Doctor Hive: Can we talk hysterectomies?

[TheAttachedMama]

So, hopefully this isn't TMI....  🙂

However, I have been suffering from some issues due to uterine fibroids for several years now.   (Since about 2017).  The doctor has prescribed various prescriptions in an attempt to help me, and we have also done two polypectomies.  (I have some polyps too that we thought might be causing too much blood loss.).   He doesn't think that I would be a good candidate for an ablation, because he thinks that will not totally solve the problem due to where the fibroids are.

He pushed heavily to do a partial hysterectomy (leave my ovaries), but I was reluctant to get the surgery because I am afraid that it will mess with my hormone levels and cause a whole host of other issues.   I've been trying some other dietary things in a hope that I can make it to menopause.  I don't touch alcohol anymore because I have heard that that can agrivate/make things worse.  I take a lot of vitamin D too.  (Read a pubmed study where that and green tea helped fibroids).   I am in the process of trying to lower my bodyfat percentage.  (I've heard that high body fat can affect estrogen, etc.).   My doctor was sort of like, "OK, you can try those things, but I will see you in a few months when you ask for your hysterectomy."  (He didn't really say those words.  He was much more polite.   That was just his attitude--He was of the opinion that this was going to be a necessary surgery and that he was just giving me some time to come to that conclusion myself.) 

HOWEVER, things have recently gone from bad to worse!  I've gotten to the point where I am having trouble coping for a week out of every month and where I am pretty sure I ought to be in the ER during that week.  I honestly can't even leave my house.    I am really sad because I have been training for an endurance bike race for several months, and I just realized that I am probably not going to be able to do it because of the week it happens to fall on.  😞 

Anyways, all this to say:  what should I do?   is there something more natural I can try to avoid surgery?  Is the doctor right in that I should just get this procedure?  

[Pawz4me]

I had a partial hysterectomy due to uterine fibroids when I was  in my early 40's. I really let mine go way too far. By the time I scheduled surgery I was fairly severely anemic, having trouble with shortness of breath, had to spend most of every day on the couch or in bed. I couldn't have done a bike ride around the neighborhood on my best day of the month, let alone an endurance race. So yeah . . I was that bad, and that's what motivated my decision for surgery. It was far and away the best medical decision I've ever made. For me recovery was a breeze other than some post-anesthesia nausea. I felt much better three days afterwards than I'd felt in many years. I had no trouble with hormones other than the usual peri-menopause stuff several years later. Good luck with your decision. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

With the severity you describe I would definately opt for the hysterectomy.

[Brittany1116]

I am 1 year out from my ovary-sparing robotic-assist laproscopic hysterectomy. I had it because of adenomyosis and endometriosis, severe pelvic pain, and heavy, irregular bleeding. I grieved and fought, but it was really my only option after years of suffering. I am SO GLAD I don't have to live like that anymore. No more pain, no more bleeding through many layers of protection in public. I have more energy to work out and just live life. I haven't yet seen any weird hormone imbalances.

[Katy]

It’s been almost 15 years now but I worked nursing on a gynecology floor of a hospital and I don’t remember ANY fibroid patients who didn’t wake up feeling better and when they first walked after surgery say they wished they’d had the surgery years ago. 

That’s not to say recovery isn’t hard and days 3-8 aren’t tough. But all fibroid patients felt better. Probably because they get blood donations in hospital and stop losing blood. Fibroid patients had felt so bad for so long they’d forgotten what it felt like to have something approaching normal blood counts. 

[elegantlion]

You might do a search on this board for other conversations we've had. Most to all have no regrets, including myself. I had fibroids and endometriosis which culminated in the 100-day period for H#ll. Because I had cancer (Hodgkin's Lymphoma) previously, we opted to take everything, including ovaries. I have never felt better. I felt so much better I didn't even take pain medication afterward. 

My side effects have been minimal to none. No hot flashes and no weight gain. One of the best things is that I don't have to worry about planning activities and trying to avoid anything during certain weeks. I went on a 3 week international trip last fall, there would have been no way to schedule that to avoid my period as my cycles were getting shorter as well. 

[Shelydon]

I would not hesitate for a minute to do the hysterectomy. Best decision ever. 

[MEmama]

Had a TAH (total abdominal hysterectomy--sliced in half like much more extensive C-section) a year ago February. Like most other people find, it was far and away the best decision I've ever made, and also like others I waited far too long.

I haven't had any noticeable changes other than I no longer look 6 months pregnant and physically feel so much better. I can't stress enough how much that aspect of my life has improved.

I found the hysterectomy subreddit to be informative and educational (just ignore the one or two trolls who pretend your spine is going to collapse and other nonsense. Unrelated body parts don't depend on a uterus to keep anything in place, lol).

[Ottakee]

My sister and a close friend both had it done and said it was the best decision ever.  Hands down.

i wanted one when I was really struggling …….but it was April/May 2020 and there was no chance to even be considered.   Things are better for me, but I still wish I could have had it done.

