Dr. John Studd
clinical gynaecologist

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Menopause and PMS Clinic: Hysterectomy and Depression

Menorrhagia, which requires a hysterectomy, is rarely a condition where the periods are merely heavy. They are often irregular, painful, associated with PMS, menstrual headaches, anaemia, exhaustion and depression. Every prospective study, there are now 13, looking at the effects of hysterectomy on depression in these sort of patients shows that this is usually helped by hysterectomy and efficient HRT (Fig 5). In spite of this, crusading journalist often write that hysterectomy causes depression, loss of sexuality, with great harm to the general health and marital relationship. Nothing could be further from the truth but it is essential to give hormones which adequately replace the missing ovarian hormones if oophorectomy has been performed which will usually be oestradiol and testosterone inserted as pellets into the wound at the time of closure.

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