Are Hysterectomies a Little "Too" Usual ? Please discuss...

[susiestar]

As for the line that it should only be done when benefits outweigh the risks, that not only can be applied to every single bit of medical intervention/treatment, it should be applied.

Medical science only really began looking at women as being different than men about twenty yrs ago. Most medical studies that do not deal directly with the reproductive system are done only on males. Rarely were women even considered as applicants, and even now, we know very little about the female body/brain because so many people in that profession bother to pay attention to the fact that women are quite different than men, esp in the brain and how we respond to things. in my opinion this is part of the "just take it out if it has a problem" mentality of many docs.

 

[Star*]

I can tell you only my story......

When I weighed 298 lbs I had horrible periods. Heavy, long, nearly to the point of missing a days work. I was miserable, and had awful migraines. I was also suspect of having fibroids because my leg swells up. I had Blue Cross insurance and a decent job, so I got a referral to a top notch OBGYN from my GP after three months of complaints with a history of 1 year of problems. Went to the OBGYN and without any solution to the weight loss (with 7 years of complaints and other complications and seeing other specialists even as far away as Augusta) he saw me once - briefly and immediately suggested complete hysterctomy and oophrectomy.

I was floored. Now hysterectomy - okay - stops the problem, but oophrectomy? OMG I was 44, and I'm thinking HRT? Are you kidding? He felt it was best since I already had 2 cancer scares. Why tempt fate, as I had been diagnosis with PCOS. So we scheduled, and I was not happy, went back to try and figure out 20% of like a billion dollars, hospital stay, time off work - and in the end figured out I couldn't do it. The time off work was not feasable. Six weeks? No way. So I put it off. Best thing I ever did.

Went back to my GP and well needless to say I had it out with him, got up and left HIS meeting mid-exam and went walking down the hall in tears so mad I would have killed someone and ended up talking to a Nurse Practitioner who actually LISTENED to my problems -the whole list - for 45 minutes. She took labs, and diagnosis me with pre-diabetes. I did everything she told me to and in a years time had lost 160 lbs. Went from a size 22-24 to a size 7-8 (occasional 6) and even my shoe size went from a 10 to an 8. My sugar went from around 290 to 89, my A1c is about 5.8....and I feel awesome. Even the periods are so minimal it's like heaven. When your metabolism and other things are out of whack - your menstrual cycle and hormones can get out of control and a lot of doctors DO.NOT.CARE. It's "OH I see you have insurance." and that's that.

There is a really good web site I found when I was doing research called hyster sisters (google it) and go to their board and ask questions about hysterectomies and oopherectomies. There is also info on PCOS. Which by the way I am not so sure I have or IF I do? I keep under control with diet - I still have the swollen leg....but no tumors, or none they can see on ultrasound. SO.......take that for what it's worth, but I'm so glad I didn't go under - because at 47 I would be such a hormonal wreck......(way more than I am----insert choked chortle)

Hugs

 

[DaisyFace]

Thank you ladies!

You know - sometimes I post things like this because I wonder whether I am out of line for being upset. I mean - who am I to question this well-respected doctor who SURELY knows more than I do about fibroids and all that stuff ?

And now that I read some of your experiences....I have really begun to question this whole situation.

I am also questioning the initial diagnosis of "fibroids" in the first place:

I got a copy of the ultrasound report. From the sounds of it - they weren't even able to get a clear view of everything! The report describes a mass of "mixed echogenicity"....

Now when I Google that term - mixed echogenicity does not appear in conjunction with a diagnosis of fibroid tumors....it instead is more likely to associated with benign cysts or CANCER.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now I am angry that we are talking about fibroids when we haven't even fully determined that it IS a fibroid, versus something much more scary.

I hate, hate HATE that everything has to be such a fight.

(And how scary for the people who do not know how to advocate for themselves!)

 

[AnnieO]

The docs don't always know it all, sweetheart.

My GP mentioned I had a tipped uterus YEARS ago. Nothing major, just there. Well, guess what? The first IVF doctor never said anything. The second one mentioned it might make seeing things on ultrasound difficult... And it DID... And the first IVF doctor was the one where things went terribly wrong and I was in pain for months afterward. Second one, things didn't work out, but they went mostly right, and no major pain.

So... Hmm. No, I think I'd get a second opinion for sure. It's not like getting your ears pierced.

 

[keista]

(And how scary for the people who do not know how to advocate for themselves!)

this is my biggest complaint/fear about "modern medicine"

 

[DaisyFace]

So... Hmm. No, I think I'd get a second opinion for sure. It's not like getting your ears pierced.

What? It's not???

Well, gee whiz - the way she was so cavalier about it....

 

[susiestar]

I TOTALLY and WHOLE HEARTEDLY object to you wondering about who are YOU to question this doctor who has whatever reputation, studied and went to medication school (ya know, SOMEBODY has to be in the below 50th percentile group in medication school and every other group!), etc.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU are the OWNER of your body, the one who knows what that body needs to do, how it works, what is going on with it. YOU are the one who has to spend the rest of your life with the results of that doctor's actions.

A doctor may know a whole lot about how MOST people's bodies work, maybe even knows a lot about how to fix a certain problem with a body, but they are experts in some area of study. YOU, Ms DaisyFace, are the flat out, no questioning it, totally top dog, EXPERT in your body. NO ONE knows more about your body than you do.

You are exactly the right person to question this doctor. doctor gets to go home, chill out, NOT DEAL with side effects/problems/recovery/aftermath of whatever procedure she does to you.

Just like NO ONE can know your daughter better, know everything about her more than you do,no doctor can know you better than you do.

In fact, if you want good medical care you MUST, totally have to, question the doctor. Esp about major stuff, but even about minor stuff. Heck, I ask questions when husband is sick! Back when he had that skin cancer taken off of his shoulder, I questioned everything. We had to same doctor and she is used to me, so it wasn't a problem. What would I have done it if was a problem? Found a new doctor to take it off. I even wanted to know why she chose this instead of that, why do the other, etc...

I am even training my kids that it is NOT OK to just go along iwth the doctor unless it is something very minor. It shouldn't matter if the doctor likes you asking questions or don 't like her answers. YOU are the CONSUMER and that doctor is waiting on you, just like at a restaurant except the results can last for decades rather than just one bad meal.

Seriously, anytime, every time that little voice inside you asks why you are questioning the doctor, who are you to question the doctor, tell that voice to shut up, that you are the one questioning the doctor because you are the one who has to llive with, survive, suffer from the doctor's handiwork. The doctor gets to go home at night without having to handle the problems you may be having.

Off my soapbox, sort of. I got a lot of "you can't ?? a doctor, they are always right, always and you are not so go sit and shut up" as a teen. I had problems no one could diagnosis and it wasn't untiil I asked ??? and inssted on real answers that I came close to having the answers and figuring out what the problems are. Even so, at 22 or 23, I had to tell the docs what was causing my symptoms (fibromyalgia) and teach them what fibro was, based on research I had done.

So you are EXACTLY the person to question the doctor, any doctor, every time!!!

 

[flutterby]

A good doctor is open and responsive to questions, and listens to your concerns. Never ever feel pressured into doing something because it came from a doctor. All doctors are not created equal.