On the wrong end of the speculum – Stephanie ’ s story

As a GP, I see a lot of women for gynaecological conditions. As a patient with large multiple fibroids (giving me a uterus size equivalent to a 5 month pregnancy), I found myself on the other side of the consulting room as a patient, hence “on the wrong end of the speculum”. As my condition was benign, I didn’t HAVE to have the hysterectomy. I chose to have the operation, as the fibroids were getting bigger by the month, and causing bloating (especially after eating) and getting in the way of exercising (pilates, yoga) and couldn’t comfortably lie on my front. My gynaecologist thought he would have to do a vertical incision , and said that he would also remove my ovaries. Being 49, they only had a couple of years of life left in them. Having a hysterectomy was going to disrupt the blood supply to them, meaning that they would likely pack up earlier anyway. My gynaecologist said , “An oncologist (cancer specialist) would say remove the ovaries,” – to avoid any risk of ovarian cancer when I’m an old lady. And I totally agreed with this. Although this meant I would crash into the menopause straight after my operation, I planned just to see how I was. After 2 weeks, I started with hot sweats at night, and this really disrupted my sleep. So I decided to start HRT patches, and this has helped. Also, it helps to sleep naked, under just an empty single duvet cover (cotton). I stayed one night in hospital. I was really pleased that I cou...
Source: The Hysterectomy Association - Category: OBGYN Authors: Tags: Health fibroids hysterectomy stories sexuality Source Type: news