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Re: Hysterectomy Time...From: anonymous@obgyn.netThu, 30 Nov 2000 03:23:51 -0800
To Sonnet and Cassandra... You're both right-- we're all well aware that a hysterectomy doesn't solve EVERYTHING that this lovely thing we call PCOS causes. Personally, I'm grateful that it will mean the end of just part of the symptoms, even if it's not a cure-all. We're looking at a total hysterectomy, not just the one bad ovary. See, the right one is definitely the worst but the left has been enlarged and covered in small cysts for years. I had a choice of having the cysts drained... but what good is it if the cysts keep coming back? Plus we're dealing with endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia, oddly-early menopausal symptoms (I'm only 36) , something unidentifiable in one ovary, and a prolapsed uterus. Periods that would go missing for a year at a time. (mind you, I particularly enjoyed not having a period for 13 months... but when they put me through 2 weeks of aggressive cancer testing every two years, you start to realize the importance of a regular period, like it or not!) For me, everything from the waist down has been painful and hyper-sensitive for the longest time. I've had doctors suggest in passing (over the last 10 years) that perhaps a hysterectomy, although frequently performed too often, may be the best thing for a childless-by-choice PCO'er like myself. It took me 10 years to finally come to terms with the inevitable and get tired of the pain and torture, enough to beg them to get this damned defective plumbing out of me. PCOS or not, I'm damaged goods. I have a family history of women with identical problems that also included massive fibroid tumors (I suspect that little blessing is next on my body's "to-do" list!) and ultimately ended up having early hysterectomies. The average age of the hysterectomy in my family is 40, so it appears we're genetically predisposed to gynecological catastrophe. Quite frankly girls, I'm not all enthused about saying no again and putting myself through another several years of pain and pill-juggling. I can't take it... I'm ready to get it over with. And I have a pretty high pain tolerance. I can deal with everything the hysterectomy will never affect. I know it won't cure my hyperinsulinemia, my adrenal insufficiency, and the headaches I get when my pituitary gland decides to inflame. But I'll tell ya... when the list of problems you deal with is long and seemingly endless, and you see a chance to cut that list in half, (no pun intended!) you welcome it. I'm petrified of the surgery itself but I'm trying to focus on the long-term effects and smile about the fact that I'll never have to take Provera to bring down an unwilling period again. (whew!) So of course, I'll have to continue on the Met, the Spiro, and the Avandia... some hormone replacement, of course, but the rest of the drugs I've had to take will go away. Once again, a shorter list. Don't know if removal of the defective ovaries will have a positive effect on the hair on my face or the pigmentation around my neck and under my breasts... but I can hope, right? ;-) Thanks everybody! -Annie
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