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[secretweapon]

I think if I had the kind of cancer diagnosis that you have, I would take the path you are taking.  This isn't just a case of fibroids which might be reduced by cutting off their blood flow or somethimg similar.  Cancer scares me.  I wish you all the luck with taking care of this.

I'd agree with Mccfan, and it sounds like you are making a very well-reasoned decision, ABDAngst.  The childbearing issue is what would frighten most people, but if this is not your major concern, then obviously you do what is best for your health.  Recovery time for a hysterectomy doesn't sound much worse than for an excision, and if it eliminates need for further excisions - well, that makes sense.

I am sending evil thoughts to you endocervical cells (die cells, die!), and warm, happy thoughts to you.

[ideagirl]

I think if I had the kind of cancer diagnosis that you have, I would take the path you are taking.  This isn't just a case of fibroids which might be reduced by cutting off their blood flow or somethimg similar.  Cancer scares me.  I wish you all the luck with taking care of this.

I agree. I remember hearing that a few years back a cohort of med students at my local med school (which has a nationwide reputation) marched into the dean's office and announced that, because they'd learned about the possible side effects of hysterectomies and the fact that 2/3 of them are performed unnecessarily, henceforth they were not going to perform hysterectomies unless it was for cancer or other life-threatening diseases requiring hysterectomy. Uterine cancer is the classic example of a good reason to get a hysterectomy.

But, like others have pointed out, an ooectomy (ovary removal) is a completely different and unrelated operation that requires its own justification (e.g., ovarian cancer).

[gennimom]

Look, I know people get panicked about the possible bad things that can happen in surgery, but they are so rare, it isn't worth it to stress over it.
When I found out I needed a radiocatheter ablation to stop my Wolfe-Parkinson-White (a congenital heart defect), I was a little concerned. The doctor very calmly explained the problem, the procedure, and the possible side effects. After I got home, I searched the internet and found a website by a man who had the procedure and was telling everyone to NOT have the procedure. He had a bad experience and was telling the reader to not do it and stay on medication.
I was on the medication. I did not enjoy it. It was a betablocker and it had me wanting to snooze all the time.
Also, the chances of having a side effect were so low as to be ridiculous. I decided to go through with it and am very glad I did. No more chance of a life-ending crisis, which this condition can cause, out of the blue. You just drop dead. Thank you, but no.

Now back to the subject at hand. Just because someone starts a website and a foundation because they had a bad time with a surgery doesn't mean everyone should just stop doing it. Yes, think about it, consider all the sides, get good information, and make an INFORMED decision. Don't let someone else's emotions stop you from doing what is best for you.

[catmom]

I am amazed at the short recovery times for some people. I didn't have a hysterectomy, I just an ovary removed due to a cyst. They sent me home from the hospital after 10 days. I could barely get out of bed and to the loo at that point. I had a really hard time just to get up a couple of times a day. It took another 2-3 weeks before I felt well enough to get to the grocery store around the corner. I wasn't able to sit up for extended periods, or stand or lift anything. I couldn't wear any of my normal clothes for a couple of months because my stomach was so bloated. It took me about half a year before I could move around without pain again. This was during grad school. I lost my stipend, I couldn't go to classes or do research and basically had to start over. Not a good experience.

[patchouli]

Check out this very, very informative site:  www.hystersisters.com

[octoprof]

I am amazed at the short recovery times for some people. I didn't have a hysterectomy, I just an ovary removed due to a cyst. They sent me home from the hospital after 10 days. I could barely get out of bed and to the loo at that point. I had a really hard time just to get up a couple of times a day. It took another 2-3 weeks before I felt well enough to get to the grocery store around the corner. I wasn't able to sit up for extended periods, or stand or lift anything. I couldn't wear any of my normal clothes for a couple of months because my stomach was so bloated. It took me about half a year before I could move around without pain again. This was during grad school. I lost my stipend, I couldn't go to classes or do research and basically had to start over. Not a good experience.

catmom, that sounds awful. I have heard that ovarian cysts are horribly painful. Apparently the rumor is true! Ick!

[infopri]

Catmom, that sounds terrible!  Was your experience typical, I wonder?  I was scheduled for surgery to have an ovarian cyst removed when I was 26.  At the time, there was fear that it was a malignant growth, rather than a cyst, so I was warned that I might lose the ovary, depending on what the doctors found when they went in, and that there was even an outside chance that I would need a hysterectomy.  I dodged the bullet, though; when I went in for my pre-op exam the day before the surgery, the cyst (as it turned out to be) was gone, all by itself. 

