It’s been over 5 years since I had a hysterectomy at age 29.
I’ve received countless emails from women, probably a lot like you, asking me if I’ve had any side effects, if I regret it, have I gained any weight, etc.
The short story? Unlike many of the horror stories you’ll read online, I’m doing very well and I don’t regret choosing a hysterectomy.
Want more details? Keep reading.
If you’re new to my hysterectomy story, you can read more about it here.
Common Questions Asked About My Hysterectomy
Here are some of the most common questions I’m asked about how I’m feeling 5 years post hysterectomy.
Have you noticed any side effects from the hysterectomy?
Other than more urinary tract infections, I have not noticed any side effects from my hysterectomy.
Urinary Tract Infections:
After my surgery, I had about one UTI a month for several months, much higher than normal for me (I’d previously only had a handful in my whole life), so I’d definitely consider that a side effect.
I was told this was due to having had a catheter for about 24 hours after the surgery, but I don’t believe that. I’ve had four c-sections as well and each time, I also had a catheter and didn’t have a higher occurrence of UTIs. Based on that, I’m more inclined to think this was related to the hysterectomy itself vs the catheter.
Since the initial few months, I have continued to have an increased number of bladder infections – around 2-3 a year. Luckily, I found a simple way to treat urinary tract infections naturally (I wrote about that here) so I have not needed antibiotics (other than one time last year) and have recovered quickly each year.
More recently, I’ve significantly cut out the amount of sugar I’ve been eaten and I have not had a urinary tract infection in almost 9 months, so that’s been great.
Fatigue:
The other thing I want to mention is fatigue. I’m not calling this a ‘side effect’ because it occurred before my hysterectomy too. But it was definitely a huge factor in my life for a number of years, both before and after my hysterectomy.
Before my surgery, I was frequently very tired and I assumed that was due to the heavy bleeding I experienced every single month.
After my surgery, I continued to be very tired, particularly for the first 3-4 months. At the time, I assumed that was due to my body recovering from the surgery. It was, after all, removing an organ from my body, not to mention general anesthesia which caused me to sleep almost around the clock for the first several days, and would require an adjustment.
But when six months had passed, then a year and I was still not experiencing the energy I longed for, I knew something more was going on.
About 15 months after my hysterectomy, I took my health into my own hands and began researching and demanding answers. It was only then that I discovered the root cause – hypothyroidism. You can read about THAT story here: My Hypothyroid Story.
Hypothyroidism was the biggest contributing factor to the fatigue, both before and after the hysterectomy.
Interestingly, I learned later that one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism is excessively heavy monthly bleeding. Hmmm…
To be honest, I have wondered if things would have turned out differently if I had been accurately diagnosed and treated for thyroid issues BEFORE the surgery. But given that I have only experienced positive effects and none of the scary side effects you read about, I do not regret having a hysterectomy at age 29.
Have you experienced hot flashes, acne, mood swings, or other menopausal symptoms?
No, I have not.
I had a supracervical laparoscopic hysterectomy, meaning only my uterus was removed and I kept both of my ovaries and my cervix. (More on that later.)
I was a little concerned at first that I might experience some “shock” to my ovaries (as I too had read horror stories), but I didn’t have any such symptoms or side effects, both immediately after surgery or any time since.
While I have no monthly period to confirm, I still have a monthly “cycle” in the sense that I do get a little hormonal at certain times of the month and have other times, I feel pretty darn good and sexy (likely ovulation time.) Just like before the surgery, except minus the awful bleeding.
I’m now 35 and hopefully still have some time before menopause approaches. So far, my ovaries seem to be functioning normally.
Have you experienced any weight gain?
This is a BIG question everyone asks because of course no one wants added weight gain.
To answer that quite honestly?
Yes, I’ve gained about 5-10 pounds since my surgery, HOWEVER, I believe that is because I had hypothyroidism, not because I had a hysterectomy.
Why? The thyroid helps regulate the metabolism and if the thyroid is under-functioning, the metabolism will be slower too. As a result, weight gain is a common symptom of hypothyroidism.
And actually, I have lost some weight over the past couple months as I’ve continued to heal my thyroid and improve my health.
How is your sex life since the hysterectomy?
This is an odd question to answer on the internet.
