First of all let me start off by saying I am not pro-hysterectomy or trying to push hysterectomy on anyone. All of the procedures I have been involved with have been part of my training and would have been done wether I was there or not. I certainly did not have the lead role but mostly an observatory role and some minor responsibilities like suturing etc.
What are the comments? Many angry, upset individuals have emailed me with their concerns about hysterectomies. These are patients who expressed their feelings that they were mislead by their doctors and forced into getting a hysterectomy. Now they suffer the side effects and are upset with the results. Most of the complaints have been focused on the sexual side effects and they compare it or call it castration. I certainly feel bad for any person in this type of situation and I do not support or condone mistreatment or patients of any kind and would never willingly participate in any such activities.
Currently I am training at a non-profit center that is subsidized and no doctors are paid on an incentive base plan. This means that the doctors get paid the same wether they do 1 surgery or 10 surgeries in a day. All of the patients are considered charity cases and none of them are asked to pay for these services. Some may have public aid that will pay in some cases a very small fee if any payment at all. I can definitely say that the doctors I am working at are not doing hysterectomies to make extra money as they do not get paid extra for doing extra cases and 90% of the cases are done free of charge. Most of the funds to keep this center open come from donated funds, subsidies and volunteered time by service doctors and nurses
I chose to train at this incredible center knowing that it was mostly service oriented medicine. The patients are very grateful for the treatment they get and have ended up at this center after years of not being able to get treatment anywhere. Many of my days during this rotation are spent on running a free pap clinic, STD screening clinic and Breast clinic. We work 15 + hour days in these clinics as part of our training and truly enjoy it and feel grateful for the opportunity and experience.
I had the opportunity to sit in on several consent meetings for the hysterectomies. In the cases I was involved with, these meetings took at least 30 minutes and involved walking through the risks and answering the patient's and the patient's family's questions. At some point during the meetings there was a doctor, nurse, social worker and a patient advocate whose sole job is to present the negative aspects of the surgery and assure and document that the doctor and others fully explained the side effects. The average amount of time that the patients I saw had been waiting for this procedure was 4.5 years. Given the nature of this "free" center you can imagine the back up of cases. Working with volunteer healthcare workers and limited resources makes the process a lengthy ordeal. In the cases I saw these patients were literally begging for the procedure. One case had to be postponed and the patient wept hysterically and believed she would never get the chance to have the procedure done. The cases I saw were all had debilitating cases and or had premalignant or malignant cells on pathology or progressed to the point where the pain was so bad that the patient was on disability and not working. All of these cases had received multiple years of non-invasive medical treatments prior to this surgery. I am not saying that this is how all the centers work or operate or denying claims made in any of the comments.
I am not claiming that the cases presented in some of the comments do not occur. I am just saying they are not occurring at the center in the few cases that I have seen or been involved with.
I also have seen and treated several cases at this center on my gyn oncology rotation of stage 4 terminal ovarian, cervical uterine cancers that were in patients who were never able to get a hysterectomy or had a partial hysterectomy and left the ovaries behind. In most of these cases a hysterectomy had been offered at some point in the patients lives and refused for a number of different reasons. I held the hand of a dying mother and her son's hand as she died in his arms. She had ovarian cancer that had formed in her ovaries that had been left behind at her request from a previous hysterectomy. The son is filing a lawsuit on the doctor who left the ovaries behind for not "forcing" (his words) his mother to have the ovaries removed.
I have no intention to become an OB/GYN doctor. Mostly for personal reasons it is not the field I will ultimately go into.
My blog is a blog intended for my families and friends who want to read about my training process. It is not a political statement of any kind. There is no intention to sell or preach any given procedure or medical ideal. My long term goal is to ultimately serve medical missions inside and outside of the United States.
Thank you for all of your comments and sharing of information. Certainly the kind comments were better received. Comments like the one provided by the president of the HERS Foundation are informative and appreciated. The accusatory and angry comments by some that can be read under the comments on my blog, come across cheapened and fanatical even if the information was good. The tone of some of the comments (not all) clouds the message and discredits the author. I understand this is an emotional topic for those involved.
