Hysterectomy - No Children

Chancydoll

Hi All,
My mother is 56 and she is probably going to be having a hysterectomy.
She has very low iron and the doctors cannot figure out why. They did a D&C yesterday and they told her the lining of her womb is very thick and abnormal. She will not receive the results for 6 weeks. She still has periods.
I am going to go with her when the results come back to meet the doctor.
Is there anything i need to be aware of?
What questions should i ask?
Is there a centre of excellence for this procedure?
Is there a particular surgeon i should be looking for to perform this procedure?
All help and advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Valerie

TheStickyBandit

These are common practice these days and therefore you shouldn't have to worry too much!

Morag

Why are the looking to take her womb out?
There are other options to thin it, are they just being lazy and assuming she will be hitting menapause soon and sure lets just take it out?

I would suggest you and your mother do as much research as possible and weigh up the pros and cons of having it removed.

http://www.hystersisters.com/

Neyite

TheStickyBandit wrote: »

These are common practice these days and therefore you shouldn't have to worry too much!

True, however its still major abdominal surgery, with a lengthly recovery time, plus if they remove ovaries, the woman is hit with a menopause into the bargain at the same time as recovery from surgery.

It makes sense to research it as much as possible, including recovery time, surgeons, alternatives to surgery. The link Sharrow put in is a good start.

Dave147

My mother had a Hysterectomy 5 years ago and she feels like they caught her spinal cord as she has been having horrific back problems and spasms ever since. There is no comeback and no proof so just be aware that these things can happen, so be very vigilant with who does the procedure and if you have any doubts try and go somewhere else, it breaks my heart when I see my mother crying in pain and its not her fault.

LegacyUser

I'm in my mid-thirties and have been advised to have a full hysterectomy. I've visited numerous gynaes, so its not a decision I've taken lightly. I don't have any children and think I have dealt with that element through counselling, but I am worried about the after effects of surgery. I've read posts where intercourse isn't the same afterwards and am worried about the effect it will have on the rest of my body. All help and advice appreciated. Also it would be great to hear from other women, esp those that didn't have children either. Thank you.

tatumkelly

Esther35 wrote: »

I'm in my mid-thirties and have been advised to have a full hysterectomy. I've visited numerous gynaes, so its not a decision I've taken lightly. I don't have any children and think I have dealt with that element through counselling, but I am worried about the after effects of surgery. I've read posts where intercourse isn't the same afterwards and am worried about the effect it will have on the rest of my body. All help and advice appreciated. Also it would be great to hear from other women, esp those that didn't have children either. Thank you.

Hi Esther,

You don't mention the reasons around your decision, but I'm sure it's not one you have taken lightly.

I don't know much about the side effects etc, but my only advice is that if even a small part of you would like to have children, and the surgery is avoidable, then hold off.

I know of 2 women who were told that they would never ever have children, and were advised to have a hysterectomy by different gynaes.... they both have children now and are so thankful they followed their instincts.

I know this isn't exactly what you were asking, but I felt it might be useful if it inspires even a little bit of hope in you.

Best of luck

LegacyUser

Thank you for the reply. I definitely can't have children and have accepted that. Its is upsetting some days, but its the card I've been dealt. Its the surgery I'm dreading to be honest. All advice appreciated. Thank you.

noddyone2

My wife has a fibroid, it was touch and go about having a hysterectomy or not. She's well beyond child-bearing age, but here's what we learned, hope it's of use: No work of any sort for about 6 weeks - not even to push a supermarket trolley. If you can, talk to other women who've had it. Visit the site Hystersisters, it's an American support site, free to sign up for a newsletter. You'll come across lots of stuff on the web about herbal remedies etc. Consensus seems to be that they're of very limited use. best wishes.

noddyone2

I've posted on another question regarding hysterectomies. If you can't find it, PM me.

ElleEm

My mother had a hysterectomy in her early forties (about 15 yrs ago) after having all her children.
The recovery was very difficult for her as you really can't do much at all.
She was in hospital for a couple of weeks and was in bed at home then for about two weeks.
The only thing I can think of that she had a problem with, was for whatever reason, they left her with her ovaries.
She went through a partial menopause at the time, but every month since, still had PMT due to her still having her ovaries. She's going through the real menopause now.
Ask questions around whether they are taking everything out, earlt menopause, whether you will still have to have smear tests etc.
Good luck x

Ickle Magoo

Ladies, to save posters posting in both threads - or constantly directing you from one thread to the other, I've merged.

Hope you get some good advice.

All the very best.

Lainey89

Hi all,
My mother had a radical hysterectomy due to severe endometriosis 12 years ago at the age of 44 and has not looked back since, A radical hysterectomy involves the removal of both ovaries, womb and cervix and is an uncommon procedure. Most hysterectomy just involve the removal of the womb, thus leaving the ovaries so you dont go into menopause.

My mother was put on HRT straight away and was on it for around 5-10 years as far as I can remember. She never had any problems with it, in fact a lot of her friends are going through the menopause now and seem to be having a worse time of it. The operation takes min 6 weeks to recover from and the scar that my mam has would be similar to a C-section scar. I remember she had someone in to do the house work and ironing for awhile after.

Howeve I do believe it can now be done lapriscopicly which is a number of small holes, and also thru the vagina (sorry if this is tmi!) I would bring a list of questions with you the next time you go see your gyny so you remember exactly what you want to ask.

If anyone else has endometriosis there is an imformative thread over in the Long term lllness section, and alot of the women there have had surgeries so that might be of help to people here

LegacyUser

Thank you so much for all you advice. Lainey it is a radical hysterectomy that I'm having too. Everything and cervix too. The gynae has advd me I will go on HRT straight away. Did your Mum wean off the HRT or did she decide herself to just come off it? Also, if you don't mind me asking, did she still have to have smear tests? I really hope this operation sorts everything. Thank you for the recommedation of hister sisters. Very good.

