Article: April Dawn - HysterSisters

HysterSisters Hysterectomy Support Resources - http://www.hystersisters.com

Article: April Dawn
Hello, and welcome to my bio page! I want to share some things about myself so you can get to know me a little better.

I have been married to my best friend for over half of my life and we have been blessed with four children. We live in a small, friendly community and absolutely love being here. It is the kind of town where people pitch in and help each other whether it be lending tools or ingredients, building things or exchanging cookies, hanging Christmas lights, shoveling snow, gardening, or just getting together to talk and share common interests. In a way my town reminds me of the Hyster Sisters community in that we all help where and when we can. I couldn’t be more content.

When I’m not visiting the Hyster Sisters site I enjoy volunteering at school. Working with students is so rewarding and they thrive on the attention. I love to sew and have a particular interest in making special occasion dresses for my daughters. Baking cookies ranks high on my list of favorite things to do, too! Like sewing, baking helps me relax and be creative. I enjoy the outdoors and have great plans in my head for our yard. Hopefully I can muster up the energy as well as the time and money it will take to make it all a reality. Whether it happens or not, it is fun to dream.

I had my TAH/BSO in April of 2002, which is how I came to have the screen name of April Dawn. That surgery in April has been the dawn of a new and better life. The difference is night and day! I can’t imagine going back to how my life used to be because it wasn’t really much of a life.

The problems that led to my surgery started with my first period around the age of 12. I bled a lot, for a long time, and also passed clots. I assumed early on that this was normal because I knew my sisters experienced the same things, as did my mother. The only things that helped with my periods were birth control pills (starting around age 19) and being pregnant. By the age of 35 things were worse than ever but my doctor was reluctant to prescribe birth control pills because they were affecting my blood pressure. He told me to hang in there because menopause was coming and I'd be fine after that. Women in my family didn’t start menopause until they were in their 50’s so thinking I would have to deal with all of this for another 15 years or more was anything but comforting.

Over the years I saw more doctors (both general practice and gynecologists, male and female) and I told each of them about my problems. The responses were always the same, such as “this is normal for your age”, “you’re not bleeding as much as you think you are” and “it will stop when you reach menopause”. Meanwhile, I had no quality of life for the first several days of my period when I was gushing blood, passing clots and changing two-at-a-time super tampons plus a heavy duty pad every 15 minutes and still ruining clothes. No wonder I was anemic and weak. I never felt I was regaining strength between each period. I was discouraged and lost hope of ever finding a doctor who would help me find a solution. It was hard to be told that these things were normal when they were having such a negative impact on my life. As an adult I never really believed it was normal because I didn’t know of women, outside of my family, who had problems anywhere near as severe as mine.

I’m persistent if nothing else

and I started going to a different family doctor. When I discussed my problems with her, she suggested I try Prometrium, a bio-identical progesterone pill, to try to control the bleeding. That, along with prescription doses of ibuprofen, did help somewhat but it wasn’t a long term solution. The ibuprofen was causing stomach problems and I still was housebound the first few days of each period. There was no way I could have held a job outside the home. It was hard enough being a stay at home mom! I finally asked my doctor for a referral to a gynecologist she would use for her own needs and she gave me some names, with emphasis on one in particular.

Wasting no time, I called as soon as I got home to schedule an appointment with him. Armed with a detailed graph of my periods as well as a typed page outlining the suffering and miseries of menstruation I was having, I finally met with the most kind and compassionate doctor ever. This doctor actually listened to me, read my life story, looked at my graph, did an exam plus a uterine biopsy and told me that my options were down to just having a hysterectomy. He apologized and said that he didn’t feel right telling me that news at my first appointment. He recommended that I have an ultrasound and suggested I come back again and we would discuss test results and possible options. I could have hugged him right then as I knew I had truly reached the point that a hysterectomy was necessary. Finally I would be getting a permanent solution to all the anemia, blood loss, clotting, embarrassment of flooding and being stuck at home for a few days each period, which came as close as 21 days from the end of one to the start of the next.

At the next appointment he went through possible options and each was ruled out as not viable for my circumstances. There was strong suspicion that adenomyosis was the cause of the excessive bleeding based on symptoms and family history. It came down to what I knew all along—a hysterectomy was my only option. I had my surgery a few months later and although I can't say it has been totally smooth sailing (due to a very stubborn case of granulation tissue as well as hormonal woes and related sexual dysfunction), I can say that I am thankful I had the surgery because my quality of life has increased so dramatically. I honestly don’t think about the surgery anymore because I’m enjoying life in a way that wasn’t possible before. I can be spontaneous! I’m not tied to the calendar trying to figure out a safe time to plan an activity and I am not exhausted from having anemia. Actually, I now feel much healthier than I did for many, many years. For me this has been a good thing and my family wholeheartedly agrees.

Finding HysterSisters was such a blessing. Though it would have been nice to have found it before surgery, I got a lot of needed support post-op. I spent time reading and absorbing information and support without posting any of my own concerns. Yes, I was a lurker!

When I was having problems figuring out my hormone therapy, I turned to the Hormone Jungle for help. I also found the articles and resources on this site very useful. I started spending more time here and felt I had really found my niche.

I am both humbled and honored to be a member of the Hostess team. I started out in the Hormone Jungle and have since taken on the responsibilities of the Introduce Yourself and Sexual Dysfunction forums. Time permitting, I also like to drop in on the Pre- and Post-Op boards and can be found in the Friends Without Faces forum from time to time playing the games.

Each board has a unique and special place in my heart and I enjoy having the opportunity to give back to this site because I've received so much myself. I continue to gain from sharing with and helping others and I am certain that I am still receiving far more than I am giving.

I hope our paths will cross on the message boards!