i had Hysterectomy a year ago feb 9th & no more periods but i was feeling just GREAT right after ( pain was tollerable for me..i can stand pain pretty good ...but lotts here still have there periods..i was wondering if any one here does not have there periods no more. or had a hysterectomy? to share our stories from it? if so did they take or leave your ovaries? they left mine ...& it blew me in full menopause a year later ..id love to hear other stories from others who had a Hysterectomy ...thanks & looking foward to it. peggy sue

Hey Peggy sue
That is the same thing that happened to me. I had a partial hysterectomy,and my doc said that i didn't need any hormones...because i had the ovaries left in....Now i am going through hell for the last year..I have been taking bio-identical hormones...but i do not feel much better...i have gone to many doc's and they say the same thing...i have anxiety..and here is some meds...it is just making my life a hell.....i thought that if i left the ovaries in i would not have to go though this...i was wrong.

well ..they put on papers full Hysterectomy ..i seen it ...i got my surgy done by county hospitol as no insurance..after my Hysterectomy. I found out they left my ovaries ..& im 53 years old & not 23 ..i was soooooo MAD ...i wanted my ovaries out as i have cancer in my family & doc knew to ..all the surgen said was. peggy, your ovaries are good & still produing estrogen ....UGhhhh why did they put on papers Full hysterectomy then? then a year later starting this jan.... went in full bloom menopause ..& found power surge in feb ,,this helps out a great deal ...what do rest thinks?

you know what...i think that the doc's do not know what the hell is going on with menopause...i think that they are guessing...i am 43..and 2 years ago i had no anxiety...no palps..no shaking...none of these problems...then after the hysterectomy...it hit me..and now all the doc's can say is ..poor you..you have anxiety...you have panic attacks...i have never had this problem in my LIFE!...not to mention i am breaking out like a 14 year old boy so they pat me on the head and send me home with ativan...and this is how i am going to have to handle my life from now on..with drugs!!! GREAT...i don't mean to sound angry,but that is how i feel right now ...

the same with me to ohhhh they were really nice giving me the surgry. i mean..........no insurance........ ok i really aprecaite that............ but darn.......... why did they put on papers. FULL hysterectomy? when its not? heck they know i dont have money to sue them. thats why i came there in begin with...A year later. all of a sudden this force of menopause junk.....started really severe in janurary..i didnt know this board then. i went to all kinds of ERS....tomorrow i go back to doctor who gave me surgry ..suppose to put me on a stupid hormone patch ...weather that does any good or not ..im anngry to gal ...im right with you on this. i dont understand doctors ..esp the county ones. if you dont have money nor insurance...your shi# out of luck & take it or leave it mainly

Sumee...

Didn't I hear you mention you are military?
My military GP didn't want to prescribe ativan...said it was addictive.
Is your GP military?
He gave me a couple of pills until the anti-depressant that I couldn't tolerate, kicked in.
Such the know-it-all twirp anyway...I need a new doctor.

Just wondering.


Yep

I had a hysterectomy almost 5 years ago. I was 39 years old. They left 1 Ovary and I imediatley started changing. It has been a very frustrating ride that's for sure. I had to take matters into my own hands because like many of you the doctors said anxiety here take this or that or the next thing. I had been to the hospital thinking I was having a stroke or heart attack more than once. I have had every rest going and they tell me i'm healthy as can be. I even went to a ENT for dizzines and was given to different diagnosis 1. BPPV and 2. Meiners. I'm convinced after reserching that the dizziness is hormonal. My sympstoms currantly are hot flashes,anxiety,dizziness,vaginal dryness,yeast infections,forgetful ness, crawly skin,fuzzy brain,and lots of other fun things. I'm treating myself right now with vitamins and suppliments and have been feeling better the last 2 weeks but I'm curious to see how I feel during my next ovulation.

