hysterectomy at a young age

[evedawn]

I'm in my mid thirties and have been told i should consider a hysterectomy due to ongoing endometriosis, (tried so many treatmentsw over the years). I'm interested to find out from anyone else who has had a hysterectomy at a youngish age what they felt the advantages and disavatages were. thanks ya'all

[shaneystar2]

Welll...if you have completed your family ( I'm only guessing you have children :) then I would go for it .I had a hysterectomy when I was 38 .Best days work I ever did . I had fibroids and in spite of three D&C's back they came and I was walking about losing my lifes blood for weeks at a time so to speak .Mind you this was over twenty years ago.
It was a vacuum job and they left the ovaries .I went through an early menopause ,but then all women have to go through it at some stage :)
Advantages ..you get your life ( and sex lfe) back and feel so much better.
Disadvantages ..none really .Just had to take it easy for a while ,no lifting grand pianos etc :)
Good luck in whatever you decide to do .

[evedawn]

thanks shaney. soemthing to really consider. I am more worried about things like long term osteoporosis etc. \i don't have children - the bad endometrios scuppered any of those plans...but I have made my pease with that and am content to not have children.

[evedawn]

that should read "made my PEACE" not pease...spelling atrocious today.

How long were you off work after op (or if you were not working in "formal" emplyment - how long until you could go about your daily activities with kids, driving, housework etc? How long did the menopausal symptoms last. Thanks shaney

[shaneystar2]

Hi again evedawn
I was off work for three months .Can't drive so that wasn't a problem .I just sort of eased myself back into daily life really and I felt fine after about a month . I was lucky in the fact that I went private .Perk of my husbands job at the time. I was also very lucky to have my in laws there when I came home and they were great . My mum in law was a real support to me . .Sadly they are both gone now :(
Difficult to say with the menopause .To be honest I'm 61 now and still get the odd hot flush :) I suppose I sort of drifted through it . Hot flushes ,mood swings really. There's no sort of start and cut off point .I was on HRT for a while so that helped .
As for the osteo stuff .I have osteoarthritis and a high rheumatoid factor but I don't think for one moment this was the result of having an early hysterectomy .Some may argue otherwise but you can't see what the future holds and at the time it was the best solution for me .I just didn't want to go on and on like that for weeks at a time .

[evedawn]

thanks shaney - how great that you had a good support base. all my family (except my husband) live in south africa :-( But...my husband would be very supportive I am sure...(he's great) I'm seriously thinking this is the way to go...like you said yourself you just didn't wanna go on for weeks at a time...the endometriosis pain sometimes is just soooooooo bad

thaks alot for your opinion...it's given me something to think about...

[sara3]

my sister had a hysterectomy a couple of years ago, although she was about 46. she lives in Australia and flew over about 3 weeks later. she made a remarkable recovery and was pretty much herself after about 6 weeks. she says it's the best thing she's ever done.

best of luck.

[evedawn]

thankls sara - interesting your sis flew after 3 wqeeks...cos i was thinking of asking the dr (IF i decide to have it done) if i could fly to my parents aout two weeks after.... thanks a bunch

[shaneystar2]

Whatever you decide to do evedawn I wish you all the best .Talk it over with hubby and your GP and if you have a Practice Nurse they are usually very good with these sort of womens problems .And there is lots of info here .

http://www.nhsayrshir...tem.aspx?item_id=4558

Good luck and take care

[auzzie]

I had a hysterectomy at 34. Got back to work after two weeks (Got totally bored & it was a desk job). Felt fine no real problems. Have noticed that where my scar line is very numb even now at some 13 years later. It doesn't bother me. It was strange because for the first year i had HRT implants, then patches (useless for me, kept coming off) and then tablets. I am not very good at remembering to take tablets and therefore it has been very hit or miss as to whether i take them on a regular basis. I was told that i would only need to take them for 10 years, this is not true. I stopped taking HRT at about the 4th year, had no symptons of the menopause even though i had a total hysterectomy. I had advised my doctor of this who didn't think that it was a major problem. Then just after 10 years i was getting severe menopause symptoms. I really didn't want to go back onto HRT but i ended up having to. After another couple i years i tried to wean back off the HRT but i started to lose blood. only very slight. After seeing my gynaecologist he told me it was due to lack of hormones that the inside was very sore. As my scar is still very numb i did not feel any pain which he thought was odd. So i was not sure how long this had been going on. Having said all that, i was so glad i had it done. Years of almost weekly heavy bleeds and fibroids are long gone, thank god. Every body is different and you can never tell how things are going to go. Its a decision only you/your partner can make. Good luck x

[Naomicorlett]

I had one at 38 and have absolutely no regrets. My ovaries were left so had menopause at normal age and am so glad that I had op when I did as I see all my friends going thro miseries of flooding and never knowing when or where a period will start not to mention the pregnacy scares some have had !! I had op in the June and moved twice in the next year with 3 young children ( oh and a husband !) I agree with Shaney best days work I ever had done to me !

[tamirra]

Hi evedawn, i had a hysterectomy at 25, i had two children by then, they decided to do one due to bleeding heavily, also bleeding after intercourse and also painful sex. I never really found out what the actual reason was for the hysterectomy until a few years ago when i asked, all the told me at the time was i had no fybroids, or anything cancerous, they left my ovaries in to see if they would carry on producing but they didnt, which resulted in another operation to remove them, i was put onto h.r.t and have been on it ever since, for me it was a bad decision and one i shall regret for the rest of my life, ok i dont get periods anymore but i wish i did, i used to love having intercourse with my husband, that went out the window and still not returned, i am 44 now ans sex is non exsistant, at the end of the day the choice is yours but to be honest mine was a huge mistake, but i think yours is an operation that is needed, but do talk to the doctor before you decide. I did find out why i had one and what they found, which was my spine was fused to my womb so i would never have been able to have anymore children as it was. Good luck in what you do decide. xxxx

[DEN53]

Hi evedawn - I had a hysterectomy at the age of 42 because of endometriosis and a large fibroid. The pain every month was getting worse, the GP never took me seriously and just kept prescribing painkillers. I went private and had a laporoscopy which confirmed endometriosis. One of my ovaries was completely covered in old scarring and also my gut wall. I had this for years and always thought it was just painful periods. I could'nt conceive but at the age of 35 fell pregnant with my son.

I had one ovary left in place, as it was quite healthy. The hysterectomy was the best thing I had done - I was so pleased to get rid of periods. They had ruled my life for so long, all through teenage years and beyond.

The only downside was when I came out of hospital, I was prescribed Co-dydromol tablets for the pain, I never realised they caused constipation. To cut a long story short, I now have irritable bowel syndrome because of that episode.

I also do have osteoporosis, but not because of the hysterectomy but an overactive thyroid from the age of 10 - had that removed 4 years ago, but unfortunately the damage is done now.

After my hysterectomy, I did telephone counselling for the Women's Health Organisation.

What I would say, is, if you go ahead with the op, the 6 week recovery period is only a guideline - some women take longer to fully recover. When I did the counselling, the amount of women I spoke to who felt a failure because they were not jumping around after six weeks. It was lovely to hear the relief in their voices when being reassured (something unfortunately Doctors fail at ).

I never regret having the op what I do regret is that I didn't have it sooner.

I wish you well evedawn, and hope this has helped a little.

Love Denise xx

[evedawn]

thank you ALL for your VERY helpful replies. I'm sorry I did not reply soponer - i've hardly had a chance tog et onto AB again until tonight. I have my gynae appt 23rd Nov...will go armed with some of theknowledge you have shared...thanks again