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Signs You Might Need a Hysterectomy

March 11, 2021   42 Comments

What are the signs you may need a hysterectomy? I know about a few potential problems because I had a hysterectomy in December, 2019.

Signs You Might Need a Hysterectomy

I shared this post last year and I decided to share it again. The comments are really helpful! Also, a friend of mine may need a hysterectomy and told me that no one talks about it. Let's talk about it!!

I posted a photo of cheerful women because you might feel much happier after you have a hysterectomy. I feel much better!

A friend of mine asked me to write this because she also underwent a hysterectomy and felt that there weren’t enough relatable resources on the subject. Honestly, I don’t like writing about myself but this whole experience is so common - and when I looked it was all WebMD!

How common is it? From WomenHealth.gov:

Each year in the United States, nearly 500,000 women get hysterectomies. A hysterectomy is the second most common surgery among women in the United States. The most common surgery in women is childbirth by cesarean delivery (C-section).

Why aren’t we sharing about hysterectomy? Hey, removing a uterus is major surgery and we need to support each other.

I was also excited because this topic meant I got to use this image of the female reproductive system by Scientific Animations.

This is a drawing of a healthy uterus! I hope yours remains looking this amazing - mine took a turn for the worse and I was unaware of the signs that it might need to exit the building.

What happened? It is a loooong boring story so I will summarize. My symptoms were:

  • Constipation followed by loose stool.
  • Frequent need to urinate.
  • A large lump in my abdomen that was making it difficult to button my pants.
  • Some heavy bleeding during my period.

Honestly, I just ignored these symptoms thinking that they would go away. Each of them bugged me a little but I kept putting off discussing it until my physical. I rationalized why each of these things was happening to me.

I did not recognize these symptoms as signs that I might need a hysterectomy. The concept never crossed my mind.

I ended up having an image taken of my abdomen for another unrelated reason and they doctor saw a huge uterus.

My gynecologist took a look and found these:

Uterine fibroids! Uterine fibroids are muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus. I had many of them and they were big.

Imagine 1.5 pounds of grapefruit in your lower abdomen just hanging out (growing bigger).

What would they be doing? They would be pushing on your bladder, colon, and outward on your abdomen like you were pregnant! But, at 50 years old, I knew I was not pregnant.

My uterus was 10 times the size of a normal uterus (and my gynecologist had seen ones twice as big - OMG).

You might also need a hysterectomy if you have something called uterine prolapse. From WomensHealth.gov:

Uterine prolapse is when the uterus slips from its usual place down into the vagina. Prolapse can lead to urinary and bowel problems and pelvic pressure.

These are very similar symptoms to mine.

Of course, these symptoms don't automatically mean that you need a hysterectomy and it is always a good idea to get a second opinion.

At any rate, I had to have surgery and I spent two days in the hospital and about 6 weeks recovering. There are multiple ways to have a hysterectomy but mine required cutting across my abdomen to remove my uterus and now I have a bitchin’ scar like this one.

It is similar to a C-section scar (and no this is not my belly but one I found with a similar scar). The worse part of my recovery was not being able to pick anything up more than 10 pounds for 6 weeks (and taking it easy). I am not a patient patient.

The pain was bad as well but I controlled it with ibuprofen and Tylenol. I found that this combo was more effective than opioids that I wanted to avoid.

Now, I am so glad that I got my hysterectomy! My abdomen lacks grapefruit, I can wait to pee, and my colon is happy. Also, it is a lot more fun to have sex with my partner as the fibroids caused pain when they were pushed on.

Please take a look at the signs and go to your doctor if you think your uterus is becoming a problem. These troubles (large uterine fibroids and uterine prolapse) usually show up in women in their 40s and 50s.

Do you know the signs that you might need a hysterectomy? Have you had one and would like to share your experience? Thanks for everyone for sharing!!

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42 Comments:

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your experience and for the helpful information about this procedure. Please know how much you are valued and appreciated! Glad you are doing well.

