Today, Zhimei wants to tell a true story, I hope you can read it to the end.
It is self-evident how important the uterus is to a woman. It not only helps women conceive new life, but also protects women’s health (menstruation).
Some people are lucky enough to keep the uterus when a fatal acute illness comes to the door; some people are not so lucky and have to choose to remove the uterus.
I am the latter. At the age of 42, in order to cure my adenomyosis (a type of endometriosis), the doctor made a difficult decision for me – hysterectomy.
My life turned bleak in the days that followed.
Looking back on it today, if I had discovered the disease earlier in the ten years I missed, maybe the story of my life would have been completely different.
After having a baby at 32, my body started to lose shape. I am 1.60 meters tall and weigh 65 kilograms.
In the past ten years, unlike other menstruation, every time I had my period, it was like a flash flood.
Other people’s menstrual blood oozes out and drips out, but I don’t. My menstrual blood is always gushing out.
Each menstrual period, this rush of blood will last for several days. Several times, I wondered if I had blood insipidus, as if the blood in my body was about to run out.
Accompanied by massive blood loss, I also suffer from severe abdominal pain. The pain is different from ordinary dysmenorrhea. .
The tenth grade pain of childbirth is nothing in the face of adenomyosis.
Even so uncomfortable, I didn’t expect it to be a disease. I always thought in my heart that menstruation is always painful for women, and some people have a large amount, some have a small amount, and it seems to be normal.
Besides, I don’t feel any discomfort when I don’t have my period. I thought it was the pain caused by menstruation, the big “nemesis” of women, and I would be fine after those few days. .
Later, I had a menstrual period and I was in so much pain that it was the coldest winter. My whole body was covered in sweat like a sauna.
The pain was so unbearable that I went to the hospital to see a medical doctor for emergency treatment. After hearing my description, the doctor looked at me suspiciously, shook his head and said:
“You may not be a problem with my department, go see a gynecologist!”
It’s funny to say, I have been suffering from menstrual pain for almost ten years, and I have never thought whether I have a gynecological disease or not, and I need to go for a gynecological examination.
A person is sick, don’t they know it? Only later did I know a word: sense of disease awareness.
In short, some people can realize that they are sick, which is called a good sense of disease. On the contrary, it is a lack of sense of disease.
I think I must be in the latter category of being insensitive to disease.
In the emergency room that day, the gynecologist on night shift gave me a palpation check and was very surprised,
Your uterus is too big! has gone far beyond the norm.
She suggested that I return to the hospital during the day for further examination.
Lack of disease awareness, my stomach didn’t hurt the next day, and I was busy taking care of my children, so I didn’t take the doctor’s words to heart. Thought it was over.
Until one night, menstrual blood was surging. From 11:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., in just over three hours, menstrual blood soaked all 16 extended sanitary napkins.
I felt like I was going to have a bloody collapse, and it seemed like all the blood was going to empty out.
At seven o’clock in the morning, I was swept up by a wave of blood, and as soon as I got out of bed, I realized that something was wrong!
I was almost in shock by the time the 120 ambulance took me to the hospital. The doctor gave an emergency blood coagulation injection to stop the bleeding.
Test results: I have adenomyosis, a very specific form of endometriosis.
The doctor explained that the glandular tissue that should have grown on the inner wall of the uterus grew to the outer wall of the uterus, wrapping my uterus layer by layer, making the uterus increase in volume and rich in blood supply, so every time The menstrual flow increased, and there were very obvious symptoms of dysmenorrhea.
This is exactly what I’ve been experiencing for ten years.
Although the cancer rate of this disease is not high, some people call it “immortal cancer” because it is not only very difficult, but also brings Pain, not cancer, is better than cancer.
If I die again, I don’t know if there will be another time.
Because of the diffuse nature of this disease, surgical dissection is difficult, and even if the dissection will continue to grow, the doctor advised me–hysterectomy.
She also told me that my life could be in danger if the situation continues as it is now.
OMG! An issue that I don’t usually care about at all can be life-threatening. I was completely stunned.
But the removal of the uterus is too scary! The uterus is a life-like existence to women, especially a woman who loves beauty like me. Am I still a full woman without my womb?
In a recent hit film, “The Myth of Love,” there is a discussion of what an incomplete woman is.
