Planned TAH soon

(Apologies, this letter was originally posted in the wrong area but I guess it needs to be here)

My periods used to be long. However, since October bleeding is dysfunctional, erratic and irregular. It would start, stop, start again, sometimes very heavy and clotty and sometimes would be would scant - bleeding would only show able on wiping. Very unpredictable.

My previous GP suggested that I might be in my peri- menopause. I am now 43. Because of pelvis pain and bleeding he referred me for a colonoscopy (that was clean) and to a urologist (as I had nearly monthly Urinary Tract Infections) since June. That was sorted and my bladder is fine now and the urologist do not want to see me unless I need to see him. Ultrasound didn't show much wrong. At a stage I thought it was all in the mind.

I am now at a new GP that gave me progesterone treatment (Provera) to stop the bleeding, didn't really work. Before the treatment, I wasn't even sure at a stage if the bleeding was hematuria (bleeding from the bladder as it felt like a UTI) but she checked and diagnosed it as vaginal bleeding. With the hormone treatment, the duration of my last period was already close to 3 weeks (ongoing). I am experiencing lower abdominal pain as well (with or without the period). It is having a negative effect on my quality of life and when experiencing pain, I can't sleep properly and I feel nauseous for much of the time. I am starting to feel depressed and pathetic and I guess if one lose sleep it doesn't help much.

Bless this current GP - she referred me to a gynecologist and I was lucky to get an appointment quite soon.

The gynecologist I went to, told me 43 might be a bit young for menopause as 51-53 is more the average age. He offered ablation and the Mirena or an abdominal hysterectomy (as our 7 year old child was born with a c-section).

After chewing the info he gave me and the hystersisters site (thank you for all the advice) I have decided on having a hysterectomy rather. It seems that the problem is getting out of hand and I have a gut feeling that the other options would not work. And I do not want to go to hospital now and then later again. I sort of feel it is not only a heavy bleeding issue but more than that and I now hormones don't work.

My gynecologist plans keep the ovaries and keeping the cervix is my choice. On the one hand I think it is good to keep it but I worried that some of the bleeding might be a cervix problem and so I sort of told him maybe it must be removed as well.

In the meantime I need to go to the dentist on the 19th for a filling and is at his stage more nervous about it as it is a big job - old filling needs to be removed and the cavity that formed under the old filling needs to be addressed - it is a 45 minute appointment. Please pray my tooth will be fine after the filling - it is quite a bad hole and there is the chance of a root canal option or an extraction if it is not going to work. (Hope the dental medication don't meddle in with the TAH that is booked for 27 January - 11 days time. A week and a day before the TAH.

Of course I am jittery about the TAH and worry a bit that it is the right decision. In our neck of the woods it is summer holiday in the Southern Hemisphere but I am mostly housebound as I do not feel very well. I am positive that the TAH might do the trick. Hopefully next summer would be much better

We are supposed to go away for a weekend break mid Feb but at this stage I think I must rather have the surgery, cancel the weekend and (hopefully) go on the weekend later when I feel better. I would not enjoy going on an excursion like that and feel how I am currently feeling

Hi Poplap

Welcome to hystersisters!

We are a great bunch of girls who are prepared to discuss all sorts of information, share experiences or hand out hugs to the greater good of our fellow sisters.

We all have different reasons for going through surgery and there are no right or wrong reasons.

At your age it is great that you can keep your ovaries as surgical menopause is no picnic :-(

If you have any questions or concerns ask away. We love to help!

Good luck on your journey

Katy

have you had a hysteroscopy and d&c with biopsies? what is your diagnosis? you dont say if youve had a second opinion but i am big on 2 or more opinions when it comes to major surgery.
i had 2 csections and a few other abdominal surgeries and i had no problems having a lap hysterectomy (kept cervix and ovaries). previous abdominal surgery does not always mean you cannot have a lap..some dr's are not trained to do the most up to date least invasive type of surgeries. be sure to ask your dr if he is does the lsh and if he does, why does he believe you cannot have one. the recovery is so much easier.
good luck..do lots of research and make the best informed decision you can

Thanks Katy for the kind words and thanks dressedupinblue for your concern and good advice.

