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Ablation or Hyst????
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01-17-2001, 07:15 PM
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Ablation or Hyst????
I am 35 years old, I've had an ovarian cyst removed at 16, Two bouts with PID, Two wonderful children and my tubes tied. The doctor said go home & talk to your husband whether to have a ablation or hyst (not sure A or V but he would leave the ovaries. I'm scared!! Such a big choice. I've done bc now I'm doing estrogen. Does a hyst affect sex relations? So many questions ??? Any suggestions??
Thanks Jenn
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01-17-2001, 10:40 PM
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Ablation or Hyst????
Jennifer, it depends greatly on what your symptoms are as to whether an ablation is a good idea or not. Generally, if your complaints are heavy or prolonged bleeding, an ablation is a good alternative to hysterectomy. Statistics say that ablation works to significantly reduce uterine bleeding in 60-90% of women with up to 50% of women experiencing no period at all!
My Dr. offered me an endometrial ablation. After considering it for almost a half a second, I scheduled my hysterectomy. If I have one regret in the whole thing, it's that I didn't try all my alternatives first. It was a bit of a bumpy recovery that I had and I continuously questioned if I made the right choice. If I'd had the ablation, a hysterectomy would still be an option. Unfortunately, it doesn't work the other way around. At this point in my life (a year and a half later), my ovaries aren't producing estrogen as they should. I'm 32 years old. Although I'll never know if my hyst caused this or the low estrogen caused all my bleeding, the statistics show that 50% of women who have hysterectomies and retain their ovaries go into menopause within 5 years regardless of age at hyst. As many of us around here know, sometimes menopause isn't something that you "just take a pill and you're fine".
While I'm definitely not anti hysterectomy, I certainly advocate weighing all your options and making a decision that you can live with. Regret is not a good way to live you life. (Neither is bleeding to death!!)
Hope this helps you,
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01-18-2001, 02:31 AM
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Ablation
I was having all kinds of problems including heavy bleeding and cramps from hell. The first doctor I saw recommended a hysterectomy and since I had also had surgery to remove an ovarian cyst and a history of ovarian cancer in my family, he was suggesting a complete hysterectomy. I did try hormone therapy for some time, the thought of having to do that the rest of my life compelled me to do some research. I found several alternatives which I brought to him and which he summarily dismissed one after another. It occurred to me that he didn't even KNOW what most of these alternatives were, evidently had not been keeping up. I found another doctor.
This doctor told me about ablation (he called it therma choice balloon ablation) so I immediately got online and started looking for information. It was a relatively new procedure at the time and I wasn't too enthused about being a guinea pig, but the more I read about it the more I thought what have I got to lose? I had been bleeding continuously for a month and was more than ready for it to be over.
To make an already too long story shorter, I did get the ablation, and I am really glad I did. I do still have periods, maybe twice a year, and always very light. I have had the menopausal symptoms (i.e. hot flashes) but also mild and infrequent. It was one of the best choices I ever made.
I am sure it's an individual thing but as Susan so wisely says, you can always get a hysterectomy after an ablation but not vica versa, so if the doctor has suggested it why not try it first?
Hope it works out for you, you'll be in my prayers.
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01-18-2001, 05:15 AM
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Wondering same thing...
I nam in the process of making the same decision...I am wondering from Karen if her cramps went away from having the ablation...my cramps are as debilitating as the 12-14 days of bleeding each month. If you say the cramps go with the bleeding...I'm trying the ablation. Thanks!
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01-18-2001, 07:36 AM
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How my abalation turned out.
Hi, I agree with what the others said about it having to do with symptoms, etc. on whether to have the abalation. I did the Therma Choice abalation (at the time my dr. said I was the youngest woman to have had it done 25 then, 26 now)and it did not help with my problems long term, it helped for a period of 2 to 3 months. My new gyn says abalation works best in women nearing menopause, so this might be a consideration for your age, being 35, you still have a few years left. I am now scheduled for my hysterectomy March 9th, and to be quite honest, I would have preferred the hystro in the beginning had I have known I would have to do it later anyway. Now, on the recovery side of the abalation, I felt GREAT the next day, as I know I won't with the hysterectomy. I believe that it is a personal choice on the matter of what surgery, and you should be able to set down with your physician and really discuss the matter, and I believe a second opinion is a good idea also. Unfortunely, I didn't do these things when I went for the ablation. My symptoms were, and still are (until March anyway) very excessive bleeding lasting 14+ days, cramping, etc. I also have uterine polyps, so your symptoms may not be as severe, and the abalation may work great for you. Like I said, it is a personal choice. One thing I am going to add, and not to scare people, its just my former gyn didn't tell me, is that after abalation cervical cancer is harder to detect because the abalation cauterizes the uterus. This information can be found on mayo's health site. Like I said, I am not trying to scare anyone, its just my former gyn didn't inform me of this, and I have several family members who have had breast/cervical and or ovarian cancers, and I think I should have been informed of this before I agreed to the abalation. Sorry this got so long, and I hope it helps.
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01-18-2001, 08:47 AM
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Posts: 96
Hysterectomy: February 1st, 2001
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Ablation or Hyst????
I'm scheduled for a TAH on Feb 1, 2001. My symptoms have been much the same as most of you it seems. Heavy, prolonged and irregular periods. My Dr. did a D and C in August hoping that it would "re program" the uterus and straighten out things. It didn't! When I saw him for my 6 week post d and c I had already had my period again - twice! We discussed ablation. His response was that he felt it was a good way for him to bill me for a procedure that he felt was fairly unsuccessful. He also added that because I have bleeding when DH and I have sex bummer! that he felt part of my problem was my cervix - sooooo hysterectomy here I come.
Good luck, hope all goes well for you!
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01-18-2001, 01:08 PM
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HysterSister
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Posts: 2,551
Hysterectomy: December 19th, 2000
Surgery Type: TAH
Ovaries: Kept 1 or both
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Ablation or Hyst????
I went for a balloon ablation, but it couldn't be done because their were (surprise) fibroids in the way. (Other types of ablations can be done with fibroids in some cases, by the way.) I ended up with a D&C and partial scraping of one fibroid instead.
I don't have anything against ablations. I think they are a great option, and can make a huge difference in one's quality of life. They are relatively safe, and recovery is *way* easier than a hyst. But what I noticed with my "let's-see-if-it-helps" D&C, and what I've heard from some women who've had ablations, was that I couldn't get on with my life, and make plans, because I didn't know how long it was going to help. Sometimes ablations help for years, sometimes just months, sometimes not at all, sometimes they are a wonderful, permanent solution. But there's always doubt about planning trips, deciding on careers, carrying supplies, buying clothes... will the problems come back, and when? I decided I didn't want another minute of "wondering". I could have tried another kind of ablation (rollerball), but asked for a hyst ASAP. I don't regret it for a second.
Before I came here I spent a lot of time on a similar site for women considering ablations. They have message boards, and encourage women who've had ablations to come and post their experiences (x months post-ablation, x years post-ablation), so you can see "how they turned out". You might find it very helpful:
http://home.att.net/~endometrial_ablation/index.html
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