I have met several women that have gotten hysterectomies either for fibroids, endometriosis or both. A few have said that having the hysterectomies really helped however, I have heard an insane amount of stories of women with endometriosis that have said that are still in pain. I have also done more research to find that hysterectomies are not necessary to get rid of fibroids yet, many doctors tell us otherwise! A hysterectomy is the second most common surgery in the U.S. and one of the most common reason for a hysterectomy is fibroids (Fairview).
I want to seperate these sections as these are different diseases but all stem around the issue or hormonal imbalances within the body. Our bodies are not meant to have fibroids or endometriosis yet, we have people suffering continuously from them!
Fibroids
Fibroids are benign muscle tumours that can grow in different parts of the uterus. They can also range from the size of a small little pebble to the size of a watermelon! 80% of women will experience a fibroid in their life time. Some women's fibroids get so large that they can resemble an 8 or 9-month pregnancy. Fibroids can cause horrible menstrual cramps, back pain, constipation, bladder problems, and excessive bleeding that often leads to anaemia. Because of these problems, many doctors opt for hysterectomies. When I was diagnosed with 4 small fibroids, my doctor told me that she wasn't worried about them because they are small and don't cause me any issues. She also said that she didn't want to mess with them because the only way to deal with them would be by having a hysterectomy. This is not true. More doctors and researchers today are proving that women do not have to have hysterectomies to deal with their fibroids.
A few of the common causes of fibroids can be oestrogen dominance, genetics, stress, chronic alcohol use, and even taking the birth control pill at a younger age can increase your chances of developing them (Dr. Lara Briden, 234). While the most common way to deal with fibroids is through a hysterectomy there are other ways that don't include removing anything else but the fibroids themselves! There are even procedures now that don't involve removing fibroids but instead stopping the blood flow to the tumours and letting them die and shrink on their own. I have read in several research studies and books that often times, women that have fibroids are going through some type of stress or trauma! When they address this, they notice that their fibroid either shrink or go away entirely which I think is just incredible. There are diet suggestions of ways to shrink fibroids. These include cutting out inflammatory and oestrogen dominating foods such as alcohol, sugar, meat, eggs, non-organic foods. This is because many of our foods today are either produced with pesticide farming tools or packaged away in plastic or even have gone through a mechanical process. Our minds healing and feeling our bodies with real nutritious food is key to have a healthy life in general but we often get lost because let's be honest, the less real food tastes great. But the thing is, it is not real food and most of it is filled with things that our bodies do not want or need.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women and has been ranked in the top 20 of the most painful chronic diseases. Common symptoms include pain with sex, debilitating cramps, back pain, pelvic pain, chest pain, back pain, migraines, bloating, abdominal discomfort, and a long list of other insane symptoms that healthcare professionals have dismissed.
Now, this is a complex issue all around 100%. A hysterectomy for endometriosis is common but not entirely necessary. My aunt had a hysterectomy for her endometriosis and her fibroids and found a lot of relief! However, I have continousally been hearing more and more stories that women are having hysterectomies and are still suffering. This will not cure endometriosis and for some yes, it will work but many it won't. The age for hysterectomies are also getting younger because we are getting desperate as a community. We are in pain, we are dealing with infertility, we can't hold down jobs because we are in so much pain, we are in debt to the healthcare system, and our relationships are strained. So trust me, if someone considered a hysterectomy I don't blame them because this disease is so complex yet, not all doctors are letting women know that the hysterectomy might not take away their pain. Some may get relief for a little while afterwards but that pain can return and my heart goes out to those that didn't want a hysterectomy but were told they had no other choice.
The gold standard for endometriosis is excision surgery. Excision is very different from ablation which doctors often make the mistake of telling their patients that they are the same. Ablation is burning the growth instead of actually digging into the muscle and tissue to extract every single route of the growth. This is more successful because when you just burn, for say, a weed, that weed is going to continue to grow because the actual root is still alive. There has been an extremely high rate of those that have gone through laparoscopic surgery that have experienced regrowth (Rimbach, et al 2013). In a study done by Dr. Sinervo out of Atlanta, GA, he did a study on 22 teenagers who had endometriosis. He found that after about 23.1 months that 8 out of 17 of those patients had to enter surgery again however, none of them had any endometriosis growth while in their second laparoscopic surgery with Dr. Sinervo. Only one-third of this group also took hormonal suppression drugs (2011). Through a book I'm currently reading, Beating Endometriosis, this is because endometriosis reads havoc on other parts of our bodies that often lead us to needing other alternatives such as pelvic floor physical therapy, nutritional changes, identifying allergies and intolerances, mental therapy, and meeting with other doctors such as cardiovascular specialists because of the range of damage that endometriosis does to the body.
Side Effects of Hysterectomies
I want to make it clear that there are different types of hysterectomies. We are taught from a young age that the only purpose of our bodies is to create babies. This is not true. In a study done in 1995, researchers found that there was a significant reduction in bone density with women that had received a hysterectomy (Watson, Studd, Garnett, Savvas, Milligan). According to Harvard Health, removing the ovaries in a full hysterectomy increases a women's chances of developing heart disease. They believe that this has to do with the lack of oestrogen after you having a hysterectomy. When we start going through menopause, our levels of oestrogen naturally decrease. Many women are getting hysterectomies younger so this allows more time for our bodies to go without oestrogen in our systems. Furthermore, a woman experiences a significant increase in high blood pressure, obesity, lipid abnormalities, blood clots, heavy bleeding, and painful intercourse.
I am not shaming women that have gotten hysterectomies for their fibroids or endometriosis, that was the best choice for you! But for those of you that don't have this information I want to provide it. A hysterectomy is not required for either of these and for those of you that have endometriosis, it is not guaranteed that you will have relief. If your doctor is suggesting a treatment to you that does not feel right, feel confident in declining and finding another healthcare professional. The way you decide to deal with your health is entirely up to you and for me, I love alternative medicine and I'm a bit of a hippy. I have had ablation and excision together in one and I still deal with issues however, I mainly wanted the surgery to confirm my suspicion of endometriosis. With this I was able decide that I want to do acupuncture, address my mental health, add in herbs and supplements, and add nutritious dense food to my life because that's my choice and I'm thankful I can live in my choice.
Xoxo,
Moonli
Rimbach, S., Ulrich, U., & Schweppe, K. (2013) Surgical Therapy of Endometriosis: Challenges and Controversies. Thieme <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3858988/#R694-62>
Yeung, P., Sinervo, K., Winer, W., & Albee, R. (2011) Complete Laparoscopic Excision of Endometriosis in Teenagers: Is Postoperative Hormonal Suppression Necessary?
Briden. Dr. L (2018) Period Repair Manual. Sydney, Australia: Macmillan.
Fairview (n.d.) Hysterectomy: The Second Most Common Surgery among U.S. Women. <https://www.fairview.org/Blog/Hysterectomy>
Watson, R., Studd, J., Garnett, T., Savvas, M., Milligan, P. (1995) Bone Loss After Hysterectomy with Ovarian Conversion. NCBI. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7784026>
Mayo Clinic (2018) Hysterectomy Alone Associated with Increased Long-Term Health Risks. Science Daily. <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180103101142.htm>
Harvard (2011) Hysterectomy Linked to Increase in Heart Disease. Harvard Health Publishing.<https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/hysterectomy-linked-to-increase-in-heart-disease>
Wheeler, R. (2014) Your Body After A Hysterectomy. Everyday Health. <https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/hysterectomy/your-body-after-hysterectomy/>
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