At 57 I had a hysterectomy due to bleeding after menopause which is a potential indicator of cancer.it was endometrial cancer, and it was caught very early. It is vital for women who have gone through menopause to know it is not normal to have any type of bleeding. Mine was a light pink discharge, not even full bloody discharge and my doctor got me into a specialist for a biopsy right away and then surgery. They saved my life. I Am now heading toward three years of being cancer free.

Thank you, Lisa, for this helpful information that we can all share with our friends. I am so happy for your successful resolution.

I am having a hysterectomy (for prolapsed uterus) and Cystocele (bladder is bulging into vagina) repair in 2 weeks. This is something no one talks about. I have done a lot of research and this is very common. I am hoping my bladder issues will be much better and able to exercise more comfortably.

I had a hysterectomy in May of 2018 after years of putting up through endomeiosis-related debilitating peri menopausal symptoms. Endomeiosis is a condition that causes the endometrial tissue to grow in the interstitial uterine muscle tissues rather than just on its walls. The recovery took a little longer than I expected but In terms of quality of life surgeries it was only second to lasik at 41.

And while I’m at it: Menopause is another thing we should all talk about more. Yes it is natural and it can also be brutal. There are so many easy ways to assuage the unease it can cause and yet women are just expected to buckle down and deal.

@Viola - I think talking about menopause is a great idea. Thanks for your comment and suggestion!!! xxooxo

Thanks for sharing such a personal issue. So glad everything turned out well 😁

Thank you so much for talking about this. So glad you were helped by this and that you are doing well. Appreciate you looking out for us.

Blessings!

Thank you for sharing this! Please be aware that your symptoms are very similar to what I experienced with ovarian cancer. Five days in hospital for debunking surgery, six rounds of chemo, and a very long recovery. Am blessed to be cancer free for nearly 3 years, when the average survival rate for my late stage is 16 months.

Thank you for sharing. I had a hysterectomy at 46. It was 5 years ago and one of the best decisions I ever made. I suffered with the same symptoms you described and kept thinking they would pass. Turned out I had many fibroid tumors and a very large uterus. Tylenol and a large freezer ice pack were my saviors for the pain. It was more painful than my c-sections were. I was off work for 8 weeks and read a lot of books.

At 54, I too was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and needed a hysterectomy - caught early but going thru follow-up radiation right now. I wasn't officially in menopause, but had abnormal bleeding. Fortunately, I was able to have robotic laparoscopic surgery and the downtime was minimum. I could have even gone home the same day.

Thanks so much for the info. I had a hysterectomy in my 40's after some extremely heavy (throwing clots) periods which seem to have lasted forever! Heavy duty pads would last about an hour or two. Ugh! Don't miss the organ, but my usual results were...is it hot in here or just me! It was me!

Thanks again! We all need to 'stick together!' Information and sharing is the most powerful 'tool!'

Thank you SO much for sharing this. Everyone talks about pregnancy and childbirth but nobody talks about fibroids and hysterectomies. I had issues a few years ago and felt like I was alone in the wilderness. And invisible.

I had a hysterectomy in 2001. I was having HEAVY periods that lasted about 2 weeks and then in 2 weeks I'd have another one. I found out I was severely anemic when I went to donate blood. Had a complete hysterectomy a few weeks later. Every thing was removed through my vagina so I don't have any scars. That's just the way my doctor did them. He said that I had a fibroid the size of a small melon in my uterus and an orange in one ovary. Took a month off work and wished I'd taken 6 weeks. Talked to a couple of women where I worked who were going to need hysterectomies and worried about it. I gave one all of my supplies since wouldn't be needing them any more. I relieved a lot of their worries when I told them about mine. When menopause started I started taking hormones, but new doctor said I shouldn't take them. I tried to stop but couldn't function at work, burning up and then freezing after soaked with sweat, insisted on going back on them until I retired. At least now the hot flashes are down to barely warm flashes unless I have soy, then they heat back up again. Now I have hypothyroidism which has it's own set of problems. But am thrilled to have no more periods!

Thank you for sharing. This is an important topic. I did not know about the symptoms you mentioned.

