Ovaries to stay or go???

[BG2015]

I've been to see my consultant today, after years of heavy, prolonged bleeding, 2 Mirena coils which worked for a time and an ablation last September, it appears a hysterectomy is the way to go now.

She says all being well it will be done by keyhole and talked to me about the pros and cons of having my ovaries removed. I'm 48.

She explained that menopause would kick in straightaway (scary) and that I could then go onto HRT.

She said I may need my ovaries removing at a later date and that would then entail further surgery and a risk of there being scar tissue etc. I don't know why my ovaries would go wrong at a later date??? Do they usually?

How she was talking she was leaning towards having my ovaries removed but I'm totally unsure. I've been having a few symptoms e.g. night sweats, insomnia, an occasional hot flush, tiredness but they are all very sporadic.

She also could give me no indication of waiting times for the surgery. I live in Staffordshire.

I need to hear peoples experiences

A bottle of wine is around 6-7 units which isn't a huge amount but if you have high BP maybe cut it out altogether and see what happens?

Hi PollyPerky. I had high blood pressure already, before the hysterectomy. I remember my gp considering bc for my heavy periods, but said she wasn't comfortable with that because if my blood pressure. So I figured that hrt would be risky too. I had hysterectomy at 40, and menopause at 46. Just used black cohosh for symptoms.

Didn't mean to hit send. Thanks for the information Polly.

In my 30's, when considering bcp's to treat my heavy periods, my bp was high at times, but no meds needed. I learned to eliminate stress and get more sleep..well, sleeping pills. My blood pressure was higher at age 47, took 4 days in the hospital to get it down. I underwent tests for heart and kidneys, even a chemical stress test, but no cause found. Possible genetic, my gm died age 42 from hypertension. My bp shot up during my surgury and they had to put a medication under my tongue. Then afterwards it was very low and I was on a BP monitor for 2 days after the surgery. It was ok on day 3. I blame the morphine for that low though. ( I realized I had contradicting info about my BP in two posts and that is why I am boring you with this longwinded, boring blood pressure thing.)

High BP is not a contraindication for HRT. High BP should be treated regardless, with lifestyle changes and / or meds. The risk with high BP is stroke. The risk with HRT in pill form is slightly raised in older women (over 60). Strokes are rare in women under 60 across the population (ie women not on HRT). HRT in patch or gel form doesn't raise the risk of stroke.

Birth control pills have higher doses of hormones than HRT and they are all synthetic hormones too. HRT is the same as our own hormones. So you could argue using HRT is no different to having periods anyway / being fertile.

Very interesting, and I wonder why my doctor did not prescribe anything? I use Vagifem and Replens, and I am 60 now.

Probably because, like most GPs discussed here, they know bugger all about HRT!

ps - you really ought to ask for a DEXA scan of your bone density. You had a meno at 46- this is 6 years before the average. There is a higher chance of you developing osteoporosis which is symptomless until you have a break, then it's heavy duty meds to halt it. If your GP won't arrange it you can get it done privately.

I wanted to keep my ovaries, or at least one of them, but it wasn't possible - they were too badly damaged.

My immediate menopause hasn't been too bad so far (had the op last year), but I do worry about long term effects (osteoporosis particularly). My recovery from the surgery was OK as well, so it wouldn't have been too daunting if I'd had had to have a later separate oophorectomy.

The menopause symptoms didn't kick in till a couple of weeks after surgery (I think your body uses up residual hormones for a short period) by which time I was well over the worst of the op - so I wouldn't say that avoiding the combination of recovery/menopause was a reason to keep ovaries. But I can't see why anyone would want to remove healthy ovaries unnecessarily - as I understand it, they continue to release small amounts of protective hormones even after the menopause.

I hope your surgery goes well whatever you decide, OP .

I had a partial at 40, and 4 years later no problems so far, great having no periods and no menopause.

I had one 5 years ago, at 43 and had my ovaries removed.
I've been on hrt patches since then. The consultant said I would need to stay on it until I'm 51 to protect my bones. I suppose after 51 I can choose to come if it if I want.

