Anyone had a hysterectomy?

[cessie]

Hi all,
Was not sure where to post this thread as I know a lot of people are ttc or going thru ivf etc , and here I am wanting to have a hys. I was dx'd with endo and pcos, had recurrent mc's, and antiphospholipid antibodies, I have a mirena iud put in which was supposed to be the bees knees in iud's ooooh it would hopefully stop af. Ha, well I still get af around 21 days bleed like you wouldnt believe, and quite frankly have had enough . So I was just wondering if anyone has had a hyst, and how did it go, and now how do you feel ? I have an appt with my gyn in jan and we tried the mirena as a last resort to get my af to calm down but as it hasnt worked .I am a little hesitant but I really am so sick of what I go thru ,the last 6 weeks I had three af's,that I feel it is the only option for me.
excuse my ranting as I know I havent been around the forum much, but hopefully in the new year I will have more time.
take care all and have a very merry christmas.

[Janie]

Cessie, I don't have any personal experience with having a hyst. so I can't help you there.

It sounds like you're going through alot ATM, I'm sorry hun. Sometimes I think women drew the short straw! But I would really research your options before going for a hysterectomy. How old are you? Are you absolutely positive that you don't want any more children?

Without knowing your age it's hard to comment, but going through (early) menopause is no barrel of laughs. Are you certain that there's nothing else that can be done to help you? My mum tried a variety of things, without varying success, to put off her hysterectomy. She eventually had to have it, but she was almost 50 by then. She's glad she did it, as she is more comfortable now, but the operation is not much fun at all (depending on the way the procedure is carried out), and menopause started not all that long after her op..........still going 4 years later! I *think* some reasearch has shown that women who have a hyst. suffer stronger menopause symptoms, for longer.

I hope that garbled post has been of some help to you (it's getting late ). Good luck with your decision.

[satya]

A friend of mine had one done in her twenties after giving birth to twins (had complications that then caused her huge issues afterwards). It solved pretty much all her problems and she recovered quite easily from it and had no real complaints.

[YDI]

My best advice is, read as much as you can about hysterectomies and endometriosis before you make a decision. It's not really a cure and should be a last resort, as you would really regret it if you had it done and it didn't really help. The thing is that it's not you uterus that's causing the problem, so taking it out won't solve the problem. There is certainly a lot to consider, as you know.

I have read that in order for a hysterectomy to be effective, you have to have both ovaries removed, as well as ALL the endometriosis (it can make its own estrogen), and that you should not start hormone replacement therapy for 3-6 months afterwards so if there is a little bit of endometriosis left it might die out.