hysterectomy body changes

Hysterectomy Experiences: Broken Bodies

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Gynecologic surgeries, namely hysterectomy (uterus removal), oophorectomy (ovary removal) and C-section, are the top overused procedures in the U.S. Only a small percentage of hysterectomies and oophorectomies are considered necessary since gynecologic cancers are rare. According to this JAMA Surgery article on 2007 inpatient procedures, “Two operations on the female genital system, hysterectomy and oophorectomy, accounted for a total of 930,000 procedures (89.3% and 84.6%, respectively, were elective).” These figures do not include the roughly 300,000 outpatient hysterectomies and oophorectomies. This graph (graph B) of indications for hysterectomy is a good visual of how few are done for cancer (~50,000). However, it is misleading in that it appears that hysterectomies have steadily declined since it only includes inpatient procedures. Outpatient hysterectomies have steadily increased since about 2002. The 89.3% “elective” rate would indicate that these surgeries are “restorative” or at least harmless, but medical literature and women’s experiences prove otherwise.

A few years ago, I began writing for Hormones Matter about the consequences of hysterectomy and oophorectomy. Year after year, these posts generate tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments. The comments inevitably follow the same pattern of unwarranted removal of organ(s) without informed consent and ensuing declining health. We are publishing a series of articles highlighting women’s comments. This is the second one of the series. The first article is about the lack of informed consent and can be found here.

Musculoskeletal Changes Post Hysterectomy

The severing of the uterine ligaments, the pelvis’ support structures, compromises pelvic skeletal integrity affecting the entire musculoskeletal system as explained here. The changes – spine compression, widening of hips and descent of rib cage – cause discomfort and chronic pain over time. Our figures reflect these changes in the loss of our waists, the buffer between the rib cage and hips. That’s why women who have had hysterectomies have shortened, thickened midsections, protruding bellies and the loss of the curves in their lower backs. Endocrine dysfunction further compromises musculoskeletal integrity at least from a bone density standpoint but possibly other mechanisms too. This article addresses these changes. Since the changes are somewhat gradual, many women don’t realize that their hysterectomies are to blame.

Nicole writes:

“leg numbness and back pain”

Theresa says:

“My lower back, hips, and legs are constantly killing me after the surgery. My lower back has an inward indentation as if I have a lordosis back. I never had this before neither all these aches and pains.”

Julie:

“I have been told that my lower back injury is also directly related to my hysterectomy as the entire support structure has been weakened.”

SharonJ:

“I have ongoing PT and dry-needling for my lower back, pelvic floor, sciatica & my hips.”

JRM:

“constant back, leg and hip pain. … My once tiny, strong tummy area is now flabby and my entire abdomen is completely numb.”

Sumbil:

“severe pain in my hipbone and my knee and shoulder left side hurting more and left side sole give me pain when I walk.”

Angie Hayes:

“… at 26 I had a total hysterectomy. Worst thing I could ever do!!! … my hips are tilting in and back pain all the time.… I would love to have the week of pain every month I was having for the rest of my life. Instead I now have some kind of pain every day and just getting worse….”

Jill Reif:

I lost my waistline, I look in the mirror and cry. I work out but my joints, especially my hips, legs and back throb.”

Barracuda:

My hips always ache. My pelvis shifted forward because of the round ligament removal, my gait and stance changed…. I can’t take long strides anymore, and letting my knees cross is painful.… That rib to hip thing is real.”

Julie:

I had two university trained health professionals spell out exactly what removing the uterus, cervix, tubes does to a woman’s musculoskeletal system, connective tissues etc and it ain’t pretty! One was a PT and the other a chiropractor. Since they spend their lives rehabilitating injured and broken down bodies they would know.”

Annele Oosthuizen:

“I am so glad I found your post, I thought I was searching in vain for answers, after my hysterectomy I experienced numerous changes, weight gain, ageing more rapidly, facial features and skin texture changed, my figure changed….”

Michelle:

“It’s been a year since my surgery. Most recently I’m having… and joint pain in lower back and hip bones.”

Eva:

“I had a complete hysterectomy in 2004 due to severe endometriosis. Since then my low back, hips and legs stay in chronic severe non stop pain. I am on heavy pain meds…. I have lost 1″ in height since my surgery as well.”

