Aa
period after partial hysterectomy
I am 32 years old and had a partial hysterectomy 6 1/2 weeks ago. This was after having problems with my period over the years, being married for 11 years and deciding we didn't want any more children, and the number one issue...a growth on my ovary that continued growing over 3 months. After pain for 6 months off and on and a trip to the emergency room, with pain so severe it made me double over, it was found on a CAT scan that I had a good size cyst that they thought burst. When I went to my OBGYN and had a vaginal sonogram they found not a cyst that had burst but one that doubled in size from the 2 weeks prior trip to the emergency room. My doctors suggestion was a laproscoptic surgery to remove the cyst and I asked about a hysterectomy and he agreed to do as I wished. I had my utereus removed along with the cystic ovary and the fallapian tube on that side. Upon my wish the doctor left the other ovary and tube and cervix. I was informed by him later that because the cyst ended up being an endometrioma caused by endometriosis starting that I might later have the same trouble on the other ovary. When my surgery was done it was 2 weeks til my next period. I bleed very little and had just a little bit of pain afterward. However I did have somewhat of a period. When I went back for my 4 wk checkup the doctor asked me a lot of questions, one was if I had a period and I told him yes. He then informed me that some women do have periods after a hysterectomy. AFTER HAVING A 2ND PERIOD SINCE SURGERY I AM WONDERING IF THIS IS NORMAL OR NOT????? Everyone says it isn't.
Some of You talk like your a Dr. But you are wrong it is Totally possible to have a period without a uterus. I had my enlarged uterus removed over 2 yrs ago and I still have a period every month. My uterine wall grew onto my cervix, so now my cervix sheds... Ya it ***** and I need to have my cervix removed... So sorry to tell some of you it may continue, in the beginning my Dr said it may stop- no suck luck...
Some of You talk like your a Dr. But you are wrong it is Totally possible to have a period without a uterus. I had my enlarged uterus removed over 2 yrs ago and I still have a period every month. My uterine wall grew onto my cervix, so now my cervix sheds... Ya it ***** and I need to have my cervix removed... So sorry to tell some of you it may continue, in the beginning my Dr said it may stop- no suck luck...
I'm wondering if you are still having the same symptoms still. I had my hysterectomy almost 4 years ago and had my cervix removed too and 2 years ago I started having a "fake period" and had another surgery last year only to have my "fake period" return and I'm scheduled for surgery #3 in a few months.
It's frustrating to hear the doctor say... wow, I've never had this happen before or I've never heard of this happening before.
It's frustrating to hear the doctor say... wow, I've never had this happen before or I've never heard of this happening before.
I had a UTI 26 years ago that was so severe, I had blood in my urine. I remember it well, because I was sitting for the CPA exam in excruciating pain. I turned in my completed exam, left the exam site, and went right to the ER. Passed the exam too!
A very close friend of mine is scheduled to undergo a hysterectomy to treat endometrial cancer very soon, so I have been doing research on that topic. I stumbled onto this conversation, and was interested in sharing my experience.
I had a partial (or subtotal) hysterectomy 14 years ago, at the age of 38. Since I was 12 years old, I had severely painful periods (“dysmenorrhea”), a very heavy flow, periods that sometimes lasted as long as ten days and were never regular. In other words, my life was a living hell. Like a fool, I went to the same sadistic OB-GYN for nearly ten years; every year, I repeated my complaints about the pain and so on, and every year, he told me that it was probably endometriosis, which could only be definitively diagnosed with surgery. So take more pain meds, stay on the Pill, and suffer through it.
After my husband and I moved to another city for a job change, I saw a new doctor. After I explained my severe problems, he wasted no time ordering a vaginal ultrasound; very simple and low cost. It revealed that I had severe fibroid tumors. The doc said they had probably been there for at least ten years, growing continually, fueled by the estrogen in my body. The largest was the size of a softball, and there were so many that my uterus had ballooned to the size of a 4-month pregnancy; I actually had stretchmarks!
There were not many choices in 1998: (1) medications to put me in menopause, stopping the production of the estrogen that was causing the fibroids to grow; (2) D&C to literally scrape them out of my uterus, which would preserve fertility, but they would eventually start to grow back; or (3) hysterectomy. My husband was 15 years older than I, and we had no plans to ever have children, so after 26 years of a living hell, the choice was an easy one for me. I told my doc to rip out the plumbing, as soon as possible. I even tried to talk him into taking out my ovaries as well, so that I wouldn’t have to worry about ovarian cancer, which scared me, and still does. He said unless he saw problems with them when he did the surgery, he wouldn’t do that; I was too young. He also said that he would leave my cervix, since it helps support the other structures in the pelvic area, especially the bladder.
I got the diagnosis in July, and had the surgery in late September, two days after my 38th birthday. I have always said it was the best birthday present I ever got. But those last two months were really scary; the Pill wasn’t really doing its job of regulating my periods any more, and I was bleeding almost non-stop. During that time, I read a story about a woman who bled to death as a result of severe fibroid tumors. That news about did me in; I couldn’t wait to go to the hospital!
