- 1. How is menstruation?
- 2. What changes in intimate life?
- 3. How does the woman feel?
- 4. Is it easier to put on weight?
After surgery to remove the uterus, also called a hysterectomy, the woman's body undergoes some changes that can influence her physical and mental health, from changes in libido to sudden changes in the menstrual cycle, for example.
Generally, recovery after surgery lasts about 6 to 8 weeks, but some changes can last longer, one of the most important recommendations being that the woman receives emotional support to learn to deal with all the changes, avoiding emotions negative conditions that can lead to depression.
Find out more about how the surgery is done and what recovery is like.
1. How is menstruation?
After the uterus is removed, the woman stops bleeding during menstruation, as there is no tissue from the uterus to be eliminated, although the menstrual cycle continues.
However, if the ovaries are also removed, as in a total hysterectomy, the woman may experience sudden symptoms of menopause, even if she is not of age, since the ovaries no longer produce the necessary hormones. Thus, to relieve symptoms, such as hot flashes and excessive sweating, the gynecologist may recommend making hormone replacement.
Check for signs that you may be entering an early menopause.
2. What changes in intimate life?
Most women who have surgery to remove the uterus do not have any type of change in their intimate lives, as the surgery is usually done in severe cases of cancer and, therefore, many women may even experience increased sexual pleasure due to the absence of pain during intimate contact.
However, women who are not yet in menopause when undergoing surgery may feel less willing to have sex due to decreased vaginal lubrication which can cause severe pain. However, this problem can be mitigated with the use of water-based lubricants, for example. See also other natural ways to combat vaginal dryness.
In addition, due to some emotional changes, the woman may also feel less of a woman due to the lack of the uterus, and may unconsciously alter the woman's sexual will. In these cases, the ideal is to talk to a psychologist or therapist, to try to overcome this emotional barrier.
3. How does the woman feel?
After the surgery the woman goes through a period of mixed emotions in which she begins to feel relief for having treated the cancer, or the problem that was the origin of the surgery, and for having no symptoms. However, this well-being can easily be replaced by the feeling that you are less of a woman due to the absence of the uterus and therefore cause negative feelings.
Thus, after a hysterectomy, many doctors recommend that women do psychotherapy sessions to learn to identify their emotions and prevent them from controlling their life, avoiding the development of serious problems, such as depression, for example.
Here's how to identify if you are developing depression: 7 signs of depression.
4. Is it easier to put on weight?
Some women may report an easier weight gain after surgery, especially during the recovery period, however, there is still no specific cause for the weight to appear.
However, some theories that have been pointed out include the imbalance of sex hormones, and there are more male hormones in the body. When this happens, many women tend to accumulate more fat in the abdominal region, which also happens in men.
In addition, as the recovery period can also be quite long, some women may stop being as active as they were before the surgery, which ends up contributing to the increase in body weight.
