For all of us in surgical menopause

[SebastianFlytesTrousers]

I wanted to create a post for us women in surgical menopause so that we can hopefully check in and share things that help, whether you're able to take HRT or not.

I hope to keep this going as we tend to get lost amongst the other posts and our experience of menopause can be very different than those experiencing it naturally, as well as our requirements for HRT (again, if you're able to take it).

Joining! Am a BRCA gene carrier and had an oophrodectomy 2 years ago, a few years after my risk-reducing double mastectomy. I was on HRT (patches, Mirena coil, a dab of testosterone gel) but have weaned myself off as BRCA carriers aren't allowed to take HRT past 51.

My biggest issue is piling weight on, especially around my middle, and total demotivation to do anything about it. I had my NHS health check the other day and being told to try exercising more made me feel a bit stabby - I know how weight loss works, I just can't motivate myself to do it!

I actually really enjoy exercising now...which is something I never thought I'd say! I think finding something you enjoy and treating it as 'me time' makes it feel like a treat. I go swimming/weights/walking/use rowing machine. I've stayed roughly the same weight. I think of exercise as being more beneficial for my mental health than anything else. If I really don't feel like it I give myself a few days off and then I look forward to it again.

Can I join too please? I had a hysterectomy but kept my ovaries in Oct 2019, but started getting all the classic peri symptoms 2yrs ago and started estrogen hrt shortly after.

However I've had a mare with the whole thing. Every time I try to increase the dose (because of continuing symptoms) I get excruciating cramps after a week or so on the increased dose. Like the worst period pain ever that cocodomol doesn't even get rid of. GP's advice was to increase the estrogen but take painkillers 🤨

Waited 13mths to see a specialist who agreed to let me try progesterone tablets because I said it felt like I was being overloaded with estrogen and perhaps I needed progesterone to balance it out.

Honestly, why wouldn't we need progesterone too? Everything I read about it says we need to be balanced, so why only give us estrogen?!

Anyway been 6wks now and only had mild cramps but still having night sweats so considering trying more but nervous!

Has anyone else had anything like this?

Hi everyone- it's really lovely to find women in the same boat- though I hope you don't mind me saying that as realise you'd likely rather not be in it!
I am so done with HRT now! even ovestin- a mild vaginal cream has me in bits, also red clover, ashwagandha bloody everything- I just need to stop it all.
I totally agree with @nowtygaffer that exercise is fab for all this and I am no exerciser normally, but when I have done it I've felt that things are surmountable.Then I go and try something HRT-wise and feel way too shite for exercise.
But now I'm determined that I'm going to exercise and ditch the HRT/alternative stuff etc.
Without doubt HRT works for some but it's really reassuring to see that women like @notgettinganyyounger manage so well without- love reading that!
sorry others are struggling- it's all very familiar and I wish I had some sage advice but can only offer commiseration.
On a more positive note I do wonder whether the body adjusts and accommodates naturally even when ovaries are removed- I feel like I've never given mine the opportunity- so that's what what I'm going to do from now on.

@CremeDeSudo I have tried progesterone and I remember feeling amazingly calm for a night but unfortunately that didn't last. for me, I think the issue is the balance and it's so difficult to get right. "menopause matters" is also a good website and there is an alternative section as well which you could post about progesterone on. I know some posters will claim it's untrue that prog can help but there are definitely those who've tried it and like it. good luck.

So glad to see the postsfrom all of you here who are in the same boat!

@RayonSunrise Blimey.......what a cheek! I can tell you that after I came off my estrogen implant that I experienced exactly the same. Energy and motivation plummeted and the weight went on, mostly around the tummy (that lovely '3rd ovary" effect).

Is there any flexibility with going back on HRT after 51 if you'dlike to? I have read the concern for BRCA carriers after age 51 of rising breast cancer risk, but is this absolutely verboten even with careful monitoring?

I'm actually even more miffed with the lack of understanding/sensitivity from the professional you saw. I hate how something that is biological is heaped back on the patient as 'deal with it'.🙄

Thanks for these posts, I am coming up to six weeks post op hysterectomy with ovaries out. Was a massive shock for me, I went to the GP with heavy bleeding and a distended abdomen and had the op less than 2 weeks later. I am 42 and had not even heard of surgical menopause. I am on 100 oestrogen patch and my only symptom at the moment is hot flushes. Has helped with brain fog and a pressure headache that I had straight after surgery. It’s good to read other women’s experiences.

What a great thread!

I had Total abdominal Hysterectomy 18 months ago at age 45, following failed womb ablation for Adenomyosis.
Consultant started me on Oestrogel, but I changed to Bio-identical HRT, and have been on Progesterone, Oestrogen, Testosterone & DHEA ever since.