At age 69 I experienced slight vaginal bleeding. My gyn (a woman!) at first was skeptical and only after I insisted that it was, in fact, vaginal did she perform an ultrasound and attempted unsuccessfully a uterine biopsy - she stated that she did not want to perform an unnecessary D&C instead assured me that 6 months of hormones would thin out the endometrium - it did not. At that point I insisted on a D&C - the diagnosis was complex hyperplasia with atypia indicative of uterine cancer - this was after a 9 month delay caused by the gyn.

I then consulted a gynecological oncologist, had a hysterectomy and the uterine cancer diagnosis was confirmed (stage 1B).

My surgery was laproscopic Da Vinci. During the surgery, in addition to the general anesthesia, my oncologist used Exparel - an injectable local anesthetic which numbs the tissue around the surgical area and helps control pain for 72 hours. I had minimal discomfort from the surgery and did not need any other pain meds.

After recovery from surgery I had brachytherapy (radiation with implants in the vagina). I had no ill effects from the radiation and, 18 months later, am cancer free.

Pretty much the same comments as Linda above. Had a complete hysterectomy when I was 48. My daily walk became so hard that I was ready to lay down in the middle of the street for a nap. Was so endemic that the doctor feared I’d have a stroke. I’d been bleeding 2 weeks on and 2 weeks of for months. As soon as the surgery was done, I was put on hormones. The best thing that ever happened, outside of the surgery. I am now 70 and I will be on the hormones till I die. Better nobody try to take them away from me! According to my insurance company, they are optional medication so they won’t cover. I order from the UK at a fraction of what it would cost here. Quality of life is important to me. Never fear a surgery that will make your life better.

So GLAD that you are doing well! Thank you for sharing another valuable topic.

Yes, I had a hysterectomy a year ago. The only symptom I had was vaginal bleeding and I was 66 years young. My surgery was done robotically with the surgeon. You get little incisions on your belly. Not the big cut as you get with a regular hysterectomy. There was no pain afterwards, honestly. Post, post op, I felt a lot better physically and mentally. I can't explain it, but I was able to lose weight following WW and I've tried it many, many times. This time the weight was coming off that I got scared that maybe I had cancer because it was coming off at a nice pace, which never happened before. My gut feeling is the hysterectomy had a lot to do with. And that's my opinion. I never thought that I would have a hysterectomy. It never entered my mind.

Thank you for sharing - and such an interesting topic for Snack Girl! I actually just had a hysterectomy in October. I had been consistently having issues with cramps and bleeding and now being 48, I checked with my doctor but I was not menopausal. So she decided for an IUD - but when inserting it, found polyps. She removed one for testing and found uterine cancer and referred me immediately to an oncologist. Within 3 weeks I was having a full hysterectomy. I have to say outside of sometimes being too hot and sometimes being too cold - I really feel so much better now. Instead of staying quiet I shared my story with my friends on FB, to make sure that everyone remembers that if something doesn’t feel right/good see you’re doctor and see what’s what!

thank you for sharing your story. I also have fibroids, but I chose not to do a hysterectomy. I do not have any symptoms. My doctors had always said that normally if you have no symptoms, they will leave them alone, and then when you hit menopause, they usually start shrinking. So keep that in mind if you are approaching menopause -- they will shrink and possibly the symptoms will subside. Just an FYI. Again, thank you for sharing.

I had a hysterectomy when, after several months of heavy and long periods, I bled so much over 24 hours that I required a transfusion to survive. Mine was the full abdominal incision with my ovaries removed as well. I didn't have issues with the 6 weeks off work as I was able to walk (I didn't take pain medication, just stopped moving when it started to hurt) after a few days. What surprised me was that it took several months to recover my stamina for my daily life. I hadn't realized how fully I expended my energy each day until after my surgery.

