Wonderful Site!

Hi Weiser,

Talk about a small world! I grew up in Fresno! Had to go to the mountains for snow. I truly love it here now. Have been here in Idaho since 1973, Boise since 1980.
I am almost 53 and have pretty much already entered menopause, so I don't think there will be much difference. I am having this done due to frequent "flooding". It will be such a relief.
Thanks to you and all of the other sisters for all of their help and support.
I am literally glued to this site!

Regarding taking your cervix, you should make sure that your doctor is aware that there was just an announcement by Merck that a vaccine has been developed for two high risk strains of HPV. HPV is a virus that causes over 90% of cervical cancer. These two strains cause about 70% of cervical cancer.

Thus, you should get tested for HPV before making your decision. If you don't have HPV, your risk of getting cervical cancer is very small now, and will be very, very minimal once the vaccine becomes available (the relationship of HPV to Cervical Cancer is somewhat like the relationship of HIV to AIDS: if you don't have HPV, then you are unlikely to get cervical cancer, and a vaccine for most HPV makes it very unlikely that you will get cervical cancer).

I'm not in favor of taking healthy organs- there is evidence that keeping the cervix aids in pelvic support and sexual functioning (preventing vaginal dryness in particular). Thus, with this great news in the last few days that there is a vaccine for HPV, and thus a much reduced chance of getting cervical cancer if you don't have HPV, you should seriously consider keeping your cervix.

As to whether you will have "mini" periods: as I understand it, most women who keep their cervix do not have mini periods- I had a hysterectomy in May and have not had a drop of blood since, and that seems to be typical of most women who keep their cervix.

Please think carefully about your reasons to take your cervix. The two procedures to keep your cervix are LSH (Laparoscopic SupraCervical Hysterectomy), and SAH (Subtotal Abdominal Hysterectomy). The "S" stands for supracervical or subtotal, both of which mean that you keep your cervix.

The cervix is technically part of the uterus, but it is the tube-shaped organ at the bottom of the uterus that connects it to the vagina. Thus keeping it means that you have a closure at the top of the vagina, and thus may aid in sex feeling the same as before, and also in preventing vaginal cuff problems.

Thus, the crucial question in taking your cervix should be: do you have any of the high-risk strains of HPV? You can get tested for this, and should before making the final decision of whether to remove your cervix.

The two procedures that keep the cervix are LSH and SAH. If you don't have HPV, then your risks for getting cervical cancer are very, very small. Thus you should carefully consider why you would want to remove a healthy organ. A cervix can be cauterized at the top, which would lead to a very low probability of any bleeding at all.

-Torrie