Customer Reviews

Hysterectomy Before & After: A Comprehensive Guide to Preventing, Preparing For, and Maximizing Health

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must say that I do agree with "a reader from California's" review in that some of what Dr. Cutler had to say scared me because I bought the book right after my surgery and everything was already taken out. I couldn't go back and change that. As I began reading the book I became anxious about what might happen to me now that I have had this surgery, but as I read, I realized what she was doing with this book. So many women have had hysterectomies in the United States when there might have been better alternatives. Dr. Cutler is trying to make women understand that it is a very serious thing that you do to your body when you have this operation. She addresses HRT therapy and diet, exercise and other areas that can help if a hysterectomy is needed. This is really a very comprehensive and informative book and I intend to keep if as a reference book for the future.

This book should be handed out by OB/Gyn's to all their patients considering hysterectomy. It explains in detail what all the fuss is about, and doesn't pull any punches when relaying to the reader exactly what to expect from the procedure, before during and after. Cutler's advice on self-care is invaluable, and this book has become standard reading for women considering the procedure.

However, I found much of the information Cutler provides related to making a decision about hysterectomy to be outdated and irrelevant. I was somewhat taken aback by Cutler's anti-hysterectomy rhetoric. And I had to laugh at her bemoaning the way the procedure is over-performed - it took me 10 years to find a doctor who would even discuss it with me, regardless of my level of pain and desire to remain child-free! I think that when she wrote the book in the 1980's the attitudes about hysterectomizing women were considerably different than they are today. And a woman has more surgical choices than she used to, giving her more incentive than ever to partner with her physiscian rather than fight him.

Perhaps it's time for Cutler to revisit the issue and revise the book that set the standard.

I bought this book PREVENTING, PREPARING FOR AND MAXIMIZING HEALTH AFTER HYSTERECTOMY seven days before my scheduled hysterectomy. I already knew my hysterectomy and ovaries/fallopian tube removal were necessary. In purchasing this book, I was looking for some positive ways to deal with emotions before the operation; additionally, I was looking for what to expect immediately after surgery and ways to reduce post-surgery trauma. I also was looking for concrete ways to help myself recover from this surgery. Unfortunately, what I found in this book was FEAR---yes, this book's contents led me to doubt my physician and myself. I felt the author was very biased against hysterectomy. I would not have purchased this book if I had known the author was basically anti-hysterectomy. I found the book extremely unsettling and do not recommend it to any one.

I am 26 years old and HAD to have a hysterectomy to basically save my life. A lot in the book scared me, I felt like I was fated to shrivel up into an old woman, even though I'm still young. The nutritional advice was valuable, as was the section on what to expect from sex after the surgery.

This book should be the first thing your gynocologist gives you on your fisrt visit! After purchasing a copy 3 days prior to my own hysterectomy, I learned more than I had previously learned in 25 years of reading whatever I could find about my own painful, excessivly heavy flowing menstral cycles.

I followed the advice given and both doctors and nurses couldn't get over how quickly I recovered from this major surgery. In the 9 years since, I have recommended this book, lent my own copy (and have had to forcibly retrieve it!!!) to friends and workmates -- all who went out and purchased their own copy after returning mine.

Upon showing this book to my surgeon, he said it looked terrific and could he borrow it to read, at which point I reminded him that with his fees he could purchase his own, and hand them out to every patient at their first PAP smear and STILL be ahead financially. He laughed and sent his receptionist out to the book store.

Easy to understand and clearly written, this is the book every woman should use to make decisions about her reproductive organs. Pain is not inevitable and neither is hysterectomy.

My only complaint is the title, which might discourage someone from getting this book, if hysterectomy is not a choice for them. Other than that --- this is a 5 star winner!

This book contains a wealth of information on hormones, nutrition, excercise, and a womens health and well being following a hysterectomy. Had I started to read this book sooner, I would have presented even more questions to my GYN prior to my surgery. Every woman facing this difficult decision can learn a great deal from Dr. Cutler about her body and how to maximise her health following her surgery. I thank her for her knowledge and the information that she has passed on to me.

I should of had bought this book before my hysterectomy. Even thou I had medical reasons for a total hysterectomy, this book tells all, your options, protecting your health, hormone therapy decisions, future health risks. This is the only book to buy. It's complete.....Thanks to the Author, Dr. Cutler..........

I should of had bought this book before my hysterectomy. Even thou I had medical reasons for a total hysterectomy, this book tells all, your options, protecting your health, hormone therapy decisions, future health risks. This is the only book to buy. It's complete.....Thanks to the Author, Dr. Cutler..........

This is a comprehensive reference work, the result of reviewing 3,000 journal articles and including references to 1,000 articles. There is a clear and understandable explanation of how a woman's body works and why each part of the female reproductive system is indispensable. Cutler includes sections on health risks following hysterectomy and how a woman can work to offset these risks. I find this information to be invaluable in a serious effort to make the best of a bad situation--the loss of uterus and ovaries. The text has a tendency to become very dense and sometimes requires a reread to grasp meaning. Generally, she has succeeded in making technical information on hysterectomy available to the educated layperson, while maintaining the scientific integrity that makes the book equally valuable to physicians and other medical professionals. A bonus is her casual mention, in two or three places, of the importance of spiritual health in managing one's physical health. W! est's excellent book, "Hysterectomy Hoax" is easier to read, but if you want ALL the details, Cutler has done the job beautifully.