Due to have a hysterectomy but am scared to death after viewing a video about side effects!

First, let us talk about your remaining ovary with "cysts"--did you know that ovulation produces cysts? That having cysts is, in fact, part of the normal menstrual cycle? Yes, there are other types of cysts, too, but keep in mind that cysts are not tumors--benign or otherwise. Now before you allow this surgeon to castrate (the ovaries are gonads)
you need to understand exactly what the ovary's function is. Ovaries are endocrine organs. That is, ovaries secrete substances for use throughout the body throughout a woman's life. Our bodies have receptors for these substances in the bowel, the brain, the lungs, etc. And we're not just talking estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. For example, the ovaries also secrete oxytocin, the hormone of mating and maternal behaviors. Oxytocin also reduces stress and causes muscles to contract. Oxytocin's man made synthetic is pitocin which is used to induce labor. It is nature's plan that we would have sex with our mate and the ovaries then release oxytocin which causes lovely uterine contractions at orgasm. Next, we then look at our mate and our children with love. Stress flees in the heady oxytocin release.
The ovaries are dynamic-- measuring our blood levels and injecting just the substances that we need on a 24/7 basis. No pill, creme, or patch is going to do that for you. Many substances, like oxytocin, are not even available in any form.
In one study, researchers measured testosterone levels of attendees going into a soccer game. The researchers next measured the testosterone levels of the audience as they left. They found that half of their subject's levels had gone up, while half had gone down. Hmm, was it the male half that had risen? No, the half that had gone up were fans, both male and female, of the winning team, while the lowered testosterone levels were fans of the losing team. Terri, if you don't have your ovary, then you can't react like that. It takes a great deal of the joy out of life.
With a history of cancer, even what pitifully crude hrt is available may not be recommended for you.
Moving on to the uterus...The uterus is a foundation to your pelvic floor. Removing the uterus leaves you with a hole in your pelvic floor. A hole that the bowel and bladder tend to fall thru. An intact woman can reach inside and feel the sphincter type muscle of the cervix. Now imagine that muscle, the strongest of human muscles, remember it pushes a baby out, cut from you. The vagina cut and vaginal tissue sewed together to make a scarred pouch that will now largely be what is left of your sex and all that is keeping your insides in. It took a year for my bladder and bowel to prolapse. Gravity isn't always quick but it is sure. Additionally, uterine ligaments help position stool towards the anus.
Your uterus has a huge blood supply. It has to support a baby's growth. Nerves course with the blood supply. The uterine arteries will have to be severed along with supporting ligaments that serve as conduits for blood and nerve supply. This will reduce your pelvic blood flow and innervation. Including the supply to your remaining ovary.
Did you know that quadriplegic women can orgasm with uterine cervical stimulation? Un-huh. And that tells us something very important. The uterus is not just connected to the brain via the spine but also has a rare "direct connect" with the brain. Your brain will miss the uterine stimulation as well as suffer from the endocrine deprivation.
Going back to the uterine blood supply...Consider what happens to the circulatory system when such a huge piece of it is taken out and no longer circulates? The risk of heart disease increases greatly with hysterectomy and ovary removal.
One other thing, Terri, fibroids are encapsulated. I read a text where it described removing them in like two sentences! It was open the capsule and apply gentle pressure for the fibroid to pop out. Unfortunately, removing them doesn't tend to pay as much as removing the uterus and it can take much longer. Surgeons and hospitals frown deeply upon the less money/more OR time combo.
I say, let us play this in a man's world. Tell a guy that you want to remove his testicles, prostate, and part of his penis because he has a cyst and a benign, encapsulated growth (that could be treated conservatively). My belief is that if it wouldn't even be suggested in Manville, then it shouldn't be a part of a woman's world, either. The medical profession routinely treats men conservatively while women are routinely, unnecessarily treated destructively. This disparity of treatment is nothing short of gender predjudice. Don't allow it.
Now one last thing, a word of caution. There will probably be those around you who will tell you that it "was the best thing that they ever did!" To that I say, "misery loves company". That and sometimes women can't face the truth--even if only to themselves. Sex is involved in most everything and no one wants to be seen as not being a part of that.
No one wants to be viewed as being different. Also, there are women who have never experienced orgasm so they have no idea of what they are missing and they never relate their health issues to their surgery. It is not as if the medical profession is forthcoming on the issue.
Terri, please don't be afraid, be empowered! You are blessed to have found the HERS site in time--so many less fortunate than you haven't.
It is hard to explain the value of being intact to one who is intact and, quite naturally, takes their normal state for granted. It is only after you lose these precious organs that the reality of intact becomes painfully apparent. Call Nora and let her help you find a true medical advocate that will treat you conservatively. You deserve that much.
It is more important than you can know. (sigh) My husband and I have thiry years of house payments tied up in our home, but, we would both willingly leave tonight, and not look back, if I could be intact again.

