Hysterectomy..... and BSO?: I'm due to have... - Endometriosis UK

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Hysterectomy..... and BSO?

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I'm due to have a hysterectomy and my Consultant has mentioned also having my ovaries removed.

I'm convinced the hysterectomy is the right thing for me (I also have adenomyosis) but I'm concerned about the BSO as I'm currently 35 (nearly 36). I have a feeling that I would be best off trying to keep my ovaries if at all possible but the Consultant advised me this would increase my risk of further surgeries. Has anyone got any advice for my situation? X

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4 Replies
Stacey_Johnson profile image
Stacey_Johnson

Hi, sorry to hear what your going through.

I didn't want to just leave you hanging. I don't have much advice as I've only just been diagnosed with endo. But it's very final having hysterectomy so I would really think about it before saying yes or no. You are still really young too. Although I know how bad my pains are and some days I wish I could just be done with it I don't think I would want a hysterectomy until it was the last resort, however I do want children so it's difficult to say.

I wish you the best which ever way you go. X

JEWELS profile image
JEWELS in reply to Stacey_Johnson

As above really, it's not a cure and you still may have pain after.

Having your ovaries removed will help minimise the risk of further surgery. But going through a surgical menopause is not fun, so make sure you are prepared .

I had mine and never looked back, apart from a few surgerys after to correct a few problems

Good luck I'm sure the you will make the right choice for you!!

I had this surgery in March this year. For me it has been absolutely life changing. I was diagnosed late (january last year) after having horrendous periods right from the first one at 13. I was always told it was normal/IBS, all the usual nonsense. In 2014 my symptoms really started to increase and by the time I was diagnosed I was really unwell - having to go to A&E for pain relief and bleeding so much I would have accidents and couldn't leave the house.

I was diagnosed in jan 16 and at that point was told a hysterectomy was my best option. I had to wait to be referred on to a bsge centre (I had my surgery at the big centre in London) and they confirmed that I needed a hyst. It took two surgeries, one last november to fully map the disease and drain the cysts on my ovaries, and then the major surgery in november. Recovery was tough but I am nearly 6 months post op now and my life has improved so much.

I think two things are important before you agree - make sure you are with the best surgeon you can possibly access, and make sure you understand exactly why they are recommending this in your case. Statistics show that removal of ovaries does reduce the chance of needing further surgeries - around 50% of women who keep their ovaries will need further surgeries within 5 years, but this falls to 10% if ovaries are removed. If ovaries are kept, it is common for them to fail within a couple of years of the surgery and to go into early menopause anyway. I had mine removed because I had very large lesions and extensive bowel disease, and my consultant said that the priority had to be reducing the risk of additional surgeries to the bowel. He said that they could treat the menopausal symptoms but they couldn't do anything for a trashed bowel. It wasn't presented to me as an option but rather as the right thing in the circumstances. I had a large rectovaginal nodule, another one on my right uterosacral ligament, hydrosalpinx in my fallopian tubes, endometriomas on both ovaries, kissing ovaries, a large nodule on the right adnexae which had stuck my uterus to my bowel on the right, another one growing round my left ureter, bladder endo, and adenomyosis.

It was a really hard decision to make. I didn't want to do it. I cried a lot. But in the end, I was just so ill that I didn't really have a choice. I had 13 weeks without HRT post op, and I've now been on HRT for 11 weeks. It has reduced the hot flushes enough so they're manageable. I am struggling a bit with losing the weight I put on last year, but I've been told this is partly due to having 3 surgeries so close together plus all the drug treatments. I have found the emotional fallout from the surgery quite difficult at times but again this is something that just takes time. Sex is no longer painful and everything in that department still works. My husband says it doesn't feel any different. I've stopped fainting all the time, I'm not getting endless bouts of thrush and cystitis. I do feel really strange being menopausal at 39 but I do not miss periods at all, or the cycling of hormones, or PMT. I haven't needed any pain killers since a couple of weeks after the surgery, when before I needed them pretty much every day, and I've been able to reduce how many laxatives I take and now only need them maybe once a week instead of a huge dose every day.

It does hurt that I had to have it done. I miss my ovaries. But my quality of life has improved so much.

It is a very personal decision and a very difficult one, but there is life without them. x.

Such a helpful informative reply x thanks Jo

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