considering hyster...

Hi all, I was just wanting a little suport. I have been dealing with irregular periods, lots of pain ect. for the last year. In Jan. I finally got on insurance and went to dr. and after telling Dr. about month long periods ect she sent me to a specialist. He found that I have endometriosis and cysts on my ovaries. He then said that they would check on it in 2 months. I went back in for another ultrasound and found no change except that of my hormones sending me through the roof. He then put me on the pill thinking that would stop the endo from growing and help regulate periods and hormones. Well, after another month of hormones and major fights with the hubby I called back in and they put me on depression meds to combat it. Those did help but not with the bleeding. Here I am mid month and bleeding again. I called in complaining I cant take it and wish they would take it out. Their complaint is that I am 32. Anyway, after talking to Dr. I have the option of trying a new birth control, Depropavara, or a hysterectomy. I opted to discuss with him taking it out. I was just wondering all your thoughts on this. I know your not Dr.s but what would you do in my case. I'm freaked out, tired of bleeding, and thinking I'm taking the easy way out. I have 2 kids and my hubby is fixed and dont plan on anymore.....whats the use of it being there? Also if he didn't think it might be necessary he wouldnt perform the surgery....right? I guess I'm also worried that I put it in his head and he's doing it to appease me. Thanks

I know exactly what you mean. At first I felt kind of guilty like you said feeling like I was taking the easy way out. I too have struggled with the idea that a hyst. was not necessary and that I was just being a big baby. But after researching and learning more about my situation and knowing it isn't going to get any better for me, I feel that now is the time to take of this. I am young to 33, have three kids and my hubby is fixed to and he supports my decision. thank goodness! I have a lot of friends though that seem to think hysts. are for older women who are falling apart. That's why I have elected to only tell those who would understand. I have confided more in my sisters here at this site than many of my friends and family members. Hope you will get the same feeling of understanding from the fellow sisters! Hang in there the answer will come!!

Hi there, after I was scheduled (my decision) to have my hysterectomy I felt like my problems weren't bad enough for surgery but after posting about this and reading the replies I feel a lot better about it. I am 44 and have been dealing with a lot of the same things for "only" a few months now and can't wait to have my surgery. I can understand the part about your age but you have to live with what is going on with your body and what you do or don't do. I won't know if endometerosis is there or not until afterwards, but my Dr. suspects we will find adenomyosis.

As these wonderful ladies have put it to me is we all have as many different reasons to do this as there are wonderful ladies. Go talk to your Dr. about it and see how you feel after your appointment and if you decide to have this done then read, read and read some more, there is a lot of really good information in here.

I just started my period today (last one I will ever have I might add) and just about as much pain as last month. There is something going on in there because I have never had periods like this before and I don't want whatever it is to go on any longer than it has to and turn into something else. This is of course my take on it but evidently my Dr. agrees with at least part of it. I trust him and I will never believe he would do surgery if he didn't really think I need it.

Hang in there and please let us know what you find out at your appointment or please feel free to PM me for further "chatting".

Take care
Jodi

I had a TAH, kept ovaries in Jan at 36 yrs old. My husband had a vascectomy after our last child was born, but I was taking BC pills to control the awful flow I had. Without BC pills I bled for 16 days. The first 3 days, I didn't leave the house and washed sheets every day. On BC pills I still had 2- 8 day periods each month if it quit at all, decently heavy, but not as horrible. Still way too much bleeding though. I was bleeding over half of the time. If I wasn't bleeding, I would get painful, itchy infections all the time because I wore pads 24-7. That is not how I wanted to live my life. I especially was concerned about taking BC pills until I hit menopause. I took them for 7 years before starting my family, and another 6 trying to control the persistant flow. Finally, my DR suggested a hysterectomy. I was excited, but scared of the unknown like you are now.
This is a fantastic web- site. I am so grateful that I still hang around, even though I don't need to be here anymore, to let others know about my success with my decision. The only issue I have almost 6 months post is swelly and it's getting slowly bettter each passing month.
I am so very happy I didn't chicken out. My friends didn't understand. My husband thought it was extreme. The only people who supported me whole-heartedly were other women who had it done and are happy with their outcomes. I personally knew of no one who regretted having it done. I personally knew a half dozen women who said it was the best thing they ever did. I agree with them. It is the best decision I have ever made.
I not only got rid of the bleeding, but I also got rid of my frequent migraines, monthly sugar cravings, itchy infections, pads, pills, edginess, bloating, and the list could go on. Intimacy is better than ever without all the female issues to work around. That was a big concern as I had a good sex life before and I didn't want to ruin that. Now I have a great sex life and that's an understatement!
I never imagined I'd feel this fantastic afterwards. I never realized how truely awful I felt all the time before. As women we just get used to it all. Bleeding, pain, discharge, infections, moodiness, ect. and so on. That is not the way women have to live their lives.
It is a long recovery, but so worth it. I enjoyed every minute or my 2 week vacation on the couch taking care of no one but me. I'm thinking of devoting every hysterversary of mine as the day I do absoulutly nothing. I deserve it. Everyone deserves the best quality of life they can possibly have. If you feel in your heart that you want a hysterectomy, go for it. Read up here as much as you can. The more you know the better prepared you'll be. I knew that I wanted an abdominal and that was my choice for personal reasons. I knew that I wanted my ovaries because of my age and that was a possibility for me. Do what you need to do to make you happy.
Good luck to you.