I too have had a hysterectomy. It was the worst thing I could have done. I trusted the doctor. I thought the doctor did what was best for me. I no long think that. There is so much to learn what a women’s body goes through after a hysterectomy. Look up sex organ and see what comes up. There is a specialty doctor who can take the cyst off the ovary and leave the ovary intact. I heard a doctor can give a shot in the ovary to save it too but that is all I know. I would investigate it first. Go to a hospital where there are medical libraries and look things up. You can ask the librarian for help. You can find controversies on everything out there even coffee. One study says coffee is good for you then another say’s it’s bad for you. If one study says that you can no longer have vaginal orgasms after a hysterectomy because they remove the uterus the sex organ. I would believe it. I know from experience. If you find something that says you sex life will be better I wouldn’t believe it. The reason why is you can’t chance it once you have the surgery. Damage is done. Always go on the conservative side. Try anything first before a hysterectomy. There is a saying “Follow the money” Call your insurance company up and ask them what they charge for different thing. If a hysterectomy is at the top of the list then you know why the doctor has picked that surgery for you. Please think about it. Don’t rush into it. See if someone can help you with the research. I have learned not to trust doctors so please find out on your own. One more Idea is the Hersfoundation video has a text version. You can use that to look things up at the medical library.
Kiwi

The ovaries are compromised by being given a hysterectomy. The ovaries are part of your endocrine system. No man-made substances can replace female uterine and ovarian hormones and substances. Unknown uterine substances have been discovered as recently as 1999. A hysterectomy is sex organ amputation. An Oophorectomy is castration. I didn't find the correct medical information in time to save my future health, you have. I now have many of the after effects listed on the, HERS Foundation, web site. The worst for me are, diminished or absent sexuality, loss of stamina, diminished or absent sensation in clitoris, diminished or absent orgasm, profound fatigue, loss of affect, dificulty recalling words and names, diminished or absent vaginal lubrication, unable to maintain previous level of employment, deep vaginal pain, diminished or absent sensation in labia, pain in clitoris, nausea, insomnia, stiffness, anxiety, irritability, pain with sitting, change in breast shape, etc.
I am shocked that this information is documented and Hers Foundation, exists. The gynecologist told me I was going to “feel great” and that “sex would be the same or better”. A former friend lied and said her hysterectomy was "the best thing I ever did". Only to tell me the graphic truth in detail afterward. I believe some women lie about this surgery to protect their self-image. I allowed a doctor to trick me and he deposited my healthy crucial organs in his bank account. It appears this is all legal because I called our lawyer when my body fell apart after the surgery and all of the gynecologists in the practice kept saying “I have never heard of that before”.
I signed the Hers Foundation petition to add informed consent to a hysterectomy consent form. It boggles my mind that 22 million women in the U.S. are walking around without a uterus (sex organ) and only 2 percent of hysterectomy operations are performed for confirmed cancer. It makes me so angry that I was not informed with the medical facts. It angers me that I was not informed that a woman no longer experiences a uterine orgasm after hysterectomy.
Did you sign the petition?

Terry, please do more research! Fibroids and cysts can be removed while leaving your organs intact if you have the right doctor. Your doctor is not being truthful with you (probably because he makes a lot more money removing your organs than just removing your fibroid or cysts). Many doctors are only skilled at removing organs, not myomectomy (removing fibroids) or cystectomy (removing ovarian cysts). I only wish I would have seen the HERS video before my uterus, ovaries and cervix were amputated. I had no idea what extensive damage it would do to my health and body. Did you know that they damage your bladder by cutting it away from your uterus when they amputate your uterus? That's why many women have bladder problems after hysterectomy.

