Hysterectomy & Weight Loss

When my endometriosis spiraled out of control this year, we did not have very many options left to try to regain control of the situation. I have had stage four endometriosis since I was very young. Due to the severity of my endometriosis and other factors, I knew prior to entering the relationship with my husband that the likelihood of me being able to conceive was slim to none, even with fertility treatments; This is something we discussed prior to our real first date. So this last year when things got really bad, the only thing that we could really try was a hysterectomy.

Why I had a hysterectomy

While a hysterectomy alone is not considered to be a cure for endometriosis, having a complete hysterectomy and then going on both low estrogen and progestogen for hormone replacement therapy is an option for dealing with endometriosis. So, it was truly the next option for me when the treatment I was on stopped working. We scheduled everything for the surgery and I did my best to prepare for it. My recovery was a bit tougher than expected and I ended up with extra-follow up appointments than are normally required. So initially, when I lost some weight, I figured it was just due to recovery complications and did not really have anything to do with having a hysterectomy in general.

Weight changes post-hysterectomy

Although even after healing completely, my weight continued to drop. Not just a few pounds, either. In a matter of three months, I managed to lose forty pounds. Since basically all of the articles online about weight after a hysterectomy pertained to gaining weight or how to lose weight, I took to an endometriosis support group to ask questions to other real people who are living with endometriosis. Much to my relief, I was not the only person who was dealing with major weight loss after a hysterectomy.

Many individuals in the support had experience or were currently experiencing the same thing. Strangely enough for the majority of us who were now way underweight due to the weight loss, the doctors still were not bothered or concerned about our weight loss! We seemed to share some common issues such as a decreased appetite and a decreased ability to eat the same amount of food that we were eating before we had the surgery. For me, it took one of my doctors from another specialty than the obstetrics and gynecology doctor that preformed my surgery to recognize my drastic weight loss and give me a prescription for a medication that is supposed to increase my appetite. Unfortunately, this medication still has not been successful and I am still losing weight.

Conclusions

While you mostly hear about women gaining weight after a hysterectomy, it is not always the case. Some women do not gain or lose weight and others lose some or a lot of weight. Much like the success of each treatment depends on the person receiving the treatment, the weight outcome of a person after a hysterectomy also depends greatly.