Adenomyosis, endometriosis, cysts and fibroids - hysterectomy or not?

[TartBlueberry]

So finally, after years of excruciating pain, I have a diagnosis.

Periods are still there but just starting to be irregular. Only solution is a hysterectomy or waiting till menopause.

In the meantime, I have been hit with very severe fatigue. I'm not that anaemic (I take iron) and my ferritin is fine. Bloods were last done earlier this year (not for GP but an independent health check via work) but they are repeating them now in case they've missed anything.

I cannot fault my new GP (I recently moved) who has been incredibly diligent, actually listened to me and ordered the right things that enabled this diagnosis.

If you had any of the above, did a hysterectomy make things better? I'm v nervous about major surgery - and given I've put up with the pain and bloating for decades already, if the menopause fixes these issues, and it might not be far off, then maybe waiting is better?

I had full hysterectomy after lots of pain and flooding etc. Polyps had been found and were pre-cancerous. Apart from the first evening after the op, I am so pleased I had it done. There was very little pain from the operation.. of course I couldn't do much for 6 weeks so the internal stitches could heal but it didn't hurt. I had pinhole surgery. They found severe endometriosis so the op was complicated and only just avoided open surgery. I wonder if it's worth asking if they can do pinhole surgery and thus an easier recovery.

Had a total hysterectomy via keyhole surgery 2 years ago. Best thing I ever did. Few days of pain then back in work after a fortnight (albeit slowly). Suffered for years, wish I'd done it much sooner would have if I hadn't been forced to get a coil first .

I had fibroids, Adenomyosis and endometriosis and had a full hysterectomy 5 years ago.

I had years of anaemia, low ferritin, terrible periods and pain and I would bleed through an ultra tampon and pad in about 90 minutes. I had to plan all journeys and lived in fear of having my period if I needed to travel etc.

The hysterectomy has been life changing, no regrets whatsoever. Mine couldn’t be keyhole due to severe stage 4 endo but I recovered quickly. I now have no bleeding, no pain and no fatigue.

I’d go for it, I believe Adenomyosis isn’t resolved by menopause anyway.

I've recently had a hysterectomy (abdominal, with cervix, tubes and ovaries also removed), and like pp wish I'd had it done much sooner. The surgery was nothing like as bad as I'd expected. Pain was very manageable, off work for 8 weeks, though could have returned slightly earlier if it weren't for the nature of my job. It is not guaranteed that menopause will solve those issues. If you find yourself needing to take HRT, the oestrogen will continue to feed the fibroids, so they're not likely to shrink. I honestly think that women are told that menopause will be the end of these problems to deter us from seeking surgical resolutions.

I had a total hysterectomy and wish I'd had it sooner instead of trying an ablation first. It was definitely the best choice.

Thanks - that seems unanimous!