Believe me, I do not want unnecessary surgery. My wounds do not heal quick.

It is fantastic that you had a lap hysterectomy after your c-sections and other procedures. It shows you it can be done but I guess it differs from case to case.

To get 2 opinions is sound advice. My GP actually referred me for a hysterescopy and the dr can do it - but I get the idea that he would prefer to give some treatment whilst doing the scope as well. If it was a few months earlier and I only had heavy bleeding, I would have done the ablation but I have other issues that surfaced since October that makes me worry. (Like the dysfuctional bleeding that can't be stopped with progesterone). The transvaginal ultrasound I had in Aug showed no obvious problem and therefore my GP treated me hormonally for my problem. But when it didn't work I was referred.

For me, it is a mission to get a referral to a specialist, my GP needs to send a letter to a specialist beforehand and I would need prior approvals from the medical insurance to cover the other visits as well. I would need to contact my GP to address and send another referral to someone else and I can assure you, it is not easy. Lots of red tape.....

In SA you would go to see a gyno for pap smears and stuff but in NZ you need to see your GP for those sort of stuff and treatment is quite conservative here. And then you need prior-approval for each doctors office from the medical insurance

If it depended on myself, I would have went to a gynecologist a year ago when I was worried about my heavy periods but I was at a different GP then that decided not to refer me to one. An ablation would have been a good option then. The ablation they do here is the roller ball one (not the Novasure one) and I need to drink medication when I start my period to thin the lining of the uterus for when it is the ablation. It sounds silly, but nowadays I do not even know when my actual period starts as there might be some light spotting and then nothing and then later more spotting and then maybe something. And then very heavy bleeding somewhere in between.

My current GP gave me 4 names of gynecologists and I decided on the doctor I am going to because of a friend's (she is a doctor herself) referral. She went to him for a laprascopic procedures recently and she is very happy. He also told me that he can do a hysterectomy vaginally, laparoscopic or abdominally.

As a child I had a bladder operation, the c section was performed on the same scar. Before I was married, I had a DC because of difficult and long periods, I had lap surgery a few years ago when my appendix was removed. The general surgeon then removed something from my uterus but at that time I was more grateful it was benign that I do not actually know what it was. As I underwent those medical procedures in a different country from where I live now, the reports of that, are not available here.

To be honest, the gyno would prefer doing an ablation first - he wrote in his report "I am mindful of the fact that previous surgery on the abdomen includes a Ceasarean section and a re-implantation of the ureter (as a child) for reflux. In the first instance one might therefore prefer to avoid a surgical option given the previous procedures and a tendency towards scarring and adhesion formation both within the abdominal wall and intra abdominally"........and then he wrote as well about the option of hysterectomy "whilst we note that there have been two abdominal procedures performed in the past this surgical procedure does produce clear cut options. Both ovaries will be conserved and therefore hormonal balance will be maintained" So I am happy that the gyno is not scalpel happy and he is concerned about scarring as unfortunately, I do scar and heal slow but I guess that is part of the package and I must take it very easy

My TAH was the best thing I did for myself in 2008.

After much trouble my dr. & I decided on a tubal, D&C, and an ablation. After I was put to sleep and he got in there, he knew there was NO reason to go this route and stopped that surgery. I had had many ultrasounds but none ever showed the extent of the fibroids, scar tissue, and adhesions to my bowel and peritoneum.


Because I had had a bad PAP in 2000, there was no reason to keep the cervix even though my LEEP resolved the problems with the pre-cancerous cells. My ovaries looked good upon laprascopic exam, but my dr. said he would look them over and determine if I could keep either or neither.


One month later I went in for the TAH with peace and anticipation of a new life without the problems. During the surgery he found endometriosis which we had no idea I had - it was in-between my RT ovary and my uterus, which were stuck together.

All biopsies were clean. Ovaries great, no need to remove. Good recovery, no real complications except for the anemia continued for a while, and I had two small places on my incision that opened up. Was taken care of so well by family and friends, never had to lift a finger. I was extremely blessed.

I am changed and thankful to God for everything He did for me.

Thanks for that Skipper - I am glad you say it was the best thing you gave yourself last year and I am glad you are doing so well