Friend encourages me to have hysterectomy

Hello everyone! My name is Pauline, and I am almost 49 years old. I have been going through peri-menopausal symtoms for years now, but just recently they are getting worse.

Some of them are: night sweats, total misery , heavy bleeding, bleeding closer together, longer periods. I also suffer from Lupus, so sometimes I am not sure where the symptoms are coming from. I get nauseau, joint pain, being agitated, depression, ........you get the picture!!!

I was talking to my friend who encourages me to get it all out!!! She has had a hysterectomy and says she feels 90% better. I asked her what were her reasons for getting it done. She said she was fed up. She didn't have fibriods or cysts or anything abnormal. Just the symptoms and she had it done.

Has anyone else on this forum had it done for those reasons? Is it even healthy to do that?

I have had 5 ultrasounds in the past two months and they aren't sure what they see. The technician said it could be polyps or something like that. I guess my lining is pretty thick each time they look. They say come in after your period and I do!!! But they still want me to get it done again. I say no way.....

In the past I have had cysts that come and go on my ovary. I have a prolasped uterus, and have suffered anemia from I assume is the heavy bleeding during my periods. I also get lots of clotting.

I was wondering what were some of your reasons for getting a hysterectomy? Have any of you had it done just because of the intense sypmtoms?

Thanks for your support and help in this matter.

Hi Pauline,

I was 46 when I had my LSH for fibroids. The big question you might ask yourself is "what is your quality of life??"" with heavy periods, cysts, anemia and a prolapsed uterus.

A hyst is major surgery - that is a given. And, it is generally an elective surgery also. That all being said, if a hyst might improve your quality of life, I say why not, book an appointment with your Dr. and discuss having a hyst. It doesn't mean you would absolutely go ahead and do it. And you may. It just sounds like from your reply, you are interested in researching it.

Sending best wishes~

Mary

My doctor told women have two responses which are to just take it all or to work out a solution that they can live with. Some who want it gone do so at the first signal of issues while others like me did something else first. I guess my point is to weigh your options and decide for you. I am not sorry I did an ablation first and still had the TAH later because it was the best decision at the time FOR ME!

I would carefully weigh my options... what works for her may not work for you. A hysterectomy is a major surgery and if you read the posts, it seems that some are happy that they did the surgery while others are not. I would also make sure with your doctor to see if it's a medical necessity for insurance purposes. Good luck with your decision!

Has your dr suggested going in with a laparoscope and seeing what s/he's dealing with first? A hyst a major and permanent surgery. I had mine because of the pain, anemia, bleeding, my quality of life was rapidly deteriorating. I've tried ablation, drug therapies, and just plain dealing with it. I was a young woman in an old ladies body. I had 5 years of documentation and suffering before I finally found a dr who took me seriously and asked, "When do you want to schedule surgery?" after my first appointment with him. I faxed all my medical records over before and he had a chance to see what was there...everything including the results of my previous ultra-sounds, endo-laprosopic exploratory surgery (where dr saw and noted all the endo, fibroids, and prolapsed uterus, fallen bladder, twisted ovaries, and "mushy" fallopian tubes...and said a total hyst was needed but I didn't have insurance and he didn't want a 28 year old to have to take hormones).
Make sure you know what is in there can help with determining what treatments are going to be good or if surgery is the best option.

Sorry for typos...eating while typing.

Becky

	Quote:
Originally Posted by historylady Hi Pauline, I was 46 when I had my LSH for fibroids. The big question you might ask yourself is "what is your quality of life??"" with heavy periods, cysts, anemia and a prolapsed uterus. Mary

Hi Mary

Thanks for your response. I guess the question" what is my quality of life is an important one, but a hard one to answer. I have two conditions here that cause me discomfort and problems. The prolapsed Uterus is not really giving me any problems I know of but I deal with so much sometimes I just block things out.

The anemia and bleeding is a pain and inconvenient at times. I don't work so I have the luxury of staying home when things get too much.

I will probably discuss this with my doctor. Thanks again.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by city My doctor told women have two responses which are to just take it all or to work out a solution that they can live with. Some who want it gone do so at the first signal of issues while others like me did something else first. I guess my point is to weigh your options and decide for you. I am not sorry I did an ablation first and still had the TAH later because it was the best decision at the time FOR ME!

Thanks for the advice city.......

	Quote:
Originally Posted by diverchick I would carefully weigh my options... what works for her may not work for you. A hysterectomy is a major surgery and if you read the posts, it seems that some are happy that they did the surgery while others are not. I would also make sure with your doctor to see if it's a medical necessity for insurance purposes. Good luck with your decision!

Hi Diverchick! Thanks for your reply. You are absolutely right regarding doing what works for me. Sometimes my friend makes me feel that my problems are my own fault because I am not doing anything about it, in her opinion.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Speckla Has your dr suggested going in with a laparoscope and seeing what s/he's dealing with first? Sorry for typos...eating while typing. Becky

Hi Becky, I definitely am going to talk to the doctor about this. The ultrasounds are not working, time to try another way. I'm not getting much help on their end, so it's time for me to take things in my own hands. Something I learned when I was diagnosed with Lupus.

Thanks for your help~