Hysterectomy

Okay, so. I have wanted to talk about this for a while,  but never really found the right platform. So now that I have this blog, I might as well fling it up here.

I recently had a hysterectomy, or to be precise: a total pelvic clearance. Which means removal of the uterus, ovaries and cervix. The whole nine yards. I have suffered with endometriosis since I was 12 and as my husband and I didn’t want any more children and I was sick and tired of being in pain, I chose for the drastic option when my surgeon presented me with the options available.

Up until the follow up appointment following the surgery I questioned my decision. Had I not been too drastic? Could I have had the endometriosis removed by excision and stayed on the pill for a few more years (even though any pill I tried gave me depression and anxiety)? But then at my follow up appointment my consultant told me that upon biopsy of the uterus they found I also had extensive adenomyosis. This is the growth of fibroids in the uterine wall. Which is only treatable by hysterectomy and which is usually only detected after said hysterectomy. This reinforced my decision to have a hysterectomy, so I was really relieved by the news.

Flash forward four months (i.e. now). I am so happy I chose for a full pelvic clearance. My hormones are on even keel again thanks to HRT, although to be fair, I felt super happy even in the six weeks after my surgery before I was put on HRT. The difference is staggering. I always say to people, “I am a whole new woman.” And it’s true. I feel so much happier, more energetic and wow, has my libido ever come back. Sex has never been better, except maybe when I was 20. I wish I had had this operation years ago. All those years of living in pain, of not enjoying sex (imagine!), of horrendous periods and permanent exhaustion. I was a shadow of myself and I had lived like that for ages.

Of course there are risks with having a hysterectomy. I am religious at doing my pelvic floor exercises, but I am lucky in the sense that I had both my kids by Caesarean section, so the risk of prolapse is low. Not everyone has a good experience with hysterectomy and some women experience a serious hormonal imbalance. I just wanted to provide a happy story in the face of so much negativity. And I don’t regret having a full pelvic clearance. A few weeks after I had my operation, my auntie died of ovarian cancer. That is something I never have to worry about.

I am lucky to have had a consultant who took my complaints seriously and who provided me good options. And I am not even 40 yet, so I have lots of years in which to enjoy my newfound energy and health.