Here’s another little statistic I learned: 50% of women over the age of 35 suffer from fibroids to a degree. I am only one person, but I am here to tell you: that hysterectomy was the best thing that ever happened to me. It may even have saved my life, thinking about the woman who bled to death. I was in the hospital for three days, off work for two weeks; I did everything I was supposed to according to the recovery instructions, so I had no adhesions or other complications. I healed beautifully; still have a six-inch scar but who cares? I threw away the Pill, the pain meds and the tampons and pads, and any regrets I may have had about fertility. And frankly, considering how messed up my uterus was, I seriously doubt that I would have been able to conceive, and if I had, I can’t imagine how there would have been room for a baby to develop normally. Of course, I had no way of knowing in 1998 that I would be widowed three years later, or that two years after that, I would marry my childhood sweetheart, who gave up his chance to have children when he married me. But even so, as a couple, we have no regrets; he told me he would rather have me than kids (his first wife was a real piece of work).
So I still have my ovaries, Fallopian tubes and cervix. For several years after the surgery, I still had pain when I ovulated—talk about adding insult to injury. As if the severe pain once a month wasn’t bad enough, I also had pain with ovulation, what my mother, whose ancestry was German, called “Mittelschmerz” or “middle pain,” referring to pain in the middle of the menstrual cycle. My doc told me that eventually I would probably stop ovulating, since we had essentially short-circuited everything, and I guess that was true, because even that pain eventually stopped too.
I have never once had any kind of bleeding or other discharge. At all. Never. Not in 14 years. No uterus, no endometrium, no buildup to be discharged when there is no conception. In my opinion,based on everything I know about the female reproductive system, if you have had a hysterectomy of any kind, and you are experiencing bleeding or other discharge, it is NOT normal, and you should get yourself to the doc IMMEDIATELY. Do not waste time looking for answers on health websites from armchair physicians; the only way to know for sure what is going on is to get to the doc so the necessary diagnostic tests can be performed to get a diagnosis. Be polite but firm with your doc; if he or she balks at ordering a test, go to another doc. Don’t be like I was, and assume that one doc has the only answers. I suffered needlessly for ten years longer than I needed to, thanks to that sadistic doctor. It’s your body and your right to get the answers you need.
Interestingly, now that I am 52, with no uterus, whether or not I am actually “in menopause” is sort of a guessing game. Each year when I see my GYN (a gal that I love), she asks me how I’m feeling; last year was awful; I was hot all the time, but not hot, if you get what I mean. She prescribed Estratest for me, and I took it for six months. It made me break out like when I was 16; told her I’m not going through puberty again, so I quit it. Found an over-the-counter remedy that has all the stuff you hear about on TV—one formulation for the day time, and another for night—and it’s working well. Showed it to my doc at my last visit, and she was very impressed with it.
The only other issue I have had since my hysterectomy is that my bladder muscles aren’t as strong as they used to be (age contributes to that too). I just have to make sure I don’t wait too long to go, and I do occasionally slap on a light days pad. Kegel exercises would probably help with this; I’m just lazy.
I have also heard that lack of a uterus has a negative effect on sexual activity—lack of sensation, etc. I have never noticed any such thing; if anything, sexual activity improved for me—no more periods, no more pain, so I felt better about myself in general. That can only be a good thing; at least it has been for me.
That’s my story, for what it’s worth. If it is helpful to anyone else who reads it, I’m glad. If you think it’s bunk, as I said at the beginning, I’m only one person. I don’t pretend to speak for everyone, or to be any kind of an expert.
I had a partial (or subtotal) hysterectomy 14 years ago, at the age of 38. Since I was 12 years old, I had severely painful periods (“dysmenorrhea”), a very heavy flow, periods that sometimes lasted as long as ten days and were never regular. In other words, my life was a living hell. Like a fool, I went to the same sadistic OB-GYN for nearly ten years; every year, I repeated my complaints about the pain and so on, and every year, he told me that it was probably endometriosis, which could only be definitively diagnosed with surgery. So take more pain meds, stay on the Pill, and suffer through it.
After my husband and I moved to another city for a job change, I saw a new doctor. After I explained my severe problems, he wasted no time ordering a vaginal ultrasound; very simple and low cost. It revealed that I had severe fibroid tumors. The doc said they had probably been there for at least ten years, growing continually, fueled by the estrogen in my body. The largest was the size of a softball, and there were so many that my uterus had ballooned to the size of a 4-month pregnancy; I actually had stretchmarks!
There were not many choices in 1998: (1) medications to put me in menopause, stopping the production of the estrogen that was causing the fibroids to grow; (2) D&C to literally scrape them out of my uterus, which would preserve fertility, but they would eventually start to grow back; or (3) hysterectomy. My husband was 15 years older than I, and we had no plans to ever have children, so after 26 years of a living hell, the choice was an easy one for me. I told my doc to rip out the plumbing, as soon as possible. I even tried to talk him into taking out my ovaries as well, so that I wouldn’t have to worry about ovarian cancer, which scared me, and still does. He said unless he saw problems with them when he did the surgery, he wouldn’t do that; I was too young. He also said that he would leave my cervix, since it helps support the other structures in the pelvic area, especially the bladder.
