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Hysterectomies do not cure endo.From: D (anonymous@obgyn.net)Thu Mar 29 21:50:56 2007
There's been a number of posts recently from women considering hysterectomies to deal with their endometriosis. I'm very sorry that there are still doctors out there promoting this as a treatment because I think they are doing a great disservice to their patients. Hysterectomies don't cure endo. In one small study, the pain relief women who had hysterectomies got was comparable or even less than what women who have conservative laparoscopic excision surgery acheive: http://www.wdxcyber.com/npain06.htm "In this study, 80% of the women under age 30 reported that the hysterectomy completely cured their pain. On the other hand, 50% of the women still admitted to painful intercourse (dyspareunia). It is not clear if that was due to low estrogens if the ovaries were also removed at the time of hysterectomy, but it must temper the 80% report of being pain free." The highly regarded Women's Surgery Group has this to say: http://www.womenssurgerygroup.com/conditions/Endometriosis/myths.asp "Hysterectomy absolutely, positively will stop a woman from menstruating. Obviously, this also stops menstrual cramps. Removing the uterus, however, has no effect whatsoever on endometriosis. If the endometrial implants are responsible for symptoms (pain with intercourse, diarrhea, painful bowel movements, painful or frequent urination) and they are not removed along with the uterus, the symptoms will not change. Similarily, removing the ovaries and leaving endometrial implants behind is not likely to do anything but throw the patient into menopause, possibly creating a whole new set of problems. When a hysterectomy is performed for endometriosis, removing the endometrial implants along with the uterus give the patient the best possible chance for relieving her symptoms. We always try to preserve the ovaries if possible, particularly in the younger patients. Hysterectomy with or without removal of the ovaries does not, repeat does not, cure endometriosis." Dr. Redwine, a leading endo excision specialist, found higher somewhat success rates for hysterectomies, but that "removal of the pelvic organs will remove all endometriosis in only about 4% of patients" - and the problems the endo caused will likely continue: http://www.endometriosistreatment.org/html/reprint7.html Then there are the effects of surgical menopause to contend with, including higher risk for osteoporosis and heart disease: http://www.project-aware.org/Experience/premature.shtml If your doctor is pushing you to have a hysterectomy to solve problems with endo you need to find a better doctor, and I know that isn't always easy or simple. The two main resources I know of for finding endo specialists are the endodocs yahoo group linked at the bottom of this post, and the Endo Victims doctor list: http://www.geocities.com/endovictims/endodocs.html (If anyone knows any other lists or places to find doctors, please post them!) Another really sad part of this disease is how many women with endo suffer with undertreated pain, and it does't have to be that way. Doctors should treat patients' pain, or they should refer people to pain management specialists. Because it can take time to find a doctor and have surgery and most doctors aren't comfortable prescribing stronger pain meds, getting into pain management can be very helpful. Most women can get at least a reasonable amount of relief from pain working with a pain management specialist. For me, my pain doctor has made the difference between being unable to get out of bed from the pain and nausea, and working fulltime. It's not perfect, but it's hugely improved. Here's a few links with more: The National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain: http://www.paincare.org/index.html American Chronic Pain Association: http://www.theacpa.org/ American Pain Foundation: http://www.painfoundation.com/ As ever I hope this info helps - and I do hope it doesn't offend anyone! I'm not anti-hysterectomy, there are times when they are necessary and beneficial. It's just that they don't cure endo!
-- Find an endo specialist in the ERC's EndoDocs group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndoDocs/
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Last Updated: Thu Oct 2 03:54:28 2008