Need stories, quick!

I've been reading all I could find here, but still haven't seen answers to my exact question. Hope someone out there sees and can answer, as my surgery is scheduled for a week from tomorrow. I got concerned about post-hyst sexual function and asked my gyn, who said she can do a supracervical, but couldn't promise anything about outcome. I'm 52, don't need the ovaries anymore (they're scheduled to quit working anyway, right? And I'm worried about the potential for ovarian cancer. No real reason.) All the info here seems to be from ladies who kept ovaries, or at least one, as well as cervix. Has anyone had supracervical with removal of ovaries? Do they even do that?

My gyn has only done one of these (supracervical) previously. I trust her surgical expertise, so am not worried about that. She did say that if I choose to keep the cervix (after reading all posts, I am 90% sure I will), abdominal incision is required. Is that right? Sounds like some of you have had it done laparoscopically. Maybe she just doesn't know how/have the experience she wants for that. After three c-sections, doubt I'm a candidate for that anyway, but like to know my options.

Please answer ASAP, as I'm going through with this one way or another in a week. I hate not having a decision made! Can't rest 'til I can decide.

This site is wonderful. Just found it this morning, couldn't wait to get home from work and read everything. I've been here for three hours now, my neck is on fire, my husband feels neglected, but I've laughed and cried and I'm grateful that I'm not alone in worrying that the sex won't be the same--imagine a grandmother crying about that in the doctor's office! Thank heaven she's a woman, I would have died of embarrassment over it otherwise. Now I'm going to go read everything there is about HRT. Thanks for listening, sorry I'm so long-winded.

Cheri

I don`t have the answers to all of your questions, but I will do my best to provide you with information.

I had a TAH/BSO. I actually have heightened sensation without my cervix! I think that old thing just got in the way! Sex can be just as wonderful after a hyst as before! I think its better!

Did your Dr. advise ovary removal? Even after menopause, the ovaries still dribble some good stuff! It is far easier to go through natural menopause than surgical menopause.

What type of surgery is your Dr. most comfortable and experienced with? That would be my main concern.

Here are some links for you to read through. Maybe they will help you with your decisions.

http://www.hadbai.co.uk/hysterectomy.htm

http://thomasllyons.com/publications/supra.htm

http://www.wchm.org.au/hyster.htm

http://drn4u.com/askdr.htm

http://www.wdxcyber.com/mhyst.htm

By the way, I don`t believe you mentioned the reason for your surgery. I have lots of information on the different cause for a hyst, too, if you would like some additional info!

I fully understand your panic for information! I hope some of this helps. Feel free to post any other questions or concerns.

And you are so right! This is the best place!

{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}

kaatie

Thanks for your reply. Cruised a few of the links, and am still so confused! I got on the subject in the first place by asking my doctor if she had to remove my cervix. I think it is part of and perhaps important to the pleasurable sensations I feel up to and including orgasm. I have asked my hubby to help me with a few experiments to see whether that is in fact true. Unfortunately, he went to sleep while I read everything in the Hormone Jungle.

My hyst was scheduled after the birth control I was taking to control bleeding quit working for that purpose. I started a period on February 2 and basically have been bleeding ever since up to last Thursday. Massive doses of bc (three or four a day) stop it, but it's worse when I try to wean off. Dr sent me for ultrasound and there was a "large" fibroid which hadn't been there three years ago. Also several smaller. Didn't know to ask size, will at pre-op on Monday. Also polyps revealed by endometrial biopsy. We had been discussing endometrial ablation, but fibroids put an end to that. At that point, had been bleeding for only six weeks and was already considering either murder or suicide. When she said hysterectomy, I said "I'm free tomorrow." But the long wait, due to her schedule, allowed me to start having concerns, chiefly over sexual response and side effects of HRT. Didn't think to use the net for research until today. Maybe I've had that brain fog that people talk about since stopping the Pill. We have no idea whether I'm menopausal--too much bc!

Oh-yes, she did recommend ovary removal. Gave me the choice, but said they generally recommend it at my age.

Can't seem to keep it short--I have had no one to talk too, hubby is sympathetic but can't relate. All the women in my office are too young to know anything, and my lifelong friends are out of town. Thank you for being there!

Dear Cheri,

If you have no history of ovarian cancer in your family, and your ovaries are healthy, you may want to consider keeping them. They will continue to dribble out good stuff for your bones, eyes, heart, skin, etc. even after menopause.

If you keep the cervix, the surgery would be abdominal or laparascopic-assisted to remove the uterus (and ovaries, depending on your decision). The type of surgery you have will depend on your symptoms AND your doc's level of surgical skills. Realistically, any of the less-invasive surgeries could turn into abdominal surgery depending on what transpires in the O.R.

Keep reading & posting... get smart about your symptoms & options, and make the best choice for YOU.

Sending cyberhugs

I am 51. I work with alot of younger women also. Even the few near my age have not had this surgery. I really understand that need to talk and not have anyone close to you that understands. That is why I am now joined at the hip to Hystersisters!

