This is a guest post from Lori Ann King, best-selling author of Come Back Strong, Balanced Wellness after Surgical Menopause.
EVERY WOMAN WILL ONE day arrive in menopause; however, the intensity and duration of symptoms will vary. Surgical menopause is different than natural menopause in that it is often more abrupt, more intense, and depending on the age when it occurs, lasts longer. Here is how it happened for me.
I went into surgery, hoping and trusting for the best-case scenario: the simple removal of an ovary, cyst, and fallopian tube. I was excited to erase the pain that was burdening me. I didn’t expect anything else to happen. My doctor would be in communication with my husband throughout surgery and decisions would be made on my behalf while my only task was to remain unconscious and trust that I was in good hands.
I awoke to learn that the worst-case scenario had happened: I had received a full hysterectomy as well as a double oophorectomy. Uterus, cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes—everything had been removed due to the severity of endometriosis that had been found.
I expected to be pain free when I woke. It didn’t work that way. I was in severe pain. I was tired. I was afraid. I couldn’t pee or poop. My body felt and looked swollen and bloated. This was uncharted territory and I had no idea how to fix it.
At my first post-surgical check-in, I was prescribed bioidentical hormone therapy (BHRT) and began applying daily creams of both estradiol and progesterone to my skin. I wanted desperately to heal and feel normal again and was willing to do anything to get well.
In the weeks while I was at home recovering, I found myself explaining and clarifying and justifying to family and friends. Conversations would go something like this:
Friend: “What’s new? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Me: “I had a hysterectomy.”
Friend: “Oh. Wow. What else is new?”
Me: “No. I had a full hysterectomy.”
Friend: “Okay. And?”
Me: “I had a full hysterectomy. They took everything. Nothing’s left of my womanly parts except my va-jay-jay.”
Friend: “Oh. Okay. So that’s simple these days, right? An in-and-out procedure? Laparoscopic? Barely a scar? When will you be back to work? Wait, why are you crying?”
This experience had turned my world upside down and it would feel as if my friend was saying “So what? What’s the big deal?”
The big deal was that I was struggling physically and emotionally and I didn’t know how to help myself feel better again.
In the months that followed, I found solutions for my symptoms through complementary medicine and lifestyle changes. I worked on improving my thought life and my emotions turned toward the positive. Overall, through the journey of surgical menopause, I found hope in my ability to come back strong.
For more information or to purchase Come Back Strong, visit www.LoriAnnKing.com
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