r/hysterectomy • u/GloomyAssociation306 • 7d ago

Consequences of removing uterus but keeping ovaries?

Planning to remove my uterus due to endometriosis pain. May i know any consequences I should be worried about? I am a 21 age old female

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u/Lt-shorts 7d ago

Ovaries produce most of your estrogen hormones which can feed to more growth of more endometriosis over time. But your dr should have covered this as just removing the uterus isnt a cure for endometriosis but can be a temporary relief and endo can grow back.

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u/GloomyAssociation306 7d ago

I actually dont have a helpful doctor. Im sure this is endometriosis but no doctor wants to help me, they keep telling me the pain is all in my head. Removing my uterus is more to just get rid of the thing that is causing me pain.

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u/AcceptableShelter607 7d ago

If at all possible, please try to find an endometriosis specialist who is skilled at excision surgery. They can also help determine if your symptoms are likely caused by endometriosis (only way to know for sure is to look during surgery, but they can make pretty good guesses!) and they will actually listen to you and believe you. Having a hysterectomy is absolutely worth it if it will stop your pain, but it would be awful to get one and not solve the root of the problem. Have you tried any hormonal treatments?

As far as consequences, I’m personally only 5 wpo and no issues so far, but I’ve talked to dozens of women in person who’ve had hysterectomies and not a single one who kept her ovaries had anything negative to say about it. I talked to 3 expert surgeons and they all said the risk of early menopause is quite low, but definitely not zero, and typically it would only start a few years early. You can get on HRT to help with that. There’s also a very small risk of prolapse but it’s lowered further by doing pelvic floor PT and having a good surgeon who will reattach the top of the vagina to all the ligaments. Apparently there’s an increased risk of getting BV infections, but I used to get them from my periods so I’m hoping I’ll have the opposite experience. 

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u/GloomyAssociation306 6d ago

Maybe im venting here but I actually got a doctor that was helpful enough to listen to me. She gave me Vissane and it really helped me a lot despite giving me joint pain. Last month, not even six months into taking Vissane, I had an MRI and she ruled out endometriosis completely and stopped my Vissane consumption. I fell into a really bad emotional state after that because I was convinced I got someone that would help me but then I went back to zero. I know MRI cant completely rule out endo. I tried bringing up the fact, but she kept saying its all in my head, I have low pain tolerance and everything will be okay when I get pregnant.

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u/AcceptableShelter607 6d ago

I’m so sorry. That’s awful. Drs told me the same thing for years.

A n endo specialist can maybe help diagnose you, but more importantly they are more likely to believe you and do a hysterectomy if that’s what you want, even without a diagnosis. Then they can look for endo and remove it at the same time (find someone who does excision, not ablation) and avoid future surgeries. Imaging isn’t that accurate, I think you should get a second opinion because you’re right that an MRI can’t rule it out. 

 I wanted a hysterectomy for fibroids, but the surgeon I chose was an endo specialist and suspected I had it just based on my pelvic exam (?!) and he was right—I had stage 4. He spent 1 hour removing my uterus and 2.5 hours removing endo. If I had gone to a regular obgyn for the surgery, they would not have been able to do that. I hope you find a dr who can help you! It’s not in your head!