I will gladly provide educational material about the negative sides of hysterectomies and other medical procedures. I feel it is my duty to do so and serve as apatient advocate.
I encourage all to read the comments and will more than happy to post relevant information. If people have trouble accessing the comments I can post them as well. Many came to me through email but did not show up on the blog. However the comments that did show up are a good representation of many of the comments I received. There were a handful of death threats and over the top angry comments that were not posted as well as they came directly rather than appearing on the blog.
Dear JJ,
ReplyDeleteYou were kind to return a message stating you had read comments, and certainly had the right to share after reading posts. I am sorry about the 'angry' posts. I am trying to 'soak up' what you said. You made some good points. You must understand; however, it is not just the sexual 'libido' lost (if you will). It is the matter of physical problems after a Hyst., to which there is no going back. I personally suffer with abdominal pain, back pain, extreme fatigue, gag whenever I brush my teeth, and this is on top of the 'libido' loss. So, do not think it is a sexual loss, alone. There are many physical problems associated afterwards with having a Hyst., and you must understand this. I posted before, and tryed to compare it to a male. I am sure a male would suffer many physical problems after the fact, if compared organs removed. It is the factor that our female organs are 'inside'. Removing any uterus will (think about it) cause prolapse with other organs. You certainly must appreciate this.
The point with women responding to your comments is to try to stop you from doing this to females. Whether you go into this specific area of practice or not - you will treat women. Please listen to the statements these women have made, and never, I mean NEVER give into subjecting, advising any female to have a Hysterectomy. Please be a good doctor, and help any female with options. No matter what you have seen - there are too many millions of women who suffer from this life altering surgery. I would like you to follow-up with any females who you were saying they were 'begging' for this surgery. I guarantee they are not doing better now.
Every, and I mean every alternative should be given to females instead of a Hysterectomy, and if you do not get this, I am so sorry. Yes, some women may beg for help due to (take for example) heavy bleeding due to fibroids and horrible pain. Well, I had that same situation. I will say, JJ, I would take that heavy bleeding, the anemia, and that pain any day; rather than what I deal with now. I was just like these women 'begging' for help, but the aftermath of a Hysterectomy is worse. This is what you must remember. Good luck to you in whatever you pursue. Just do not forsake/forget what has been said to you here. And never scare a female with "cancer". This is the utmost deceit a doctor can do to a woman to talk her into having a Hyst., and to tell you quite frankly; I would rather deal with a cancer situation, than the aftermath of a Hyst., and I know first hand from seeing my own sister deal with cancer of her left breast. She even told me that I have more issues to deal with now than she does. She conquered her breast cancer, and isn't that great, but I am worse after my Hyst., and there is no cure for me. She got help and got her cancer in remission. There is no "remission" for a Hysterectomy.
Again, doctors need to stop with the cancer scare tactics.
Sounds incredible, doesn't it? It is all so true; however. I would take that on rather than a Hysterectomy. It is a matter of choosing battles here, and women would say they would take the cancer on - rather than a Hysterectomy - those who have had a Hyst., and suffering with all the horrific aftermath. Just do a 'tally', and I guarantee you, I am right on with this.
Women who have had cancer can win. There is hope and putting that cancer in remission with our technology these days. There is no going back after a Hysterectomy, and there is no 'Cure'. Cancer is being won, but the only way we can win on this is to get doctors to stop doing Hysterectomies.
I wish you well, JJ. I am hoping I have made an impact on you, and you will remember my words. Be a good doctor in whatever you pursue. Listen to your patients. Be a good soul, and never, ever perform a Hyst. on any female. I say to other females to run out of a doctor's office if this word is ever uttered. I say to you to do the same with any place, doctor, etc. who coherses you to take part with. Run, JJ, run...
