I am trying to give her as much support as I can but I do not have the information to do that. She has verbalized the negative consequences on sex drive and body as a result of the hysterectomy. She has described herself in terms of being less than a woman. I understand where this is coming from but I do not understand the nature of the impact and how many women are adversely affected and how many women are fairly close to how they were before the operation. Could you suggest some readings and areas to go for information. It seems that most of the message boards have comments from people with problems and you would expect that. I need to hear from those who have had a good outcome and have an idea of the percentages of people that do have a good outcome.
I believe her doc has been conservative. He has moved one step at a time. Earlier this year he has removed tissue from the cervix. For some reason at the time of the last visit, her cervix seems to have become closed and he cut her when she had her last visit. The result of the last visit was the move to the cone biopsy.
Thank you for anything you suggest.
Answer: I am sorry to hear of your partner's medical concerns. I hope the results of the biopsy are in her favor.
Apparently, little is known for sure about what affect hysterectomy has on a woman's sexuality. Up until now, the concern has been with saving women's lives, or treating a medical condition, and as a result improving their physical well-being. Unfortunately, concern about a woman's sexuality has not been a priority of doctors. This understandably is frustrating to women and their partners.
What affect the surgery will have on her sexuality will depend on what is removed, and chance. Since it sounds like her cervix is involved, that means it will be removed as well as her uterus. A possible end result being her vagina may not be as long as it is now and deep penetration may not be possible. If she experiences orgasms that include contractions of her uterus, she will obviously no longer experience that. As a result of the cutting of nerves and blood vessels in her pelvis, there is a chance she will experience decreased genital sensitivity and ability to experience arousal and orgasm.
If her ovaries are removed, not only will she lose her primary supply of estrogen, but also a significant source of testosterone. If they are removed, she will most likely want to seek hormone replacement therapy (HRT). If there is no history of ovarian cancer in her family you might want to ask the doctor to leave her ovaries in place.
I cannot say with any degree of certainty that she will be better off as a result of this surgery. If she is experiencing extreme pain or heavy bleeding she may be happy to be free of that even if her sexuality is negatively impacted. If she is not physically aware of a medical problem, she may only be concerned with the end results. If her sexuality is important to her, she may be more concerned about that than her medical problem; much to the dismay of the doctors. She is an individual and the affects of this surgery on her will likely be unique to her, all things considered.
The only book I have read that addresses these issues is For Women Only by Jennifer Berman MD and Laura Berman Ph.D. (Note: the book was published in 2001). You can read some of the information from this book on the website in the Orgasm section under Sexual Dissatisfaction. The article about Androgens may be of help too.
Since it sounds like this will not be an emergency surgery, you both should do your homework and educates yourselves as best as possible. This is not a situation where she should blindly place herself at the mercy of the doctors. She should consult more than one doctor and have a couple different medical labs verify each other's results. Except in the case of perhaps procedures like biopsy, which is an invasive procedure. I am not a doctor or a medical professional.
This information I presented here should not be considered a medical diagnosis or medical fact. It is mostly an expression of personal opinion.
More can be learned at Institute for Sexual Medicine: Sexual Dysfunction after Hysterectomy