I got the diagnosis in July, and had the surgery in late September, two days after my 38th birthday. I have always said it was the best birthday present I ever got. But those last two months were really scary; the Pill wasn’t really doing its job of regulating my periods any more, and I was bleeding almost non-stop. During that time, I read a story about a woman who bled to death as a result of severe fibroid tumors. That news about did me in; I couldn’t wait to go to the hospital!
Here’s another little statistic I learned: 50% of women over the age of 35 suffer from fibroids to a degree. I am only one person, but I am here to tell you: that hysterectomy was the best thing that ever happened to me. It may even have saved my life, thinking about the woman who bled to death. I was in the hospital for three days, off work for two weeks; I did everything I was supposed to according to the recovery instructions, so I had no adhesions or other complications. I healed beautifully; still have a six-inch scar but who cares? I threw away the Pill, the pain meds and the tampons and pads, and any regrets I may have had about fertility. And frankly, considering how messed up my uterus was, I seriously doubt that I would have been able to conceive, and if I had, I can’t imagine how there would have been room for a baby to develop normally. Of course, I had no way of knowing in 1998 that I would be widowed three years later, or that two years after that, I would marry my childhood sweetheart, who gave up his chance to have children when he married me. But even so, as a couple, we have no regrets; he told me he would rather have me than kids (his first wife was a real piece of work).
So I still have my ovaries, Fallopian tubes and cervix. For several years after the surgery, I still had pain when I ovulated—talk about adding insult to injury. As if the severe pain once a month wasn’t bad enough, I also had pain with ovulation, what my mother, whose ancestry was German, called “Mittelschmerz” or “middle pain,” referring to pain in the middle of the menstrual cycle. My doc told me that eventually I would probably stop ovulating, since we had essentially short-circuited everything, and I guess that was true, because even that pain eventually stopped too.
I have never once had any kind of bleeding or other discharge. At all. Never. Not in 14 years. No uterus, no endometrium, no buildup to be discharged when there is no conception. In my opinion,based on everything I know about the female reproductive system, if you have had a hysterectomy of any kind, and you are experiencing bleeding or other discharge, it is NOT normal, and you should get yourself to the doc IMMEDIATELY. Do not waste time looking for answers on health websites from armchair physicians; the only way to know for sure what is going on is to get to the doc so the necessary diagnostic tests can be performed to get a diagnosis. Be polite but firm with your doc; if he or she balks at ordering a test, go to another doc. Don’t be like I was, and assume that one doc has the only answers. I suffered needlessly for ten years longer than I needed to, thanks to that sadistic doctor. It’s your body and your right to get the answers you need.
Interestingly, now that I am 52, with no uterus, whether or not I am actually “in menopause” is sort of a guessing game. Each year when I see my GYN (a gal that I love), she asks me how I’m feeling; last year was awful; I was hot all the time, but not hot, if you get what I mean. She prescribed Estratest for me, and I took it for six months. It made me break out like when I was 16; told her I’m not going through puberty again, so I quit it. Found an over-the-counter remedy that has all the stuff you hear about on TV—one formulation for the day time, and another for night—and it’s working well. Showed it to my doc at my last visit, and she was very impressed with it.
The only other issue I have had since my hysterectomy is that my bladder muscles aren’t as strong as they used to be (age contributes to that too). I just have to make sure I don’t wait too long to go, and I do occasionally slap on a light days pad. Kegel exercises would probably help with this; I’m just lazy.
I have also heard that lack of a uterus has a negative effect on sexual activity—lack of sensation, etc. I have never noticed any such thing; if anything, sexual activity improved for me—no more periods, no more pain, so I felt better about myself in general. That can only be a good thing; at least it has been for me.
That’s my story, for what it’s worth. If it is helpful to anyone else who reads it, I’m glad. If you think it’s bunk, as I said at the beginning, I’m only one person. I don’t pretend to speak for everyone, or to be any kind of an expert.
I am currently recovering from a partial hysterectomy. The plan was to do a total hysterectomy but because of adhesions from a previous vertical c section, they were not able to separate my bladder from my cervix. Because of this, they had to leave the cervix and part of the uterus behind. I was told my cervix might still respond to my ovaries and I may have bleeding.
Not the result I wanted but there was nothing that could be done. I did suffer an injury to my bladder during the procedure when they were trying to separate it from my cervix and I came home with a Foley catheter that I had to leave in for a week. That has since been removed and I am doing well.
I hope this information helps..
Tina
Not the result I wanted but there was nothing that could be done. I did suffer an injury to my bladder during the procedure when they were trying to separate it from my cervix and I came home with a Foley catheter that I had to leave in for a week. That has since been removed and I am doing well.
I hope this information helps..
Tina
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