Dear JJ,
ReplyDeleteI had to add to my last post. I said I was sorry for any 'angry' posts, but also mention of 'death threats'. This is not right. I apologize for any persons who got carried away and did this.
I wanted to ask you with what you stated in your post regarding the "meetings" you attended...
What were the "side effects" given/stated to women attending these meetings? What "negative aspects were presented"? (I am quoting from you.) I would be very interested in knowing what was "presented" at these "meetings". Thank you for your comments and posts. Please consider the comments you have read here as a part of your "training" also. I am surely grateful you are taking the time to respond.
Sincerely,
Bibi
ac·com·plice n
ReplyDeleteSomebody who knowingly helps commit a crime or misdeed (Encarta®) ...whether the crime would've been committed if you were there or not.
Hysterectomies performed without the requisite informed consent information contained in the HERS video "Female Anatomy: the Functions of the Female Organs" can be framed as battery in a court of law.
In the court of common decency, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem: hersfoundation DOT org.
Thank you JJ for responding to our comments. You have to realize that I along with millions of women who had their ovaries or uterus and cervix removed because of fibroids, cysts or polyps are indeed angry because we were not told of the consequences or even that removing our ovaries was castration just as removing your gonads would be castration. I am sure if a doctor removed your gonads and you found out you were castrated, you would be angry.
ReplyDeleteThe only consequence on my consent form was death. I was told it wouldn't change my sexual feelings and that I would feel better than ever. This was not true. Not knowing enough about my female anatomy, I believed him. I am sure if you were to ask your Mother, sisters or any female in your family, they too, would not know removing these organs is castration or the many consequences of having this surgery done on them. Why wan't I given a myomectomy for my pea-sized fibroid? I never knew about this alternative surgery. Could it be the doctor didn't have the skill to perform one, he didn't want to send me to a more competent surgeon who had the skill to perform one or he thought it was easier to 'clean' house and amputate my hormone-responsive sex organs.
There are so many consequences. Among the most common ones are: loss of career, loss of marriage, loss of friends, heart disease, osteoporosis, bone, joint and muscle pain and even immobility, loss of sexual desire, arousal and senstion, painful intercourse and vaginal damage, displacement of bladder, bowel and other pelvic organs, urinary tract infection, frequency and incontinence, chronic constipation and digestive disorders, altered body odor, maternal loss, loss of short-term memory, dry skin and dry eyes, profound fatigue and chronic exhaustion, weight gain, blunting of emotions and personality changes, despondency, constant nausea, irritability, anger, reclusivenss and suicidal thinking, plus so many more. Were these consequences discussed with the women you were meeting with before their surgeries?
When the reality sets in that this damage is permanent and that no repair or drug will make us feel the way we did before the surgery, we do get angry. It is very disheartening for us to discover this is our new life that we have to live with and we will never be able to get our life back as before our surgeries. I was a very vibrant woman who went to Cosmetology School to someday open my own salon up. I had 2 small boys and maintained a 4.0 grade point average which is hard to do even without children. I was happy, healthy and enjoying life. Instantly after my surgery everything changed! I lost my career that I loved so much. I have many of the consequences mentioned above. One of the worse one is being nauseous 24-7 for over 20 years. I did send the book and a letter to my doctor explaining how the hysterectomy and castration he performed on me has affected me and my life and how it has affected every woman he operated on.
Why wasn't I informed about the consequences or given a choice of an alternative surgery? Gynecologist, hospitals and drug companies make more than 8 billion dollars yearly from the business of hysterectomy and castration. Could this be the reason?
JJ, you can now educate yourself by going to the HERS Foundation web sight and encourage women to learn all they can about the consequences of having this surgery and to stop a century-old practice of unwarranted hysterectomy and female castration from becoming the legacy of another generation of women and girls.
As Mitchell Levine, Clinical Instrutor Tufts and Harvard Schools of Medcine, Chief Gynecologist Obstetrics and Gynecology Waltham Hospital states about 'The H Word' Book: "This is a very important work and it shines a spotlight on this critical issue."
