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Hysterectomy & Fibro

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Posted 7/19/2011 3:33 PM (GMT 0)

My fellow Painiacs!

All my problems really started 21 years ago when I had a hysterectomy at the age of 29 because of endometriosis.  Well, they blossomed after that to be more accurate.  I know alot of gals with fibro have had a hyst as well.  I feel very strongly that there is some hormone connection to fibro, which is why so many more women than men have it.  Then again, hormones are powerful buggers & they can exacerbate a problem, so who really knows?  All I'm sure of is that my hyst ruined my health.  Having one so prematurely is worse than later & a total hyst than a partial.   Mine was a complete hyst inc both ovaries.  Was it necessary?  Yes, I belive so.  I was very sick.  But no one could have forseen the severe side-effects I've suffered since.  I've had odd health issues all my life, even as a kid, so maybe this would have happened anyway.  But I do think my hyst berought it on years & years earlier & more severly than had I not had the surgery.

To begin with I gained 100 lbs in 10 months!  Yes, you read that correctly...10 lbs p/month for nearly 1 year.  I thought I might die of FAT!  My weight's 'set point' was obviously changed dramatically & suddenly.  My gyno said he's never seen such a thing.  Great, I'm special!  I know you're going to say, yeah, yeah, sure, sure, she could just diet & exercise the extra weight off.  God as my witness, I tried.  I did all the right things, things that worked before my hyst, but this weight will not budge.  For 9 months I actually became addicted to excercising.  I worked out EVERY day for an hour while following Weight Watchers FAITHFULLY.  Before my hyst I'd done WW twice & without exercise lost weight.  But something in me is broken & normal things don't produce normal results.  After all that intense effort for so long got me down a whopping THREE lbs, I vowed never to bother dieting again.  Apparently this is abnormal weight.  I didn't eat my way fat & I can't diet my way back down.  I know, trust me.... I know that I sound like a lunatic, but it's the truth.  My docs don't even lecture my about my weight because they appreciate that something else is going on there.  Now that I know what it is, I believe I probably had the seeds of fibro in me even in childhood.  I feel that my hyst sped up the aging process & 'turned on' everything else bad that was lurking in my genes.  I took HRT for 12 years, which did make me feel much better.  But after more & more research suggested a link between long-term use of HRT & cancers I wanted off.  That's another long story for another day, but I did finally quit Premarin.  What I'm curious to know is how many of you believe hormones issues play a part in your fibro.    

  

Posted 7/19/2011 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
Is or could it be hereditary, yes I believe so. My mother had it, I have it and my daughter has it. Could it be hormones, I don't believe so. I have never had any "woman" ailments. Neither did my mother or my daughter that I know of. We all had regular periods, children, and my mother and I breezed right thru menopause.

My mother dealt with an abusive husband, I suffered vitamin deficiencies and my daughter suffers depression and is going thru very stressful financial issues.

So, I believe it may be hereditary and kinda lays dormant until something jump starts it (something like stress, trauma or many medical conditions/diseases).

This is just my belief on what I know and experience. (my sister who also had endomitriosis, couldn't get pregnant for 12 years and died twice while giving birth does not have fibro- so who (at this time) really knows.
Posted 7/19/2011 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
I had a complete hysterectomy when I was 24 years old...ovaries included.  Well...it was really done piece meal, one ovary when I was 21, a large section of one when I was 22 and due to dysmenorrhea that was so severe I was always anemic the doc finally removed whatever was left of my female oragans.  Back then, HRT was given in huge doses and made me so ill I stopped taking it. (vascular headaches and constant nausea)  In any event, I have always wondered if that shock to my body at such an early age didn't contribute to getting fibro.

Also...don't beleive any doctor who tells you that you can't get pregnant with only a small piece of an ovary.  I had twins then another son 18 months later on what he said was a microscopic piece of ovarian tissue.  I guess it's good that I finally had it all removed...YIKES!

Donna

Posted 7/20/2011 11:46 AM (GMT 0)
Dotkom...I can relate to your weight issues.  I do believe hormones have a lot to do with our bodies.  I had already gone through menopause before my hysterectomy and they did tell me it was possible that I would get thrown back into menopause after the hyst, but I didn't.  Whewwwww!

As for the weight, that was another issue.  I gained all my weight because of intolerance's, which many people do not understand.  I am gluten intolerant, which lead to intolerance of all grains.  The intolerance's caused me to suffer with leaky gut, which in turn caused more intolerances..vicious cycle.  I too exercises religiously and lost very little weight.  When I finally went on a candida diet, gave up all sweeteners except Truvia, no processed foods, the weight started coming off.  In 8-9 months I lost over 90#.  10 months later, my weight is still stable and I will not go back to eating as I did in the past.  Stevia will always be my sweetener of choice and I will never return to processed foods. 

Your hysterectomy may be a coincidence.  Having it done, corrected another problem which may have then allowed an underlying issue to take center plate.  Your metabolism may have died,as mine had.  My exercise now is a daily walk every morning, I gave up the strenous stuff long ago...it's not beneficial for the fibro, but the walking is.

Posted 7/21/2011 2:59 AM (GMT 0)
I had a full hysterectomy, ovaries included, when I was 27 because of a lemon-sized tumor on my right ovary and severe endometriosis. And I also suffered from major weight gain and now, fibromyalgia.
Posted 7/21/2011 9:16 AM (GMT 0)
It's amazing how similar experiences can be and yet so different.  I had a complete hysterectomy also, I was already heavy though.  I didn't gain weight after the hysterectomy, not much if I did.  I was already well over 200# then.  I believe I was probably already suffering with fibro then, it's taken doctors this long to figure it all out. rolleyes My hysterectomy was 4 yrs ago Aug 4th and now I weigh 150# and a smaller size than I did at 17 yrs old. smilewinkgrin
Posted 7/21/2011 1:04 PM (GMT 0)
OK, Deb, we can't talk to you! LOL My God, you actually lost weight? Wow! I'm happy for you, if a tad jealous. It just goes to show how different we all are & how intricately connected our own body systems are to one another.
Posted 7/22/2011 12:40 AM (GMT 0)
I had a full one at age 32 and never regretted it...so much better than the suffering I
was going through. I won't do HRT as I know what they're made of (scary) and was
doing an herbal equivelent. I've had every realignment known to man since and am
overweight. Other than the normal arthritis, fibro, sciatica, scolosis, tinitus, nodes
starting on hand joints, knee issues, heart stuff, etc. I am very healthy and to look
you'd never know I'm so messed up. I refuse to stop moving as when you do you
atrophy. I don't like the meds they put us on so I've gone herbal as much as possible.
I don't think the hysterectomy is related to the weight issues. My Mom weighed 350
and hardly ever ate.
Posted 7/22/2011 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
I had full hysto at age 26, they took it all. I was put on high doses of premarin and took it for years until getting a new doctor who had a fit over the dosage I was taking and took me off of it completely. I went from about 130 pounds to 180 very quickly and now at age 51 I'm well over 200lbs. Yes you reat that right. 220 to be exact. Fibro has been an issue for over 20 years. At age 17 I had a very tramatic accident and the theroy is that this is when all this started, as I got older more and more symptoms and ailments came into play. I do believe that hormones play a part and I also believe that blood transfusions come into play somewhere. I have had to have 5 over the past 20 years during surgical or after surgical proceedures. I have lost my gall bladder as well. I just believe that all this junk play into the fibro. I know your frustration well.
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