Psychosomatics after a hysterectomy
A hysterectomy, removal of the womb, is done for heavy periods, long-term pelvic pain, fibroids and other conditions when gentler treatment has not helped. After it you no longer have periods and cannot get pregnant. Full recovery takes about 6 to 8 weeks. If your ovaries are removed too, menopause starts straight away, and a doctor may offer hormone therapy. Many women feel loss and sadness, and that is normal. The Ladder method helps you live through these feelings gently, and it does not replace a doctor.
Updated
When to see a doctor
A gynaecologist looks after you after the operation. If your ovaries were removed, they also choose hormone therapy. If a low mood does not go away, a GP and a psychotherapist can help.
In the Ladder method
In the Ladder method a hysterectomy is not explained as "you gave up your femininity" or "the illness was a punishment". You are not to blame for the illness or for needing the operation. First your body recovers under a gynaecologist's care. Questions to yourself belong next to treatment, not instead of it.
Read more
In the method the womb fits the image of the woman's role and the right to be yourself. After the operation it helps to ask yourself what being a woman means to you and who once explained it to you. It is an image, not the cause, and it does not replace a doctor.
On the ladder this shows up as the steps "I am not whole any more" and "I am not allowed to be sad, everything went well". You can work through them at your own pace: sadness after this operation is normal.
These are questions for reflection, not an explanation of what causes the condition and not a treatment.
More: signs, medicine, sources, questions
How it shows up
Book a doctor’s appointment if you notice:
- Tiredness and a dragging pain in the first weeks
- Some light bleeding after the operation
- Hot flushes, sweating and poor sleep if your ovaries were removed
- Vaginal dryness and lower sex drive
- Sadness, tears, a sense of loss
- Worry about intimacy and the thought "I have become someone else"
What medicine knows
The NHS says a hysterectomy is done for heavy periods, long-term pelvic pain, fibroids and some other conditions. It is a major operation, considered only after gentler treatments have been tried. It is most common in women aged 40 to 50.
Sometimes the cervix, fallopian tubes or ovaries are removed along with the womb. After the operation you have no periods and cannot get pregnant. If your ovaries are removed, menopause starts at once: hot flushes, sweating, anxiety, weepiness, vaginal dryness and poor sleep. A doctor usually offers hormone replacement therapy.
Full recovery after an abdominal hysterectomy takes about 6 to 8 weeks, and it is usually shorter after keyhole or vaginal surgery. During this time you should not lift anything heavy, and sex is put off for at least 4 to 6 weeks, until the scars heal and any discharge stops.
The NHS says many women feel loss and sadness after the operation: some because they can no longer have children, some feel less "womanly". Sometimes it can trigger depression. If a low mood does not go away, tell your doctor. Talking to other women who have been through it also helps.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What changes in life after a hysterectomy?
You have no periods and cannot get pregnant. If your ovaries are removed, menopause starts straight away, and a doctor may offer hormone therapy. Full recovery takes about 6 to 8 weeks (NHS).
What does a hysterectomy mean in psychosomatics?
There is no proven "meaning", and the operation is not a punishment. In the Ladder method it is a reason to gently ask yourself what being a woman means to you and to give yourself permission to grieve. It is a question to yourself, not a diagnosis.
Is it normal to feel sad after a hysterectomy?
Yes. The NHS says many women feel loss and sadness after the operation. If a low mood does not go away, tell your doctor: sometimes the operation triggers depression, and it can be treated.
Related topics
Psychosomatics does not replace tests and treatment. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis.