Ablation...I'm concerned

[livingandloving]

I had an endometrial ablation 15 months ago because of horrible heavy periods. I had the Thermachoice balloon ablation. I was 48 when I had it. It was a breeze. Now my periods are just a tiny bit of spotting for a few days every month. If not for the ablation, I would have been facing a hysterectomy. The great thing about the ablation is that it usually helps tremendously with heavy bleeding, and it doesn't mess with hormones like a hyst would. Your wife will still cycle every month, with or without blood, but she will continue with her natural progression toward a normal menopause.

The ablation message board previously mentioned was a great help to me. I would advise her to ask tons of questions to her doctor. She needs to find out first why she is bleeding so heavily. If you want to ask me any more questions, feel free.

 

[incubus'_sub]

A hysterectomy doesn't do anything to hormones if it's just the uterus which is removed. The ovaries, which control & produce the hormones, are usually left alone & intact unless there is another problem.

I had a hysterectomy at age 24. I already had my 2 children, so lack of fertility wasn't a problem for me. I have NEVER regretted it. I have never had another problem with pain, bleeding, lack of iron or lack of sex drive, nor was I again at risk of cervical cancer.

Why fiddle around with possibly temporary procedures when the cure is available?
6 to 8 weeks of recovery time sounds long, but in reality it's a very short period of your life. Yes, any kind of major surgery has risks, but the benefits far outweigh the risks when you take into consideration the outcome being total cure & freedom from worry that the condition will return.

The uterus is not like your testicles, which do produce your hormones so therefore remain in use for you. If your wife can keep her ovaries intact, then at 50 the troublesome bit of muscle tissue, way past it's use by date, should go & her problems & worries with it.

 

[Bert Notorius]

Inc_sub-

Call me old fashioned but removing an organ on the pretense of eliminating a potential problem in the future seems a bit over board to me. In your case it sounds that you were diagnosed with cancer, and that is quite different. I'm happy to hear that the results turned out favorable for you.

My wife's situation is different being there is no evidence or even family history of disease. There is no guarantee that either procedure will be effective, and that the underlying cause may still be there afterwards, but the risks and after affects will remain. There has been discussion lately of women having their breasts removed because of high genetic predisposition for breast cancer. My father had his prostate removed due to cancer. That does not compel me to have mine preventatively removed. But I will have yearly PSA tests.


L&L-

Yours is the second 1st hand success story to zero failure reports. My wife had considered ablation over a year ago because of the bleeding issue before the anemia became a big problem. Her blood count has improved even after the D&C, that caused some minor bleeding, probably due to her taking her iron tabs religiously. I would be interested to see if the D&C makes any difference by itself. Since the blood count is improving, I'm hoping she will wait at least a couple months before having the procedure. The positive reports and the improvement in blood count have eased some of my concerns.

 

[kendra1980]

Peeking in and hoping I'm not intruding...but -

I was considering endometrial ablation for some time and was ready to go through with it, but after the vaginal ultrasound it was determined it could not be done. I had to have the hysterectomy. I've never regretted the hysterectomy. I am one of the fortunate few who although I lost my ovaries, not only retained, but had a surge in my sex drive.

I'd suggest the following site:

www.hystersisters.com

which has a lot of information on not just hysterectomy, but ablation. There is also an ablation discussion group, but I can't find it now. If I do, I'll post it.

 

[Bert Notorius]

Well, we are tentatively scheduled for next month for the E. ablation. It could not be scheduled this month due to menstru-dr.vacatio conflicts. Her 1st period post d&c was not much different.

k1980-

Thanks for the link. We will check it out. I am pondering a theory that maybe women who have experienced diminished or missing sex-drive after hysters were not highly sexually motivated before the procedure. I don't know. So many different factors come into play. Sex is definitely an important aspect of our relationship, and has cycled up and down over the last 23 years. I blame the Swede in me for my obsession...

-Talk softly, think deeply, drink coffee, and sleep nakedly.

 

[incubus'_sub]

Hi Bert. Sorry, but you sort of missed my point. I wasn't trying to say that a hysterectomy would prevent disease in the future for your wife, but that it would solve the problems that she already has, once & for all. My own story was just to indicate that the uterus itself has no influence on the sex drive or hormones. That's the ovaries & if they stay, or at least part of them, then the sex drive remains the same as it always was.

Basically I was just trying to say why fiddle around with temporary procedures when the permanent cure is available.

I don't agree with preemptive surgery either. The stories about mastectomies done '"just in case" horrify me. Surely it would be better to wait, test often, & see.

This is not the case with your wife. She has a serious health problem already and a hysterectomy is a cure rather than an alleviation, possibly temporary, of the symptoms.

 

[Bert Notorius]

Hi Bert. Sorry, but you sort of missed my point. I wasn't trying to say that a hysterectomy would prevent disease in the future for your wife, but that it would solve the problems that she already has, once & for all. My own story was just to indicate that the uterus itself has no influence on the sex drive or hormones. That's the ovaries & if they stay, or at least part of them, then the sex drive remains the same as it always was.

Basically I was just trying to say why fiddle around with temporary procedures when the permanent cure is available.

I don't agree with preemptive surgery either. The stories about mastectomies done '"just in case" horrify me. Surely it would be better to wait, test often, & see.

This is not the case with your wife. She has a serious health problem already and a hysterectomy is a cure rather than an alleviation, possibly temporary, of the symptoms.