Thank you JJ and thanks again for responding to our comments. Good Luck with your career!
JJ
ReplyDeleteI am not going to preach. I would like you to know my story. It is similar to so many stories I hear every day. I, also, am sorry some people felt compelled to send you threats. That is wrong any way you look at it. Most of us just want to get the word out. To be listened to. To be heard. To be taken as seriously as our male counterparts.
I am ( was ) a UPS driver. I liked to run long distance. I was an avid backpacker and have participated in many peak climbs. It was my passion.
I did not marry until I was 47. To damn busy! UPS is 10+ hours a day and I was always on the go after work.
I had an ovarian cyst on my right ovary for years. It was scoped when I was in my mid 30's. No big. My 'new' husband found it had enlarged. I had no pain, no symptoms. He was worried so we went to get it checked. After an ultra sound and an MRI I was sent to an OB/GYN.
The minute we sat down in his office he started pushing TAH. He talked of probable cancer. He told me every women should be happy to have one. He would GLADLY give his wife and even his daughter one. He told me of NO alternatives. He told me nothing of after affects. Only how much better I would feel knowing I would not have to worry about cancer.
Initially, I signed the form in his office. The cancer scare stuck in our minds. At home I began research. I realized I did not want a TAH. I informed the admitting nurse but as the doctor pumped up cancer, I was freaked out enough to want the ovary removed. The admitting nurse changed my consent to read, ovary removal and a TAH ONLY IF CANCER DETECTED.
In the pre-op, after I was gowned and IV'ed my doctor came into the room with a new consent for a TAH. He repeatedly told me I needed to sign it, "Just in case I get in and find I must do a TAH." He told us several times he would do it,"Only if necessary." Trusting him, as we are taught to believe our doctor will do right by us, I signed.
I woke up with everything gone.
His reasoning for removing 'everything?? "Well, the uterus looked bad as did the other ovary." They, in his opinion, LOOKED BAD!
I requested my records. My uterus and right ovary were perfectly normal. My "Most likely cancerous" left ovary was a clear cyst.
He did not offer a CA125 test. He did not offer an ultra sound with dye. Either of these would have shown no cancer. I found out about these too late. On my own.
Long story even longer. I can no longer return to my job. I was a 23 year vet. with just 2 til full retirement. I am too fatigued. My brain is always an hour or two behind. I have poor concentration, poor memory. I have no desire to do the things I enjoyed most. I look at my gear and I wondered what happened. Where did I go??
My back aches now. I have hip and right leg pain. It is hard to walk up stairs. My body, well....my body is a joke. I do not look in the mirror.
If you think it is all about sex, well, that IS a big part ( wouldn't it be for you?) but hardly THE big part. The whole thing is a horrible, unnecessary, waste of woman. A once vital, contributing member of society.
My husband is still here. We were married 3 weeks before my surgery. I am amazed at this. Sex is a thing of the past. If I HAD any desire, penetration is to painful to endure.
I am not me. I no longer socialize. I do not go out, even shopping, unless I know I will not run into 'friends'. I could go on and on.
I was in the process of finding a way to end my life. After all my doctor told me my symptoms are nonsense. All in my head. Then I found HERS Foundation. I am not alone. I am the norm. Most post hyster women feel as I do. I am still not 'out of the woods' with suicide. I struggle daily when I wake to find I am still not me. I do not like waking.
All we, as women, want, is to be heard. To be listened to. To be taken seriously. To not be patronized. Belittled. To not be told we can not possibly understand or know our own bodies.
We want doctors to know that YES WE DO KNOW AND NOW IT IS YOUR TURN TO LISTEN AND BELIEVE US!!!