I too am an endo sufferer. I just turned thirty, have 2 kids, husband got fixed. After 17 years of endo, I am having a TAH/BSO
July 28. My biggest issue was getting soemone to do it at my age. I thought the same thing, I'm not using the equipment anyway. I am still on BC for the endo and my husband had his vasectomy 2 years ago. I have tried the Depo several times. It has worked well up until this latest flare-up. Have you discussed your endo with your dr? Did they do surgery to diagnose the endo? Were they able to remove most of it? Was it in places that were too hard to reach? Endo is a very problematic issue in that the severity of the pain does not always correlate to the severity of the disease. I've had my endo in places they weren't willing to burn off due to risk of complications, so I have never had a complete remission or total lapse in symptoms. That's why I think its important to check on your individual case to make the most imformed decision. Good luck.

My Dr. only saw the ovarian mass on the ultra soulnd. He assumes it endometriosis. That is another reason I want it out! I assume hes right but have read that they do need an biopsy to be for sure

I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm 32 with one child. I had my tubes tied shortly after he was born because of extreme complications with the pregnancy and delivery that would put me and future babies in a very high risk category. For the past 1 1/2 years, I have dealt with abnormal bleeding. It started out as a two week long period in Feb 2002. In August 2002 I bled for 5 weeks. Then in January 2003, I bled from the 18th of Jan through March 26th nonstop. The only reason it quit then was because I had a D&C done. I started bleeding again mid April. Got some pills at the beginning of June to make it stop, but it started again 2 days after I finished the pills. My dr told me that if the pills didn't work (I took them the first time in August to stop the bleeding), and the D&C didn't work, my last option was the TAH.

My final deciding factor that the TAH is indeed the right thing for me was when I realized how much the bleeding is controlling my life and it just seems to be getting worse as time goes on. Some days, I have been terrified of leaving the house for fear of a huge flood. If I was out somewhere and couldn't get to a bathroom immediately, it would be a disaster. I almost had to cancel a trip to San Diego that we had been planning for about 6 months because I was afraid of being out at Sea World or the zoo and not being able to find a bathroom quickly enough. My dr gave me the pills for the second time to make it stop so thankfully our vacation wasn't ruined.

Haing a hysterectomy may seem like the easy way out. I have weighed the pros and cons and have decided it is worth it to me. I want my life back. Like someone else mentioned, we get so used to putting up with the monthly mood swings, bleeding, cramping, bloating, etc., that we forget what it's like to not have to deal with it. I can only wonder at how much better I'll feel after the surgery.

Deciding if a hysterectomy is right for you or not is only a decision you alone can make. Talk to your dr, talk with others who have the procedure done to get differing viewpoints. Gather as much info as you can so you can make an informed choice. I am so thankful to have found hyster sisters..I have learned so much about what to expect and questions to ask.

My TAH is scheduled for July 7 so for me it's just a countdown from here on out.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Judy

I'm 35 with three kids and I had a TAH 31 March 2003 due to endo heavy bleeding and so on. Honestly you do know what you've been putting up with until you don't have to put up with it any more. Even when I was recovering in hospital I woke up and felt better I didn't even need pain meds. As my husband said if you can put up with this what were you going through before! I went back to full time work at 4 weeks. I'm back to playing sports and don't have to plan my life around my cycle anymore. I don't even have to know where every public toilet is! Only be afraid of the unknown. Read up as much as you can. This site is great. The only one who truly knows what is right for you is you. Life is here to be lived....Grab every day as a new opportunity. Don't put up with things that get you down do something about it. You might eventually decide a hysterectomy is not for you but at least you will have considered it and made a decision for yourself.