[Tiberia]

I got a total hysterectomy in 2012. It was an agonizing decision, but looking back, it was a great decision. It was like a new day in my health. I didn't need to worry about scheduling athletic events around my period any more. The chronic pain and anemia went away. It did put me into immediate menopause, with accompanying night sweats. But other than that, it has been a wonderful change to my health. I'm sorry you're going through this, and I wish you peace in your decision.

[Dmmetler]

Has anyone gotten one who had adhesions from prior surgeries? I've had three abdominal surgeries previously, and am basically a mass of scar tissue. I've been told that a hysterectomy might help, but at the same time, adhesions are also common after hysterectomies, and we know I'm prone to them. 

 

I'm to the point that, since I'm not able to have further children anyway, and am now probably too old even if I didn't have other issues (I seem to get 1-2 periods a year right now, just enough to keep me officially out of menopause, but otherwise, I have all those symptoms), I just want to get rid of the pain I've dealt with for 20 years. But I also don't want to go through another surgery only to end up still in pain, or in worse pain. 

[Jann in TX]

20 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

Has anyone gotten one who had adhesions from prior surgeries? I've had three abdominal surgeries previously, and am basically a mass of scar tissue. I've been told that a hysterectomy might help, but at the same time, adhesions are also common after hysterectomies, and we know I'm prone to them. 

 

 

I had a total one (and I had a history of adhesions as well.  6 years out and no lasting issues.  I did have some internal bleeding (from some small adhesions) afterwards but they cleared up on their own after a few months.

I'm another one that wishes she would have had it done sooner-- I should NOT have suffered those extra years!

[Sneezyone]

Best decision I ever made. Had mine at 42.
 

Post-pregnancy uterine fibroids the size of golf balls, endo, vag. Prolapse, PCOS…I was a mess! I had ‘em leave the ovaries but they never functioned properly anyway so HRT for the win! I should have done it three years earlier.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Sneezyone

[elegantlion]

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

Has anyone gotten one who had adhesions from prior surgeries? I've had three abdominal surgeries previously, and am basically a mass of scar tissue. I've been told that a hysterectomy might help, but at the same time, adhesions are also common after hysterectomies, and we know I'm prone to them. 

 

I'm to the point that, since I'm not able to have further children anyway, and am now probably too old even if I didn't have other issues (I seem to get 1-2 periods a year right now, just enough to keep me officially out of menopause, but otherwise, I have all those symptoms), I just want to get rid of the pain I've dealt with for 20 years. But I also don't want to go through another surgery only to end up still in pain, or in worse pain. 

Yes, I had adhesions from two prior surgeries (one a full exploratory with spleen removal, one a full anesthesia, fully open abdominal c-section). While do the hysterectomy, they literally removed scar tissue from part of my bowel that had adhered to my abdominal wall. That helped as much as a hysterectomy. I'm about two years out and I haven't had any more issues that I had before. My hysterectomy was laproscopic. 

[WildflowerMom]

I had one at 29 due to endo.  One ovary left.  Years later, my hormones are still normal, although I am hitting the hot flash stage now.  (44 now).   I say go for a partial.  

[Terabith]

I had a gigantic ovarian cyst that we weren't sure if it was benign or not, so I had a hysterectomy at 42.  It was a borderline cyst, so since it was not malignant, I was able to keep the other ovary.  I was in no way close to menopause at the time I had it, and so far, I have had no signs, five years later, that I am in menopause.  My hormonal levels do not seem to be affected.  I have no hot flashes or anything.  The 13 inch incision/ abdominal surgery (cyst weighed 20 lbs, so no option for laparoscopic), was really painful for the first week or so, but by two weeks out, I felt pretty fine.  I did not have bad periods after my early 20s, and I have been shocked at how much better I felt not having periods at all, given that I never had too much bleeding or cramps.  It just makes everything so much simpler.  

[footballmom]

I had a partial hysterectomy in the fall - so many identical issues to what’s been already shared in this thread. My ONLY regret is leaving my ovaries as I have some ovulation pain each month that is pretty uncomfortable.  The doctor cleaned up some endometriosis around my ovaries with my partial.  I do wish I had done it sooner (I am almost 50 and I’ve been chronically anemic for yearsssss)

[Selkie]

Agreeing that it was the best decision ever. Because of prolapse issues, I had everything except my ovaries removed two years ago. Like others have said, I only wish I had done it sooner.

I was 52 at the time and close to, if not already in, menopause (hadn’t had a period for several months before the surgery). I’m about to turn 54 and have had zero menopausal or hormonal symptoms. I don’t take any hormone replacement.

I don’t have any personal experience with fibroids, but my understanding is that smaller/newer fibroids can sometimes be shrunk through diet, but it’s not effective for larger fibroids or ones that have been there for awhile.

[Pippen]

I put it off for years while trying other other options and afterwards very much regretted waiting so long. Nothing helped. 

[ktgrok]

The first step in stabilizing a patient is "stop the bleeding". You are bleeding. A lot. That puts a HUGE strain on your body to compensate. I'd get the surgery in a heart beat.