There are many answers in the movie: a woman without children, a woman without a million dollars, a woman with no ego…
Compared to my womb, aren’t they all external things? How can you live as a complete woman without a uterus?
Originally, we were keen to pursue so many external things, but in fact, to ensure our own integrity, health and happiness is the real happiness.
I asked my acquaintances, surgeons, whether I should remove the uterus. He suggested that I take conservative treatment, try to keep the uterus.
I’m having a hard time. On the one hand, the gynecologist’s serious and solemn prediction of the disease development, on the other hand, is my own worry, reluctance, and the advice of expert friends.
I weighed it many times, and it was difficult to make a decision. In the end, my husband made the decision for me.
He said, put your safety first. The uterus is only a small part of the body. It is worth sacrificing the uterus in exchange for your own safety and health.
I followed my husband’s advice. At critical moments, my family helped me find the strength to trust and rely on.
The night before the surgery, I leaned against the window and looked at the watery night outside and cried all night. After this night, I am not who I am now.
If I lose my uterus, what will happen to my body and my mind? Will my appearance and figure still be as delicate and straight as now?
Will my husband still love and care about me as much as he does now?
Everything is unknown, and I can only reluctantly accept the arrangement of fate.
The only thing that comforts me a bit is that my womb has done its job, oh my god It didn’t take away my right to be a mother.
The doctor reassured me that the maintenance of female secondary sexual characteristics mainly depends on the secretion of estrogen and progesterone by the ovaries.
After the uterus is removed, the blood supply to the ovaries may be affected, but it will not affect the hormones produced by the ovaries, nor will it affect sexual life. But, there will be no more menstruation in the future.
However, the changes in my body after the hysterectomy still surprised me.
In addition to menopause, my ovaries were also affected, estrogen production was reduced, the vaginal wall was atrophied, and the skin was gradually roughened and lost its elasticity.
I also read a report saying that many women will suffer from psychological torture without a uterus, which will affect the harmony and health of the whole family. Category “Surgical Complications”.
Later, I had a series of post-operative “reactions”.
The uterus is gone, the ovaries have blood supply disorders, endocrine disorders, excessive growth of follicles, and they cannot be discharged into the uterus normally, and many ovarian cysts are formed.
My pelvic floor muscles and ligaments were also affected after the operation, and I also had problems with bladder prolapse, leakage of urine, etc.
Sometimes the urine would come out uncontrollably when I exerted a little force, which made me feel ashamed and scared.
Misfortunes do not come singly. Just two years after the hysterectomy, sudden high blood pressure hit the door again.
One day I was driving when I suddenly felt exhausted. I felt like I was collapsed and I couldn’t even control the steering wheel.
I hurriedly found a place to make an emergency stop. For the first time in my life, when I was fully awake, I lost control of my body, as if my hands, feet, and arms were not mine and didn’t listen to me at all. command.
If you lose control of your body while driving, this is going to be a big deal!
Then went to the hospital and found that the blood pressure was as high as 236/101mmHg, and there was also hypokalemia.
At that time, the blood vessels were like a mesh bag as thin as a cicada’s wings. They were tightly pressed by a large stone. The blood vessels would burst in minutes, which would be life-threatening.
The doctor said if I came 5 minutes late that night, I would be dead.
Having developed high blood pressure in my prime, I was a little confused. Hypertension is different from other diseases. It is like an invisible killer. It is always silent. About half of the patients have no symptoms, so it is easy to be ignored.
But once it is shot, it will hurt the most critical parts of the heart, brain, and blood vessels, and it will be fatal.
Many diseases with high mortality and high disability, such as myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction, are related to hypertension in more than 50%.
The test report says everything is normal, how could I have high blood pressure?
“Hypertension, hypokalemia“, my attending doctor, Professor Xia Ming, helped me find out the cause.
He found a small tumor in my adrenal gland through adrenal CT, and diagnosed me with an endocrine disease – hyperaldosteronism, which caused secondary hypertension.
Adrenal surgery has completely eliminated the risk that this small tumor would pose.
In the past year, two sudden illnesses have taught me to reflect. The carefree and masculine personality made me ignore my own illness.
I always go to the hospital after multiple symptoms and life-threatening situations, and I don’t think it’s a disease unless I’m in a critical condition.
