I'll Wear White Again

[perzephone]

Before the end of the summer, hopefully, I'll be getting a full hysterectomy/oophorectomy.

This is the best news I've had since I was 12.

That, and the return of Torchwood in July (although it's on Starz, which means I may end up selling the rest of my soul to Cox Cable), makes today a relatively decent day.

Comments

[moonvoice]

Congrats on the surgery you've wanted for so long! And it sounds like it's happening really soon too! Stupid question; what's an oophorectomy? Is that ovaries? Or am I just guessing? (I am totally guessing).

My Eggs, My Eggs...

[perzephone]

Yup, they pull out the ovaries along w/the uterus.

For a lot of women w/non-ovarian related menstrual problems, a partial hysterectomy can be done to control bleeding issues, while still letting the ovaries produce hormones. However, in polycystic ovaries, removing the uterus doesn't alleviate all of the symptoms, the cysts can still burst - only there's no outlet for the bleeding, and in rare cases, ectopic pregnancies can still occur (yikes!).

My doctor still believes that if I lost weight all of this would go away, but I've had these symptoms since I started my period, when I was 11 and starvation-thin. Plus, whenever I try to do anything mildly vigorous, I bleed like a stuck pig. Which of course is a big incentive to do anything more strenuous than cleaning my toilet.