Thanks for listening
Hi JJ, You mentioned in your post that you will gladly provide educational material about the negative sides of hysterectomy and other medical procedures. Well I would like to know what is causing all my pain. Doctors don’t want to tell me or avoid the issues. After my hysterectomy I have had pelvic, back, butt, leg and vaginal pain. So could you either explain why or give out information as to why I am in pain. I have seen many doctors. Maybe you could recommend what kind of doctor. I bet my problem can never be fixed. I feel hysterectomy has ruined my life because the doctor didn’t give me any other option or the consequences to this surgery. I feel robed of life. Is there an honest doctor in the house?
ReplyDeleteWOW!! Who knew you had so many readers! To bad, they haven't read all the other posts you have made, and seen what a fine doctor I am sure you will become.
ReplyDeleteI have been out of town for 10 days and come back to get caught back up on my blog reading and you have mass hysteria going on over here! LOL
As a woman, I am really glad there are options for all of us. Obviously these women know how to use the internet, so they can do some research themselves to see what the best treatment is for themselves. I needed a simple surgery done a few months back, and did the research and asked a few friends what they knew. Theses woman are acting like they have never opened up there mouths to ask other peoples experiences.
I have two good friends who have hyst. One 7 years ago, the other 3 yrs ago. Both have said it was needed, and are so glad they are not suffering the way they were. Both are loving thier sex life - no later age pregnacy scares, no monthly problems, no pain, etc.
Its not for everyone, but niether is not having one.
I am sure you will be a great doctor, and let your patients know the good with the bad.
faithful blog reader... not just a fly-by reader for your little time in the OBGYN area. LOL
Good luck with this one!! LOL
JJ, I appreciate you taking the time to answer the posts. While there are over 600,000 hysterectomies performed every year in the U.S., only about 10% are related to cancer. Over 540,000 are done for benign conditions and those are the ones we are talking about. There would be no outrage or discussion if doctors only removed women's reproductive sex organs when cancer was present, but that's hardly the case. Bringing up "cancer" clouds the real issue. Doctors who speak out about this, estimate that 90% of hysterectomies are unnecessary. The fact that this surgery has been done to one-third (1/3) of the female population under the age of 60 in the U.S., is astronomical and outrageous. At this rate, it will not be long before one-half of the women in the U.S. have been hysterectomized. I hope that you will continue to look into this by visiting the HERS Foundation site and picking up "The H Word". You are in a great position to educate your friends, family and colleagues and help to get this stopped before the next generation of women have to endure this barbaric procedure.
ReplyDeleteMissty, most women do not tell the truth after their reproductive sex organs have been removed. It really is embarrassing to not be able to feel aroused, not be able to orgasm, or have it diminished to the point where it's useless to even try. Being asexual isn't something that anyone would want to go around bragging about. So, you can ask what it's like, but many women are too embarrassed to admit the truth. If the parallel surgery was done on a man, his prostrate was removed, his testicles were removed and his penis was shortened, I don't think you'd still believe his sex life was great. I personally never asked anyone what it was like, but found myself in the ER one night in severe pain with ovarian torsion. I consented only to have that ovary removed if it couldn't be saved, yet I woke up with both ovaries, my uterus and cervix amputated. Surprise! I'm sure you might be able to imagine my devastation, but it was even worse when I learned that it was medically unwarranted. I didn't have time to research it because I never planned on having it done. Unfortunately, I am not alone, and this has happened to many women in the U.S. Also, women are often told they might have cancer, which is what gets them in the operating room. Even when the doctor doesn't find any cancer, the woman's sex organs are amputated anyway. You sound naive like I was before this happened. You should pick up "The H Word" from Amazon.com, because being a woman yourself, this could easily happen to you too.
ReplyDeleteMissty
ReplyDeleteWe all do sound a bit over zealous! Can't help it, we were lied to.
Hysterectomy does have it's place. The whole point, I think, from reading these posts, is that so many women are tricked into an unnecessary surgery. Are lied to. We, as a nation, are programed to believe in, to trust our doctors. This trust is being abused every minute of every day. Sure, anyone can get on the internet. Try it. There are TONS of sites that will tell you all about the joy of castration and hysterectomy. Why is it when women speak out it is taken as an attack?? Isn't it our DOCTORS job to give us ALL information both pro and con?? Are we to go home and spend hours researching our doctors opinion when he is intimidating us with cancer and insisting this need be done ASAP? Why, then, do we GO to a doctor.
