What I wish I'd known before!!!!

They say that ignorance is bliss but I quite actually like to know what the consequences are going to be BEFORE something is done. And there are certainly a lot of things that I wish I known about before I had my hysterectomy back in  Jan 2010.

As women, most of know enough about our internal organs to know when something is wrong or not working as it should be but when faced with something as major as the removal of all or part of our reproductive organs, not many of us will understand the immense consequences of this.
All I was told at my pre-op appointment was that the surgeon was going to move my womb, tubes and ovaries plus some lymph nodes if necessary.
I was still in total shock from the diagnosis 3 weeks ago so didn't think to ask any questions. Now I know that I should have asked, and I know what questions I should have been asking.

Questions like:
What happens to all the other "bits" left inside?
How will it affect me in the short and long term?
Will I ever "feel" right again?

Since my op I've been doing lots of research, not only for myself but also on behalf of all the other women in WCSUK and it seems to be that there is a serious lack of information available to women before they have their hysterectomies and this is wrong because if women were given the correct information beforehand I am sure that it would make life a whole lot easier afterwards.

I never took much notice during biology lessons at school, but I somehow doubt that it was ever explained that the uterus is connected 360o round the body so that if it is removed, as during a hysterectomy, everything that remains moves as it no longer has the uterus to keep it in place.

The uterus not only holds itself and the surrounding organs in place, but it also holds our pelvis together. There is some anecdotal evidence to show that the musculoskeletal changes in women who have had a hysterectomy can be quite pronounced - ever wondered by some elderly ladies have a hump at the base of the neck!!!

If you want to read more about this then check out this article I found http://wholewoman.com/blog/?p=1420

The whole website is very informative and I'd recomend bookmarking it. x