Anyone keep your cervix?

This Mon, I'm going to consult with my latest gyn, the one who's scheduled to do my TAH in December. I met him mid Sept, and asked him then if I could keep my cervix. He discouraged me, pointing out that if left behind, the cervix can produce "mini periods." Now that I think about it, I want to keep it. After all the blood loss I go through, a mini period is no biggie.

My main concern is dryness following a TAH.

I have 2 friends who had TAH's early this year, and last week as we all three had coffee, I questioned them about lack of vaginal moisture. The one had always tended towards dryness, and noticed more a little more dryness after TAH. But the tradeoff was worth it for her. (large painful fibroids) The other friend was obviously saddened by the loss of her cervix. She had been very moist before, and now felt "as dry as sandpaper." I'm rather moist as well, and I really don't want to lose that, esp at age 40...

Any input on this subject would be so helpful - please let me know your thoughts/experiences.

Thanks

i kept my cervix and i am very happy that i did. i have no mini periods or dryness. if your dr cauterizes your cervix during surgery, you shouldnt have mini periods. i think some women experience dryness when their ovaries are removed. thats another thing to think about.
i dont agree with your dr's reason for wanting to remove your cervix. theres no reason to remove it if its healthy. i'd also suggest a second opinion.
good luck

I had a TAH and had my cervix removed due to abnormal paps. I haven't had a problem with dryness at all so far. Everything is working like it did before, just no periods.

Elf_ears

I was scheduled for a TAH (removal of cervix) but ended up with a SAH, due to complications, thus keeping my cervix. As it turns out, I'm actually very glad I still have it, but that's obviously a personal preference.

If you keep your ovaries and cervix, there is a good chance of mini-periods. However, most ladies appear to have their cervix cauterised which prevents them, for the majority. I didn't have my cervix cauterised (not sure why) and experience mini-periods as a result. I'm 2 1/2 years post-op and "mini" has been an exaggeration for a long time!

Obviously, it's a very personal choice and you're certainly on the right site to research every aspect! Wishing you all the very best.

Hi Jill,

I am facing a hysterectomy because of extremely heavy bleeding. I had an ablation with no improvement and now my doctor is waiting on me to call Monday to tell him my decision about scheduling a hyst. My doctor recommends keeping my cervix, because it is healthy and even if I have a little “mini” period, that will be a piece of cake compared to what I’ve been through. In addition to vaginal moisture, another good reason to keep your cervix is because it reduces the risk of uterine prolapse (the bottom won’t drop out of the market so to speak). Your cervix is believed by some to contribute to sexual arousal and ability to orgasm in some women. I feel like that is more important than the risk of a little spotting. One drawback though is you will still have to have pap smears.

Sometimes I think these doctors act like they are the ones buying the tampons! I get so angry with how easily some people disregard a woman’s sexuality! How many men would choose total snorflation over a little spotting? Oh well, I get off track. I guess I just feel a little threatened right now because of facing this decision myself.

My husband of 22 years and I have talked this over and I will call my doctor and schedule the surgery. I wanted to mention too, that I will be having Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy (LSH) It is minimally invasive with only 3 small slits (one through my belly button-ooh!) It will be done outpatient with about one week recovery ANOTHER good reason to keep your cervix, less recovery time. I would recommend looking into this, it is new and you might have to change your doctor again, but from what you said about him…

Take care, and good luck. We all need all the support we can get at this point (that’s sort of a pun under the circumstances. Isn’t it?)

Chris

Hi,
I'm laughing so hard after reading what I wrote about men's total snorflation! I meant snorflation.
Chris

	Quote:
another good reason to keep your cervix is because it reduces the risk of uterine prolapse (the bottom won’t drop out of the market so to speak).

Not much of an issue if you're going to have a hysterectomy, though!

I kept my cervix, on advice of the doctor. She thought that removal of a healthy cervix in someone 49 years old and in a clearly monogamous relationship made the surgery more intensive and the healing process more lengthy than it needed to be. She suggested that the risk of cervical cancer at this age, and after surgical menopause, was drastically reduced. She also wanted to retain support for the vagina and bladder, and thought retaining the cervix offered additional support. I asked about endometriosis and fibroids returning in the cervix, and she told me that without ovaries, endometriosis was almost impossible, and that the cervix lacked sufficient muscle to develop fibroids. I had so much bowel/bladder involvement prior to the surgery, and those issues are gone, and at 3 weeks, I don't think keeping my cervix was a bad idea.

I will be keeping the bottim 1/2 of my cervix for the above mentioned reasons. My Dr will cautorize my cervix so I shouldn't have any mini periods (but as has been said, after what we have all been through that is NOTHING!)