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Doctors Debate What To Remove During Hysterectomies
Being Cervix-y
New York, 12:40 PM
Sat Dec 19
73 posts in the last 24 hours
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Doctors Debate What To Remove During Hysterectomies |
Being Cervix-y |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
02/26/09
I know that my uterus isn't the only thing that defines me as a woman, but to think of it being removed feels like a loss of my femininity, sexuality, and identity. To lose the ability to orgasm would feel like a loss of identity, I guess. Does that make sense?
I wasn't aware that they could leave the cervix. To be able to keep a part of me would mean a lot.
02/26/09
02/26/09
She was also 12 weeks pregnant and didn't know it.
You bet your ass I'm going to get a second opinion--and a third, and a fourth--if a doctor tells me I need a hysterectomy.
(Her daughter turned out just fine and is now an adorable 6-year-old terror.)
02/26/09
This is something I can talk about with experience. If a doctor tells you that you need a hysterectomy PLEASE go and see a couple of other docs!! I had a complete and total hysterectomy when I was 25 and it has been difficult in so many ways. Though I needed to have mine, the doctor could have possibly left one of my ovaries but instead he chose the extreme route.
For quite some time I was on HRT until I decided to go off of it. I have a family history of breast cancer and heart disease and didn't want to push my luck with taking a medication that could increase my chances. So I got to go through menopause early. That was real fun for my family.
02/26/09
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How much do you discuss epidemiology in med school? I'm guessing, not much, but I hope I'm wrong.
PS don't mean to bombard you with questions...just thinking out loud
02/26/09
I'm not in med school, so I couldn't tell you about epidemiology--a medi-Jezzie will need to weigh in on that one!
02/26/09
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I'd be pretty uneasy about removing my ovaries, but I imagine it's really a case-by-case basis.
02/26/09
02/26/09
Dwight: I thought you had your vagina removed during your hysterectomy.
Meredity. No. I still have a vagina.
02/26/09
I think that I have recently misplaced my brain/typing skills.
02/26/09
Now, I do have a friend who will tell her that from her personal experiences, sex is different afterwards. So, I think it's very troubling that this aspect of it is so ignored. My friend actually talked to me about it before I had it. Of course, no doctor wanted to (with either of us).
02/26/09
As luck would have it, whatever it was that was causing periods from hell eased up, but I've always thought what a strange reaction that was.
02/26/09
Even though the hysterectomy was the very best thing I have ever done for myself and my health, for me, personally, sex is different. Both my parents are docs (my mother an OB-GYN), so I knew loosing the cervix was going to diminish my orgasms and (sorry for the over share, but it should be said) decrease lubrication. But as someone who absolutely LOVES sex and has always been a push button orgasmer, the fact that it now takes longer to reach orgasm and that my lower belly no longer quivers for thirty minutes afterward has been challenging to adjust to. Knowing what I know now, would I go back and change my course of action? Not a chance! I have never been happier or healthier since that fucker was removed. But Mr. Rowing and I have to work just a little harder in the sack. Good thing it is such a fun project to work on!
02/26/09
02/26/09
That said, the sudden onset of menopause when they yanked her ovaries has been very difficult for my mom. She has HORRIBLE hot flashes that mean she only sleeps for 2-3 hours at a time during the night, and has been going back and forth on using hormone replacement therapy. She feels much better while on it, but is (sensibly) afraid of its long term consequences.
02/26/09
I had a friend who had the ovaries removed, too and she had bad symptoms from that, just like your mom. I still have the pleasure of regular menopause to look forward to.
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Mostly it goes back to the only real point that anecdata gives us: we need a health care system that will make real options, real consultations, and real second opinions available to real patients.
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So yes, ask questions. Speak up. Get a second opinion. You may need a hysterectomy, but you might not.
02/26/09
02/26/09
Someone above said it best--the mentality seems to be "when it doubt, cut it out."
I love the quote about how leaving the cervix in puts a woman at risk for cancer. Really? I wonder how that doctor would react if I suggested removing his balls as a preventative move against testicular cancer.