Considering LSH-Need help making choices

I am 45 and have had years of problems with cysts, fibroids, exceptionally heavy bleeding, etc. I think I am ready to have surgery and am strongly considering the Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy. I have many adhesions from c-sections, family history of ovarian cancer and colon cancer. I am trying to decide if the surgery will be problematic because of the adhesions and if I should have my ovaries removed because of family cancer history. I would love to hear from anyone that has had similar problems and what your choices were. Thanks.

Hi Charlie63,

I was 46 when I had my LSH for two large fibroids. That was 4 1/2 yrs ago now and my LSH is still one of the best things I ever did for my quality of life.

In my case, I chose to keep my ovaries since they were healthy and ovarian cancer does not run in my family. I am sure in discussions with your Dr. you will make the right decision for yourself on that.

My younger sister had a LSH last year for reoccurring fibroids. She had an abdominal myomectomy several years ago for a grapefruit-sized fibroid and then she went on to have my two nieces via c-section.

In the end...just do what is *best* for you.

Sending best wishes~

Mary

Hi there Charlie63 &

We are so very glad to have you here, and want you to know that we are all here to support you throughout your journey. I wanted to share a little bit about myself, as Mary did, and then also provide you with some information and links to explore on the website.

I was 43 when I had my LSH with removal of both ovaries and an appendectomy in June of this year--I too had problems with heavy bleeding lasting 17-20 days a month, and in the few months prior to my surgery I began having cycles back-to-back, with only about 3 days in between. My doctor suspected adenomyosis in my case, and this was confirmed upon pathology after my surgery.

As for the removal of my ovaries, that was not an easy decision, because I am unable to take hormone replacement therapy due to a history of bilateral pulmonary emboli. However, I had a long history of recurrent ovarian cysts, and many of them were of the hemorrhagic cystic mass variety (right ovary worse than left). These cysts eventually would reabsorb or rupture, and when they ruptured, it caused a great deal of back pain (rather atypical, not pelvic pain). Due to the suspicious nature of the cysts, however, it was agreed that removal of both ovaries was in my best interest. My doc(s) never did do a CA-125 for me, feeling that it would be positive for perhaps other autoimmune reasons, thus alarming me.

Now, in your situation: you need to have a good, long talk with your doctor and weigh your options carefully. If you do not feel satisfied with the answers, there is nothing wrong with seeking another opinion. Due to your family history and current situation, you have many factors to consider. Please do gather all the info you feel is necessary and write out a list of questions to go over with your doctor (I know that when I go to any doctor, I freeze up and forget things!)

I would like to share with you, and encorage you to read through a couple of sections of the website, if you have not already done so. The first is our pre-op resources, which contains a wealth of information, including two articles about whether or not to keep your ovaries:

Pre-Op Resources

The next is a link to the hysterectomy options:

Hysterectomy Options

Please do keep us posted, and please feel free to ask all the questions that you need to--if indeed you decide on surgery, I would encourage you to add all of the information to your profile, including the surgery date, then post in the pre-op forum of the website.

We look forward to hearing more from you, and I wish you the absolute best in this decision-making process. Please take care.

Sincerely, Trish

Thank you to everyone who responded to me. Unfortunately, I am having a very difficult time navigating this site and it is taking too much time to locate my message, replies, etc. Therefore, I think I'm going to stay off of it. I do appreciate the help of those who responded. Good luck to everyone.