can you have a hysterectomy because you dont want periods anymore?

[gigglinggoblin]

i know its not a decision to be taken lightly but they have always been horrendous. i have a choice of taking the pill and being a complete psycho or losing 3 days a month to pain and misery.

anyone had one for this reason or know anything about it?

[Twiglett]

but a hysterectomy leads to potential issues with early onset menopause and hormonal / bone density problems doesn't it?

[happymerryberries]

The only people that I have known have a hyterectomy due to period problems also had very bad fibroids and were very anaemic due to the amount of blood they lost each month.

One thing to bear in mind. If you have a hyterectomy that leaves your ovaries you may still have an early menopause, and this is a risk factor re heart disease and osteoporosis.

[expatinscotland]

If your heavy periods are caused by fibroids, it can be an option.

[cod]

Message withdrawn

[gigglinggoblin]

dont think it would be fibroids, they have been awful since they started. how would you know?

any info very much appreciated btw, good or bad

[mears]

this is a better alternative

[Twiglett]

one of my sister's had that for excessive bleeding that gave her bad anaemia .. she's been fine ever since

[expatinscotland]

One of my best pals also had it for fibroids that made her anaemic. It worked a treat!

[gigglinggoblin]

thanks mears, will look into that.

[MeerkatsUnite]

Would certainly concur about looking into an alternative to a hyst. You need to find a knowledgeable gynae cons whose up to date with the latest knowledge and procedures.

Not many gynaes do endometrical ablation but there are gynaes out there who do such procedures. Your best bet is to find such a surgeon and discuss all treatment options.

If endometriosis and or fibroids are the primary causes for your miseries then a hyst may not be the answer to your prayers (especially if endo is there. A hyst for endo is often seen as a last resort and there have been cases of women still having problems with pain post hyst).

[morningpaper]

Have you looked into the Mirena coil? This is now used as an alternative to/before hysterectomy in several countries.

[gigglinggoblin]

have had a look at a few sites about ablation and one says its no good for cramps, which is the problem. although my periods are heavy i can live with that, its the fact that i spend three days in pain that i cant cope with (and i had no drugs with last two births so i dont think im that much of a wimp )

i know i really need to see gynae but last time i saw one he was so awful i left in tears and really dont want to go back to ask advice, so am v grateful to all who have answered.

dont know much about mirena coil. am i right thinking it releases hormones? all hormone treatments i have had recently have turned me into a nutter, and the coil scares me cos of bad experience my mum had. would like to hear good things tho!

have been told it might be endometriosis but in all this time not one dr has been willing to refer me for any tests. do you know much about it meerkats? is it normal to have to fight for it?

[MeerkatsUnite]

Hi gggoblin,

Unfortunately I know quite a lot about endo as I was an acute sufferer of it from the time I was 14. I still get some period pains though never near as bad as before - surgery helped in my case. My periods (which were always irregular in nature but that's due to another gynae issue) were always but always excrutiatingly bad in terms of pain before and during my period.

Endometriosis is diagnosed through a keyhole surgery operation called a laparoscopy. Blood tests and ultrasounds will not detect it (these methods found my other gynae problem but not endo).

Not all gynaes are but am sorry to read you had a bad experience with one. You're not the only one to have been fobbed off before now in such a cavalier manner.

Your bad experience has put your off (not surprisingly) but I would urge you to return to your GP and ask to be referred to a consultant gynae at a major NHS centre in the nearest big city to you. You do not have to put up with bad treatment from gynaes (hence me suggesting the above course of action) and it is in your interests that this is properly addressed.

The National Endometriosis Society's website is pretty good. Their web address is www.endo.org.uk. You may want to look at their pages as well.

I wish you well

[doormat]

gg I have been to see the consultant recently as I have really bad periods, was on for 3 weeks and then off for 1 for the past 12 months or so. Nothing abnormal has been found etc and I asked consultant at first appt for a hysterectomy but they refused as I was too young. I explained that I have had my family etc and I have been on primulot and trans something acid for months now to stop bleeding and I can sympathise with you as some days I could not go out of the house without being flooded off my feet. I have an appt for a mirena to be fitted next month and I said to consultant that if this does not work I want a hysterectomy to which she agreed.
Can you ask your gp to refer you to a gynae?

[Rhubarb]

As I have just been caught out by my bloody stoopid peeeeeeeriod today, 5 days early, visiting with no protection available, I would happily have a hysterectomy right now, I swear!

[gigglinggoblin]

lol rhubarb! am so miserable just now, its not fair is it?

i have tried the trans something acid myself doormat, did nothing at all except made me throw up - i did try to explain to them that i couldnt keep anything down but dr thought she knew best

thanks very much meerkat, i really appreciate your help. will have a look at website and go back to gp ive known for ages that i needed something doing but after being told so many times they cant do anything it grinds you down after a while (even if you dont believe them). this has just become a bigger issue now as my periods have just returned to normal after baby no 3. i just about coped having 2 kids but cant do it with so much work on.

many thanks to all who replied

[jambuttie]

Hiya

As many on her know I had a hysterectomy in June of this year at the age of 29.

