It may seem like quite the leap from hysterectomy to suicide, but it really isn’t a leap at all. Hysterectomy with ovary removal induces what doctors refer to as “surgical menopause.” There’s really no such thing as “surgical” menopause. Hysterectomy with oophorectomy is the female equivalent to male castration and as such carries with it […]
I was one of those lucky women who never suffered any gynecological problems in the 58 years I had my precious female organs fully intact. I trusted the female GP who did my yearly Pap smear (which she insisted I have every year, despite never, ever having abnormal cells). I did not know she was […]
A few years ago, I began writing for Hormones Matter about the gross overuse and adverse effects 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. […]
I don’t particularly like saying I’ve been “victimized” nor do I like thinking of myself as a “victim”. I never have. The truth is though, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, I have been victimized. Merriam defines victimized as follows: to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly: to make a victim of; to subject to deception […]
Over the last several weeks, I have been looking at the role of estradiol in mitochondrial health. In the first post Hormones, Hysterectomy and the Aging Brain, we learned that estradiol depletion wreaks havoc on brain mitochondria turning them into misshapen donuts and blobs. Digging a little deeper, the next post (Lupron, Estradiol and the […]
Gynecologic surgeries, particularly 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 […]
I have connected with many women in the nine years since my unwarranted hysterectomy. I have been appalled and saddened by the number of women who were railroaded into hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy (ovary removal – castration) by being told that it was necessary. Some were misled into believing they had cancer or pre-cancer when they […]
Dyscariosis and the Threat of Cervical Cancer I was 33. I was in love, although more realistically heartbroken and pining. This wasn’t unusual for me, I was never very good at choosing a partner, I was fiery and volatile in my lifestyle, and had gone through a series of painful and passionate relationships in my […]