Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[kiltgirl]

Hi ladies,

I'm really struggling with the decision on whether to have my ovaries taken out when I have my hysterectomy. I've read a few stories from women who have done this and found it has helped their PMS symptoms.

I've always had an awful time with PMS, always! Would be lovely to think that if I had them taken out it would be easier to regulate my hormone levels with some estradiol...

I know there are pros and cons re ovary removal...one minute I'm for and the next I've changed my mind again...

Are there any ladies on here who have done this noticed an improvement?

thank you in advance x

[walking the dog]

Hi kiltgirl
I haven't had mine removed but I'm having a hysterectomy early next year and they will be removed then . I too suffer terrible pms and have read many positive things too.
I know there are many against removal due to lack testosterone etc but I cant carry on like I am and for me personally I do believe its the right thing to do , xx

[kiltgirl]

  Thank you WTD

This is what I'm thinking too, I hope it goes well for you, mine is supposed to be sometime Jan/Feb, just want it over with...

Wouldn't it be amazing to be free from PMS, is so awful at the moment, I am going to discuss with my gynae and hopefully she will put on my notes before I'm discharged back to the GP...that I want testosterone checked as well as estradiol...

I don't know if it's naive to think that we can regulate our hormones externally once we have gotten rid of the ovaries...would be nice to think so!

[walking the dog]

Hi kiltgirl
 I just know I have tried everything to regulate my hormones hrt hasn't helped my pms or low mood and anxiety. ADs haven't helped. I also have endometrial hyperplasia which is reason for hysterectomy as no amount of progesterone has helped thin it. I just think I cant be worse off without ovaries as I am now. I have been in some very dark places and I'm not rushing into ovary removal blind. Even professor studd recommends it on his web site. Good luck with your op I'm waiting for the all clear from mrsa then I can go ahead.
Hopefully we can support each other through it, your welcome to PM me if you wish. There's another member going to have ovaries removed soon mis71mum xx

[kiltgirl]

Thank you, yes we can all support each other. I feel a bit tearful at the moment, so thankful for this forum, I'm a very solitary person when my daughter isn't here, that's prob down to my mood lately. Talking to people who don't know what you're going through can make you feel worse if they belittle your experience etc.

I totally get the 'dark places' and have been thinking exactly the same in that it couldn't be worse than it is now without the ovaries.

Lately even just getting out of bed in the morning is a chore, even been thinking on the way to work that it might not be so bad if I got hit by as bus or something...I could never do that my DD though 

This isn't a life...hardly even an existence really...so yes bring it on...'The Change'...thanks for the heads up on Professor Studd's site, good reading and making me feel more optomistic.

By springtime next year we'll be on here saying how glad we are we took the step I hope x

[abbyH]

HI Kiltgirl. I've had the BSO and hysterectomy - for slightly different reasons but I too had awful PMS and hoped it would help.

I'm not the bearer of good news well, not  yet. it's not quite as simple as taking a bit of oestrodial for me unfortunatley! I'm struggling to get my levels balanced (6 months post op) and have lost a lot of hair.. I was losing hair before but the change has been dramatic and I can now only put it down to the testosterone/oestrogen balance being awry

So... there is this blog
https://msjekyllhyde.wordpress.com/

that should give you a pretty good idea of a success story! and hoepfully I'll be able to join you feeling better soon!

It's not a decision to take lightly.. your own hormones, as problematic as they are, don't poop out all in one go - and dribble away for years.. WHile in surgical menopause it's another story!

