With only a brief five-ten minute interview, Dr. Foetisch says, it is important for patients to communicate any problems or concerns they may anticipate experiencing as "there is no good way to predict if someone is going to have problems post-operatively." Physicians rely on patients in the same way patients rely on physicians for the exchange of pertinent information to obtain the most healthy and beneficial outcome.

        Consider the woman who is currently struggling emotionally and then begins experiencing occurrences of headaches, loss of appetite, restlessness, mental sluggishness or sleep disturbances as a result of surgery, all the more reason to take regular personal inventory. The good news, says Dr. Foetisch, is that these episodes of depression tend to be short-lived, rarely lasting longer than four to six weeks.

        At some point, every woman must stand apart and carefully assess her life stresses and how each will impact her (by either contributing to or diminishing) her overall physical health and emotional welfare. Otherwise, the body will eventually find its own way of calling attention to the problem of a system overloaded by stress.