Julie:

“I had a total hysterectomy in November of 2014. I have experienced so many terrible body changes such as the ones discussed. Hips have shifted sides of stomach are wide. No longer a woman’s figure. Legs got very dimply and joints and back ache. It’s as if I feel all these changes as they are happening and causing so much discomfort…. Doctors don’t seem to want to help and didn’t explain all this beforehand….”

Ram Rakh Bishnoi:

“My wife was undergone operation for removal of uterus (Hyp) in five month ago. But now a days back pain and knee pain problems are come to notice.”

Kristina:

“Not only do I suffer with pain every day, My bone structure is different and my lower abdomen is swollen all the time and hangs over my underwear line…. I used to be tall and thin, strong and energetic. The Robotic Laparoscopic Hysterectomy is a lie and a scam for Dr.’s to make money….”

Sherlyn:

“I am a victim of getting Spinal Stenosis 12 months post Hysterectomy. I had to leave my good job 6/2013. I cannot sit long, walk long, stand long. I cannot clean my home, handwriting changed. Heavy legs, arms. Pain all over body.”

Jay:

“I have chronic low to moderate pain for the last two weeks in back and genitals, dismissed as being nothing to do with the hysterectomy and due to sacral/coccyx issues only…. I believe it is all interconnected.”

Lynn:

“Not to mention I feel like my body looks so different in my midsection.”

Sherlyn:

“I had MRI in 10/2013 found that have cervical spinal stenosis. I also have left hip and left lower back pain.”

KME:

“My figure has shifted also and I now have the poochy pot belly you describe. I am slender otherwise. … my lower back aches nearly every day from my altered and off kilter frame, which is now un-naturally front heavy.”

Barracuda:

“Anatomical, skeletal changes, nobody ever mentions those when talking about hysterectomies. My mother and my sister both had them, and never once mentioned anything about the changes….”

Shalyne Lockett:

“I had a total hysterectomy may 2014 and my lower back hurts daily. I can walk a few steps and it’s worse.”

Ann:

“My body was previously bikini worthy, now as others seem to have experienced, there is less support so my rib cage is lower and my abdomen has a bulge. My pelvic muscles also are almost frozen. I have a new large indent in my back now, almost like the plane across where the uterus was has an empty void and doesn’t support my spine.”

ATH:

“I still have severe lower back pain. The pain is debilitating. I can hardly make it through a full shift at work and driving is something that I avoid because sitting in the same position for more than 5 min is almost impossible….”

Yvonne:

“I am 38 and now feel worse than I ever have. Really bad lower back pain and pain in my pelvic area and pain when urination. Inter course is very uncomfortable also.”

Elaine Bailey:

“Surgeon basically told me I had to have a hysterectomy, I had gone through menopause.…  Now every morning is a chore, my knees, my ankles, my elbows, and recently now my lower back is sooooo stiff and sore. If I sit and try to stand I look like an 80 yr old woman. I ache constantly…. I am so sleep deprived and so sore. I cry and yearn for who I was a year ago.”

Jerri Burris:

“When I was 25 I went to my GYN because I was having painful periods. He did a hysterectomy in which he took everything but my cervix. They tried putting me on several different hormones over a 2 year period, but none were right for me. Now I’m 37 and have been experiencing some major issues with fractured ribs. I have had two fractures within a two month period. Both were caused when someone gave me a hug. And I can’t stand on my feet for long periods of time.”

Lisa:

“my knees don’t bend and I have very little use of my arms as my joints are ceased.”

Lisa:

“I now have terrible osteoporosis.”

Julie:

“I had a hysterectomy 8 months ago and still kept my ovaries. Ever since surgery I had so much pain. … I have been having some pains in my ribs, major lower back pains and my incision still hurts.”

SharonJ:

“a flat ass & tummy pooch now too!”

Nerve Damage Post Hysterectomy

According to this article “Iatrogenic nerve injury following gynaecological surgery occurs more commonly than is recognised and is a significant cause of postoperative neuropathy.” There are several mechanisms cited as major contributors, namely, “mal-positioning, improper incision sites and self-retaining retractors.” It cites a 7% rate of chronic nerve pain after surgery with a “bikini” (Pfannenstiel) incision. The femoral nerve is the most susceptible to injury at a rate of at least 11%.