Please find a doctor who will just remove your fibroid and/or cysts. I only wish I had been so lucky. Now I have chronic abdominal pain. My abdomen protrudes out on one side and burns all the time. I've lost the feeling of my maternal instincts and had urinary incontinence, bowel incontinence, bone pain, joint pain, weakness, a swollen urethra. I get severe hot flashes and night sweats and nothing stops them. My ability to have an orgasm has diminished so severely that it's hardly worth trying. Unfortunately, I learned all this after the fact. Had anyone told me that the uterus, ovaries and cervix were sex organs, I would have understood better that when they are removed, so is a woman's sexuality.

FYI, this is actually what they do that they are not telling you when they perform a hysterectomy:

A hysterectomy is performed by transecting (to cut across; dissect transversely) the round ligaments, incising (to cut into) the anterior leaf of the broad ligament along the bladder, dissecting (to cut apart) the bladder off the lower uterine segment (displacing the bladder from its natural position and causing injury), severing the uterine arteries, transecting the uterosacral ligaments and cardinal ligaments, amputating the uterus and cervix, sewing up the vagina into a closed pocket (shortening the vagina), leaving said ligaments hanging in a women's pelvic cavity (compromising pelvic support), leaving an empty hole for the bowel to shift down into (displacing the natural position of the bowel), severing all the nerves from the genital area to the internal sex organs and spine, and amputating ovaries which causes increased risk for heart attacks, osteoporosis, dementia, etc., and which causes sexual dysfunction.

I'm sure you can see all the damage that is done. Please find a good doctor who will keep your organs intact.

To Terri, posted on 4/5/09

Dear Terri,

Listen to the HERS foundation -- they're telling you the truth. It may be a painful and difficult truth but it is the truth. I have not seen the HERS foundation video because it will be too painful for me to see it after the fact. I deeply regret having the surgery and I don't have time or space to go into the lies that I was told. I had a surgeon who told me I needed a hysterectomy because a fibroid was displacing my bladder but my quality of life was NOT improved. In fact, I now spend $300 a month on supplements just so I can function and that does not include the cost of the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. If I didn't do both, I would be on disability and unable to function.

Here is something to consider -- why is it OK for surgeons to tell women there is no purpose or function in having a womb after childbearing years, there's no reason for them to keep their organs any more as they serve no purpose, and NOT OK to talk to men that way? If a women chief of staff talked to a man and told him there was no reason for him to have his organs, do you think she would be employed long? What if a guy showed up in a doctors office with parts of his equipment inflamed and bleeding? Do you think he would in an eyeblink be told to get rid of his equipment as he probably wouldn't need to make any more babies anyway, so there was no longer any purpose for it? No, the doctor would bend over backwards to find a solution.

Should it not be the same for women? Do you see the abuse against women here? Are women's systems less important than men's?

There is a false belief system in the medical community and women are falling into it and that is women don't need their organs after childbearing years. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So my advice to you is this: AVOID HAVING A HYSTERECTOMY AT ALL COSTS.

There are other options available to help shrink those fibroids. One is to balance your hormones. I recommend going to Dr. Erika Schwartz' website, wwww.drerika.com. If I had not learned about Dr. Erika after my surgery I would be on disability and I was a strong athletic woman before surgery. I needed her plan in order to function.

If I sound angry, it's because I am angry. Angry at the decption of the medical profession so they can make big bucks at our expense.

Karen

YOU NEVER NEED A HYSTERECTOMY AND CASTRATION (removal of your ovaries) FOR A FIBROID OR CYST unless you have the wrong doctor. I too was easily talked into this surgery and all I had was a fibroid. I believed everything my doctor was telling me. An OBGYN are trained to do surgeries. Their job is too find something wrong with you and if you go enough times, he will.

Please believe everything you see and read on the HERS Foundation web site because it is the HERS Foundation that saved my life. I had already had my surgery but was very sick and tired and was not getting any answers from the doctor. Once you have the surgery and you complain to him, he will ship you off to other departments in the clinic. They know exactly what this surgery does to women. They removed your sexual hormone producing organs. The ovaries, uterus and cervix are there for a reason. They determine your health, well-being, zest for life and sexual pleasures and much more.