Definitely put on weight afterwards, due to lack of exercise & generally moping around.
Also had the fear of prolapse (I have a vaginal cuff) from reading WAY too much about shouldn't exercise, lift, jump, run etc etc

Overhauled my eating, got the exercise back up, and have lost 2.5 stone since March, putting me back where I should be.

Still have the annoying 'swelly belly' at times...
also have seen my Cholesterol increase to an unhealthy level, which I'm not sure if that is related, hoping since the weight loss that will have reduced.

Bumping for any newbies.

Hello,
Bumping this thread, looking for a bit of solidarity.
How is everyone doing?
I'm not on HRT as it makes me feel worse- I had my ovaries out in my late 40s.
I'm now 54
I've muddled along and am currently trying to get off antidepressants.
I'm particularly interested in anyone who's managing well without HRT or antidepressants, that's the dream!
I appreciate that some of the women on here are younger and HRT more necessary.
Weirdly I definitely went into surgical menopause even though I was a year into menopause.

Hi @SansGonads.

I’m a similar age to you, and have been off HRT for a couple of years now. Right now I’m feeling pretty good, though I really wasn’t for a while.

I had gained weight after my oophorectomy a few years ago - a combo of surgical menopause, rising and falling HRT, being unceremoniously made redundant at work a month after my surgery (!), and then some drama with one of my teens which all meant I was putting myself and my health last. Food and drink were my coping mechanisms.

After several false starts I finally did get going on the weight loss. I gave weight loss injections a try. Losing some of the weight got me back to feeling motivated to exercise and to socialise more too, which has really boosted my mental health. I’m in a pretty good place now as a result.

There are still things that are different from before though. I definitely don’t have quite the same drives (I was very career orientated, less so now), but on the upside I also don’t seem to need deodorant anymore either. (How’s that for strange?)

My latest thing is trying Lion’s Mane gummies for “focus.” I have no idea if they are making me more focussed, but I enjoy having a gummy with my morning coffee! 😂

Ah thanks, @RayonSunrise , that's a tonic to read!

Well done on the weight loss and it's great to hear that you socialise and exercise, too. I so want to do those things and just seem to self sabotage.
When I do have something social thrust upon me it always makes me feel better- I just need to gain some momentum on that but tend to retreat into myself.
The teen issue resonates a bit- my daughter had some positive news re her future career today and I felt like a weight was lifted- I think we carry a lot of emotional stuff re kids without even realising.
Enjoy the Lion's Mane.
I intend to exercise and put myself out there a bit more.

Edited to add, did you manage to find more work? It must have been a shock to be made redundant just after surgery. I have to admit I haven't worked since my BSO- I do want to but am terrified!! Ridiculous but there we are.

@SansGonads Yes I did find more work - quite quickly actually, and it did build my confidence back up as my new colleagues were so happy with my work! But I was doing a lot of it from home, which I’ve discovered for me is a double-edged sword. I am happy to not have to commute every day, but at least a couple days a week in an office mixing with people is really good for me overall. It’s so easy to retreat from the world, especially right now with everyone so stuck in their phones.

Hope your exercise starts well! I have found moving so helpful for mood regulation. 💐

Thanks @RayonSunrise -just had a long walk. Onwards and upwards :)

Hello everyone,
I’d like to join in if I can.

I had my ovaries removed just before Xmas. I’m 40.
I’m also on hormone blocking Anastrazole tablets.
This is all due to hormone positive breast cancer. Ovaries were removed as extra precaution due to family history as my mother died of ovarian cancer after breast cancer in her 40s.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year at 39 I have had surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone blocking tablets and also the ovary removal surgery. It’s been a hellish 12 months.
Prior to all of this I had no menopause symptoms at all. Periods regular, everything working as it should.

I feel lost now. After all my treatment I’m left in surgical and chemical menopause and all that happens is the hospital give you a general menopause leaflet and send you on your way.
A lot of the information out there is about natural menopause and taking HRT. I can’t take HRT or anything like that!

I now have no libido, vagina atrophy, low mood, weight gain, dry skin, my hair doesn’t want to grow back after chemo, I can’t give my only child a sibling and I have no idea what to do about any of it.
Finding this side of treatment very difficult and lonely.

It sounds like you've been through so much redblock. Surgical menopause is difficult at any age but I think even more so for women in their thirties and early 40s.
Have you thought about having counselling? Or maybe writing everything down that you are feeling?
Like I said upthread I treat exercise now as something that makes me feel better because it really does!
I came off HRT early last year because of breakthrough bleeding. I don't actually feel any worse for coming off it so I'm now wondering why I bothered with it! Obviously I am older (53!) so that probably helps.
Anyway, all the best to you. You've been through so much so allow yourself time to grieve your old self before you can embrace the next chapter in your life x