I will bet your friends are not as happy as they let on. Most women suffer in silence. Would you tell your friends the truth? I try and I get the eye roll. The, Oh God, here she goes again. People don't care and do not want to know. You are a good example of just that.
I am sure JJ will be a fine doctor. No one has insinuated otherwise. If I can get ONE PERSON to question the way things are currently handled regarding female hysterectomy and castration I will feel a bit better about hanging on.
Bibi,
ReplyDeleteI can hardly believe your post. Are you seriously implying that doctors should never, under any set of circumstances, perform a hysterectomy? Your comments are ill informed and almost ridiculous. When a woman has uterine or ovarian cancer, doctors remove the uterus and/or the ovaries -- that is the surgery that is performed to treat the cancer. You can't cure the cancer without removing it! Duh!! Guess what? When a man has testicular cancer, they remove the testes. When a man has prostate cancer, they remove the prostate. People die of cancer, and any doctor who did not advise surgery to remove the cancer which would include a hysterectomy would be sued for malpractice, and, most likely, the patient would die. Although I understand that you have personally had a negative experience with a hysterectomy, your side effects are outside of the norm. Your statement that you guarantee that women who were begging for a hysterectomy are not doing better after having the procedure is actually completely false. In the Maine Women's Healthy Study, they found that women who experienced significant non-malignant uterine problems/conditions reported a highly effective relief in symptoms and a marked improvement in quality of life after having a hysterectomy and that new problems post-surgery were reported by a very limited number of women. I hate to tell you this, but gagging when you brush your teeth is not a side effect of a hysterectomy. Your comments sound a bit like the women who complained that their silcone breast implants caused every single pain or ailment in their lives and jumped on the bandwagon to sue doctors and the manufacturers of silcone implants. Low and behold, the research showed that silcone implants had nothing to do with those ailments. Although those individuals were convinced that those problems were directly connected to the silicone implants, those side effects were not causal (i.e. they weren't caused by the silicone implants but were completely unrelated to the breast surgery or implants). Further research showed the silicone implants to be very, very safe. Could it perhaps be that many of the side effects encountered by women who have had hysterectomies are the normal effects of menopause and would be encountered regardless of whether you have a hysterectomy or choose to face menopause without the aid of hormone replacement therapy or other medical treatment? I have four very close friends ranging in age between 39 and 55 who had full hysterectomies and who have experienced none of the side effects that you are experiencing. They are happy with their surgical results. That being said, it is my personal opinion that no surgery should ever be performed unless it is absolutely medically necessary. Too often, women go to the doctor expecting them to give them a pill or a surgery that will magically make them all better. Unfortunately, ALL surgeries and ALL medications have side effects. In choosing to have a medical procedure or take a medication, doctors and patients must weigh the benefits versus the risks including all of the side effects. It is not just the doctor's responsibility to explain the possible side effects of procedures and medications, but also the patient's responsibility to actually LISTEN to the doctor when they explain the side effects to decide if they personally are willing to accept the risks of the surgery. Patients must do due diligence in researching their medical options! The good news is that as medicine makes advances, there are lots of new options available: whereas before a hysterectomy was one of the few options to treat uterine disorders, doctors now are able to offer a greater range of less invasive procedures.
(continued from previous post) Hopefully, medicine will continue to make advances that will continue to decrease the need for hysterectomies, but in the meantime, ladies, don't have a hysterectomy if you don't need one (again, duh), and if you do, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR to discuss all of your options. If you don't feel like your doctor is communicating with you in the way you want, find a new doctor. Be intelligent. Be empowered. Do your research. Get a second opinion. Get a third opinion. Take responsibility for your health!
