it was the best decision I ever made.

I loved the hystersister website. It is full of info on what to expect, etc. It has a lot of detail so beware!

The worst part for me was the wait until the day of surgery.

I have a bikini line incision that you can hardly see. I opted for them to take EVERYTHING. I have no regrets. I went on the HRT light dose patch and have been on it ever since. My Dr. had me wearing an abdominal binder right out of OR and I didn't take that thing off unless I had to. I believe the binder did help me keep things in place and prevent the swelly belly. I was not overweight before surgery and I never gained any weight after surgery. I still have my flat belly.

I did not have many of the side effects they say is common... swelly belly, weight gain, no sex drive.

I had to wait to drive for 2 weeks but overall my recovery was great. My hubby is in sales and he was back on the road the following week. I was at my daughter's athletic events 3 weeks after surgery.

Your recovery has a lot do to with you, your attitude and your support. I refused to let it get me down. I have always exercised and taken care of myself and I keep a positive attitude.

I felt like a new person (and still do).

Best wishes to you... I hope your experience is as positive as mine was.

I had endometriosis and fibroids, and I had a hysterectomy 5 years ago. There was nothing wrong with my ovaries, and my doctor said the best thing was to keep them. They weren't the cause of my problems. So if they're not causing you problems, I would leave them in. If you have them removed, you go into almost immediate menopause. If you leave them in, really all you have is no more periods. The hormones are still the same. I still have monthly mood swings that I always had, and I ovulate (probably). I wouldn't have wanted to be in menopause mode at 42.

Good luck with everything! It's the best thing I ever did for myself! So glad I had it done when I did. I'm sure you will be too!

I'm having a hysterectomy on 1/18. They found a mass - probably endometriosis. The plan is to keep one ovary. We really won't know until we get there. I don't want to be thrown into menopause if it's not necessary. I'm 46 so it is close. I figure, with natural menopause, the hormones deplete over time, but with surgical, its like going from 0 to 60. Good luck to you (and me).

I am in a different situation, I guess, but I just had my ovaries removed a couple of months ago (they left the uterus). I fought breast cancer this past year and I have the gene for breast and ovarian cancer, so my chances of getting ovarian cancer were really high. I chose to have them removed to virtually eliminate that risk. So, I am now in what they call "surgical menopause". I am 36 years old. So far, it hasn't been terrible, but I do have hot flashes quite a bit and I am now having some issues staying asleep at night (I wake up several times per night, but I think part of the reason is due to the hot flashes). Again, not the end of the world, but I'm not sure I would go that route unless you and/or your doctor, really think it's necessary. If they just take the uterus, is your doctor fairly confident that it will solve the problem? Is it possible for him/her to try to remove some scar tissue while they're in there? Mine was done laparoscopically also and the recovery wasn't horrible (of course, I'm comparing this to a double mastectomy, so my perspective might be skewed). I was sore for a few days and wasn't allowed to lift for 6 weeks. The bad part was that I had a lot of gas pain from the air that they blow into you when they do laparoscopic surgery. Even two weeks later, I was having pain from it and some of it migrated into my upper back. Be sure you use GasX or some similar medication (with your doctor's approval, of course) if this happens because I was miserable from it.

Anyway, I'm not sure if any of this helped or not, but I guess I would discuss it further with your doctor. If you can avoid the menopause symptoms, even for a couple of more years, it might be worth it. Your risk of heart disease and osteoperosis also increase with the removal of your ovaries, so something else to keep in mind. In my case, the risk of developing ovarian cancer (which is not easily detected and usually isn't found until later stages) was much worse than the other alternatives. Good luck and I wish you the best with your surgery and recovery.

I would agree with the other post-ers. If you can avoid having your ovaries removed, I would go that route. While I have no personal experience with hysterectomy or any of the cancer risks that the other ladies have had, keeping your hormones intact a little while longer by leaving your ovaries in (and not going through immediate menopause) appears to be more beneficial all the way around. Hormone replacement therapy has its own benefits and risks if you do decide to remove your ovaries. But ask your doctor what his/her thoughts are - and go with what you feel most comfortable about.

Trust your doctor-have everything taken out. I had a hysterectomy, leaving the ovaries in1995-which, for me, was the right decision. There's nothing to it-you will be healthy and safe-God bless! I am sorry to hear about your losses and hope you heart has healed.

Hi, Cheryl - I had my hysterectomy at age 47. I have no family history of ovarian cancer, but I do have family history of breast cancer. So, I chose to keep my ovaries. I wasn't ready to go into instant menopause, and I knew I couldn't take HRT because of the breast cancer history. This all worked out fine for me. I'm not a doctor, but I don't see how the ablation could have caused scarring around the ovaries, so if you keep them, hopefully, you won't have further issues. Personally, I'd rather face another surgery than instant menopause! Good luck! Hope all goes well. Cool that you'll have your sister to help for so long.

I had my hysterectomy at 47. I asked them to take the ovary at the time because I didn't want to go for a second surgery if there was a problem. I didn't really have hot flashes just a few mood swings and had HRT at a low dose. In some ways this did save my life as I was diagnosed with breast cancer later. I went through the five years of Tamoxicen and have been in remission for as long.

The best thing about the hyster is that all the pain I had with my period is gone, all the heavy duty bleeding is gone. The big fibroids that were causing the problem are gone and I didn't want any more children so thta was fine with me. My doctor said sometimes women have the procedure done and they are not really ready to realize that they are done having children and it causes a few issues that they work out. I do watch my intake of estrogen (soy sauce) and other foods that contain estrogen since my breast cancer is estrogen sensitive. No I didn't get a belly from it as it was a bikini cut and you can't really see the scar.

So do it and enjoy your new life and have fun after your heal up. You won't have to worry if you are or are not preggers. If you keep the ovary that is great too for your hormones.

Good luck and speedy recovery.

The other S.

I'm sorry you lost two babies, what a traumatic experience.

What is the cause of the bleeding you're experiencing? Do you have fibroids?

There is a very good short video that I urge you to watch before you proceed with a hysterectomy. The video is "Female Anatomy: the Functions of the Female Organs" at www.hersfoundation.org/anatomy. It explains the lifelong functions of the uterus and ovaries, and how your pelvis changes after hysterectomy, including what takes up the space where the uterus had been. This is information every W. needs to know!