After hearing your experience, I think the bullet I dodged might actually have been a missile!  I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

[gennimom]

Catmom, I had one removed as well, for repeated cysts. It is not fun to end up in the emergency room time after time, or nearly have a car accident because of a cyst. My experience was not as bad, but I'm used to having an outpatient procedure and going back to work 2 days later. This time it was 2 weeks. It really took the stuffing out of me. When I commented on it to the doctor, she told me that anytime you take a piece out of the body, it does a number on your system. Still, it sounds like you had serious complications from yours!

[msparticularity]

Catmom, I had one removed as well, for repeated cysts. It is not fun to end up in the emergency room time after time, or nearly have a car accident because of a cyst. My experience was not as bad, but I'm used to having an outpatient procedure and going back to work 2 days later. This time it was 2 weeks. It really took the stuffing out of me. When I commented on it to the doctor, she told me that anytime you take a piece out of the body, it does a number on your system. Still, it sounds like you had serious complications from yours!

Yup - similar experiences to Gennimom's. I had repeated cysts on my right ovary, and over the years had 3 laparoscopies to drain the cysts. Each of these was an outpatient surgery (except the time they overdosed me on anesthesia, but that's another story...) and I was able to function pretty well within about 3 days, and return to completely normal activities within a couple of weeks.

The last time, the ovary was removed for being a repeat offender (and also for looking icky to my surgeon once she got in there). I just had one additional teeny-tiny incision directly over the ovary - perhaps 1/2", but what a difference in how I felt! Although I went back to work after a few days, I was weak and in pain for weeks, and didn't feel completely normal for 3-4 months! Just taking out a malfunctioning organ was really a trauma for my body. A good decision, but a more major experience.

[mimi1]

I looked through previous posts and didn't see this mentioned, but doesn't recovery time differ with hysterectomies depending on what kind you have (abdominal or vaginal)?  Maybe the posters who had quick recovery times had vaginal hysterectomies?  Just curious, but if it's TMI, I understand. 

[phdbliss]

mimi1 - that seems to be the case, but no one has specified. If it's not too uncomfortable for those who have been through it - perhaps they could elaborate as to which way the surgery was performed? I understand that the laparoscopy way is the best?!?

[octoprof]

mimi1 - that seems to be the case, but no one has specified. If it's not too uncomfortable for those who have been through it - perhaps they could elaborate as to which way the surgery was performed? I understand that the laparoscopy way is the best?!?

Mine was vaginal laparascopy.  Definitely you want to avoid being cut open in the abdomen, if possible.

[big_giant_head]

Indeed you do.  I had a cyst that weighed 10 pounds by the time they took it out.  It had completely subsumed the ovary it sat on.  Oh--no pain, either.  In fact I had no symptoms whatsoever except for the growing lump that I managed to ignore for a very long time.  No, that's not true.  I had heartburn a lot, and some of the other things that go along with carrying any large object in that general area.

My scar is nearly 9 inches long-  you can't do a laparoscopy on the Cyst that Ate Pittsburgh. 

I was pretty immobile for 2 or 3 weeks and then gradually got better.  But I didn't feel absolutely 100% better, in the sense that I could go running, lift weights, or take really long walks without that deep, deep reminder pain, for nearly two years.

But I'll say this from experience: you really only need the one ovary. 

[octoprof]

Indeed you do.  I had a cyst that weighed 10 pounds by the time they took it out.  It had completely subsumed the ovary it sat on.  Oh--no pain, either.  In fact I had no symptoms whatsoever except for the growing lump that I managed to ignore for a very long time.  No, that's not true.  I had heartburn a lot, and some of the other things that go along with carrying any large object in that general area.

My scar is nearly 9 inches long-  you can't do a laparoscopy on the Cyst that Ate Pittsburgh. 

I was pretty immobile for 2 or 3 weeks and then gradually got better.  But I didn't feel absolutely 100% better, in the sense that I could go running, lift weights, or take really long walks without that deep, deep reminder pain, for nearly two years.

But I'll say this from experience: you really only need the one ovary. 

Big giant head?  That's one big giant cyst! ACK!

[infopri]

Going through the abdominal wall (for any kind of surgery) is always going to require a longer recovery (and often a more painful one) than other techniques.  If you have a choice between going through the vagina and going through the abdominal wall, all other things being equal, always go for the vaginal route.

Unfortunately, all things often aren't equal, and sometimes there isn't a choice, as BGH said.