I felt so much better after my surgery that the short term discomfort of the surgery was tolerable as I knew it would pass. I used the pain I experienced when moving around to let me know how long I could go. It hurt to walk upright during the first week but I did it in short bursts anyway because I knew I would recover better if I kept moving. After the first week, I could walk slowly for several minutes without pain. When I started to hurt, I stopped. Each day I walked at length at least once a day and the length of time, my speed and my stride length increased until at about 6 weeks, I was close to my presurgery walking. At that point, my doctor let me return to work. My one regret was that I wish I had worked less than full time for the first 3 months. I so often had to skip the rest of my life during that time because my stamina was exhausted by my job. Still that got better too.

Thanks for talking about this!

This won't be helpful to most because my circumstances were unusual. I had an emergency hysterectomy directly after my son was born when they could not stop the bleeding and I was bleeding out. Luckily I was at Hopkins and have an excellent ob/gyn and she knew what was happening and in my mind she saved my life. I was in the hospital for a month because of other fallout from the ordeal but the Drs. at Hopkins said they don't usually get to follow up with people in my situation so I am fortunate. I have a lovely scar as well and I do still have my ovaries, just the uterus was removed. This was helpful as I did not jump into menopause immediately. However, now years later I am in menopause which I do not love. I have been on medication for a couple years for it and tried to stop about 6 months ago but the hot flashes at night are just too much so I went back on it. The realities of getting older!

Hi my name is Chanell Coleman, I'm 31 and will be having a hysterectomy in August(I'll be 32 @time of surgery)I had a c-section and my tubes tied in 2014(3rd & last child) but I'm more nervous for this. Issues have been getting worse but ultrasound showed nothing abnormal. My obgyn will be taking a closer look before the hysterectomy takes place.

I am going to have a complete hysterectomy at the end of this month. Although I am nervous I am also very excited. I have been living with a uterine prolapse for 10 years that no one wanted to repair be to was so young.i also suffer from Adenomyosis. I am now 42 and have fortunately found a Urologist And a Gynecologist that will perform it together. I have also felt so alone because no one talks about these issues. I’m fortunate to see there are others out there like me:)

Did they inform you of any side effects of this surgery? It is hard to get information regarding this.

I had a hysterectomy at age 44. I had pain that first felt like I had a bladder infection, it would then get worse and feel like I was in labor. I went to the doctor thinking it was a bladder infection. The pain would last for 2 weeks. Then it would occur again in 1-2 months. I eventually had a procedure to determine the cause. The doctor thought it could have been caused by scar tissue from abdominal surgery I had to remove a large cyst on my ovary. I have to say that surgery was not painful for me. I was up and walking that same night. They found the fibroid tumor to be 10 centimeters in diameter. Eventually I did have it removed vaginally.

Thanks for the write up I am scheduled for mine on Tuesday. I feel much more reassured now about the decision.

Thanks for sharing your story! Our uteruses had identical lives. Curious if any of the women here had issues w/ their skin/hair/nails after the hysterectomy

@Beverley - It has been over a year now so I don't remember BUT I will say that is was exactly like a C-Section - easy to recover and build back my stomach muscles as long as I took it slow. Some people are exhausted for a while but I got my energy back rather quickly. Sorry I don't know more - thanks for your question!

Thanks!

Last year I had commented I was to have a vaginal hysterectomy and cystocele repair. Best thing I ever did. I can sit without difficulty (no uterus prolapse) and not having to urinate every 20-30”. My recovery was easy too, alittle cramping for a couple of days and just took it easy for 6 weeks.

Am 39,had hysterectomy 3 weeks ago after experiencing most of the signs of uterine fibriods. My ovaries are intact. Looking forward to my new life. Thank you for the experiences shared.

