Hysterectomy & Heart/Another Hysterectomy Thought/Tomatoes

[Guest guest]

Re: Hysterectomy & Heart Business – My Answer for Dawn:

There is one study showing that this IS true even when ovaries are left in

place. However, it is probably not the definitive/final answer.

A significant proportion of women who retain their ovaries and tubes at

hysterectomy still experience ovarian failure – I’ve believe it is around

20%. Thus, even with their ovaries in place, they have no benefit of them.

The ovaries are there but for one reason or another (surgical trauma,

disruption of bio-systems – who knows what all) they cease functioning.

There is no way to tell which women will experience this ovarian failure

until after it happens.

Also, an additional significant proportion of women who undergo hysterectomy

and keep their ovaries experience early “menopause.” Whether or not anyone

has ever tested to determine whether this early menopause is truly menopause

– or actually ovarian failure (castration) I don’t know. My guess would be

that there’s some of each. Early menopause is probably not all that healthy

either – though I’d bet it beats ovarian failure all to pieces.

I think it is critically important to remember that menopause and castration

are not the same thing. “Menopause” is a word the medical profession tosses

about wildly to refer to either one. I consider this to be pretty sloppy on

the part of a bunch of so-called " men and women of science.” By doing this,

they’ve essentially misled, misinformed and confused most of us. They’ve

even duped themselves into not believing and/or understanding and/or

recognizing and/or realizing the BIG differences. Our ovaries continue to

produce hormones throughout our lifetimes – only in different combinations

post-menopause. As Love says in her Hormone book: The band doesn’t

stop playing, it just strikes up a different tune.

Female castration is essentially sugar-coated as “menopause” in the

vernacular of medicine. Removal of ovaries is castration not menopause.

Ovarian failure is castration not menopause. The ovaries not only have to

be retained to be of benefit, they also have to keep functioning normally.

Quite often they do not keep functioning normally after hysterectomy – and

that may or may not happen immediately after surgery - or at some later

date.

To the extent that retaining ovaries and tubes might lessen the increased

risk of heart disease/high BP/stroke, I’d be willing to bet that it has to

do with ovarian function – with the hormones our ovaries produce – whether

pre or post menopause. Thus, most likely when ovaries fail due to

hysterectomy – whether they fail immediately or some years later – in terms

of side-effects, that is likely the same as if they had been removed.

So, while electing to keep your tubes and ovaries at hysterectomy probably

improves your odds with respect to increasing your risk of high blood

pressure/heart disease and stroke – I think it’s pretty much a crap-shoot –

it might or might not for YOU – depending on what happens to YOUR ovarian

function after surgery. We know there’s a very real chance your ovarian

function will be affected by hysterectomy, but that’s a thing no one can

predict ahead of time.

A THOUGHT RE: HYSTERECTOMY and AGE:

(No Roma, I have NOT been to the dentist – but I did call to make an

appointment yesterday)

Another thought which has occurred to me lately (being an “old woman”

myself):

Women in their 40’s and 50’s are often not considered candidates for

myomectomy. We have discussed the fact that these women – being closer to

menopause – are much less likely than younger women to develop new sets of

symptomatic fibroids requiring re-operation – because they have less time

left in which to grow them. That is, the story about hysterectomy being

better because it is more “final” is EVEN LESS TRUE for older women than it

is for younger women.

Probably the over-all rate of re-operation post myomectomy (mostly new crops

of symptomatic fibroids) is really about equivalent to the over-all rate of

re-operation required post-hysterectomy for various complications -- IF you

follow the women enough years out.

Isn’t it likely that women in their 40’s and 50’s have the same chances of

the post-hyst complication (though admittedly a shorter remaining life

expectancy) – than do the younger women ??

– and they have a LOWER chance of post-myo need for re-operation???

Wouldn't this make hysterectomy less-advisable even for older women???

TOMATOES:

I have 10 wonderful tomato plants growing on my kitchen windowsill soon to

be in the garden – and 6 sacks of chicken manure waiting to organically

fertilize them. Nothing like fresh-picked sliced tomatoes on toasted whole

grain bread (with just a pinch of salt – honest just a pinch) for lunch!!!

Pat

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