Help!

Hello everyone! I am 34 and had an abdominal hysterectomy 13 days ago. To say Iwas unprepared is an understatement. I went from a high energy mother of two young girls to practically bed ridden. Night sweats, hot flashes, extreme fatigue and moodines to say the least. I still have 1 ovary, and assumed that I would bounce right back. I am seeing my doctor for my post-op Thursday. Any Advice???? Similar stories?? How about HRT???

THANK YOU!!!!!

Hi Notwen04
Welcome to Hystesisters! It sounds like your one little ovary is still in shock. This isn't unsual. It can take a few weeks for them to wake up and work up to full speed even when both are kept. Be sure to talk to your dr about your symptoms. Make a list if you need to so you can remember. Your dr might want to give your body some more time to see if it will start producing what you need on its own. Some drs will prescribe some hrt to take for while to get you through this bad time. You need to decide how you feel about it depending on how badly it is effecting your quality of life.

You need to resign yourself to resting right now so your body can heal. The recovery time for a hyst is a minimum of 6 to 8 wks for the initial healing. I hope you have some help with your girls. If you are pushing yourself to do things you really shouldn't be doing you will only cause yourself to prolong the time and you run the risk of undoing what your surgeon has done to help you.
Please do some reading in the Checkpoints and the Post-Op Articles. It will help you to look over the checkpoints to see what you should and should not be doing at each stage of your recovery.
You are still very early post op. It will get better if you take care of yourself and give it some more time. Keep us posted on your progress.
's,Rita

I say ditch the ovary,get on hormones. Bio identical hormones,you will feel better than ever!! I never understood why women keep ovaries if uterus comes out,do a serch and research how many women have the same problems you are. If you do not want ovary out,I would still get on bio Identical hormones a high quality multi vitamin and omega 3 fatty acis supplement. You are suffering hormonal issues that you do not have too.

You are still very early post op. A hysterectomy is major surgery. During a hysterectomy the blood supply to the ovaries is cut off so it's not unusual for them to take some time to wake back up. IMHO it may be a bit early to assume that the ovaries are not going to work and to begin hrt. I had my ovaries removed and started hrt immediately, I still had to deal with hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats, etc. It takes the body some time to adjust and recover.

Do give your doctor a call and get his/her advice.

Like the others have said, you are very early in your recovery. Please have patience and give your body a chance to heal. I also had the same symptoms you are describing and I have both ovaries. It took about three months for them to get back up to speed. Also, please don't overlook the fact that it takes some drugs used for anesthesia a long time to work their way out of the body. I hope you get some rest and get to feeling better.

I am 31 yrs old and just had my cervix and uterus out. I know what you're going through. They told me I needed a hyst. and 2 weeks later, it was out. I think being so young makes me feel a bit strange about it. I was in shock and in tears for the first couple of weeks. I knew I was don't having kids (my husband had even had a vasectomy) but I think the age thing was hard.
As far as the hot flashes, I had them too, even with both ovaries remaining. I am 4 wks today and have not had one all week. I drank Anise tea, which helps promote healthy ovaries and drank soy milk and ate tofu for estrogen. I cut out meat, which has hormones, and went on an all natural diet. I don't know if that is what helped but I feel MUCH better this week.

Thankyou so much everyone for your responses to my post! It is so wonderful to hear from others who are truly aware of what this is all about! You all are a blessing!!! As for taking it easy...I learned my lesson..I have been up and doing to much, and ended up going back to the hospital for 2 days with alot of bleeding. For anyone else wondering about recovery...don't think it is different for everyone!! Take your time. I felt alright on the outside, and assumed that I could deal with the hormonal changes if I just got up and got back to normal ... I was so wrong!! Thankyou again for all of your support!!

22 days post op...hanging in there!!