iatrogenic illness Archives

Hysterectomy Experiences: Chronic Fatigue

by WS

Published on January 23, 2020

32623 views

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. We are publishing a series of articles highlighting women’s comments. This is the fifth of the series and addresses the common complaint of chronic fatigue. The first article is about lack of informed consent and can be found here. The second one talks about how our “exterior” settles / collapses after the uterus is removed. The third addresses organ dysfunction and the fourth is about loss of sexuality and emotional emptiness. Although the 90% elective rate of these surgeries would imply that they are “restorative” or at least harmless, medical literature and women’s experiences prove otherwise.

Chronic Fatigue and Loss of Stamina

Many women commented on my other articles about chronic fatigue and loss of stamina and vibrancy since their hysterectomies even if they still had their ovaries. Although sleep problems were a common complaint, even absent those, women just couldn’t seem to get past the chronic fatigue and lack of stamina. These experiences match those of the majority of 1,000 hysterectomized women surveyed by the non-profit HERS Foundation. Those results are as follows:

Loss of energy: 78%
Profound fatigue: 77%
Loss of stamina: 69%
Insomnia: 61%
Unable to maintain previous level of activity in home: 34%

The complete list broken out by hysterectomy only, hysterectomy with one ovary removed, and hysterectomy with both ovaries removed can be found here. Below are comments from some of my articles.

Chris (age 64) says:

“My husband and I had and unbelievable sex life, I had loads of energy and strength and was able to joke about being “37”. I now feel like and old woman. I want to sleep more then move, I have little strength….”

Jacqueline:

“I have no energy at 38. I have more problems now than I did before surgery.”

NJ:

“The Testim has helped my energy levels but I have lowered the dose as my body hair increased.”

Joshua:

“…my finance had a cervical hysterectomy [sic] back in January of this year and she seems to be having issues with mood swings sex drive depression and fatigue.”

BeBe:

“My hysterectomy was necessary due to Essure permanent birth control. One migrated to my uterus and I was sick from that poison…. I’m 11 months post op…. I’m fatigued. Have migraines and have become very anti social.”

Joan:

“I was a very active women, always running around from 6am till 9pm…. I am tired all the time.”

Teresa:

“I’m 12 years post op…. I stay fatigued and have no sexual drive and depression….”

Sue:

“Hysterectomy [sic] in 2007…. Severe fatigue, bloating, pain under rib. No answers…. My life has been horrible since.”

Jill:

“…my energy levels have dropped too.”

Jen:

“I had TAH kept my ovaries (boy, that was a battle)…. I have had so many problems since…. I truly feel awful. My energy levels are just depleted. I’m dealing with idiot doctors rift now plus I am too tired to go to all these specialists…. I also have severe rib pain right and left. I have bowel problems too and the nausea and fatigue is hell.”

Irene:

“Ever since HYSTERECTOMY my whole personality has changed, gone from an outgoing lady to a hermit rarely interested in socialising and I have little energy and gone from 60kg to 70kg.”

Annele:

“Had my surgery in 2010, compared to photos of me and my energy levels, sex live, I have aged about 10 years in a 5 year period. My mother also went for her hysterectomy during 2012, she experienced similar side effects.”

Sharon:

“I can hardly get out of bed. I have no appetite, no energy, and I feel awful.”

Elaine:

“I ache constantly, I still get intense flashes and my energy level has gone from active (pre-surgery) to minimal…..I am so sleep deprived and so sore….I feel I was not thoroughly informed and this surgery was the biggest mistake! I cry and yearn for who I was a year ago.”

Julie:

“Ever since surgery I had so much pain, discomfort, fatigue, and now depression. I used to be real busy with my family going outdoors for hunts, fishing and picnics. Now days I just barely do anything and my whole life has changed. My health has just been going down.”

Lyn:

“After 3 months post surgery, I had to retire my full time profession as a licensed therapeutic massage therapist due to fatigue, lower back, sacroiliac joint, hip, leg and foot pain!… My balance has been compromised and have had (4) falls since surgery…. I use to enjoy my walks with my dog and make attempts daily, but I become winded and fatigued almost instantly….”

Sue:

“My health just continues to decline. I was the most active person before this surgery, now I do nothing most days. I’m very concerned about my bowel issue and the relentless fatigue.”

Angela:

“I saw my mother destroyed by a hysterectomy at 38. This has been going on for decades and the denial has to stop. Women don’t even have to tell me they’ve had one. I can see it – in their faces, their hair, their figures, their lack of vitality.”

Jacqualine:

“take ambien to sleep”

Marlo:

“I can’t sleep at night.”

KA:

“taking a sleep aide”

Rebecca:

“Can’t sleep, wake up with headaches every day. Having major sweats, Loosing my hair and my mind!”

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 cautions:

“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 hysterectomy induced loss of ovarian function.

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Image credit: PickPic.

This article was first published in April 2017.

Allergic Reactions or Iatrogenic Illness?

by Lisa Bloomquist

Published on June 6, 2018

6031 views

Allergic Reactions versus Toxicity Syndromes

When I was twenty, I had an allergic reaction to a sulfa antibiotic. I broke out in itchy hives while I was taking the sulfa, but the hives went away as soon as I stopped taking it. I had no other symptoms nor lasting effects. I don’t recall whether or not I took Benadryl to help me recover, but I imagine that it would have helped if I had. It was clear at the time that I was having an allergic reaction to the sulfa antibiotic, but if I needed it to be verified, there are tests that could verify and validate that I am allergic to sulfa drugs.

Twelve years later, I had an adverse-reaction to ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. For more than a year after I took the ciprofloxacin, I experienced muscle weakness and pain; autonomic nervous system dysfunction including loss of balance, inability to sweat, digestive dysmotility, dry mouth, and dry eyes; central nervous system dysfunction including memory loss, inability to concentrate, loss of reading comprehension, anxiety, and brain fog; a loss of energy (I went from doing crossfit to barely being able to walk through a shopping center); and changes in my personality. My symptoms ebbed and flowed, with some lasting for years. All my symptoms arose after I stopped taking the ciprofloxacin, and many increased in intensity long after the ciprofloxacin “should” have been out of my system. Neither Benadryl nor any other pharmaceutical I tried did anything to alleviate my symptoms. There are no tests that verify adverse reactions to fluoroquinolones, and no doctors seemed to have any clue how to treat my symptoms.

Do you see the difference in my two experiences? You should. One was a couple of hives and an itchy weekend, the other was a life-altering experience that changed my physical abilities, my thoughts, and even my way of interacting in the world.

My reaction to the sulfa antibiotic was an allergic reaction. My reaction to the ciprofloxacin was something different, and to categorize it as an “allergy” is a mistake. I am allergic to sulfa drugs. My reaction to fluoroquinolones (cipro/ciprofloxacin, levaquin/levofloxacin, avelox/moxifloxacin, floxin/ofloxacin) was worse, and another exposure to a fluoroquinolone will likely lead to my permanent disability or death.

Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are categorically different from allergic reactions, rather, fluoroquinolone toxicity is a syndrome of multi-symptom, chronic illness that does not go away when administration of the drug has stopped. Fluoroquinolone adverse-reactions are similar in symptoms and scope to autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, POTS, psychiatric illnesses, neurodegenerative diseases (like ALS and Parkinson’s), and other chronic, multi-symptom, illnesses that involve multiple bodily symptoms. Like many of those diseases, fluoroquinolones adversely affect gut health, mitochondrial health, liver health, neurotransmitter balance, mineral homeostasis, hormones, and more. Fluoroquinolone toxicity is a multi-symptom, chronic, syndrome, that, for many, is incurable. You can’t take a Benadryl to get rid of it. Some people recover (just like some people recover from autoimmune diseases), but there is no single path to recovery.

Medically Induced Chronic Illness

Few people recognize that pharmaceuticals can cause multi-symptom, chronic illness SYNDROMES. They should though, because not only are millions of prescriptions for fluoroquinolones written each year (while rates of multi-symptom, chronic, mysterious illnesses go up, not entirely coincidentally), but fluoroquinolones are not the only drugs that cause multi-symptom, chronic, syndromes.

Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome

Benzodiazepines, and withdrawal from benzodiazepines, cause long-term illness that adversely affects the brain, and all aspects of the body. According to the Wikipedia entry for Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome,

“Benzodiazepine withdrawal is characterized by sleep disturbance, irritability, increased tension and anxiety, panic attacks, hand tremor, sweating, difficulty with concentration, confusion and cognitive difficulty, memory problems, dry retching and nausea, weight loss, palpitations, headache, muscular pain and stiffness, a host of perceptual changes, hallucinations, seizures, psychosis,[1] and suicide[2].”

There are many sources for additional information about the multi-symptom, chronic, illness of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome throughout the internet.

Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS)

Finasteride/Propecia can cause a constellation of symptoms known as post finasteride syndrome (PFS). The Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation describes PFS as, “Often life-altering, PFS is characterized by devastating sexual, neurological, and physical side effects that persist in men who have taken the 5-alpha reductase type II enzyme inhibitor finasteride.” Men suffering from PFS experience symptoms long after administration of the drug has stopped. It’s not an allergy, it’s a syndrome.

Lupron Syndrome

After taking Lupron, many women reported experiencing the following effects: loss of libido, muscle and joint pain, gastrointestinal disturbances, bone loss, hair loss, dry and cracked skin, blood-sugar abnormalities, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, brain and nervous system problems, etc. Lupron use led to a multi-symptom, chronic illness–a syndrome.

Essure Syndrome

There is a Facebook group with more than 31,000 members for victims of Essure, a coil that is implanted into fallopian tubes to serve as permanent birth control. Many of the women who are victims of Essure have multiple, autoimmune-disease-like symptoms. For many of them, the Essure causes a syndrome of chronic illness and pain.

Singular Syndrome

Montelukast/Singulair, the asthma medication, has been linked with Churg Strauss Syndrome, an autoimmune condition that leads to inflammation of the blood vessels in the lungs. Churg Strauss Syndrome is a serious, incurable, autoimmune disease. It’s not an “allergy” to Singulair, it’s worse–it’s the triggering of a serious disease.

Other Medication Induced Syndromes

Lariam/mefloquine can cause ongoing, severe psychiatric problems. SSRIs, hormonal birth control, statins, and other drugs, can also cause multi-symptom illnesses. In addition to fluoroquinolones, other antibiotics can cause long-lasting syndromes. There are cases of thousands of young men and women who are suffering from the severe adverse-effects of the HPV vaccine. Even over-the-counter drugs can have long-term, multi-faceted “side-effects.”

Iatrogenic Illness Is Neither Rare nor Allergic

These iatrogenic illnesses are not rare, and it should not be a foreign notion that pharmaceuticals can cause chronic illnesses–there are thousands of patient reports noting that various pharmaceuticals have led to complex and long-lasting illnesses, and many chronic illness symptoms are listed on drug warning labels. Yet, I still receive messages like this one:

“I saw the head allergist at the hospital and still here. He said no such thing as being allergic to Levaquin. No test to prove it.”

By that doctor’s reasoning, the only adverse drug reactions that exist are the immediate allergic reactions that can be tested for and cured with antihistamines or epinephrine. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t true. There are many adverse drug reactions that look more like multi-symptom, chronic, mysterious, incurable illnesses than allergic reactions. It’s time for a paradigm shift among patients and medical providers alike to recognize not only that many pharmaceuticals can cause syndromes of illness, and that many of the recognized multi-symptom, chronic illnesses can be linked to (caused by) pharmaceutical use.

Patients who are suffering from pharmaceutical caused syndromes deserve recognition. The people who have recognized illnesses that can be linked to pharmaceutical use deserve to know that those links exist. Just because a reaction doesn’t fit into the “allergy” model, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Pharmaceutical-caused syndromes exist, and they are just as devastating, and often worse, than recognized allergic reactions.