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[gymbunny1010]

Hello

I am currently 6 weeks post-op (both ovaries removed following hysterectomy 5 years ago at age 33). I had to have my ovaries removed due to scar tissue & adhesions (including bowel & bladder having fused together with scar tissue!). I started on Evorel 50 patches 4 weeks ago. To be honest, I find that my doctor has just prescribed the patches & expects me to just get on with it, I have a number of symptoms questions which she can't answer, I'm hoping someone can help? It's hard to know what's post-op pain/symptoms, what's menopause & what's HRT! Feeling pretty down in the dumps about it all!

Thanks for reading/listening!

[meno lesley]

Hi and welcome, this is a great place to get advice so ask away. What are the symptoms you have?

Lesley x

[gymbunny1010]

Hi

Thank you so so much for getting back to me!

So, here are my symptoms:

Teary all the time
Feeling pretty down
Racing heart
Itchy feet & mouth (causing mouth users)
Anxious about things (mainly work & all the mentions of weight gain!)

I've been off work for about 8 weeks as my surgeon tried to do the op via keyhole but couldn't do it so I had to go back for open surgery 2 weeks later, hence feeling anxious about going back to work! I'm popping in tomorrow for a meeting then planning on going back next week. Physically I feel not too bad but emotionally I feel dreadful! I've stopped taking all the strong painkillers but am still taking sleeping tablets so I still feel my head is "mush" during the day!

I would love your opinion on all of this!

X

[meno lesley]

Did you have these symptoms before starting the patches? Most hrts take about three months to settle down and sometimes you have to try a few before finding one that suits. The symptoms you are having I can relate to and have had them all at one stage or another. Hrt usually helps with the physical symptoms first and then the emotional ones.

At your meeting with work could you work out a return to work plan with few hours to start with? You need to give your body time to adjust to the surgery and the patches.

I know it seems hard at the moment but it will get easier.

Lesley x

[Dancinggirl]

Hello and Welcome gym bunny1010
What a tough time you have had! Your body and mind have had a battering and you need to give yourself time to recover.  There are some good threads on this site from other women who have been through a similar experience and hopefully they will be along soon with help and advice.
This site is a great resource and you should be able to access some really good info.
Try to be referred to a menopause clinic - if there is one locally.  You need to be on HRT but finding what suits you may take time. There are many options but bio-identical oestrogen is usually tolerated best - I think you have been given a bio-indentical which is good.  All the symptoms you describe seem very normal considering what you have been through - it will take time to settle down.
Stay with us.  Take it easy.  DG xxx

[gymbunny1010]

Hi

Thanks for the replies!

These symptoms have all started since I started HRT.  It would be great to hear other peoples stories on how they coped with early/surgical menopause.  I asked my doctor to refer me to the Menopause Clinic but she said I haven't been on HRT london enough to warrant a referral?

Many thanks x

[Rowan]

It took me a year to get over a hysterectomy and I kept my ovaries! its perfectly normal you are only 6 weeks post op and having your ovaries removed has put you in surgical menopause.

Here are two sites that you might find helpful

http://www.hysterectomy-association.org.uk/forums/

http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/

Both helped me enormously.

What you are feeling is perfectly normal and you need to discuss this with ladies who have gone through the same op as you.

[gymbunny1010]

Thanks!  I'll look at the websites.

X

[gymbunny1010]

Hi

Just another question!  I constantly have awful heartburn, is that due to the HRT also?

X

[Hurdity]

Hi gymbunny

  from me too.

Sorry to hear about what you've been going through.

As you started your oestrogen only 2 weeks after the op you cannot say whether the symptoms are due to surgical menopause (as silverlady says) or the HRT. I would suggest it is most likely to be the former as you have not been long without the oestrogen.

At your age I would want to be on a much higher dose of oestrogen ie looking to gradually increase to at least 100 mcg patches - many women in your position use gel as they find they can get a higher dose but you can always go higher than 100 mcg by adding patches. Need to increase gradually though.

The tricky thing with oestrogen at your young age is hitting the sweet spot - enough not only to completely eliminate symptoms and also make you feel good, but not too much to give higher than physiological levels. In the natural cycle oestrogen reaches very high levels around ovulation and then drops to much lower - but you probably wouldn't want them to be as high as this all the time.

Don't be fobbed off re the meno clinic. In your position I would try to get a referral asap -you may need to be tested for (and prescribed) testosterone too.

Personally at your age I might also take micronised progesterone now and again ( provided you are not progesterone intolerant) - unless it gives you pms - as this also performs various functions in the body. Unfortunately it doesn't agree with some women.

Take care of yourself and hopefully you will begin to feel better in due course.

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[gymbunny1010]

That's a really interesting reply, thank you.  So do you think I should ask my doctor to increase my Evorel 50 patches?  She really didn't seem to know much about it to be honest.

X

[Hurdity]

Yes I would gradually increase them eg go to 75 mcg first Some women do experience side effects initially after an increase until their body gets used to the new level - but still try to get that appt at the meno clinic. Also your are still feeling th effects of the op so the benefits may take a while to become apparent!

Hurdity x

[Rowan]

Just a thought gymbunny you say you are still on sleeping tablets, after a while although they make you sleep, they can cause emotional symptoms, a feeling of flatness and anxiety, and a  feeling of being down.

You say you don't feel too bad physically so I am not sure if increasing your estrogen will be helpful, for some women more estrogen can cause more anxiety  a caffeinated feeling and sore enlarged breasts. 

Surgical menopause is tricky and different to natural menopause, increasing your estrogen patch may work and the only way you can find out is try an increase, but be prepared that your body may react physically, you body is in shock your adrenals too, it takes a quite a while to recover.

 

[gymbunny1010]

Thanks for the replies, I'm so confused!  I'm thinking maybe I should try stopping the sleeping tablets?  My mind is "mush" during the day and I'm so keen to get back to work but I think his is going to hinder me.  I still can't believe how tired I am, I do t think I was this bad after my hysterectomy.

X

[Rowan]

I would not stop sleeping pills abruptly, try cutting in half then quarters and slowly wean off or you may rebound insomnia, though some do stop with no side effects it all depends how long you have taken them for.

I do think you should go back and see your doctor about your tiredness and ask for a full blood count ( thyroid etc)  and ask for an increase in estrogen to see if it will help. On hystersisters they suggest getting your estrogen dose right first before considering progesterone and testosterone.

I wish I could help more and I really feel for you, losing your ovaries is no joke.

You also must remember you are only 6 weeks post op and it maybe that you need more time before you go back to work, remember you had had invasive surgery.