Further discussion with friends and family that have had a hysterectomy makes me even more confused. My hairdresser (who is also a friend) had a hysterectomy at 42 (she's 57 now) she had a very large fibroid (the size of a melon).She kept her ovaries and cervix as she had heard that sex is different if your cervix is removed, orgasm isn't as strong? i don't know if this is true. She has been on HRT since she was 49.

My consultant was pushing removal of everything. I'm still thinking keep the ovaries and now I'm thinking keep the cervix.

Confused?

I would lose the ovaries and go on to immediate HRT, that is what my consultant suggests. Ovarian cancer is hideous and I would rather just lose the risk completely

I have no cervix and don't notice any difference in orgasms

I've been waiting for my op since the end of September!
I'm having the same quandry. I'm leaning towars them taking everything, hitting menopause straight away but knowing it is when it's going to happen, what to expect, having the HRT then and there ready for me,instead of waiting for it!

Re. orgasms - I researched the sex aspect (reading women's experiences on forums etc.) before my op, as that was one of my concerns, but there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer about the cervix - it seems to vary from woman to woman, according to whether it plays a part in sexual response to begin with.

For some women, it seems that cervical stimulation is important and they miss it when it's gone, saying their orgasms aren't the same. It made no difference to me, but I didn't really have much, if any, feeling in my cervix beforehand.

Had everything except ovaries removed on Friday, and feel great. Constant bleeding from August has stopped immediately. Wonderful!

Raskolnikov - I remember you saying on another thread your operation was imminent. Really glad to hear it went well!

The thing is, consultants often suggest taking everything out but do they ever get feedback from women afterwards? Another meno forum has a couple of long threads at the moment showing the ghastly experiences women are having after surgical meno- issues around getting their HRT right, the dose, the type, whether to add in testosterone etc.

The risk of ovarian cancer is tiny for most women. I think there are 6K cases a year compared to something like 50K for breast cancer. If anyone was / is really worried, then pay for an annual scan (privately) .

Ovaries have a function for all our lives even post meno. If they are healthy then why risk worse things by removing them?

Raskolnikov - wow., Friday!! How are you feeling? How long was your wait?

What type of operation did you have?

It was a laparoscopic hysterectomy, not a long wait. Am barely in any pain at all, walking fine etc minutes after operation completed and back in the room. Could hardly believe they'd done it!

Am taking it easy, but honestly feel I could go back to work tomorrow. Just a couple of slight cuts on the stomach, so feel a bit fraudulent skiving off for two weeks. I feel worse when I have a cold!

Best thing I've ever done. Would def recommend it. Wish I'd had it done three years ago when the excessive bleeding started. So many days/holidays/clothes ruined.

Obviously early days so I can't comment on hormonal effects. But surgeon was very keen to conserve the ovaries.

I had a total hysterectomy at 50, couldn't have HRT due to previous breast cancer and wish I'd kept my ovaries. It's just over a year later and I feel like I aged 20 years overnight, feel full of grief for the loss of my old body. My joints ache and I am like an old woman when I get out of the car/off the sofa/out of bed. I used to be so active I don't recognise myself now. I really wasn't prepared for this and if I had it again I would keep my ovaries.

Rastel, that's exactly what I'm dreading. I'm a 'young' 48 yr old - regular gym goer, we go walking a great deal, enjoy a fulfilling sex life, busy job in teaching. I want my life to be better after my hysterectomy- not worse!

Rastel I don't know your medical history of course but thought it might be worth mentioning that HRT for women who have had BC is not always a complete no-no. My consultant says they are treating women who have had BC with HRT, along with their oncologists. There are so many different types now as well as ultra low doses available, it's not a one size fits all situation any more.
Also, having had a hysterectomy, you would only need oestrogen. When women use oestrogen-only HRT they have fewer cases of BC than non-HRT women.

There are only a handful of really good meno consultants in the country who are able to offer this kind of treatment- mainly in London- but I thought it might be worthwhile mentioning it to you.

PollyPerky That's really interesting to hear, thanks, I will look into it.