I won’t go into detail, but I will say that I have not had any problems in this department.
Why did you keep your cervix?
I chose to keep my cervix because I couldn’t find a valid reason for NOT keeping it.
Before my surgery, I read that recovery time was slightly faster with keeping it vs not. Regardless of whether that was true or not, to me, it seemed like keeping my cervix was one less trauma to my body. I was also concerned that I might have more vaginal issues if I were to have it removed.
The only ‘con’ my doctor gave me to leaving my cervix was that there was a very slim chance I might develop mild spotting at some point if any uterine cells recovered. Thankfully I have not had any spotting once in the 5+ years after the hysterectomy.
Is there anything you would have done differently if you could do it again?
I would have taken more time to find the root cause of my fatigue and hopefully found and treated my body for hypothyroidism with the chance that that may have signficiantly contributed to the bleeding factor.
For me, because I didn’t have endometriosis, extreme monthly pain, etc. as many women who opt for hysterectometis do, the main cause was the massive bleeding I experienced every month.
I would have told my younger self to follow that gut instinct and search out the WHY before going through with it.
That being said, it probably would not have changed the outcome as I already had tried quite a few natural ways to ease the bleeding (including herbs, supplements, etc.), I was DONE and ready to get on with my life.
Overall, I’ve had a relatively smooth recovery and journey after my hysterectomy at age 29. Five years later, I have my life back and I am very thankful!
Resources:
If you’re considering a hysterectomy, know that you’re not alone.
I found the website hystersisters both informational and encouraging before my surgery.
Sandy says
Why don’t you discuss any of the emotional aspects of having a hysterectomy at such a young age? I am 31, and had to have a complete hysterectomy last year. The physical symptoms were nothing compared to the realization that I cannot have another child (I have one, who is 9). In today’s age of constant social media reminders that this should be “my age” to have children, it is very hard for me. Just wondering if anyone else out there feels the same.
Benta Clark says
I suffer from stage 5 endometriosis, and I am terrified of this step…though I truly believe it is the right one. I don’t want to immediately age and turn into a less vibrant person. But I am in chronic pain..and it’s impacging my life. I just don’t want to be a woman that doesn’t have faith. I know God can heal me, but I also know healing starts in the heart. I am just really afraid of this next step.
Elizabeth says
Hello,
I’m 3 calendar months post hysterectomy and like you it was laparoscopic and removed uterus and tubes plus the huge fibroid that was causing me so many problems for so long.
Its only been in the past 2 – 3 weeks that I’ve got some energy levels (way more than I’ve had for a very long time) so I am feeling more positive now.
Something I have noticed which happened immediately post op – my appetite is tiny. Initially I put it down to immediate post op side effects. After all my body has had anaesthesia etc. However, I am now 3 calendar months down the line and my appetite simply has not picked up at all. I can eat pretty much what I used to eat (except for one area – more on that in a moment) but its less than half of what I used to eat and I never ate a huge amount in one sitting anyway. I can easily go all day not eating at all! I tend to prefer just drinks (cold or hot) and maybe the probiotic yoghurt drinks.
The other odd thing, is I used to snack a LOT and was pretty much a chocoholic. Since the op, I have not wanted to snack, and have not eaten any chocolate or very sweet things like that at all. (note: I can have the odd bit of cake or something or chocolate as in hot chocolate), but actual chocolates from a box – nope! I now have three boxes from well wishers for my recovery and Christmas and not touched one.
I can only assume its hormonal and there has been a huge change once the fibroid (which was 25cm!) was removed with the uterus.
Just wondering if you had experienced anything similar?
Like you I can sense when my “period” is due and I get a teeny bit of twingey-ness in one ovary side which I never had before (however, it HAD been squished badly by the fibroid in the final months run up to the op, so I am not surprised its still a bit cranky) but I don’t actually mind the twingey-ness as I can then tell the cycle is working.
Very pleased you are doing well post hysterectomy. Hopefully that will continue for you. I wish you all the best of continuing good health.
Kind regards
Elizabeth
Erika says
Hey Elizabeth, that’s fascinating that your appetite has decreased and you’re not craving chocolate. That definitely sounds hormonal to me and in a good way. Unless you’re not eating enough and that’s another story! I only had an initial loss of appetite from the anesthesia and mine came back within a month or so if I remember right. Hope you continue to do well too!