Here is a link on fibroids for you!

http://thefibroidplace.com/

I hope this helps you! I do hope you read that first link in the above post about ovary preservation.

Any questions...we will try to help you! Don`t worry about the length of your posts, Cheri. We all need to talk and this is the best place to do it because there are so many wonderful and supportive women here who have faced the same decisions you are now facing.

{{{{{{{{{{big hugs}}}}}}}}

kaatie

Cheri, there must be instances of SAH with BSO, but I don't imagine it's very common. I think the majority of women choose to hang on to their ovaries if they have an option. I had an SAH in 1990, retaining both ovaries. Prior to surgery I had asked my GYN about preserving the cervix, but he said that type of procedure was no longer carried out. Because he was performing the hysterectomy under duress, I didn't argue. (His view was that I didn't need surgery - that I couldn't be experiencing the pain I described, as fibroids didn't cause pain, only bleeding, and they would shrink after menopause). My uterus had always been majorly involved in orgasm and I had hoped to retain a remnant of that facility in the cervix. However, I agreed to a TAH rather than no surgery at all. For eighteen months my abdomen had been so swollen and sore that I couldn't stand any pressure on it - having my young daughters on my lap was an impossibility. Every urination and bowel movement was torture, and I bled intermittently for 21 days out of 29.

It turned out that fibroids were the least of my problems. There was also an enormous cyst in the wall of the uterus, much larger than the uterus and fibroids combined. My bladder had become involved with the cyst, and was badly damaged with a drastically reduced capacity. The whole shebang had adhered to the pelvic cavity and was restricting bowel function. When the main body of the uterus was excised I began to haemorrhage. My GYN decided to leave the cervix in place to reduce further blood loss and to serve as a support for what remained of the bladder. When I came round from the anaesthetic, I had the considerable satisfaction of receiving an apology from him. He said it was the most exhausting surgery he had ever performed and he realized that I must have been in extreme discomfort for a long time. For the remainder of my 15 day stay in hospital I experienced his best bedside manner during twice-daily visits. I needed massive transfusions, especially as the stitching to the cervix ruptured on the second day, causing a further bleed. A catheter was left in place for 13 days to give my bladder a good chance to heal. Fortunately, the pathology on the cyst showed no malignancy, and by the time I was allowed to go home I felt well on the way to recovery. The GYN (a professor) asked if he could keep my uterus for the education of his students. Presumably it's sitting in a jar somewhere - perhaps being exclaimed over at this very moment by awed young medics.

Apologies for so much digression, but you did ask for a story. I've never written this down before. It's been quite cathartic.

In common with some of the other sisters, I would recommend that you keep your ovaries if at all possible. You're around menopause age and they may begin to shut down after surgery in any case, but I think we princesses should attempt to squeeze every last drop of natural goodness out of them while we can. JMHO. My hysterectomy incision was horizontal. Despite his diagnostic failings, my GYN is a first-rate surgeon and he did a wonderful cosmetic job on my tum, completely erasing heavy scarring from two c-sections. All I have now is a barely visible white line hidden beneath my pubes. I'm pleased I got to keep my cervix. Before surgery, when my uterus was so enlarged, the sensation in orgasm was much greater - to the point of pain towards the end. But I still get sufficient sensation in the cervix. If I'd lost it, I like to think that other erogenous zones would have taken over - it seems that this can and does happen. But I'm glad things turned out the way I'd hoped. I'm a grandmother, too, and I say let's shake it while we've got it! Good luck to you. Sue (another long-winded sister!)

Thanks, ladies. After mullling things over, I think I'll go for keeping the cervix and ask my dr to evaluate the health of the ovaries before removing. I'll trust her judgement on that. I know there is a place on one where a large cyst ruptured. Don't know whether that is considered unhealthy or not. Six days to go, and I'm feeling more comfortable with my options. Now to battle for accurate HRT if needed! I think I'll go over to the pre-op board now and try to offer moral support to some of those ladies. Thanks again, and hugs back to ya!

Dear cmerzut,

I would definitely opt to keep the ovaries. Although my doctor tells me that my ovaries were badly scarred, they were still functioning QUITE WELL when he decided to remove them. I had no symptoms of menopause at 44, and still had a healthy, very strong sex drive.

Now, my life is a mess, and I'm on my third doctor in three and a half years. I REGRET, REGRET, REGRET having ever signed a consent form allowing him to remove my ovaries. If I could do it again, I would only consent to having my ovaries removed if I had PROVEN ovarian cancer.

I am convinced that many more women suffer in silence than we know about. Take me, for an example. I've told ONE good friend of my on-going problems. Sure I joked about the hot flashes and poor memory, but no one knows about the effects on my intimate life except for this friend. It's just not a topic that's easily discussed, and I'm not shy. Actually, I tried discussing this in a women's bible study once, but I think I embarrassed a few women, so I dropped it.

Best wishes. This is an life altering decision that you can't take back. Hysterectomies can be life savers for the right women, but it can also be life wreckers.