Doesn’t appear to be true; what seems to be the case is that stimulation of the nipples and genitals stimulate the same parts of the brain. Which is interesting, and seems to indicate that if you have your uterus removed, there’s actually a great deal of sensory redundancy built in.
Not even going to bother with a TMI alert, the weaker sex [males] will have to watch out for themselves.
I am not incontinent. Obviously since I had my ovaries removed I no longer have whatever abnormal function they wanted to do occasionally when they were still installed happening. Compression of the spine I had when I still had them - I had parathyroid problems that put me into skeletal danger that resolved more or less when I had one of the parathyroid glands yanked out with extreme prejudice. I already had joint pain thanks to various forms of arthritis in all the joints south of my waist [except for my ankles, thanks God.:rolleyes:] My personality changed for the better because I was no longer bleeding out and having labor quality cramps 1-2 weeks each month. Lack of pain is amazing in what it can do to a person’s personality. And yes, my sexual based responses did change. I got the diminished lubrication and thinning of the tissues - it is part and parcel with the loss of most of the sexual based hormones going on french leave - we now have to use lubricant and a bit of a change in positions when starting up until my vagina sort of adjusts to insertion and movement. My nipples and external organs are just as sensitive as always. I am just as interested in getting laid as always and can indulge 52 weeks of the year now and I never ever have to worry about possible pregnancy [though I did have a tubal at 24, I sort of got pregnant accidentally 10 years afterwards because I had the rubber band job, not the remove the tubes type. I subsequently had them actually cut afterwards.]
And I still do my kegels as it provides for pelvic floor muscle tone and I am hoping I never have to deal with incontinence because of assiduous kegeling. Google uterine prolaps, that is why I started kegeling way back in the early 80s when I had my first tubal ligation.
Haha! I realize most if it isn’t meant to be funny, but I giggled the whole way through.
Thanks for the details aruvqan, that’s the kind of stuff I’m interested in hearing about. Maybe I’ll take up kegels for the sake of prevention this summer, even if I’m still on the fence about surgery. I’ve already been doing yoga and trying to jog for the sake of my poor meltering bones, so it won’t be much trouble to just add that in.
As far as diminished lubrication and thinning of tissues, I’ve already got that from the years of Depo Provera. Depo saps your estrogen or something, while thinning out the walls of the uterus and whatnot. Apparently if you’re on it too long, it starts to thin other stuff out too. :eek:
A hysterectomy is major surgery, even if done laparoscopically (i.e. they’re going to cut you open), but an endometrial ablation is very minimally invasive. All they do is stick a balloon catheter thru your vagina, thru the cervix, then into the uterus. They fill the balloon with liquid, heat the liquid to a specific temperature and for a specific period of time. Then once the endometrium is destroyed, they deflate the balloon, pull it out and send you home.
There is some cramping involved, followed by heavy shedding of the endometrial lining…but no cutting, no long recovery, no loss of organs, etc. I’ve seen different studies on efficacy–some women have no periods at all afterwards, some have light periods, and for a small percent it does not work. But because it is outpatient and recovery is fast, I would certainly give it a try before getting a hysterectomy. Especially if you are concerned about taking too much time off work. This is the type of procedure that you can do on a Friday, recup over the weekend, then return to work on Monday.
It will, however, (like hysterectomy) render you infertile, but you’d have none of the risks of major surgery (not even anesthesia risks, since they do it under conscious sedation).
I spoke to the doc about ablation on Monday morning, and she said she didn’t recommend it in my case because I’ve never given birth and that would make it much, much more painful. On top of that, as you say most people wind up infertile afterwards so the result would be the same as the hysterectomy, only there’s no risk that you might have to have the hysterectomy done again. Lots of women wind up having to have the ablation done more than once. She also said that the infertility is not 100%, and occasionally women do get pregnant afterward. She said in 25 years she’s seen 3 women get pregnant after an ablation. Two miscarried, which is an awful experience I’m sure, and the third carried her baby to term but had major complications during the birth and had to have an emergency caesarian hysterectomy, which is gory and dangerous. If they did the ablation and then took away my Depo I’d be too afraid of getting pregnant to ever have sex again, frankly.
