Hysterectomy to treat depression – Deborah ’ s story

I have had problems with my periods all my life. My first period lasted 10 days, and I soon got into the routine of 2 weeks of bleeding, and 2 weeks of crying. My Mother took me to the Doctor, and I was on the pill at the age of 14. This helped a lot, but I still had painful and heavy periods, but at least they only lasted 5 days, and the PMT wasn’t as bad. Came off the pill at 19 due to DVT scares, and carried on suffering. Doctors didn’t believe I had heavy periods as I was never anaemic. The first time I had a Doctor agree was when I was getting the coil fitted, and she refused to give me the copper one as it increases your bleeding, and she felt I already bled too much. I didn’t get on with the coil, and when discussing options with my GP, I asked to be sterilised. I have never wanted children, and managed to persuade a gynaecologist to sterilise me. During the procedure, I was found to have a dermoid cyst on my left ovary. I was advised I needed to have it removed, but it would make no difference to my cycle. I had a laparotomy, and tried to persuade the consultant to do a full hysterectomy, but as I was only 28, he refused. My periods did change, and were lighter and shorter. I still had pain during my periods, and PMT just seemed to get worse. I would be angry with everyone, cry all the time, and have major problems with my memory. I was diagnosed with depression, and over the next 5 years took anti-depressants. I got some relief, but also got scared ...
Source: The Hysterectomy Association - Category: OBGYN Authors: Tags: Health depression fibroids hysterectomy stories Source Type: news