Advice for a premature menopause please.....

[Minnerva]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum although post on the fostering forum here on mumsnet.

I am 43 and just about to go into hospital for my left ovary to be removed.I had the right ovary and hysterectomy op 10 months ago but kept my left ovary in the hope of offsetting an early menopause.Not to be unfortunately-within months my remaining ovary has grown a very aggressive and bleeding cyst which has wrapped itself around my intestine.The possible scenarios are:Cancer (fingers crossed that'sa no)Temporary Stoma if the cyst proves too compex to remove without damaging my bowel( fingers crossed that's a no too obviously!!)

The best case scenario is that the cyst is removed fairly simply and there is nothing nasty lurking anywhere but whatever happens I am obviously heading straight for a premature menopause.

I can find lots of advice about some of the symptoms that I might suffer from but I really am looking for advice with regards to the type of things that I can take/use to try to offset some of the potential health problems later in life and also help alleviate the syptoms.

I try to keep chemicals down to a mimimum and eat natural and organic foods (without sounding too Gillian McKeith!!!!!)and would love to hear your experiences and recommendations.

Apologies for a long boring post but I would really appreciate some advice-my own mother only started her menopause at 58 and has suffered incredibly mildly with her symptoms so feels unable to offer much herself.

Many thanks to you all.

Am bumping for you,as would also be interested in the answer..

I'm 47 and perimenopausal,I too would like to try and avoid HRT,but if it gets too tough,will try a cream hopefully derived from natural rather then synthetic sources..

I have read that foods such as Soya,nuts,apples,alfalfa,parsley and fennel are high in phytoestrogens.
While Licorice,sage,wild yam,ginseng and black cohosh are natural oestrogen promoters.

There does seem to be a lot of literature on the subject, but no one answer- that's for sure.

So sorry to hear of the problems you've had! I really hope the next op. goes smoothly,and the outcome is the best you could hope for.

Good luck x

On another thread, purplepeony recommended a book written by her gynae:

www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Change-Choice-Integrated-Menopause/dp/0340828862/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291840676&sr=1-1

(I haven't read that book myself, but I wish I'd known about such resources back when I was going through the menopause.)

Maybe that book could give you some pointers on managing your symptoms. You obviously already follow a healthy diet, so incorporating ideas from that book and also what Jellycat suggests might be exactly what you need.

Is the problem with your left ovary connected with the reasons for the hysterectomy and right oophorectomy, or could it be that your left ovary went into a kind of overdrive as a reaction? But please don't answer that question if you don't want to. I'm just wondering how much information you've been given, as I know from experience that medics sometimes don't explain things fully.

I do hope that your surgery goes well.

Jelly cat and hugglymuggly thank you your replies.

I had the right ovary removed in January due to the large cyst that had formed around it-I also have endometriosis,adhesions and polycystic ovarian syndrome.My gyne decided that a full hysterectomy was advisable due to my abnormal smears.

It was fully my decision to keep the remaing ovary intact-with hindsight (it's a great thing hindsight!!) I should have had it removed at the same time as everything else but I had no idea that it would grow such an aggressive cyst in such a short space of time.I also have horrendous pain this time around-am on huge amounts of pain relief.Again-if I had encountered this much pain last time around that would have been another reason to have the whole blasted lot out at once.

I do have every confidence in my gyne.He performed my last op and will do this one too but I am concerned about going straight into a full menopause.It can be bad enough when it's a gradual thing over many years but I will be bang into it...........my poor hubby won't know what's hit him!!

OP- you really need a referral to a gynae, after your operation, who will work out a treatment plan. There is no way you should be managing your own surgically--induced menopause at 43.

Forget herbs etc- you will need HRT up to 50 or you will be at risk for osteoporosis in your 5s and 60s. You might also need testosterone as the ovaries produce a smll amount of that too.

You need an expert!

If you can get to London or Dorset and want the name of a great gynae, PM me.