I hope you make the decision that's right for you. I feel I wasn't given enough information and literally hurled out of the hospital without much advice on HRT or anything. I'm fumbling my way through right now.. another 6 months to go before i'm seen again but at this rate  i'll be bald and a bit mad - I'm not going to lie, this is the hardest part of my life!
I think once I've got onto some kind of regime that suits me, I'll be much better but I can't seem to think what that might be.. Testosterone seems to be the magic bullet, but I can't have any until my E levels are higher, apparently

Good luck and the other women on here are incredibly kind and knowledgeable and supportive so you are in the right place

Abby xx

[Annie0710]

I didn't have my ovaries removed but after my hysterectomy when I was 32 they started playing up.  oestrogen levels dropped quite low so went on hrt alongside ovulating every few months or so.  Felt fantastic for years until they finally packed up at 45, everything went downhill then and for the last 4/5 despite different types of hrt , even testosterone I'm still not good

They now can't find my ovaries and given my symptoms think they've dissolved and gone

Your stories could be different and I really hope they will be but I think it's good to hear the good and bad side so that you have a clearer understanding

Since the ovaries packed in hair loss has been dramatic and continuous and it does nothing for self esteem

They say oestrogen is the hair growth hormone, well my levels have been really high, maybe too high ? Who knows, sometimes I don't think anyone knows exactly what causes what

You each have your individual reasons for thinking about this and that has to be the most important thing. I didn't suffer pmt but having read about it I can understand your desire to end the misery

X

[kiltgirl]

HI Kiltgirl. I've had the BSO and hysterectomy - for slightly different reasons but I too had awful PMS and hoped it would help.

I'm not the bearer of good news well, not  yet. it's not quite as simple as taking a bit of oestrodial for me unfortunatley! I'm struggling to get my levels balanced (6 months post op) and have lost a lot of hair.. I was losing hair before but the change has been dramatic and I can now only put it down to the testosterone/oestrogen balance being awry

So... there is this blog
https://msjekyllhyde.wordpress.com/

that should give you a pretty good idea of a success story! and hoepfully I'll be able to join you feeling better soon!

It's not a decision to take lightly.. your own hormones, as problematic as they are, don't poop out all in one go - and dribble away for years.. WHile in surgical menopause it's another story!

I hope you make the decision that's right for you. I feel I wasn't given enough information and literally hurled out of the hospital without much advice on HRT or anything. I'm fumbling my way through right now.. another 6 months to go before i'm seen again but at this rate  i'll be bald and a bit mad - I'm not going to lie, this is the hardest part of my life!
I think once I've got onto some kind of regime that suits me, I'll be much better but I can't seem to think what that might be.. Testosterone seems to be the magic bullet, but I can't have any until my E levels are higher, apparently

Good luck and the other women on here are incredibly kind and knowledgeable and supportive so you are in the right place

Abby xx

Hi Abby,

thank you for replying...I was reading that blog post early this morning when I couldn't sleep...it's all so confusing, I guess we don't find out if it will suit us until we do it, and if it doesn't...

I honestly don't think I can feel much worse than I do now, everything hurts, I have zero energy and black mood...I can't carry on like this...can't do ADs (have tried many times), can't do progestins (make me suicidal)

I don't know...I think I'm going to have to risk it...will call my gynae to see if I can have a chat with her to see what she thinks.

I'm so sorry you're having such a bad time...it must be soul destroying to still be feeling so awful...I really hope you start to feel better soon...from what I understand so far it's a question of balancing the estradiol and testosterone?

  x

[kiltgirl]

I didn't have my ovaries removed but after my hysterectomy when I was 32 they started playing up.  oestrogen levels dropped quite low so went on hrt alongside ovulating every few months or so.  Felt fantastic for years until they finally packed up at 45, everything went downhill then and for the last 4/5 despite different types of hrt , even testosterone I'm still not good

They now can't find my ovaries and given my symptoms think they've dissolved and gone

Your stories could be different and I really hope they will be but I think it's good to hear the good and bad side so that you have a clearer understanding

Since the ovaries packed in hair loss has been dramatic and continuous and it does nothing for self esteem

They say oestrogen is the hair growth hormone, well my levels have been really high, maybe too high ? Who knows, sometimes I don't think anyone knows exactly what causes what

You each have your individual reasons for thinking about this and that has to be the most important thing. I didn't suffer pmt but having read about it I can understand your desire to end the misery

X

Annie that's a long time to be feeling so bad...it must be unsettling to say the least to know what's happened to your ovaries!
I do worry about hair loss, I have a lot of thick curly hair but recently noticed it's been blocking the plug hole in the shower too often...have you noticed any new baby hairs coming through? I have high estradiol too...I don't know what that's all about...

