Problems continuing after a hysterectomy

[spice47]

! am 47 and I had a total hysterectomy for endometriosis 6 years ago and have continually had health problems since, mainly minor infections which seem to have increased in the last year so that I am almost constantly taking antibiotics. I also feel extremely tired, have chest pains and breathlessness occasionally, cannot take HRT apart from oestrogen cream, low dose. I suffer bloating and discomfort abdominally. I have had various investigations of the urinary tract as i have had frequent urinary infections and no problem has been found, now I am wondering whether it could be a bowel infection, as i did have scar tissue on the bowel a few years ago, has anyone had similar problems post menopause? I have very little support at home and at work, I think due to the continuing nature of the symptoms but infections can be very worrying, especially when antibiotics dont seem to work.

[lola47]

Hi , i am 32 , had a Partial Abdominal Hysterectomy (womb only) jan 2011 , continued pain, then a Trachelectomy (cervix removal) jan 2012 , continued pain , then Bilateral Salpingo Oopherectomy 2 weeks ago and although am surgically menopausal i still feel like the problem isnt solved...which i havnt told my family ..My gyne told me as i left his room the other day that it might be on bladder and bowel if i still have pain and makes sense as i feel like there is pressure down there all the time , discomfort and feel like i have a constant urine infection , do you think you may have endo on your other organs e.g bowel , bladder, intestines etc and will my menopause symptoms get worse as i dont think i can have HRT as hormones feed Endo

Thanks Alot for reading

[spice47 in reply to lola47]

Thank you for yor reply, I feel endo or scar tissue could be the cause but i don't know if they will investigate further, i think sometimes it is a poor immune system which can be a result of endometriosis but i am still waiting to find out. Try soya products as they can help menopause symptoms, or a low dose oestrogen cream if the doc says you can, the night sweats etc are difficult the first couple of years then do improve. I think it is the lack of energy that can get you down, so I am trying different food remedies at the moment,sesame seeds are high in calcium and soya milk instead of cows milk

All the best x

[Minnerva]

Hello ladies,

Nothing useful to add I'm afraid but I too had a total hyst 18 months ago due to endo and I too have bloating,discomfort and breathlessness.I try not to go on too much about it as I feel I am forever banging on about how my health is and I am aware that after years of pain from the endo,that the way I am feeling now is not anywhere near as bad in comparison but it does really worry me.I cannot take hrt due to the endo/oestrogen link so am suffering the symptoms of a surgically induced menopause.I have read about bloating and breathlessness in menopause and wondered if it is compounded in an early surgical menopause.Your pain could be adhesion related due to your operation,I did find this interesting:

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

and whilst some of it is irrelevant to us,further down the page it explains adhesions quite well.

Hope you both feel better soon xx

[spice47 in reply to Minnerva]

Thank you for your reply, I have just joined and it is brilliant to talk to people who understand what I mean. I'm sorry you had to have a hysterectomy, at least it has improved things for you. The bloating etc can make me look 8 months pregnant, bittersweet after a hysterectomy! Thank you for the article, I'm sure adhesions could be part of the problem, the other problem being that more investigation probably leads to more adhesions. I know how you feel about your health, I am the same, I think it is the uncertainty of it all that affects us, I had a burst cyst that resulted in scar tissue around the bowel. I wish you all the best with menopause symptoms, they do improve with time, but need to watch bones etc, perhaps vit d supplements as I am low in this, and take extra calcium, preferrably in food, xx

[lisaann83 in reply to spice47]

I had my hysterectomy in August of 2015 and I was just asked yesterday if I was pregnant. I myself is very bloated I know when I had my ovaries removed my daughter said I look skinnier then I started having issues again and I have a discharge with a strong odor and bloated and back pain again.

[Hidden]

i would ask for an mri scan on your abdomen & bowel, they can see clear images of whats happening on the inside with an mri scan.

best wishes x

[spice47 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply, I am not sure if they will do this yet, unless the infections continue, i don't think I can take antibiotics much longer, they affect your general health, I have been on a low dose one for 6 years, and stronger ones for the last year

All the best x

[diane123charlie]

Good advice from everyone but I would add you have gone through major surgery only 2weeks ago. It's going to take time to recover from this and a lot of the problems could be due to you still being in the recovery stage, my go advised it could take anything up to six myths for my bowel bladder etc to get back to normal.

[diane123charlie]

As a extra thought yes you can haveHRT I'm on liveral after total hysterectomy.also get checked out for utility very common after ops went to my gp after my op and was put on abs straight away without waiting for the test results as it's,so common, plus you can also get post op blues due the anesthesia pls talk things through with yr gp rather than suffer

[spice47 in reply to diane123charlie]

Thanks for your advice, i have never heard of Liveral, is it a form of HRT, i have been given oestrogen patches in the past which disagree with me and I come off them, but have never been advised of anything else apart from low dose oestrogen cream. It is now 6 years since my last op. I was interested to hear about the soya, it does raise levels of oestrogen but I have had not much choice, I think it depends on the degree of endometriosis, also alcohol and some foods can have the same effect.

[EndoWarrior31 in reply to spice47]

Fellow endo/adenomyosis/PCS sufferer here..

I’m 32, and have had a total hysterectomy with removal of both ovaries and tubes in order to treat adenomyosis. (Hysterectomy does not cure endo - quite an important piece of info that many drs will contradict). I’ve also had a past lap for excision of endo

Livial (also marketed as Tibolone) is a pill form of HRT which contains the ingredient Tibolone. It is an alternative to synthetic hormones in that it stimulates your body to produce its own small amount of hormones, which should help to combat any side effects of menopause. It’s also better for keeping up libido!

If you haven’t already, I’d strongly recommend joining Nancy’s Nook Endometriosis Education fb page or visiting nancysnookendo.com/ It is an invaluable resource when it comes to finding the right care and advocating for yourself.

Good luck 🙂 xx

[diane123charlie]

Just notice the,advice to use soya products there is a link between soya and hormones which doesn't go well with endo the reason soya is good for menopause is because it increase the oestrogen in yr body

[Valerie9]

After my hysterectomy i have many problems with my nerves physical therapies and the pain nonstop

[Ano2020]

Hi spice 47

I know ur story was 8 years ago but I wanna know what ended up happening to you after that if u can help me pls

I have stage four spread to bowel and bladder had my lap couple of weeks ago and put Merina and in two weeks doctor is starting me in zoladex 😰He’s trying this so we don’t have to do hysterectomy.

I always thought by getting rid of ovaries a full hysterectomy endo will go away but now reading all this changed my thoughts

So if I get the full hysterectomy done can my endo still spread and grow more after the surgery what if it goes to the lungs kidneys heart.... I’m going crazy have my app in two weeks can’t wait to go see doctor again xx I’m sorry so nervous and depressed