I hope you saw the pictures of the female anatomy and notice the nerves running up the sphine and to the brain. When they remove your organs, these nerves will be tied and left hanging 'going nowhere'. They control your emotions, well-being and sexual pleasures. HAS YOUR DOCTOR TOLD YOU THIS? Of Course not because you wouldn't have the surgery if he did. It is a crime to remove healthy organs because of a fibroid.

You have the wrong doctor if he hasn't mentioned a myomectomy to remove the fibroids and a polypectomy to remove the cysts. The HERS Foundation will locate a doctor for you in your area who does these alternative surgeries. My niece has cysts on her ovaries and they wanted to do a hysterectomy and I said NO WAY! The HERS Foundation found a woman's clinic in Iowa City, Iowa, to just remove her cysts. She is so glad after reading and talking with women who have had a hysterectomy and castration that she didn't have it.

Please get informed and educated before submitting to this surgery.

I was not fortunate enough to have viewed the HERS video before surgery and so was not alerted to the practice (not evil) of hysterectomy by the medical community. This practice is akin to when radical mastectomies were done for breast cancer (with all it attendant horrific aftermath) by the medical community instead of simply removing the tumor. The video should not scare women, it should empower and inform women of the very real consequences of the surgery.

What this does is allow women to compare the consequences (risks) with their present symptoms and then make an educated decision as to how to proceed. Without the information in the HERS video, one would not be able to make their decision from a position of strength, instead they would assume that their symptoms dictated the necessity of surgery and would only know the presumed benefits.

I am trying to choose my words carefully, and use the word "presumed benefits" for a reason, one might be told that no more periods are a benefit if they are having bleeding problems. But the real goal should be in how to establish a healthful menstrual flow, how to improve reproductive health or how to improve overall health.

As someone who was give a hysterectomy for fibroids, there is no comparison to the amount resources I've had to devote to my health and well-being post-op versus before surgery of if I had not pursued a surgical solution to the fibroids. While the surgery has cost me much in research, health, finance, career, relationships, my options have been reduced and my results don't compare to the amount of effort I put into my day-to-day living.......

For anyone looking to do a little more research I would recommend the following resources:

1) HERs website http://www.hersfoundation.org
Foundation supplies many topics/references on the issues pertaining to hysterectomy, this site should be a must-see for any women contemplating hysterectomy or post-hyst

2) Weston A Price website http://westonaprice.org
Foundation disseminates research of nutritional pioneer Weston Price, they have a link dealing with Women's Health and much more. From their work, I realize nutritional health is the foundational support in combating any disease or condition.

3) Katie Singer website http://gardenoffertility.com
Katie is an author who does books concerning reproductive health, fertility awareness, and natural family planning. Her books will
open you to greater awareness concerning one's reproductive health.

After my surgery while I developed a number of health issues, one issue was hemorroids. Because I had never had them, I didn't know how to proceed and while I got my condition confirmed via MD. I went online to see how other people treated the condition and how they faired with those treatments. What I found was that, even with treatment people were battling this very painful condition for multiple years. This was not a condition I wanted to battle for multiple years or even multiple weeks, I found a homeopath and was given a homeopathic remedy for hemorroids which cleared up the problem immediately, fortunately, I haven't been bothered since. Finding out the consquences of a treatment is most defintely an empowering step.

Terri,

I'm glad you saw HERS Female Anatomy video. Yes, it is scary, but there are some things in life that we should be afraid of, so perhaps it will make you reconsider undergoing a hysterectomy.

Fibroids are benign growths of muscle and connective tissue that grow until you reach menopause. Then they slowly and gradually shrink to a negligible size, at which time they will be small and calcified.

The average size of the uterus including fibroids in the late thirties to early forties is a ten to twelve week pregnancy size (about 13cm in the largest dimension), in the middle forties fourteen to sixteen weeks is average (about 17cm in the largest dimension), and in the late forties to early fifties eighteen to twenty weeks is average (about 21cm in the largest dimension).

Fibroids have two rapid growth spurts that are natural, predictable, and not a cause for alarm. The first rapid growth spurt is in the late thirties to early forties. Then you have a few years of slower growth. Right before you go through menopause, when you have the hormone changes associated with the beginning of menopause, you have the second and last rapid growth spurt. Then the fibroids slowly and gradually shrink to a negligible size.

