{"id":4888,"date":"2025-09-06T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=4888"},"modified":"2025-09-10T21:34:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T21:34:14","slug":"i-had-surgery-the-doctors-main-concern-was-my-partners-sex-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/06\/i-had-surgery-the-doctors-main-concern-was-my-partners-sex-life\/","title":{"rendered":"I had surgery \u2013 the doctor\u2019s main concern was my partner\u2019s sex life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Jen\t<\/div>
My endometriosis symptoms appeared\u202fwhen I was 11-years-old (Picture: Elodie Giuge Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Is there anything else you\u2019d like to ask?\u2019, the surgeon queried.\u202f <\/p>\n

\u2018You wanted to ask if your cervix was being removed,\u2019 my husband Chris prompted me. <\/p>\n

It was my final appointment before my extensive endometriosis surgery<\/a>, which would also see me having a hysterectomy aged 33 after suffering with adenomyosis<\/a>.\u202f <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not even sure if Chris knows what the cervix was, or why I wanted to know if I would lose it along with my uterus and fallopian tubes, but he remembered that it was important to me.<\/p>\n

The surgeon turned in his chair, away from\u202fme \u2013 the person whose life and body were about to change forever \u2013 to look my husband squarely in the face and say: \u2018I see you\u2019ve read that removing the cervix can impact male sexual pleasure. I\u2019ll leave it in for you if she promises to be good and still get her smears.\u2019<\/p>\n

Chris, who had never read anything on the role of the cervix in sexual pleasure, looked at me in a mild state of panic. This was the first time he had just witnessed the medical misogyny<\/a> I had been telling him about for years and had no idea what he was supposed to say now.  <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Jen\t<\/div>
For the next 22 years, I just about managed (Picture: Jen Moore)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I, on the other hand, just sat there wearily. This response had almost become expected.<\/p>\n

My endometriosis symptoms appeared\u202fwhen I was 11-years-old. I was in excruciating pain and bleeding heavily from my very first period.<\/p>\n

My mum, who had endometriosis<\/a> herself and was able to spot early warning signs, took me to a doctor. I was told it was perfectly normal \u2013 \u2018just one of those things\u2019 \u2013 and advised to go on the pill to sort everything out.\u202f <\/p>\n

For the next 22 years, I just about managed but missed school<\/a>, social occasions and normal teenage life. If I did go out I\u2019d be in agony, terrified that I\u2019d bleed through the period products<\/a> I was layering up, barely registering what was happening around me.<\/p>\n

I saw doctors repeatedly but the outcome was always the same: \u2018It\u2019s normal\u2019, they\u2019d say.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWhat are the symptoms of endometriosis?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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Endometriosis is where cells similar to those in the lining of your uterus grow in other parts of the body.<\/p>\n

It also sometimes impacts organs such as the bladder and bowel.<\/p>\n

Symptoms can occur when patches of endometriosis break down and bleed during your period, but are unable to leave your body.<\/p>\n

During your period, symptoms can include:<\/p>\n