has anyone read books by Elizabeth Plourde

Just wondering if anyone has read books by Elizabeth Plourde? She sounds like she is very negative and scary. I like the hystersister book much more! What I am wondering is how many women have actually suffered from bowel incontinence? That sounds worse that just about anything else! Should I stop reading her stuff or just glean the good parts? I think I may pick up a few more books that were recomended on your webiste! thanks. sbuzz

Ms. Plourde had a very negative hysterectomy experience and her books reflect that. Personally, I think the best information you can get comes from the Hystersisters Checkpoints and from the message boards.

Thank you. That was what Iwas beginning to suspect. I agree that this site and info is wonderful! sbuzz

I have read her book and would recommend it to anyone contemplating "elective" hysterectomy. The studies she quotes are well documented. One should not go into "elective" surgery without being fully appraised of the risks. This quote comes from a frequent poster on this forum-Lucille- and I thought it rang very true and to the point regarding being fully informed, "you may be less likely to regret your decision, but not less likely to suffer long term health complications."

No one really likes to talk about these problems. Women who do are sometimes said to have a "bad attitude." I strongly disagree. A careful balance of risk vs benefit is a critical part of the decision to have surgery. I consider Elizabeth Ploude a strong advocate for full disclosure in the consent process.

Regarding the risk of incontinence-There are multiple studies that show hysterectomy as a risk factor for this problem. This is a long term problem thought to be related to nerve damage.