Although not addressed in the cited article, it would seem that the gradual shifting of bones and other tissue could also cause nerve damage especially compression. Post hysterectomy endocrine dysfunction and impaired blood supply may be other mechanisms of nerve damage. This could have a domino effect on organ function since organs require nerves (as well as blood supply) for proper functioning. The above cited article implies this causal relationship in its statement that “injuries to the nervous supply of the bladder and bowel are beyond the scope of this article.” Women’s experiences with post hysterectomy bladder and bowel changes will be addressed in my next article.

Here are some of the comments from women suffering from nerve damage:

Angie Hayes says:

“… at 26 I had a total hysterectomy. Worst thing I could ever do!!! I have pain all the time cause nerves were left exsposed and my hips are tilting in and back pain all the time. All with other health problems I think maybe connected…. I would love to have the week of pain every month I was having for the rest of my life. Instead I now have some kind of pain every day and just getting worse.”

SharonJ:

“I have ongoing PT and dry-needling for my lower back, pelvic floor, sciatica & my hips.”

Sunny:

“My surgery date was 10/15/15. Felt really great up until last week of January 2016…. Noticed drastic, sudden sharp pain from my lower back shooting around the sacrum, up into my spine, all the way to my neck and head. This sharp pain was coming and going sporadically. But now, the excruciating pain in is my lower back constantly. It feels like constant pain in the bone of the sacrum (lower back). The shooting pain up into my neck and head still occurs whenever it feels like it, i just never get any warning at all. I literally cannot sit comfortably…. Now for the past 3 weeks I am experiencing what feels like a “pulled” something or another in my upper, inner left thigh area. It feels like something is pulling hard- like a stretched out rubber band– and it hurts just as bad as my back. I am in so much pain all day everyday and nothing helps whatsoever. Naturally my GYN got his money out of me and conveniently he is all booked and per his nurse (who was nice enough to return my call), ‘your symptoms do not sound like they are from your surgery in October 2015– maybe you should see a neurologist.’”

Sandra Dalton:

“I had a hysterectomy six years ago since then can’t go without a day having nerve pain on my back hips thighs no legs it’s mostly on my right side I work full time and now I’m of work because I in pain all the time. It’s also on both legs I get burning and like someone putting a sharp knife into me went to doctor and he’s said its not connected to hysterectomy I did not believe him”

Cheryl:

“…. I feel as though your article is describing me. …The pain seemed to have originated from the lower back traveling down my inner thigh via my nerve. I thought I was having sciatica again. But this nerve pain never went away, and to this day I’ve still got it. In addition, over the last few months I’ve gotten this excruciating pain after I am in a lying or sitting position. The pain again originates from my lower back and goes down both legs to the point that I cannot straighten up or the pain increases in intensity. It lasts the entire day now.”

F De wazieres:

“… severe low back pain, pelvic pain, left buttock, thigh, knee calf and foot…. during sex I am experiencing sharp pain that radiates into my hip leg etc and it is now constant. … morphine … is not helping this pain….”

Lyn:

“… I will be 2 years post hysterectomy (TAH). I was 52y/o…. After 3 months post surgery, I had to retire my full time profession…due to fatigue, lower back, sacroiliac joint, hip, leg and foot pain!… I no longer can remain for long lengths of time to stand, walk, dance, sit, or lay in bed without the debilitating feeling of flares of chronic pain.”

Ginger:

“Sciatic, disc tears”

Ann:

“When I woke up from my surgery I also had excruciating sciatic pain which has never gone away.”

I caution any woman who is told she needs a hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy or is considering one to heed these comments. With the gross overuse of these surgeries, chances are she’s being sold a false bill of goods. It’s not always a good idea to rely solely on your doctor’s advice as Someone Who Cares implies:

“After 40 years of enduring this “disabled” existence, it breaks my heart that no matter how many of us try to warn other women, in various ways, the number of these destructive surgeries continues to increase, not decrease.”

A complete list of my articles can be found here. The HERS Foundation is a good resource for understanding the lifelong functions of the female organs. It also has information about gynecologic conditions and treatment options. These two sites, Gyn Reform (especially the studies/citations link) and Ovaries for Life, are excellent resources about the gross overuse and harm of ovary removal or loss of ovarian function after hysterectomy.

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