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous who posted at May 26, 2:52 p.m. There have been alternatives to hysterectomy for over a century, and like you, the public has not been informed of this. In the 1800's not only were doctors successfully able to perform cystectomy (the removal of ovarian cysts), they even were able to transplant ovaries in rabbits and have them conceive. Doctors were also able to remove fibroid tumors by myomectomy. Below is a link to a gynecology surgical book that was written in 1905 Yes, 1905. On Page 277 it describes myomectomy and how fibroids are shelled out. Any reasonable thinking person would have to wonder why that if it could be done 100 years ago, why it isn't mainstream medicine now? Why is a woman's uterus being removed for fibroids, when the fibroids can just be removed? In these old books, gynecologists seemed to be much more up front and honest about the benefit of keeping female sex organs intact. In the last hundred years, gynecologists seem to have only learned how to remove more uteruses, and now they even have a robot to do it instead of performing more health beneficial surgeries to keep women intact.
ReplyDeleteAs for the study in Maine, most women are embarrassed to admit they are asexual after their sex organs have been removed. Plus, many women are told by doctors that their symptoms post-hysterectomy are either all in their head, or not related to the hysterectomy. Women who have had their ovaries removed (castration) cannot go through menopause. Menopause is the slow decline of ovarian function, but the ovaries function all a woman's life. You may want to look up the definition of menopause in a medical dictionary. A woman who has been castrated (ovary amputation) experiences the loss of ovarian function, not menopause. The loss of ovarian function increases a woman's risk for heart attacks, dementia, and osteoporosis, along with many other life-altering negative changes.
From what I've heard and read on the internet, women are told by doctors that they need a hysterectomy. They are not told it is an elective surgery, and many of them are told they might have cancer even though no diagnostic tests have been performed to evaluate it. Women are often bullied into surgery rooms with scare tactics, and even when they get multiple opinions, they are all the same and they are all wrong. It is ludicrous to blame a woman when a doctor deceives her into an unnecessary surgery. Women do not strap themselves to a table, put themselves under anesthesia, and perform unnecessary surgeries on themselves, doctors do it. It is the doctor's responsibility to be truthful and to inform their patients of all the risks, side effects and alternatives, and that is not being done with regard to hysterectomy/castration in the United States.
Link to the book:
http://books.google.com/books?id=MLhrR9ioGxQC&printsec=titlepage&dq=gynecology+medical&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0If the link doesn't work, maybe JJ could repost it.
To Anonymous, Lets picture that I went to a doctor with my problem. The first doctor told me only one option, surgery. I didn’t like that idea. I see a second doctor, and that doctor only tells me two options. I don’t know how many options are out there, 5 or 10. I don’t know. So I trusted the doctor to do what was best for me. BIG MISTAKE. I had the surgery and now I have 10 more problems then I had before. You mentioned doing research. Well do you believe everything you read? Is what I read my best option? I am not a doctor. I feel the doctor failed at her job. If a doctor failed at a job, or the customer is not happy with the results, can you get your money back or your life back? Why would I have to do research when it is the doctor’s job to inform the patient? Maybe you can help me understand how to be responsible for my own health. What is a patient suppose to do before seeing a doctor? If my side hurts do I look on the internet for systems of the kidney or gallbladder? Do I look up fibroid tumors or endometriosis? Do I use homeopathic medicine or am I to trust the standard medical institute. Can you help me to understand? Thanks
ReplyDeleteThe H Word book by Nora W. Coffey and Rick Schweikert. What you need to know before you talk with a gynecologist. What to ask a doctor if you are told you need a hysterectomy and the answers you should expect. Discover strategies to cope with the aftermath of hysterectomy. To purchase The H Word visit Amazon.com or hersfoundation.org/hword or call (888)750-HERS. Just read it and if I had this book before seeing my doctor years ago, I would not have had this damaging and life altering surgery. This is a must to read! Every hysterectomy and castration has a lot of dark sides!
ReplyDelete