ZemOk, I have a question for my uterus-having friends. Maybe any MDs who have some insight. Do you get more depressed on birth control, no matter what kind it is?? I swear, every time a doctor tells me a certain kind won't have that effect on me, they're wrong!
Follow up - how many of you have had a hysterectomy, and what was your experience?
forestine@zem i had a laporoscopic hysterectomy a year ago. they also took my tubes (salpingectomy) but left my ovaries intact. recovery was really minimal and i am really happy i did it, though i had to stay overnight because i have sleep apnea and had to be monitored
@forestine Oh nice! With your ovaries being intact, did you have to do any hormone therapy? Have you noticed any differences in your mood/libido/anything else?
@zem i had severe adenomyosis which is why i got the hysto, so mainly i just have more energy now
i am on low dose t for gender affirming care so that is not going to be applicable, but the idea was that then i won't ever have to take hormonal birth control again because it has historically messed up my mental health. i think my t dose is so low that i wouldn't be able to do it by itself
@forestine Thank you for sharing! I'm glad you're on the other side of it!
Kim Possible 
@zem I had signigicant problems that necessitated a total abdominal hysterectomy. Other than the migraine from an extreme drop in estrogen the day of the surgery, I felt much much better. I even remember the exact date. I did HRT for a year or two. I know each person AFAB has their own decision to make, but since I've lost friends to ovarian cancer and uterine cancer, which often have no early symptoms, I was glad to have them removed.
@kimlockhartga Wow! That had to be intense! Glad you're doing better. Maybe TMI, but I have fibroids and have had MAJOR heavy bleeding. Don't know if the bleeding is because of the fibroids, but because the doctors gave me birth control and it stopped the bleeding, they didn't care to investigate any further... I'm thinking I might just want to yank the thing out at this point.
@zem I've had a couple doctors tell me over the years that once you are done having children, you want it all removed. I was surprised by this at first. It is amazing how much better you can feel, too. I wish I had done it sooner.
@zem also, this will sound nuts, but I pioneered a surgical technique for my own surgery, and it made a big difference. My surgeon calls it "The Kimberly Method." 😃
@kimlockhartga You have to elaborate haha.
@zem Since it was open abdominal surgery, they stitch you up by layers. I asked her to inject lidocaine in each layer as she went, and she did so. I had absolutely no pain as a result. Needed no pain meds. She was impressed at the results. You can't do it for every surgery, but in this case, it worked beautifully.
@kimlockhartga Wow, nice! You should be a doctor! haha
@zem At one time, I wanted to be a psychiatrist and help people, but a) medical school and b) some truly harrowing truths I probably cannot handle hearing. I had to be an advocate in other ways.
Bankbintje@zem @kimlockhartga same. I had major anemia due to the blood loss, up to the point that I got hospitalized for urgent transfusions. Two months later they took out my uterus (laparoscopic surgery) which was apparently riddled with fibroids. Ovaries remained. Took me a few months to get my energy back but boy what a relief!
@zem @kimlockhartga oh, if you go down that road: respect the seven days of absolute rest. You don't want to switch the blood leaks for urine leaks.
feefifohannah@zem I also had a laparoscopic full hysterectomy (uterus, tubes gone, still have my ovaries). I didn't experience much in the way of hormonal changes other than a longstanding issue got mildly more noticeable (since solved with estrogen cream). Recovery for me was not particularly easy, it took a few weeks for me to be out of bed, but I also have an energy-limiting chronic illness which might explain that.