I have a week to myself while DD is with her dad so I think I'll spend some of it researching...mind you sometimes it makes it worse!

Off to my doc to get something for my Mirena acne...I'm so gross, a paper bag will probably do 

thank you for your reply xx

[Elizabethrose]

Hi kiltgirl

I haven't had the surgery but did fight a neurologist who was pushing me to have it years ago. Long story, won't bore you with the detail! I did lots of research and eventually saw a number of docs with different specialisms. The gyneas/endos were suggesting I have a medical oophorectomy in order to see how my body reacted i.e. a gonadotrophin analogue with add back oestrogen which would close down my ovaries. It was eventually decided that this wouldn't be suitable for me but has this been considered for you? If you faired well and the results were good this could perhaps give you a better idea of how your body would react to the surgical menopause. Just a thought!

[Annie0710]

I'm not sure if I have new hairs or they're broken ones, so hard to tell but my hair doesn't feel like there's more of it. It's very up and down as is everything with me

It's been a horrible journey since 2012 and I just cannot wait for it to be over.  As much as I thought peri would be flushes and no periods I thought post meno would be the light at the end of the tunnel but for me it's not. I think I'm 2 years post meno and still no further forward

Research, research and some more !

I like Elizebethroses suggestion

X

[Rhiner]

Hi Kiltgirl, I had mine removed last year, but for different reasons, had lots of fertility treatment in the past that they now state can potentially lead to ovarian cancer and was having some pain from left ovary, so it was more a preventative action.

My problem was I was not given HRT immediately, as I was supposedly post meno.  So had really bad symptoms start off, indicative of no oestrogen, which blood test 2 weeks post confirmed.  I started on HRT after 2 weeks and then slowly got back to normal.  Found that the transdermal, constant dose oestrogen to be the best (started with femoston tablets, but got bad headaches). So please make sure that you start the HRT as soon as you have had the op, also it may be wise to get a blood test of oestrogen levels before (if you are post meno), if not it will fluctuate anyway.  I find I do not need testosterone, my energy levels etc eventually got back to normal (my adrenals must be producing it).

Hope this helps a little.
Rhiner

[Tempest]

Hi! I'm 19 months post oopherectomy  (previously had hysterectomy at 36) and I STILL can't get my HRT right! I'm very sensitive to even small fluctuations in estrogen, so uneven delivery methods are causing me huge problems with unstable mood etc. When this happens for me, its just like being back in perimenopause. 

I wish HRT was straightforward after removal of ovaries, but sadly in my case it hasn't been. I agree with Rhiner that its very important to start HRT as soon as possible after surgery, as figuring out your ideal dosage/delivery can take some time.

[cubagirl]

My hysterectomy happened in my mid 30's after near constant bleeding & cramps. I'd turned into a nasty, grumpy person. So hysterectomy was a blessing. Ovaries were left at that time. However, needed HRT. Some 10 years later I was in a lot of pain again & ovaries were removed. Turns out I had bad adhesions especially on one side.

At time of my hysterectomy I was told they would leave ovaries in place. In hindsight, maybe should have been done all at once.

You really need to rely on consultant's advice. Ask, it's your body.

[coldethyl]

I'm two months post radical hysterectomy for ovarian cancer and so far, so good. I have had hot flushes but no worse than prior to removal and by and large, the terrible mood swings and agitation I was experiencing in peri have abated. There's no chance I'll be offered any chemical support now so am trying to make sure I eat well, get enough sleep and practice mindfulness and relaxation more. I had always thought I'd get ovarian cancer as I'd endometriosis and lots of fertility drugs so just wish I'd been offered chance to be rid before it was a reality.