Joey the lips

My mom had a hysterectomy and went straight into the menopause. This was the hardest thing for her. This is perhaps something you need to ask about.

Snoopy1

My mum had a emergency hysterectomy in a Portuguese hospital 16 years ago.
They didn't remover her ovaries so she still got raging pmt , and she said because she never got a period , there was no release from the pmt.
Didnt help that when my dad visited her he fainted, and smacked his head. So I had to go an visit both parents in a foreign hospital

Lainey89

Esther35 wrote: »

Thank you so much for all you advice. Lainey it is a radical hysterectomy that I'm having too. Everything and cervix too. The gynae has advd me I will go on HRT straight away. Did your Mum wean off the HRT or did she decide herself to just come off it? Also, if you don't mind me asking, did she still have to have smear tests? I really hope this operation sorts everything. Thank you for the recommedation of hister sisters. Very good.

Hi Esther,
just asked her about it there and she was on HRT for 6 years so she would have started to wind it down at around 50 years of age. She was on a HRT patch that you just stick to your thigh. She never had any PMT or hormonal symptons, but she also never had PMT before the operation. I think that is something that varies from person to person. Also she doesnt think you have to have smears anymore as you dont have a cervix, but I'd check with your gyny.

LegacyUser

Thank you for your replies. Snoopy thats a funny story with your Dad. Gave me a bit of a laugh with all these thoughts rambling round my head. We'll all have to go through menopause eventually anyway, so will get it out of the way earlier than most. Thanks Lainey for checking with your Mum. I really appreciate it. I have lots of questions for the gynae before the operation. Would love to meet younger people who've been through same. Any out there??? Thanks. Esther.

noddyone2

Referring to my previous posts:Forgot to say: Our GP referred my wife to the hospital for a consultation, the consultant said 'get the whole lot out, what do you need them for?' (Because of her age - 57 then)Back to the GP, who made an appointment with another consultant (private), who was kind and talked both of us through the whole thing. Advised that if it was his wife, he wouldn't recommend an operation, told her have a check-up done every 2 years for any changes.

karen89

Hi, I am 44 and had a hysterectomy 6 years ago and i have to say it was the best thing i ever did, but i did make one mistake i should have insisted that my ovaries were removed at the same time cos i ended up hveing more surgery 2 years later to have them removed because of ovarien pain! yes, you are suppose to take it easy for 6 weeks but i had 3 kids to look after and that wasnt an option, no offence ladies but i think a lot of people just sit on their backsides and use any excuse to do nothing after any type of surgery, i have had 12 surgeries in the past and just get on with it, no point in complaining - everybody has their own problems! so if you decide to have the surgery, yes the first week after is sore but after that dont do anything stupid but get on with your life and live it!

LegacyUser

Thanks Karen89. You've been through the mill with 12 surgeries. How are you feeling now?Did you have much scarring (adhesions) due to the surgeries? If you don't mind me asking, who did your final surgery-was it in Dublin? This will be my 6th I think and hopefully my last. Fed up of it all. Did you have the cervix removed too? How are you managing with Menopause? Have you been on HRT since you had the ovaries removed? I have new questions every day. Have to have adhesions worked on too. He seems to be thinking they are affecting my bowel. I like your attitude. I'm taking the 6wks off work, but aim to be out walking after the 2nd hopefully.

dedede

Hi there I am 34 and I had my womb out 3 years ago I had a lot of problems since I had that done I ended up having to get my right ovaries out 2 years ago, then a year ago my left one. When you’re told you have to get your womb out they don’t tell you about how you will feel after would. Mentally and emotionally it is very hard. I went true depression and feeling like I wasn’t a women as my wombs was gone and having 7 or 8 operations after my womb went didn’t help .I have 4 kids ,even if you don’t want more kids the choice is took away from you. I’m fine now. I am on hrt and going true hell trying to find the right tablet that suits me. I would say to people that have to get there womb removed, makes sure you have tried everything before doing it. I had to have mine out I didn’t have a choice.

karen89

sorry, to hear you had such a difficult time, but it sounds like you didnt give it too much thought beforehand or that you didnt have much choice in the matter. I think an awful lot of the problems that people have after the surgery, whether mental or physical, are down to attitude and frame of mind going into the surgery, anyone going through extreme pain prior to surgery will be well able to put up with the discomfort of after surgery pain. I too, ended up having overies removed 2 years after surgery and then had surgery for fibroids 2 years after that, but so what, anything is better than what i went through before the hysterectomy!

Heather21

Decede sorry to hear that you werent well after the hysterectomy. Can I ask, why did they remove your womb and what trouble did you have afterwards that prompted the surgeon to then remove your ovaries? Did you talk to a counsellor after all that you've been through? Maybe a bereavement counsellor might help. After all it is a loss and some people might find it harder than others to accept. Hope your doin ok now and the hrt will start working soon. How long will you have to stay on it for?

Nools

I have heard very good things about a <snip> Surgeon in Vincent's hospital, two ladies I know have gone to her for a hyster. and have reported that her incisions are tiny and they can walk about after a week or so, which I know is unheard of as my Mam had one about 7 years ago. I cant remember her name but she should be easy to find.

Chancydoll

Hi all,

Thanks for all replies.
Only getting back to this now as my mother is booked in for the end of the month.

Why would you gave more than one surgery?
Also did anyone discover the name of <snip> surgeon in vincents?

Thanks

Fluorescence

Sorry Chanceydoll, but naming doctors in clinics is prohibited. Identifying traits removed