However, I am seriously looking at the Mirena IUD as an alternative. They aren’t sure I’m a candidate for one (never given birth) but I’m scheduled for an ultrasound so they can assess the situation. If they get it in and it keeps my periods away (it says 1 in 5 women have no periods with it) then that buys me another 5 years before I have to worry about surgery. That’s plenty of extra time for research and planning. If it doesn’t work, they can yank it and schedule my surgery for this fall. I think it’s worth trying, at least.
I really like the fact that you’re researching your alternatives so thoroughly.
I have always viewed hysterectomies as one of those things that are unpleasant and that one wants to avoid as much as practical, but if needed they should be done safely and efficiently. I’ve know a number of women who agonized over the decision to have their uterus out who, afterwards, found it to be a massive improvement in their situation.
If you do go forward with the surgery I wish you a speedy and uneventful recovery.
Thanks, Broomstick. This is actually something I’ve been thinking about since I was a teenager, but never took the time to really research it until now because nobody had ever told me I could really do it until this year. Even though I realize that it’s the best and most permanent solution, I feel obligated to exhaust all my other resources first. The expense is an issue, plus the potential risks of surgery, the hospital stay and the time off work. I can file FMLA and I’ll be fine, but I don’t want to be cooped up in the house for 8 weeks until I absolutely have to be. Also, this sounds crazy, but I feel kind of sentimental about my uterus. I know, that’s stupid. But I feel like I’m rejecting a part of myself, and I think I need time to work through that. It’s an organ that’s given me nothing but pain and misery, but it’s *my *pain and misery, dammit! (I was like this with my wisdom teeth, too. The dentist let me keep one as a souvenir, and that made me feel better. I don’t think they’ll let me keep the uterus.)
No, it’s not stupid, silly, or crazy. It IS one of your body parts. It would be a little strange if you were blase about lopping off bits of yourself, wouldn’t it? I’d say it’s very normal to hesitate having bits removed.
I had a co-worker who was pondering this for years while I knew her. She said something along the lines of how bizarre it was to consider removing a perfectly normal body organ. I said yes, but your uterus is not normal - it’s malfunctioning. It’s gone wrong. It’s not a matter of removing something healthy and functional, it’s a matter of dealing with something UNhealthy and MALfunctioning. Sometimes, removing such a thing is the best overall, though of course not something to be done lightly.
Don’t ever let anyone else try to make you feel bad about about dealing with a health problem like this. You’re “rejecting” a part of your body that refuses to work correctly even though you’ve given it every opportunity to do so and attempted to fix it. At that point, considering removal is a completely rational notion, even as your emotional responses are a completely normal non-rational response to the notion.
I guess what I’m saying is that I’ve seen this struggle before in all too many of our fellow women. I absolutely will support you whatever you decide (if you even feel a need for a stranger’s support 
) but the questions you ask and the emotions you describe are ones I’ve heard before even if I haven’t experienced this myself. You strike me as very normal for someone in your situation, except that you seem to be doing much more research than typical. Which is good.
You can ask, you know. It’s a little unusual, but you aren’t the first to ask for that either. If it really is important to you, and would help you come to terms with this, ask the question. When my spouse had to have most of the bone in his lower leg removed many years ago he was given the option of having the bits cremated and given to him. (He didn’t keep them). It’s not unknown for people to have amputated limbs and bits preserved and keep them for eventual burial when they die. I know that sounds horribly morbid to a lot of folks, and it’s not a widely advertised option, but you might be able to put a decorative jar on your mantel with the mortal remains of your offending uterus in it, if you so choose.
Heh, I’m one of those who has to verify what the doctor tells me. Not that I think they’re all quacks (my ob/gyn is brilliant, in fact) but they are people, not gods, and they can make mistakes. I don’t ever go into a procedure or take a medicine without researching it thoroughly beforehand.