I hope everyone can learn from me and identify as soon as possible when you feel uncomfortable. Don’t wait until the day when the disease becomes a tiger before regretting it.
Doctor Reviews
After reading this patient’s experience, I feel sorry, mixed and heavy.
Adenomyosis is a common disease that occurs in women 30-50 years old. The cause is mostly due to induced abortion, cesarean section, uterine polyp resection, cesarean section, etc. Uterine labor, natural childbirth, etc., caused by endometrial trauma.
Because endometrial glands and stroma invade the myometrium, symptoms such as increased menstrual flow and dysmenorrhea occur.
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This patient’s entire disease course was as typical as the textbook descriptions, so the diagnosis was not difficult.
If diagnosed early, it can be treated with levonorgestrel intrauterine system or endometrial ablation, supplemented by danazol, gestrinone, GnRh-a and other drugs, Or minimally invasive surgery for lesion resection, the uterus can be preserved.
However, hysterectomy is performed when the condition is severe, the uterus is bulky, the menstrual flow is extremely heavy, and the medication is difficult to control.
Through her experience, I would like to give all female friends 4 tips:
01
There must be a basic sense of disease awareness, that is, a basic understanding of the difference between normal and disease states.
For example, a normal girl has menarche at 13-14 years old, a cycle of 21-35 days (average 28 days), a menstrual period of 2-8 days, and a total blood volume of 20-60ml in one menstrual period, exceeding 80ml is abnormal.
Generally, during menstruation, there will be a feeling of lower abdomen and lumbosacral drop, but no severestomach ache.
If the patient in this article had seen a doctor 10 years ago with abnormal menstrual periods, they would have been able to receive early treatment.
02
For women who are sexually active, routine gynecological physical examinations every 1-2 years, such as cervical cancer screening, gynecological ultrasound, perimenopausal endocrine conditioning, etc.
I wish this patient would have been treated earlier even if he had even one gynecological examination in 10 years.
03
Don’t ignore any of the body’s warning signs.
When she was in pain and went to the emergency room and the gynecologist said “your uterus is too big, it’s way bigger than normal”, you didn’t already know you were sick ?
If you choose active treatment at that time, discuss the treatment plan with the doctor, and make a full physical and psychological evaluation, you may choose a uterine lesion removal surgery to win the battle of uterine defense.
And at the moment when “menstrual blood is surging, blood vessels in the whole body will be empty, and life is at risk”, according to her husband: he can only choose life safety first, and sacrifice the uterus.
04
1, 3, 6, 12 months after hysterectomy, a gynecologist will provide professional rehabilitation guidance.
I am an obstetrician and gynecologist with 40 years of clinical experience. I have seen patients who had to have their uterus removed for various reasons, and the vast majority of them had a good quality of life.
It is true that there are complications after hysterectomy, such as changes in pelvic floor structure, which may lead to pelvic floor dysfunction; the impact of ovarian blood supply, resulting in ovarian dysfunction.
But through pelvic floor rehabilitation training and gynecological endocrine conditioning, it is possible to return to normal life. In my opinion, what you need more is psychological guidance after surgery.
Finally, I would like to say: Be kind to yourself and face it positively, so that you are not limited to the haze of disease.
This patient developed dangerously high blood pressure (236/101mmHg) due to the hormone “aldosterone” secreted by small adrenal adenomas.
Excessive secretion of aldosterone leads to water and sodium retention, increased urinary potassium excretion, and decreased serum potassium.
And hypokalemia can lead to muscle weakness, so her near-miss driving was scary.
The adrenal glands are the most mysterious and hidden organs in the human body. They are located at the upper poles of the bilateral kidneys, with an average weight of 8-10 grams. Don’t look at it small, but the regulation of human endocrine is very extensive and important.
Clinically, when the organ has lesions, it can be hyperplasia or adenoma, and the hormones secreted have a great impact on metabolism.
We attach great importance to the disease of the adrenal gland, a mysterious and hidden organ, because its disease is characterized by the diversity of clinical manifestations, affecting the patient’s glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism and water and electrolyte imbalance, resulting in High blood pressure can also cause great harm to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular.
If it’s a tumor, most of it is benign, so we need to despise it both strategically and tactically.
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