Top 10 reasons to have a hysterectomy

10 thoughts on “Top 10 reasons to have a hysterectomy”

1. All good reasons…ones I am sure I listed 8 yrs ago. You will see the twinge in the stock market re: Kotex/Playtex in the beginning, but this will soon be replaced by the large upswing in stock prices for folks like GE/Best Buy or whomever makes/distributes the fans you will be surrounding the bed with when the hot flashes start. ;-) Personal lubricants will eventually become a major topic in your life, replacing the dull conversations regarding menses and hygene products.

   Truly a give and take, but you won’t be unhappy that you did it!! Good luck!

   signed,
   The Queen Of Spay

2. I can verify everything that “the Queen of Spay” just said…If any woman ever thought PMS was bad wait until surgical menopause strikes and your husband no longer suspects, but knows for a fact that he married sybil…And, K-Y jelly is soooo romantic!! You know; dim the lights, lite the candles, soft background music and lots and lots of K-Y..

3. Couldn’t the Queen of Spay just take birth control pills continuously and suppress the periods completely? It’s done wonders for my health and sanity. Seems a less drastic thing than surgery too. What about endometrial ablation?

4. Ahhhh, I’m not the QUEEN for no good reason. After 7 years of near bleeding to death…BC pills in lots of shapes/sizes/amounts, then moving to the depo-provera shots, and continuing to suffer it was finally ..unanimously agreed that the only thing to do was ‘the big H’. Even then, the endometriosis (stage IV) required that I continue to bleed profusely for another year while taking depo-lupron.
   I am not not sorry for having had the Big H. I am losing bone mass from the lupron…but all in all, hot flashes/insomnia/joint aches and pains/dryness etc..all X 10 wouldn’t make me go back. Some of us NEED the Big H. I think if you embrace it, and look forward to the end of certain things, you can better deal with the not so great aspects of surgical menopause. I do want it to end though..before I die. Some carry it to their graves, and I hope I’m not one. I also suggest to all that those looking to chemically supress their menses for long periods of time, read the journal articles etc. There are known drawbacks, and if you are doing it for the sake of convenience, well……

5. radtec, I read stories like yours and I wonder what in the world is wrong with me and my big H experience? Of course, I did have invasive cancer and had a 4 hr. “radical H”…But, still after almost 10 years you would think I would be use to the changes..I grieve for my periods…..If I would have had a choice I would never have had that surgery..

6. What about surgical oblation of the uterine lining? A colleague had that procedure last year and has been deleriously happy with results.

   Every woman I know who has had a hysterectomy has had (pick at least 3)

   loss of libido
   pain with intercourse
   unremitting abdominal discomfort
   severe menopausal symptoms
   urinary incontinence
   stress urinary incontinence
   fecal incontinence
   mood swings
   loss of sensation in vulva

   So the short answer is I’d sure look hard at the alternatives.

7. http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/archives/A/hhs1770.html

   ate: Friday, Dec. 12, 1997
   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   Contact: FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION Sharon Snider: 301-827-6242, Broadcast Media: 301-827-3434,Consumer Inquiries: 800-532-4440

   FDA Approves New Device To Treat Excessive Menstrual Bleeding

   FDA today approved a new type device to treat excessive menstrual bleeding. This thermal balloon ablation device may provide an alternative to hysterectomy or hysteroscopic surgical ablation in premenopausal women whose abnormal uterine bleeding cannot be adequately controlled with drugs. The device is indicated for the treatment of menorrhagia (excessive uterine bleeding) due to benign causes in premenopausal women for whom child bearing is complete.

   The product is a uterine balloon catheter heat therapy system, called ThermaChoice(TM), manufactured by Gynecare/Ethicon Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif.

   The device consists of a balloon inserted into the vagina, through the cervix and into the uterus; the balloon is connected by a catheter to a controller console which contains a microprocessor and imbedded software.

   The balloon catheter is inflated with fluid and heated (87 C/188 F) to destroy much of the lining of the uterus. Pressure, temperature, and time are controlled by the computer connected to the catheter. After eight minutes of treatment, catheter is

   removed. The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes and can be performed without general anesthesia in most women on an outpatient basis.

   “Uterine balloon therapy devices offer premenopausal women a new alternative for treating excessive menstrual bleeding,” said FDA Lead Deputy Commissioner Michael A. Friedman, M.D.

   The device is only intended for women who have decided not to have children in the future. While the likelihood of pregnancy is significantly decreased following this procedure, it is still possible for some women to get pregnant because treatment may not

   always destroy all endometrial tissue in the uterus. Very limited information is available on pregnancies following endometrial ablation; but it is believed that such pregnancies would carry considerable risk to both the mother and fetus. To avoid pregnancy, women who undergo this procedure must use an effective contraceptive method or undergo surgical sterilization.

   The FDA’s approval of this device was based on a review of clinical data on safety and effectiveness submitted by the manufacturer and on the recommendation of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Advisory Committee.

   The firm studied 125 women who were treated with the device at 14 medical centers in the U.S. and Canada and compared to a similar number of women treated with hysteroscopic rollerball ablation, a standard surgical treatment for excessive menstrual bleeding. The women, ages 30 to 50, had excessive menstrual bleeding, and drug therapy was either not tolerated or failed to adequately control the bleeding. In both groups, ablation treatments were shown to be safe and were able to control excessive bleeding in over 80 percent of the women at 12 months.

   [there’s more at the site]

   So cut to cure may not be the best choice here.

8. I had a reply..it wouldn’t ‘take it’. hmmmm, anyhow;

   Cut to cure? I’ve never advocated that for anyone/any reason/any time. Ablation doesn’t work well enough, for enough women, and you have to repeat it. Sorry..taking time off every ___months, going to the hospital out patient, getting anesthesia etc..isn’t MY cup of tea. For others, I say whatever works best for you.

   To annon…who misses her menstruation..well, I have no idea what to say except I’m sorry. :( My quality of life for 8 long years was misery. Any side effects you can list for post hyst patients, I already had issues with, including the hot flashes thanks to the lupron. I had no where literally to go but UP, and was done with child bearing. I welcomed the surgery although it was the most painful one I had ever had..and that includes the two C-sections. I’ll never regret it. Menopause is not an evil curse..and millions of women get through it every year/did get through it for decades without hormone replacement etc. It is a GREAT thing to have those drug thereapies..but they are of greater proven risk than just toughing it out. Your mileage may vary. To each their own! :)
   Enjoy!

   The Queen Of Spay!

9. radtec, Oh, I didn’t mean that I thought you shouldn’t have had an H. I feel like you with that statement “to each his own”…I think a radical H is an experience not similar to any other type of H..When you lose all the lymph nodes and you deal with an atonic bladder and bowel for months and even years as a complication of the surgery, well it just is not a pleasant surgery to recover from…The pain was unbelievable..Made my knee surgery, gallbladder, and fundoplication surgeries seem like childs play…Maybe greiving for my periods was a misstatement, but certainly, I do miss the parts that are now gone. I use to be a nice person but now I’m a bitch!

10. thanks for the list of side effects from the H.lots of women I know have said it’s wonderful for them,but no mention of all the hassle.and,NO,Iwon’t miss my periods (nothing but nuisance 25 years since my tubal ligation…or scheduling appointments with my husband “tonight or wait a week”…so a really smart Dr. talked me out of the H and into ablation…thanks

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