That’s a good idea, about the cremating the lost limbs. I’ll ask when I go for my ultrasound if there’s some similar service they provide or if I can bribe them to let me take it home in a jar. Hopefully they’ll install my Mirena that day, if they decide I can have one, and that will give me extra time for begging. I’m sure I’m not the first weirdo they’ve met.
I’ve heard that Orthodox Jews want ALL their parts to be buried with them. Hospitals and doctors who have a large Orthodox population find ways to accommodate their requests. I don’t know if Pathology has a special closet filled with shelves that contain jars of formalin labeled with “Aunt Rebecca’s gall bladder” or “Grandpa Aaron’s appendix,” but your request is NOT without precedent.
~VOW
One potential down side: my wife had a laparoscopic hysterectomy for endometriosis a year and a half ago – just the uterus, not the cervix or the ovaries – and unfortunately she still gets excruciating pain and some bleeding on a monthly basis. The bleeding, at least, was pretty minor, until this month, when she suddenly started bleeding much more heavily, almost back to her old period level (but just blood, not tissues and clots, so it’s still at least a little better than it was.) The pain is still debilitating, though, and seems to be getting worse and worse with every month.
We think the endo must be in her cervix and in other areas of her abdomen as well. She’s going to try to go back to the gynecologist soon to see if they can find out.
Cite?
There is none, it is some talking head speaking out of their ass.
Go to the web board hystersisters, yes in any medical procedure there will always be a small percent that have negative results, but you will find the vast majority of women who end up with a full or partial hysterectomy are satisfied. After all, you don’t normally hear about successful procedures, people only grump about negative effects.
I had an infection along the incision site, but otherwise, I was completely happy about my hysterectomy. In fact, you could truthfully say that I’m ecstatic about it.
Yes, I acknowledge that a few women have had problems, and sometimes serious problems, because of their hysterectomies. In my experience, though, most women only regret that they hadn’t had it done sooner.
Good grief, now I’ve heard everything. Could you *please *provide a link to the “many” who attribute loss of vision to hysterectomy? Also, your claim of endocrine abnormality, assuming it had any credibility at all, would be more likely related to salpingectomy (removal of the ovaries) than to hysterectomy.
I’m thinking I may need to have a whole-body scan, because even after a hysterectomy I have nipple sensation, have retained sexual function, and I can see, so obviously my uterus has grown back :eek:.
Salpingectomy is removal of the Fallopian tubes; oopherectomy is the removal of only the ovaries.
Either way, langer12 appears to be speaking from no medical background.
Any “connection” between the breast tissue and the uterus is HORMONAL. Oxytocin plays several roles in childbearing: one is to stimulate uterine contractions of labor, and the other is to facilitate breast feeding.
Women who have had more than one child often feel strong uterine contractions during breast feeding, called “afterpains.” This is caused by the oxytocin.
No nerve connections.
~VOW
You’re correct, of course. I knew I was missing something there. In my case it was a salpingo-oophorectomy. Still didn’t affect my vision, though :D.
A complete hysterectomy will ONLY affect your vision if somehow the Fallopian tubes are hooked around the optic nerves.
eyeroll
~VOW
Many women report the growth of a second head after hysterectomy. It’s true!
I’d be surprised if they let her do this, actually - I asked about keeping my gallstones and was told in horror that this was NOT POSSIBLE. Depends on the facility, of course.
A question about the whole endometriosis / hysterectomy thing though: I had always thought that a big part of endometriosis was because the uterine lining got to places it didn’t belong, responded to normal monthly hormones, and that was the cause of the pain.
So having that tissue surgically removed would help (until more grew / migrated, obviously)… but why would removing the uterus itself help? It almost makes sense to me that removing the ovaries (to stop that hormonal stimulation), versus the uterus, would be a better option.
Sorry if that sounds dense, I’m genuinely curious as to the mechanism by which a hysterectomy would help endometriosis.