Well I Myself Should Have Went And Seen My Dr.Along Time Ago...My Dr. Gave Me A Pap Smear Awhile Back And All Of A Sudden She Asked If I Was Pregnant And I Was Like I Had My Tubes Tied And Burned 24yrs. Ago After My Last Baby I Have 4 Kids And Had C- Sect.With All Of Them..But When I Had My Daughter She Is The Oldest I Had To Go Back And Have An D N C Because Like A Wk Later I Started H hemorrhagen Like So Bad I Mean Big Blood Clots Had To Have DNC Like I Said Earlier And Had To GetA Blood Transfusion 2 Bags That's How Much Blood I Lost..I Was So Scared Thought I Was Guna Die...And They Also Made My Uterus Contract WOW! You Talk About Pain..I Never Had Contractions With My Daughter Well After The Fact But When I Had My 3 Boy's Never Had Contractions And All Four Where C-section..I Love My Babies More Than Anything In This World And If I Had To Do All Over Again I Would...But Anyway I'm 51 And I Still Have My Periods But Lately After My Period Has Been Done All Of A Sudden I Start Bleeding Heavily For No Reason Then It Stop's..Weird AF! But Now That I Have Insurance I Want My Uterus And Ovaries Out I Lost My Mom 7yrs.Ago We Didn't Even Know She Had Cancer They Said It Was Already In Her Bones. 😭😭 My Poor Mama They Think It Started In Her Uterus Ovaries One Not For Sure So I Don't Want My Uterus Ovaries None Of It Anymore...I'm Jus Scared And Don't Want The Dr.To Tell Me I Have Ovarian Cancer Because When She Felt My Uterus Was Enlarged She Said If I Was To Have Ovarian Cancer I Have No Chance Of Living...My Head Is So Messed Up Right Now I'm Sori If I'm Not Making Sense I'm Jus Scared As Heck! My Kids Don't Deserve For Me To Die This Way...My Grandbabies Wouldn't Be Able To Handle It Shyt My Kids Either For That Matter Or The Love Of My Life Who I Have Been With Going On 16yrs...I Just Pray Everything Will Work Out Fine And I'm Still Guna Be Here To See My Great Grandchildren...I'm So Scared aI Have No Clue How To Even Take All This In If It's Not Good News When I Get My Results...Well Like I Said Sori If This Doesn't Make Sense I Just Need To Tell My Story To Someone...I Don't Even Know How To Explain Any Of This To My Children If It's Not Great News...Well Thanx For Reading...🙏💞🙏💞

I was 42 when I had my 10 cm fibroid removed. I had 2 years of on & off pain, that would last for 2 weeks. Most of that time I felt like I was in labor. Was happy to have the hysterectomy. My ovaries were left intact also.

Has anyone experience lasting side effects such as the pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence or pelvic fistulas?

Thank you for these stories. I am 46 and I am going through it. I have my menstrual for about 8 days and 4 of those 8 days are so heavy I to wear an overnight pad and period underwear with the lining and i still have to change every 45 minutes. My cramps are so bad it trickles down to my leg. I know i have a large fibroid, I'm just scared to have surgery.

nice information

I had a hysterectomy in September 1997. I had spent a year on & off with excruciating abdominal pain. At times the pain was like being in labor. I had my uterus removed. I had an cut like in the picture - across the lower part of my abdomen. I have to say I had very little pain. I was walking around the hospital about 6 or 7 hours afterwards, which did shock one of my nurses, as she had the same operation & stayed in bed for 2 days afterwards.

Wow, this is really strange that I came across this as I am sitting here recovering from a hysterectomy after finding out I had uterine cancer. Everything is so familiar! I am very fortunate to be doing so well.

@ Joy Timothy

I wish all the best to you and your family; and pray you are doing well.

Thank you all for sharing your stories and helping your fellow women.

God bless you all.

In September 2022, I had my yearly exam, at age 65 a pap smear is no longer done. My doctor examined me,and said everything was fine. I requested vaginal and pelvic ultrasound. My results were a mass on my cervix. I was told to make an appointment with a Onocologist. I had a failed hysterscope D&C performed.I have scared tissue due to a Leep procedure done in 2016. My cervix was closed, no biopsy could be done. My Onocologist could not say what I have,without a biopsy she said she doesn't know,but scheduled another ultrasound in January. So, now it's the waiting game.If there is increased growth she said a hysterectomy would be next.Yesterday, I had abdomen ultrasound that detected a small hernia. I have some pain,that comes and go.

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