Anyone have a laprascopic hysterectomy?

SusanAnne
SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Finally had my long awaited GYN appointment to discuss having my ovaries out. She actually suggested going one step further and remove the uterus as well. This can all be done vaginally with the aide of abdomenal laprascope and instruments. Anyone consider this or have it done? I am aiming for surgery the beginning of April. After being menopausal for 13 months with no side effects to speak of, my period is back with a vengence AND I now have such drastic hormonal mood swings. I was sobbing in her office (I happened to get my period just minutes before leaving my house for the appointment!) I was actually glad she got to see me at my worst. Mainly I'm doing this because I want to stay on the Arimidex and I don't want to take the Lupron shots.

Susan

Comments

  • PJMP
    PJMP Member Posts: 9
    #2
    When I discussed removing everything with my GYN she wasn't in favor of it. Sort of the "if it's not broken, why fix it?" attitude. I wasn't interested in taking that long to recover either so I had the laproscopic oophorectomy (sp-I never am sure how to spell that one!) That was one of the options presented to me-the others being Lupron shots or chemo-no thank you. I was not menopausal at all before that but I certainly was instantly after! Instant hot flashes but not bad ones. I started the Arimidex shortly after surgery and am dealing with it's frustrationg side effects. There's no one decision that fits all of us-we're all the same but different-which is just one more of life's challenges. And one more reason I'm glad we have this message board to ask questions, seek advice and sound off. Good luck with what ever you decide. If you are like me, you just want to get it over and move on.
  • hankscrw
    hankscrw Member Posts: 3
    #3
    SusanAnne,
    I had this surgery and it went much easier then I expected. My healing was alot faster and able to walk and move around very soon after the surgery. My problem ended up being the bladder issue. I had problems with urinating and feeling like I had to pee and not being able to. I had the sling procedure done to hold the bladder up. I think it was too tight and I had to stand and bend to go pee. NOT FUN!! That is the bladder issue though. With the surgery of a hystorectomy, it went real easy. I have experienced the hot flashes and covers on and covers off during the night. That is part of menupause. Your hormones will be wacked for a while but I'm sure it will stable out after a while. I also had breast cancer earlier in that year and had chemo which put me in menopause anyway. Actually it's nice not to have to worry about female issues down there anymore. I personnaly tried Arimidex and I ached and hurt so much I took myself off of it and went back to Tamoxiphen. The Oncologist said I had to stay on antihormone medicine for a while. Anyway, the surgery was much easier and less scaring etc then what my mother had to go through. It's great if you want to compare them.
  • Tigger35
    Tigger35 Member Posts: 21
    #4
    Glad to hear that you are talking things over so well with your doctor. I have had a laprascopic hysterectomy, but we left the ovaries in. We should have taken the ovaries, but at the time it was what you said, if it's not broken don't fix it. My cancer was hormone positive, hindsight says we should have taken the ovaries out. Anyway, my recovery was so much easier then women I had spoken to who have had the surgery done abdominally. I could do so much more then those women. I just recently finished taking 2 years of Lupron shots, it wasn't fun. I only did the shots because in my case they didn't want to operate and take the ovaries. Given that your body has experienced menopause before maybe the change you experience because of the surgery won't be horribly drastic. Myself, I wish I could have had surgery.
  • travanelli
    travanelli Member Posts: 2
    #5
    Hi just had my laparascopic hysterectomy 6 weeks ago and it's going great. Tamoxifen increases uterus activity and causes the heavy bleeding...I had the same problem. My cancer was estrogen positive so I needed the ovaries out as part of my cancer treatment. I did get Lupron shots to ease the heavy bleeding and was fine with than...glad to be able to leave the house. My surgeon who is on the board of ACS suggested having the uterus removed if I was having the ovaries out because of the complications from Tamoxifen. Healing was easy and had no pain. Glad I did it. Good luck with your decision.
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #6
    hankscrw said:

    SusanAnne,
    I had this surgery and it went much easier then I expected. My healing was alot faster and able to walk and move around very soon after the surgery. My problem ended up being the bladder issue. I had problems with urinating and feeling like I had to pee and not being able to. I had the sling procedure done to hold the bladder up. I think it was too tight and I had to stand and bend to go pee. NOT FUN!! That is the bladder issue though. With the surgery of a hystorectomy, it went real easy. I have experienced the hot flashes and covers on and covers off during the night. That is part of menupause. Your hormones will be wacked for a while but I'm sure it will stable out after a while. I also had breast cancer earlier in that year and had chemo which put me in menopause anyway. Actually it's nice not to have to worry about female issues down there anymore. I personnaly tried Arimidex and I ached and hurt so much I took myself off of it and went back to Tamoxiphen. The Oncologist said I had to stay on antihormone medicine for a while. Anyway, the surgery was much easier and less scaring etc then what my mother had to go through. It's great if you want to compare them.

    Hi hankscrw. Did you have problems with the bladder before the hysterectomy? What was the reasoning to do the sling procedure in the first place? Have things gotten better for you in that regard? I'm excited about having this surgery over with! I have more menopausal symptoms now that I've got my period back than when I had no period. Thanks for the insight.

    Sue
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #7
    PJMP said:

    When I discussed removing everything with my GYN she wasn't in favor of it. Sort of the "if it's not broken, why fix it?" attitude. I wasn't interested in taking that long to recover either so I had the laproscopic oophorectomy (sp-I never am sure how to spell that one!) That was one of the options presented to me-the others being Lupron shots or chemo-no thank you. I was not menopausal at all before that but I certainly was instantly after! Instant hot flashes but not bad ones. I started the Arimidex shortly after surgery and am dealing with it's frustrationg side effects. There's no one decision that fits all of us-we're all the same but different-which is just one more of life's challenges. And one more reason I'm glad we have this message board to ask questions, seek advice and sound off. Good luck with what ever you decide. If you are like me, you just want to get it over and move on.

    Hi PJMP. I was a little surprised when my GYN suggested taking the uterus. I hadn't really considered it. But when I asked if there would be any additional side effects by doing it, she said no. If it's going to save me potential problems down the road, I might as well take the opportunity to do it now. Less to worry about. Thanks,
    Sue
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #8
    Tigger35 said:

    Glad to hear that you are talking things over so well with your doctor. I have had a laprascopic hysterectomy, but we left the ovaries in. We should have taken the ovaries, but at the time it was what you said, if it's not broken don't fix it. My cancer was hormone positive, hindsight says we should have taken the ovaries out. Anyway, my recovery was so much easier then women I had spoken to who have had the surgery done abdominally. I could do so much more then those women. I just recently finished taking 2 years of Lupron shots, it wasn't fun. I only did the shots because in my case they didn't want to operate and take the ovaries. Given that your body has experienced menopause before maybe the change you experience because of the surgery won't be horribly drastic. Myself, I wish I could have had surgery.

    Hi Tigger35. I assume that you haven't gotten your period back since stopping the Lupron? How long ago did you stop? I'm actually hoping the surgery will do away with the problems I'm experiencing now. I was absolutely fine in menopause. I want to get back there! Thanks for your comments.

    Sue
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #9
    travanelli said:

    Hi just had my laparascopic hysterectomy 6 weeks ago and it's going great. Tamoxifen increases uterus activity and causes the heavy bleeding...I had the same problem. My cancer was estrogen positive so I needed the ovaries out as part of my cancer treatment. I did get Lupron shots to ease the heavy bleeding and was fine with than...glad to be able to leave the house. My surgeon who is on the board of ACS suggested having the uterus removed if I was having the ovaries out because of the complications from Tamoxifen. Healing was easy and had no pain. Glad I did it. Good luck with your decision.

    Hi travanelli. How long have you been on Tamoxifen? Now that you are menopausal, any thoughts of switching to one of the aromatase inhibitors? I was only on Tamoxifen for 8 months. I think it was keeping my period at bay. Two months after switching to Arimidex it came back. I wonder if the complications from the Tamoxifen go completely away once you stop taking it or are there always risks? At this point, I'm just waiting on the bloodwork and sono results my doctor ordered and the green light from her. Thanks.
    Sue

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