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What happens to a woman’s sex life after hysterectomy? Hysterectomy, the removal of a woman’s uterus, is the second most common surgery among women in the United States. Approximately 600,000 are performed each year. During a hysterectomy, a surgeon takes out the whole uterus or just part of it. The fallopian tubes and ovaries may also be removed.
Deciding whether to have a hysterectomy can be a difficult and emotional process. What happens to a woman’s sex life after hysterectomy? Concerns about sexual activity following surgery are common.
First there is mandatory recovery time. Patients need to wait about six weeks before resuming sexual activity. This gives the top of the vagina time to safely heal.
Many women do not notice any change in sexual activity following a hysterectomy. In fact, gynecologists typically suggest hysterectomy will improve sexual response. That is because hysterectomy is often performed to relieve chronic pain or excessive bleeding. Once the pain is gone, sexual interest is renewed and some even experience an increase in sexual pleasure. Plus not worrying about pregnancy can have a positive effect.
When it comes to achieving and experiencing orgasm, there may be some changes. The uterus elevates during sexual excitement and contracts with orgasm. Women who had a hysterectomy may notice a difference in these sensations. Some gain sexual pleasure and orgasm from direct stimulation to the cervix. Without their cervix, they may have trouble reaching orgasm or find their orgasms are less intense. Cervix removal can also affect vaginal lubrication.
Pre-menopausal women who have their ovaries removed during a hysterectomy may experience vaginal dryness which can make intercourse uncomfortable. Using a water-based lubricant, a vaginal oestrogen cream or traditional Hormone Replacement Therapy, can alleviate the problem.
Psychological factors may also come into play. Changes in the way a woman feels about herself can directly impact sexual desire and satisfaction. The uterus is strongly associated with femininity and some women who have recently had a hysterectomy feel less womanly.
Pre-menopausal women who undergo the surgery to treat gynecological cancer may experience grief and possibly depression over the loss of fertility. For others, their menstrual cycle may have added to their sense of youthfulness. Women may also fear their partners will view them differently following a hysterectomy.
For those who experience sexual problems following a hysterectomy, visiting a psychologist, counselor or sex therapist may be helpful.
Stacy Lloyd is a writer and video producer in Phoenix, Arizona. A former television news journalist, she covered stories around the world. Currently, she produces corporate and non-profit videos and broadcast programming.
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Add a Comment14 Comments
Thanks for being real Anonymous! It's not like any sane person would run out and have their parts chopped up unless there was a REAL reason!!! How selfish do we have to be to sit down and whine because life has changed. I'm not thrilled with the changes that have happened in my world since partial hyst. but it beats the daylights out of (me AND my family, husb., sex life) living in fear, pain, agony and the shadow of Cancer! The real truth is that if the changes are so devastating that ol' girl is willing to sell her soul, she doesn't live in the real world. Better to be alive and adjust than dead and never see your grand children! Do our parts really define us? No one WANTS this but thank GOD we have a solution to the myriad of problems that brought us to this solution!
November 14, 2013 - 1:14pmThis Comment
Women are not running out to have their "parts chopped up". The fact is that most hysterectomies are not medically necessary, and women are scared into thinking that they have or will soon have cancer, when the majority are found not to have had cancer after their uterus was removed.
Perhaps your situation was different, and you had cancer confirmed before your uterus was removed, although from what you said, you felt that you lived in the shadow of cancer. Your medical problem may have been unique, one that was not amenable to conservative treatment.
You did what you felt was best for you, but other women may decide to choose conservative treatment. Many women who have a condition that could progress to cancer, choose other options in treatment and often the condition is cured without removal of their uterus or ovaries.
Your question, "Do our parts really define us?", the female organs do not define women any more than the male organs define men. A man whose penis and testicles have been amputated is still a man, but the functions of his male organs are gone. Women are more than their hormone responsive sex organs, but they are considerably different when the organs are removed. You can read what 1,000 women reported about their experience with hysterectomy http://www.hersfoundation.com/effects.html.
I wish you the best of health.
November 14, 2013 - 3:08pmThis Comment
Cancer accounts for less than 1% of the hysterectomy operations performed every year. In other words, out of the 650,000 hysterectomies performed annually, uterine cancer is found LESS than 1% of the time. I think most women would be concerned that unnecessary hysterectomies are being performed on their mothers, sisters and daughters at an alarming rate. If you have daughters, they have a 1 in 2 chance of being hysterectomized before they turn 65 years old in the United States. Is that what you want for them? It is unfortunate for anyone to have cancer and to have organs removed to save their life, but it is preposterous that gynecologists would remove healthy organs from women when it is not medically warranted. Women need to know the truth because it is scary that the very people who are acting as healers, are the ones doing the most harm.
June 23, 2010 - 7:38pmThis Comment
It's also important to add that hysterectomy increases a woman's risk for heart disease, dementia, lung cancer and osteoporosis. If the ovaries are removed, it is female castration just as it is when the testicles are removed from a man. Recently Dr. Oz had a show about hysterectomy and explained that women who are hysterectomized have a shorter life span than intact women, along with the fact that over 80% of hysterectomies are unnecessary.
April 9, 2010 - 6:10pmThis Comment