Well, the thing is, uterus is basically healthy. Blood loss is high with respect to her size and blood volume. Her absorption of iron is poor- either orally or interveinously. Stopping the blood loss, either by ablation or hyst. does not necessarily "cure" her iron absorption problem. I understand that your intentions are that her overall health is the main thing, and I agree. And I am also hoping that the ablation procedure will be enough to give the oral iron that she is taking a chance to maintain her blood count levels. I am receiving personal accounts that indicate to me that there is hope regardless of what measures may need to take place in the future.

And I appreciate your advice, I did not mean to mislead.

-Bert

 

[mrs.jeepman6]

Mrsjpm6-

Thanks for your response! I will put your experiece down in the plus column. Did you seek the procedure because of anemia, or just relief from monthly symptoms? Having seen my wife's blood count slowly drop, and her resulting fatigue, I can imagine how the extra energy from a sucessful procedure would recharge your sexual batteries.

One factoid I have found states that 90% of women who have had the ablation done have not required a hystectomy within 5 years of the procedure due to worsening of symptoms. That fact seems a little open to interpretation, but hints at some sort of success rate.

I had a slight case of anemia but Iwas having periods in between periods and I had the option of the ablation or hysterectomy. I'm glad I made the decision I did but like I said before we're all different and react differently to different treatments. For me it was great and I now lead a very active life. I have loads of energy that I didn't have for several years but as I said in my first post, get as much information as you can gather to make an intelligent decision. I hope all goes well whatever the two of you decide to do.

 

[Bert Notorius]

Well, the ablation procedure was done Friday. Total time from check-in to check-out was 7 1/2 hours. The gyno used the hot water method with no balloon. My wife woke up with considerable pain so additional meds were used that kept her groggy longer than usual. So far, so good. As of Sunday, pain is almost gone with mild symptoms she equates to having done situps. One of the presurgery meds used caused a strange reaction in her vagina and rear she described as an itching/burning sensation...? Pictures taken revealed a white, barren looking endometrium where there once was pink tissue. And she is on complete "pelvic rest" for 2 weeks.

All in all I think it was more intense than she was anticipating, at least post op. We will see how this affects her periods and ultimately, her blood count levels, but the gyno says the long term affects won't be evident for months. So, for right now, we are keeping our fingers and legs crossed!

Thanks for letting me vent.

-bert

 

[Eilan]

All in all I think it was more intense than she was anticipating, at least post op. We will see how this affects her periods and ultimately, her blood count levels, but the gyno says the long term affects won't be evident for months. So, for right now, we are keeping our fingers and legs crossed!

Hope this resolves your wife's issues.

 

[Lyndsay]

Glad to hear she went with that choice. I had it done years ago. My Doctor was one of the first to ever perform this surgery. When I had it done it was still quite experimental. No regrets. My periods, if I get them, are so light all I need is a panty liner. I had no complications at all. It was much better than getting everything yanked out. Much less invasive and the recovery time is so quick.

 

[Bert Notorius]

Just a short update. We are a year and a half post procedure. The iron count has stabilized such that iron supplements are no longer required. The periods have increased somewhat but are still fairly light. Overall the results were good.

 

[deathbypickle]

Just a short update. We are a year and a half post procedure. The iron count has stabilized such that iron supplements are no longer required. The periods have increased somewhat but are still fairly light. Overall the results were good.

had mine in january, but then again my sex is still low, the cervix needs tending now cause i still bleed everytime i fuck

soooooooooooooo i am having a LEEP.

maybe one day i can have hard pounding sex again

 

[stickwork]

had mine in january, but then again my sex is still low, the cervix needs tending now cause i still bleed everytime i fuck

soooooooooooooo i am having a LEEP.

maybe one day i can have hard pounding sex again

whoah!
WTF, Pickle.

 

[KCKLO]

I had an ablation about a year and half ago and it was the best thing I have ever done. I had horrible, heavy periods and was miserable. I tried the birth control shot and bled for a long period of months and months, every day for 6 months! The procedure was quick (I had my tubes tied at the same time, even). I had some pain post-op but I've had two c-sections and a lot of scar tissue in that area and have a history of bladder infections so I think my pain had more to do with that than the surgery itself. I have now been virtually period free since the surgery. I still have just a tiny bit of spotting at the time I would normally have my period, very little, only for a few days. I used to have a full seven days of super plus tampons every half hour. I also had the worst PMS, probably PMDD and even that has lessened. I still get hungry, crave salt & sweet and am a little tired and irritable, but not nearly the PMS I suffered before the surgery. A plus is that my face cleared up remarkably, too. I used to have bad acne with hormone changes. I was back to normal within a few days (but I had my tubes tied, too). I didn't believe the doctor when he said I may never have periods again, sometimes it just lightens them. As bad as mine were, it's practically a miracle that I don't have them aymore. Best of luck--it worked great for me and hopefully will for your wife, too!

 

[onsitehsv]

ablation

My wife had it done 16 months ago, and she to has only had a handful of periods( 2-3). She had a C section with our 2nd child and had some adhesions in that area as well, but she didnt have much pain to report. It is the best thing she could have done besides marry me of course LOL.

 

[Bert Notorius]

3 year update:

It appears the life cycle of this procedure is roughly 3 years as her periods have returned with a vengeance. The human body fights furiously to maintain it's status quo. And reproduce itself.

I have noticed the symptoms slowly returning, the tiredness, leg cramps and jumpiness. Iron levels are not known at this time but we are left searching, once again, for solutions, possibly hormonal therapy.