I'm so thankful I found this site.

hey yepthatsme 2
my husband is in the military..and my doc gives me any thing i ask for within reason...she is a PA..and i have to say that she really wants to help me ...i just think she does not no how...i would get a new doc if i were you...i need a doc to at least here what i am saying..even if they do not know what is going on right away..my doc gave me celexa...paxil..and ativan...the celexa made me crazy..and i was scared to take the paxil...but i cut the ativan in half..and take it every day...well i just stared to do that this week...i am worried about it being addictive to.. but, it is all i have now..with out it i am a wreck...if me kids were older i would not have to take it...but they are 7 and 12..to young to have a crazy mom...

forgot to say...my doc gave me 90 ativan....but i guess she trust that i will not take to many..

Sumee...

Are you seen at a military facility?
My provider at the base is a real stickler...full of himself...snot nosed brat is more like it.


Yep

yes i am seen at a military facility...you need another provider...i can not deal with docs that tell me what is going to happen to my body...if that doc can't help i get a referal to another doc...but i must say that none of them really know how to deal with problem...but i keep on trying my PA really wants me to take paxil..every time i go to see her she says..please just try the paxil for a while...but i am afraid to try it...

sumee,

My doctor keeps pushing the ad's too! What is the big push with the drugs?? Oh that's right, money!

My son had been having anxiety attacks when he started college last year so he went to the doctor for it. Guess what they gave him? Yup, paxil. He took one pill and then had such a bad panic attack he had to take a whole klonipin (the anti-anxiety drug they gave him). He swore he would never take another one. This is what most of them do though. They make the symptoms worse before they get better so you have to take another drug to get rid of the side effects of the first drug! What a racket!

That is what convinces me that I don't want the darn drugs even when things get bad and I think do I really want to do this naturally?

I talked it over with my hubby after I got back from the doctor last week (and she told me yet again that it's stress and not the peri causing it.) We've come to the conclusion that it's just not worth the getting on the drugs just to have to try to get back off them later. It all seems so ridiculous, that they can't come up with something that works, without drugging us! Just my opinion...

Good luck to you. I hope you find something that works for you.

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Hi there

I m brand new to this site and already addicted to it. I am 38 and had a partial hysterectomy 2 yrs ago. I am now starting this "oh so fun" thing called peri...always feel sick to my stomach, weepy, dizzy...it has been three months after having felt on top of the world since the surgery, and I am so sad about it. I can say that getting as much rest as poss helps, and many deep breaths during the day. It is good to know we are not alone, as this is a scary thing - at least for me so far! So I will send you happy thoughts and good wishes...


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Hi there....I am now going thru all the tests you have described and so far everything is 100% normal, yet I feel sick and just not me almost every day. I am very surprised that with all these women who describe all the same things over and over again that the doctors still just want to say it is anxiety or depression or stress. Thank goodness for this site where at least we can all know we are not alone or crazy! Good luck to you!

Hi- I had a lap supracervical hysterectomy 5/2005 due to fibriods and adneomyosis. I kept my ovaries for the hormones! everything went well immediately post op but I started getting a regular period every month. My gyn did a u/s and noticed I had a small piece of uterine tissue left. My cervix was intact. He ended up cauterizing that tissue and low and behold no more period! woohoo until dec 2005 when I started having lower left abd pain, constipation and weight loss. I did the whole work up for cancer and was fine. sometime around there I started having the perimenopausal symptoms and that is where we are at right now- going to try the compound meds, having a colonoscopy at the end of the month to rule out anything GI since the pain is getting worse and go from there.. not so fun times.. I was told this was the best hysterectomy to have and now Im falling apart at 38 years of age..

Add me to your list of partial hysterectomies! I am 43 and I had mine 11 years ago. Throughout this time I have had maybe 1-2 anxiety attacks per year and hot flash once in a great while but never attributed it to menopause and my gyn (male) never told me anything. One month last year the ovaries stopped completely and instant insomnia, my sense of well being went out the door, sobbing uncontrollably all day for no reason, you name it-I had it! So I went to my regular dr. and until my hormone tests came back he too was going to put me on ADs. I refused! I told him I could hold on until I got my tests. I knew these were not related to depression because I am not a depressed person. I wanted to get to the root of the problem. The thing I truly hate about partials is that we can not tell when we're going thru menopause or how far we are! If I had a period at least I could time this stuff-like going 6-7 months without a period and then have one. Or if I had a full hyster. I would have been thrown right into menopause and could have been over this by now.

