Does the menopause make you gain weight or is it just been that age?

[VivaLeBeaver]

I'm 35 and it looks like I'm going to be offered a hysterectomy for very heavy periods/bad endometriosis. Its making me ill (anemic) and I have days where I flood which can be embarrassing at work.

The only thing is that they'd take my ovaries out at the same time so I'd go through the menopause. I'd need to take HRT. i'VE always struggled with my weight and am concerned that I'd really put loads on. Don;t know what to do.

Can you not have the balloon treatment, I know of 2 ladies who have had this and it changed their lives.
I have had problems like this befor ,but went through the change early so didn't need to go down surgery route in the end .
Hope you're ok after your bump last week.

As above- have you been offered other options such as endometrial ablation?

HRT does not necessarily make you put on weight. You might need to adjust your lifestyle- bit more exercise and less food- as part of the surgical menopause- but the short answer is no.

However, i wonder why they want to remove your ovaries as well? seems a bit drastic. Your ovaries continue to produce hormones right until your 70s so they should only be removed as a very last resort- such as cancer. I'd ask for a 2nd opinion TBH.

They said if they left my ovaries in I'd still get endometrial problems as the endometriosis isn't confined to my uterus. Plus the research shows that if you have a hysterectomy and leave your ovaries in then you ovaroes only continue to function for another 5 years on average.

And tehre is a history of breast and ovarian cancer in my family.

The Dr said that ablation only tended to be a temporary fix and the symptoms would come back in a couple of years.