Hysterectomy & Depression
excerpted from "A comprehensive look at hysterectomy: The Ultimate Rape" by Elizabeth Plourde
hosted by Sue Spataro, RN, BSN
Join our health discussion groups - click here

Medical consequences of surgery
Interview & Role of Progesterone

Depression:
"I can' t Get Out of the House"
Excerpted from: The Ultimate Rape:
What Every Woman Should Know about Hysterectomies and Ovarian Removal
by Elizabeth L. Plourde C.L.S. M.A.

Reprinted with permission of the author, Elizabeth Plourde
copyright 1999 All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the author.

While driving through an unfamiliar suburb of Los Angeles, I constantly checked the map, one eye on it, and the other on the unknown streets.   The address I was seeking turned out to be a cute white house in a quiet neighborhood.  As I rang the doorbell, I thought about why I was there.

Early that morning, a concerned friend had called about her friend, Sara, who had become to depressed to leave her house.  My friend recalled what I had gone through, including my inability to get out of the house, during the three years following my surgery.  She said, "Sara didn't have both of her ovaries removed like you, but she sure sounds like you did during those years when we worried about you."   Afraid that Sara might be contemplating suicide, she pleaded, "Would you go over and talk to her?  Since you've been through it, maybe she'll listen to you."  The anxiety in her voice made me cancel my workday.  Remembering all the days and months when I frequently thought about ending the misery, I knew I had to try to help Sara in any way I could.

As I stood on her porch, I prayed for the healing words Sara needed to hear because I understood the desperation she was feeling.   I also knew it was almost   impossible to think rationally without the proper hormone balance. I additionally realized, if someone had told me after my surgery that a hormone imbalance could be causing my depression, I might not have believed it.  This knowledge, however would have saved me years of living at the bottom of a black pit.

Answering the door, Sara kept the chain bolt fastened and only peered out through the crack.  She was wearing a sloppy dark housecoat and her hair was a mess.  After I introduced myself, she apologetically motioned for me to come in, asking me to forgive her for the way she looked.  When I had called earlier to ask if I could come by, she thought the hour and a half it would take me to drive there would provide ample time to straighten up, both herself and her house; but she found she just didn't  have the energy.  She looked relieved when I told her I understood, because until recently I had felt the same way myself.

As we sat down, my eyes were still attempting to counterbalance the sharp contrast between the beautiful sunlit day outside and the drape-closed darkness of her living room.  I could feel myself going back to those terrible months and years when I found it excruciatingly difficult to accomplish anything around the house, much less get dressed, and almost impossible to go out and be around people.

Interview & Role of Progesterone
Medical consequences of surgery

Estrogen & the Mind
Many women taking estrogen report a feeling of well being while taking their estrogen. There is research to suggest a link between hormone use and Alzheimer prevention. In fact perimenopausal women find that in a short time after starting an estrogen product they feel better- emotionally. See an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Goldstein as well as other facts on estrogen and the mind.

Stress & Depression
Dr Carolle Jean-Murat, author of Menopause Made Easy comments on Stress & Depression and says, "In our modern society, stress can impact us at work or at home, although not usually in the form of a lurking saber-tooth tiger!  Stress keeps pumping hormones into the bloodstream until they assault the blood vessels, the heart, the immune system, and the liver.   This can produce problems such as high blood pressure, increased susceptibility to illness, viral and bacterial infections, ulcers, headaches, chronic muscular tension, high cholesterol levels, heart attacks, hormonal imbalances, and even cancer. Among women, it can also cause menstrual irregularities."
Find out more on Stress & Depression
from Dr Carolle Jean-Murat

Interview with author
Linda Ojeda
FREE Natural Medicine Ideas

more dieting books
more Healthy Living Books
FREE Fit & Trim Support

Personal Massager with Heat

more Spa & Wellness

more Sexuality books
more Sex & relationships books
FREE Sexuality articles