Well the tests came back that I was going thru menopause and again he wanted to put me on ADs and I told him no. He then said he could start me on the Climera patch low dose. So I then started my research to find what would work for me cause I could not continue living like I was. I run a medical clinic and a family of 5. I DIDN'T HAVE TIME FOR MENOPAUSE!

Since then I found this wonderful site! I also contacted Janna at Bellevue Pharmacy and asked what can you do to help me get back to where I was? I faxed her all my hormonal tests and she gave me her recommendation. I also started taking vitamins and walking every day. I also learned that once in a while I have to tweek my medication if I'm having a stressful time or not so stressful time. I now take 1.5 mg estradiol sublingual tablet in the morning and at night. And I am so happy to have my life back again! My family is happy and not scared anymore and my husband even thanked me for going out there and finding what was necessary to get myself back. How long will I be on these? I think I'll stay for at least 5 years and then maybe wean myself off to see how my menopause has progressed. My mother was on the patch for 4 years and she weaned herself off two months ago and she says she feels great. So there is hope ladies! You just have to decide if you want to take the natural route with supplements or go the BRT way. Its what whatever works for you....

I don't understand why anyone would have a hysterectomy unless they had some sort of cancer in situ. Am I not understanding something? I had very heavy bleeding during the peri-menopause but this has gone away, finally of its own accord, a few years ago. I am now 52 and winding down with things. Actually, I've become more balanced and adjusted as time goes by.

My mother, at 79, was frightened into having a hysterectomy because of her scare of cancer (she's had it before) but there was NO cancer found in her uterus. Too bad she had surgery for no reason but that is another story in and of itself.

I am knife shy and wouldn't like anything taken from me that wasn't for a real damn important reason...but that's just me.

Hi, I HAD to have a hysterectomy @ age 39 and yep, you are misunderstanding something. Adenomyosis is about tissue change, but it is also about severe bleeding - hemorrhaging to the point of needing hospitalization & transfusion, bleeding through your furniture (couch, chairs etc), suddenly flooding the floor with blood and as I said severe pain. My poor husband & sons had to carry me upstairs many times during this phase.
I have Multi-System Disease; Systemic Lupus, Myasthenia Gravis, Chrons, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and other associated disorders since age 9 and this constant blood loss exacerbated them.
Also, I was let go from my long-standing job as I kept gushing blood all over & no – even adult diapers are no match for the huge clots & enormous amount of blood from serious adenomyosis.
It was a lasy resort after 3 years of this and the decision was made with a female OB/GYN. Didn't trust the male ones then as I, too, did not want to "have anything taken from me that wasn't for a real damn important reason"

Ballroomdays...I had a partial hysterectomy 20 years ago. Doc said I needed one because I had a prolapsed uterus and endrometryosisi(spelling),even had a second opinion. So I guess what I'm saying is, back then I never really even thought to question a docs decision. I just remember I hurt real bad all the time. I had real heavy bleeding when I had my period. Did I need a hysterectomy who knows? I really believe there are many other reasons to have hysterectomy besides the "C" word. I'm sure none of us had it done just for fun, because its pure hell, but hopefully going thru meno is better than the other options might have been. ps--found out I had DOUBLE uterus but thats also another story!!!!!!

Please describe your experiences with hysterectomies, especially if yours was particularly difficult. I have been spotting, and they can't do a biospy on me because I have two uteruses, and yesterday went in for a D&C and they couldn't do that either because of the complicated way my uteruses sit in there and my "long" vagina". I know they are going to recommend a hysterectomy, and I was wondering if any of you had anything to add to give me some inclination of what I might be facing. My uterine linings were 5 and 7 cm.

Thanks.
Meryl

Hi Meryl
You know that I had a hysterectomy in March to remove endo cancer. You also know that I was very lucky because it was totally cured through the op alone- although other ladies on this topic may not have read my other posts.
Anyway there were a few ladies in my ward who were having hysts for other reasons than cancer-the more usual ones like endometriosis and prolapses.
I was the only one who had the "big" hysterectomy. This involved an incision from navel to pubic bone. I had everything removed including ovaries and cervix.
I was on a self regulating morphine pump after surgery . It was painful but nothing I couldnt handle. By the second day I was off the morphine and just taking mild painkillers.
I had a little vaginal bleeding for a few days, my scar had no external stitches and I was able to get out of bed on the 2nd day and sit in a chair. On the third day I was able to have a bath.
I made a very quick recovery and was out of hospital in 5 days.
Some other ladies had the "bikini" cut and one lady had her done vaginally. She was out in 2 days but the others seemed to be in as long as myself.
Sorry I can't give you a horror story. It wasn't that bad. The only thing I can say is that one of the ladies was allergic to morphine and was terribly sick for 3 days and the anti-sick meds made her worse.
I requested those before the op so they gave them to me before I came round. I was fine.
The worse thing I think is the emotional pain of losing that whole part of yourself that had given you your womanhood and your babies.
It is quite hard to come to terms with but I have done now.
I am happy that it is all over with and that I don't have to worry about getting a worse cancer ie ovarian in the future.
If you do need one-and Meryl you don't know whether or not you do yet-it will be ok!
I know you have a 3 week wait to find out and that is not nice!
the time will pass
Hugs
Jan

Thank you, my friend, for responding. I wasn't really looking for a horror story, but wanted to know what to expect if they had to cut me instead of doing it vaginally. Your post really helped. Thanks so much.

Hi everyone! I had a complete hysterectomy on July 6th, 2006, so I'm not quite 5 weeks post-op. I had it due to fibroids, my uterus was the size of a 3.5 month pregnancy.
I have a really good doctor, he was a wizard as a surgeon. The surgery took over 3 hours but he was able to do it laproscopically assisted vaginally. So no great big incision (heals faster). I lost a lot of blood, they were borderline giving me a transfusion, but decided not to, so my main complaint has been the lack of stamina and lots of fatigue! The worst part was the anesthesia, it made me feel nauseous and like I couldn't think straight. That takes awhile to get over.
I was able to go home the next day, my surgery was at about 10 am and I went home about 2 pm the next day. The pain wasn't too bad, just some "crampy" pain. I hate the Percoset pain pills that they gave me, made me feel very depressed and thick-headed, so I just took Extra Strength Tylenol and got along fine. My main complaint now in addition to the tiredness is my belly is really puffy! At my 4-week post-op appointment my doctor said that is normal due to the trauma your insides suffer, and it may take a couple of months to go away.
The whole experience was not as bad as I anticipated. The nurses were on top of things, and gave me some meds to get rid of the nausea, I ate oatmeal for breakfast the morning after the surgery, and from then on was on a normal diet.

Hi Peggy sue,

I never thought after asking so many questions on peri on power surge, that I'd end up with worse problems and now facing a hysterectomy 9-6-06 I am scared to death. Since you're post hysterectomy you can probably help ease my fears. What can I expect. I am so darn scared

thanks so much. I am looking forward though to NO MORE PERIODS!!!!

hugs
countryangel
Btw,I am having a laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy...what did you have?

I had a laproscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) and they removed my cervix and my ovaries (I'm 49). I'm 6-wk post surgery now, and the only problem I had was I lost a lot of blood during the surgery, so I've been very tired. But, I'm gradually starting to build my stamina back up.

I have to add that when I was my gyn a few weeks back- He said Im now growing fibroids in my cervix! along with my abnormal bone density scan results- I thinking maybe the lap supracervical hyst. wasnt the best idea.. how can things deteriorate so fast in one year??

I had that almost 10 years ago and I'm doing fine (with ERT and testosterone). Had a much faster recovery than with the traditional kind. Had a little trouble warming up after surgery, but otherwise was pretty uneventful.

Zelma