Life Before, During and After a Hysterectomy

I didn't want to be one of 'them.' I didn't want to become the one out of every three women in the United States to have a hysterectomy by the age of 60. Besides, I'm only in my 40's. So, when I went to my gynecologist with some heavy abnormal uterine bleeding, I told him, "I want to keep all my parts." At first, that was an option as there were several alternatives to having my uterus removed. In fact, after some discussion and research, it seemed that cryoablation was my best option; it would include freezing the lining of my uterus and, hopefully, eliminating the excessive bleeding and my severe anemia. However, after a vaginal ultrasound, a uterine fibroid was discovered plus a tumor in the wall of my uterus. Even before my doctor came back in for 'the talk,' I could feel a hysterectomy was in my future.

Leading up to my hysterectomy, I took massive doses of iron to try to combat the anemia and increase my hemoglobin. When it was checked in January, it was an 8-a normal level is 12. By April, it was only 8.5. The heavy bleeding was taking a real physical toll on me. Months before I had begun feeling tired. I thought it was age combined with lack of exercise, so I joined a gym. After a few months, I could no longer drag myself to the gym. It was all I could do to barely get through the workday. I found myself sleeping more and longer hours; and soon it became difficult to pull myself out of bed each morning. By now I was bleeding heavily almost every day of the month, even while taking birth control pills to try to stop, or at least slow down, the flow.

Two weeks before my scheduled surgery, I began experiencing some real pain in my abdomen. Now, I really didn't want to keep 'my parts'...I just wanted them out of there! Besides the pain, the size of my abdomen had increased over the past year and people were beginning to think I was pregnant. Something had to be done.

Leading up to the surgery, my gynecologist discussed the options with me. There were several procedures to choose from, vaginal, laparoscopy or the more traditional abdominal incision. Together we decided on laparoscopy with the understanding that, during surgery, he might have to incise my abdomen if he ran into any issues. The procedure I would be having is called Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy which indicates that my uterus would be removed but my cervix would remain intact.

I have to admit, laparoscopy is pretty cool. I read the pamphlet, looked it up on the Internet, and began to feel pretty good about it. By now I was physically so miserable I was glad there was an end to it all in sight. (That's saying a lot because normally, when it comes to surgical procedures, I'm a big chicken)!

Laparoscopic hysterectomy is a procedure that requires several small incisions. In my case, there was a cut on each side of my abdomen and one in my navel. The surgeon then inserted a camera attached to a telescope where he could view all the 'stuff' inside. The incision on my left was where he used instruments to take out my uterus, piece by piece. While this procedure requires skillful maneuvering on the surgeon's part, it offers a shorter recovery time for the patient. While I've read that some patients resume their normal activities after three weeks, it took me six weeks to really feel ready to go back to work, probably because of my poor physical condition due to the months of anemia.

During surgery, my uterus was removed along with my ovaries. In my case, a family member had had ovarian cancer plus I'd had some issues (cysts) with my ovaries in the past, so I made the decision to get rid of those 'parts', too, as I wouldn't be needing them. That procedure is called a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, which is just a fancy term for having both ovaries removed.

Now, in case you're considering this, realize that having all this 'stuff' removed threw me straight into menopause. Symptoms of menopause can be different for each of us. For me, it included dealing with hot flashes and night sweats. However, my choice is to combat those nasty little symptoms with soy supplements rather than HRT (hormone replacement therapy). After several months there's been a definite improvement. Plus, I keep a fan on at night and, until recently, kept an icepack nearby to combat those incessant flashes. Now that things are more under control and I'm getting a better night's rest, my life has certainly improved.

Interestingly, I had to continue taking iron supplements for several months after surgery, but, wow, what a difference! Within weeks I felt ten years younger. I had almost forgotten what it was like to feel good. Plus, the biopsy of the tumor and my uterus, which was swollen to twice its original size, was benign. No cancer! That was a relief.

If you're considering a hysterectomy or if your doctor has recommended you have one, I suggest you look into all alternatives in order to make an informed decision. In my case, I feel the laparoscopic hysterectomy was a necessary and wise choice. In your case, only you and your doctor can choose. Just be sure your decision is the best for you!