PSA For Uterus Owners

Here’s a friendly PSA for all my friends who have uteruses. Uteri? Whatever you want to call yours, I’m sharing my Uterus Story in hopes it can educate other women about things you may have never heard of that could impact your health.

On February 10th, I’m saying “goodbye” to my uterus and my long-deceased ovaries. Some people have thought I should be sad that I’m going to be uterus-free, but my amazing uterus has carried four babies! She has done an incredible job, and I feel at peace saying goodbye to her.

My uterus has been limping along for the past five years. Because of my autoimmune illnesses, I went into premature menopause and ovarian failure at age 38. My gynecologist at the time said I was having hot flashes and irregular periods because I have four kids with special needs and I was stressed. (Story of my relationship with all my old doctors. Insert eye roll.) She did not test to see if I was menopausal. She did not take my symptoms seriously. For two years.

When I was 40 years old, and still complaining about symptoms, my gynecologist ran blood work. Her face was somber and her eyes wide when she came into the room where I was waiting. She was shocked, because my labs showed that I was smack dab in menopause and my ovaries were not working at all. She said, “If you were trying to get pregnant, I would be very sad for you.”

There’s nothing you can really do when your body decides it’s time to shut down the Baby Shop. There’s not much you can do to restart it. And I was not planning on having any more babies anyway, so I was at peace with the fact that my lady parts were less than functional.

Fast forward to this past year: I found a holistic gynecologist who actually listens to my symptoms and believes me. He looks at my entire body, mind, and soul, and wants to know how I’m functioning as a whole. I adore him. He has me doing biodentical hormone replacement therapy, where every four months I have hormone pellets (testosterone and estrogen) implanted in my hip. I take oral progesterone also. I’ve felt fabulous since I started seeing him!

But my uterus has been grumpy the past few months. I’ve had spotting, which is abnormal when you’re in menopause. My doctor tried different doses of my hormones. I got an ultrasound to see if my uterine lining was too thick. It was. We re-dosed my hormones. Nothing helped, so my doctor did a biopsy of my uterine lining. Can we just say, OUCH. I’m just being honest here, peeps. If you have to do this procedure, just know, it hurts like crazy. But only for a moment and then it’s over.

The biopsy came back negative, so there was no cancer detected. My doctor said something was causing the spotting, so we needed to go in and check it out. On December 27, 2019, I had a D & C and ablation, where they scrape the lining of your uterus out and then essentially cauterize what's left.

The surgery itself went fine. But I haven’t had anesthesia before and didn’t know that I’d have a bad reaction to it. It was not fun. I felt like I was going to die after the surgery- not from pain, but from extreme nausea and debilitating fatigue. I was supposed to be able to leave the hospital two hours after getting out of surgery. Six and a half hours later (!!) the nurse finally kicked me out, saying that we “weren’t going to resolve this” and I needed to go home. I was terrified, but Alex and Ella loaded me in the car and drove the hour home. I did not pass out or vomit, or die, I’m proud to say. I went to sleep and the next day my nausea was better. The fatigue lasted for eight days. It took five days for me to have the energy to stand up to dry my hair.

Craziness.

I went for my post op appointment to find out what my doctor had found during the ablation. He said they found several problems. I had a few polyps that were removed. I have adenomyosis, which is when the lining of the uterus grows into the uterine wall. It’s sort of the opposite of endometriosis, and difficult to diagnose. It’s a chronic condition that can cause heavy periods, cramping, etc.

One of the CRAZIEST things the doctor found was that I had a septum that divided my uterus in half. We have other septums in our bodies, like in our noses, but septums do not belong in a uterus. This is a congenital disorder which makes getting and staying pregnant difficult. When a woman with a septum in her uterus is pregnant, the septum is not seen on ultrasounds because the growing baby moves the septum to the side of the uterus. After the baby is born, the septum returns to its original spot. It is the number one anatomical reason for premature birth, my doctor said.

(I mean WHAT?!? Why am I just hearing about this condition NOW, after all my babies were born ULTRA premature??)

*sigh* I had never heard of ANY of these diagnoses before. I didn’t know they existed. And they’d been affecting my poor uterus for who knows how long.

But then my doctor gave me even more crazy news. News that rocked both his and my world. I have a spot in my uterus where there are pesky little cells growing that will form into cancer. The only treatment is a hysterectomy.

Shocking. Mind blowing. My doctor said that in all his decades of practice, there has been only one other time where a patient had this experience- negative biopsy, pre-cancer cells growing. If my doctor had not followed his protocol and paid attention to my symptoms, I would have ended up with endometrial cancer. My doctor did follow his protocol, which included that ultrasound and biopsy and finally an ablation. Thank God for my extraordinary doctor.

Monday, February 10, I’m going in again. We’re taking everything out. Uterus, ovaries…gone. My doctor has assured me that there are things they can do with the anesthesia to make me less fatigued and nauseated afterward. He said I’m “one in a million:” to have a bad reaction to anesthesia, to have pre-cancer cells that did not get caught with the biopsy…one in a million. I guess I should be playing the lottery.

My fellow uterus owners, pay attention to your bodies. Don’t stop searching until you get answers. If you’ve had a preemie for no reason that a doctor can find, demand an ultrasound of your non-pregnant uterus to see if you have a septum in there that is making things difficult. If you have weird symptoms, don’t be afraid to keep asking questions until you find someone smart enough to help you. Your life could depend on it. Your future babies could depend on it.

I’m calling all of you prayer, light, energy, love, good vibe warriors! Circle me with your good ju ju on Monday, if you have time. My little old uterus has been through a lot, and I wish her well as she leaves me. I am feeling confident and chill about the surgery. (Although I did go through panic mode and require some therapy and a conversation with my doctor to assuage my fears. In moments of fear, I say my mantra: I am strong and resilient, and I heal effortlessly from surgery.)

Here’s to Woman Warriors and their uteri! I mean truly, my uterus has given me so much to be grateful for. She made four babies. FOUR BABIES. She and I did that. We women are just exceptional, whether we have babies or not. Think of what our bodies are capable of. I send my uterus off with much love.

xoxo