You develop all of the new fibroids you are going to have in your 30's you do not develop new fibroids in your 40's.

Both estrogens and progesterone stimulate fibroid growth. Many women use the so called "natural" progesterone yam cream that promoters claim shrinks fibroids, but in fact it makes them grow.

Fibroids are not a disease, they are your genetic blueprint. If you can live with the symptoms it would probably be better than unnecessary intervention of any kind. If you cannot live with the symptoms a myomectomy is a reasonable option. You never need a hysterectomy for fibroids unless you have the wrong doctor. If a doctor tells you that you have too many fibroids, they’re too large, or they’re in a location that makes myomectomy impossible you’re going to a doctor who doesn’t have the skill to perform the surgery. There is no such thing as fibroids that are too numerous, too large, or in a location where they can’t be removed if the doctor has the skill.

If you're interested in finding a doctor with consistently good outcomes with myomectomy contact the HERS Foundation. You might also find it informative and helpful to read what women say about hysterectomy on HERS blog. Go to HERS website and click on "Blog" in the navigation bar at the top of the page.

Nora W. Coffey, President
HERS Foundation

oh my goodness! I just reviewed the video you are referring to, and I'M scared, too...and I am not in the position of having a hysterectomy.

I hope you use that information in a helpful way, even though it was presented in a poorly antiquated manner of using scare-tactics and omitting possible positive outcomes or helpful alternatives. This 12 minute video is talking to ALL women across the globe, some of whom have received medical advice to have a hysterectomy when one was not medically necessary. In those cases, the risks probably did not outweigh the benefits. Other women have had positive experiences with this surgery. I hope you talk to both sides.

1. Talk to as many women as you can about their experiences, side effects, adverse effects, positive effects and recovery.

2. Write down all the extremes you have heard about this surgery, both pros and cons (cons you obviously can get from this video!). Ask trusted health professionals about what is legitimate and what is not. What are the viable alternatives?

The take-home message from this HER Foundation is to not trust the medical community or government. I realize some people feel strongly about this, but what is the alternative? There are some amazing health care professionals that care deeply about their patients, about research and finding cures, and have devoted their lives to women's health. I strongly dislike "foundations" that suggest otherwise; there are extremes in all professions, but suggesting an entire profession is essentially evil is not going to have my support.

With that being said, you can tease out the nuggets of truth in what was presented in the video by talking with as many people as you can. I hope you hear from women who have experienced this surgery.

3. Use your own experience. How many women do you know who have had a hysterectomy? Probably many. I know of many, and they have had different experiences, both positive and negative. I have not seen any of them with a protruding belly and no waist (as the video mentioned). It sounds scary for the video to say that there is an "unnatural shift of organs" and "organs are displaced", but isn't that what happens with a pregnancy? Aren't our bodies made and prepared for organs to shift? What about other surgery where organs are removed...does this cause a displacement as well? I would put these scary statements in perspective, but also use them to ask questions from multiple sources.

4. Ask your doctor about your specific concerns, possibly regarding "severing nerves" and how this "impacts the nerves in your nipples" (from video), as well as "searing pain in your butt and knee" (also from video). I'm not sure how this is accurate?! I have not met any women with these experiences. Are there women you can talk to who have undergone the same procedure with your doctor?

5. Lastly, as much as the HER foundation is trying to protect women, it is not helping women in feeling empowered. I know I left the video wanting to crawl away and hide; not exactly health information that provides energy and motivation for action.

You can choose to be skeptical of all things "institutional" or "medical", you can choose to blindly believe everything "medical", or you can choose to be a wise consumer of health (as you are!) and find all the information you can while wading through the extremes...and the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

It is wonderful to have organizations like HER fighting for our rights as women, sending out petitions and advocating for our health, but they may not the best source of health information, in my opinion, when you are faced with real-life medical choices.

That's my take. I realize this does not answer your real question about what the side effects of a hysterectomy are, and what real women have really experienced. I assume you have already done extensive research, and heard some additional information from this video that you are questioning. Are you concerned any specific adverse effect that you can share?