I had very very painful periods after having my boys, and sex was unbearable. I started to get injections into my stomach January of this year to stop my period but these only made them worse and I did have time of work each month and was in so much pain couldnt enjoy my boys.

After being reffered back to my gynae at our local hospital he told me I was too young for a hysterectomy and to come back in 5-6 yrs if the situation hadn't changed- I was so upset, especially coming from a man- like how the hell would they know what it feels like to suffer

Thankfully we have private medical insurance through our jobs which I used and had a total abdominal hysterectomy 1 week after meeting the consultant.

Yes I may be young andYes I am on HRT but never once have I thought "wish i never done that" in fact I now am making up for the time I feel i lost in suffering all the pain

[gigglinggoblin]

thanks jb. i am only 26 so i thought age would be an issue. dont think we could go private tho is nice to hear someone else has gone ahead with positive action. makes me feel like i am over reacting less.
hysterectomy seems such a huge thing but then when i think i am wasting a tenth of my life on this i wonder why i havent done it already.

[jambuttie]

totally agree ggg think if you decide to have one we should be allowed to.

I understand some people could do it in haste but if you are ceratin why not!!!!!!!!

[jambuttie]

Hope things to get better but you have my symapthy 100% I totally understand what its like hun

[hunkerpumpkin]

GGG, I've had endometriosis since I was about 17 and have had three laparoscopies (one diagnostic, two treatment). I had severe stage 4 endometriosis and the whole of my lower abdomen was stuck together inside with adhesions. It was agony - I can honestly say that labour was easier than most of my periods.

I also took ponstan (mefenemic acid?) but it made me feel appalling (really bloated, not what you want when you've already got horrendous pain).

The only way you'll know for sure whether it's endometriosis is to have a laparoscopy, but it's a straightforward operation. I would suggest getting in touch with the National Endometriosis Society - the average length of diagnosis is eight years, which is really shocking - 10% of women have this condition, so please don't suffer in silence. Go back to your GP and demand a referral to a different gynaecologist - if you're anywhere near London, let me know and I'll give you the name of the man who did two of my surgeries and gave me back my life (that sounds dramatic, but it's SO true!).

[gigglinggoblin]

thanks hp, i totally agree about labour. would much rather give birth than have a period. it may be a bit more intense towards the end but at least it doesnt last this long. am way way up north or i would ask for his name, ta for the offer.

i have been trying to get help on and off since i was 13. if you dont want the pill, the doctors seem to think you dont want to help yourself. am going to call gp tomorrow and try to get appt with family planning trained lady dr.

in fact i seem to remember asking for a laparoscopy several years ago but was told it was a huge operation with a really long waiting list and i really didnt want to put myself thru that. then i got pg so the problem went away. not having periods was quite an incentive to bf aswell

[MusicLover]

Sorry to ask a personal qu-but is Sex hurting also.
I had Endometriosis when I was 21, Had a coarse of Zoladex injections for 9months, & wasnt so bad after, just the odd moment.
But that was before I had kids, its been better since having kids. They say that it can cure it!!
Also having Endometriosis can make you infertile.
If you can face it-take a trip your Dr's again t get reffered. Its got to be better than suffering. In the mean time do you think If you tried Evening Primrose they might help. not sure!

[louise35]

Morning all, I've just been reading your posts and it some of them sound just like me. I've suffered with endo for years and I really WANTED a hysterectomy, I'd had zoladex and tranexamic acid, none of them agreed with me, I also had laparoscopy and some of the adhesions removed but the problem came back again. I am now on the mirena coil but have bled heavily for the past three weeks and today I think I am now getting AF on top of it all and feel absolutely washed out. They would not do a hysterectomy because my adhesions are on the outside of my womb, on my ovaries and the ligaments of my womb so they said that a hysterectomy would not remove the problem because they would not want to remove my ovaries at my age. I am 35 so not exactly a spring chicken. I personally dont care what they remove and would be prepared to have it all out and go on HRT. It would be interesting to know how anyone has got on with HRT, side effects etc. Louise xxx

[MeerkatsUnite]

louise35

Have you looked at the National Endometriosis Society's website?. If you have not to date it is well worth a look - their web address is www.endo.org.uk. They have a helpline and a message board.

Re the hyst - if they did this there is actually no 100% guarantee that the endo isn't going to flare up again somewhere else. I know of several women post hyst who still have problems with their endo (and the ovaries would have to be removed too at the same time as any residual peritoneal endometrical implants will remain active). If ovaries are retained, 13% of women will have a recurrence of endo within 3 years and 40% after five years. The more severe the endo, the more likely it is to recur.

Would also suggest you read the NES's publication "Endometriosis and Fibroids". Infact I would counsel any woman with endo to both read the book and look at their website.