Jen says
I had early signs of uterine cancer and chose to have everything removed rather than monitor the situation and take medication to thin the estrogen. I had a robotic assisted surgery where they cut around the cervix and then pulled everything out through the vagina. I was up and walking just hours later and healed quickly–my doctor said he never had a patient heal as quickly as I did. It’s in my genetics: the genes that unfortunately gave me the problems also helped me to recover quickly from them.
My husband thought he wanted a child. I did not and had told him this way back on our third date. I knew what I wanted from the beginning and didn’t want to waste either of our time if we wanted very different things. He was maybe a little disappointed when I made the decision to have a hysterectomy, but understood the importance and why. Later we found out that I probably couldn’t have had children anyway, which I think made him accept my decision better. The fact that I pointed out that his life would change because I work all the time and he would have to do everything also helped him realize this was not something he wanted that badly. We have pets, and we are perfectly happy with that.
My main issues after my hysterectomy were mood swings and what I would call “rage.” My family has a history of short, violent tempers, and that came out in the months following my hysterectomy. It has mellowed a bit over the past couple months (I’m almost seven months out), but I do anger much quicker than I did before. Pretty much like I did back when I was a teenager. I discovered chocolate was the secret to helping keep my mood swings in check. That, and avoiding people who cause such anger in me. Unfortunately, most of them are at work and are unavoidable.
I was off work for six weeks after my surgery. I am a retail store manager and am on my feet most of the time. I also help unload our trucks when they come in. Some of my employees wouldn’t let me do much for the first few weeks I was back. I was on lift restrictions from the doctor and wouldn’t lift anything too heavy, but would push it now and then because that’s just who I am. As the weeks went by I gained my strength back and felt stronger than I had in years. I felt like I did back when I used to work for a winery and regularly carried 40 pound cases of wine. My energy levels were amazing, too. I felt like I was in my twenties again (I am 41), with some teenage anger thrown in for fun.
The downside (for my husband at least) is my libido dropped, which is how it was in my twenties. We still have sex, it just takes me longer to get going. Now he actually has to put more effort into getting me in the mood versus before when it wouldn’t take much at all. I say I’m like a classic muscle car: everything still works, you just might have trouble starting it and have to wait longer for it to warm up.
Now, seven months after surgery, my energy levels have dropped. Maybe it’s because it’s winter. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately. Maybe what I thought is allergies is actually a virus working it’s way out. Maybe it’s because I have put on extra weight, which is normal for me after the holidays (why does everyone have to make cookies and fudge?) All I know is I can barely make it through helping unload an 88 piece truck when I used to help unload 200-300 piece trucks without getting as tired. I am hoping that my energy returns as the weather gets warmer and I am more active outside.
I can say without a doubt that I do not have any regrets about my decision to have a hysterectomy. Not even a tiny bit. I had such horrible pain at times and had to wear a pad everyday for probably a year before because I would bleed at random. While it might have been cool to have a mini me, I was always concerned that a pregnancy would end tragically for either myself or the baby. Plus, after helping raise my two brothers, one of which was just a nightmare, I really don’t like kids. Now, everytime I hear a child screaming somewhere, I am ever so greatful that I don’t have those “production parts” anymore. Most of all, I am glad to be rid of the dull ache that was in my side for over a year.
Rita says
Omg I am 2 years post surgery and I wish I was more informed. I have hot flashes and am always tired. That being said the surgery saved my life. I suffer with constant uti infections and im just out of it all the time. .
Erika says
I’m so sorry you are struggling, Rita. I hope you can find some answers.
Elizabeth says
Hi I wonder if you had Adenomyosis. I found out Last year that’s what caused my constant bleeding. Just had my hysterectomy today. I look forward to no bleeding! Lol
I have PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome) and it gives me fatigue like adrenal fatigue does for you. Same here, I have to change the way I eat to give myself energy.
Thank you for this article. It does help.
Hugs
Erika says
Hi Elizabeth, I don’t think that was the cause of my issues, but it’s hard to say this far out. I discovered later that I had hypothyroidism which can lead to heavy menstrual cycles and increased bleeding. Regardless my life is so much better now and I hope yours improves too. Rest and get better! <3