Im new and have so many questions...

Im new to the site and have several questions. I am scheduled for a TVH on September 27 and have the option to have both ovaries removed. My doctor says it is my decision but to have them out will eliminate the chance of ovarian cancer. He states that I will have to go on hormone replacement if I do. I am 41 and will go through menopause soon anyway so am leaning toward removal of both ovaries. My concerns are as follows:

1. Will I lose my sex drive???
2. Will I lose all testosterone (made by ovaries) and sense of well being?
3. Will I have erratic mood swings???
4. what kind of hormone replacements are you all taking and what are the side effects?
5. Is anyone taking testosterone, androgen, or estrogen???
What are side effects??
6. How long for bed rest?? How long until sexual relations excluding intercourse.
Thank-you all for your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Jennifer,

Welcome to Hyster Sisters! I'm so glad you found us!

A lot of answers are available on the home page --- click on the Princess at the top left of the page and go down to the drop down menu for Ladies in Waiting. There's tons of good info there!

As to your questions:

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1. Will I lose my sex drive???
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I didn't --- I'm 45 and kept mine because in my family I'd have 5 years before menopause and there's no family history of ovarian cancer. But this is a HUGE issue which you need to research to decide the best decision for you. Use the search button at the top right of the page and type "keep" AND "ovaries"

Quote:

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2. Will I lose all testosterone (made by ovaries) and sense of well being?
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Again, research....there's a lot of info on the home page (click on Princess at the top left of the page) and go down to Hormone Jungle drop down menu.

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Quote:

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3. Will I have erratic mood swings???
4. what kind of hormone replacements are you all taking and what are the side effects?
5. Is anyone taking testosterone, androgen, or estrogen???
What are side effects??
____________________________________________________

Again, all good questions and you should read the drop down info, then post questions in the Hormone Jungle.

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Quote:

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6. How long for bed rest?? How long until sexual relations excluding intercourse.

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I didn't have "bed rest", but I lived in my recliner for the first two weeks, taking short walks around the house (no stairs), drank a TON of water, and snoozed a lot (combination of pain meds and anesthesia still in system).

Please look around the site --- there's a wealth of information here and come back and post more questions!

s

Hi Jennifer

It is a personal decision even tho it is best to keep your ovaries if they are healthy.

I did not have a choice with regarding my right ovary and tube being removed and although my left one looked healthy, it had adhesions pulling it up in the wrong spot. I opted to have that out too. In my case, I didnt want the chance of anything going wrong in the future and on top of all that, I am adopted and have no medical records to go on to see if anything may be hereditary. My doctor agreed with my decision.
Your situation is different than mine tho.
Please discuss your options further with your doctor to see what would be best for you.

Now to answer your questions~

As far as sex drive goes, I did not lose mine. Keep in mind that everyone is different here and it depends on your lifestyle too. (ie. stress, illness, etc)
I think I feel better now that my pain is gone, mentally. You will still be you, even better after your surgery. Your doctor can help you stay well, mentally and physically as long as you tell them how you really feel.

I was started on Climara right in the castle after surgery until they sent me home with Premarin. That I didnt get along with too well so i was switched to Vivelle Dot 0.1mg patch that you change twice a week. I LOVE it! Been on it for almost 4 months now. No menopause symptoms at all unless i wait too long to change it, then I feel warmer than usual for a little while till the fresh patch kicks in. Vivelle is a bio-identical estrogen...its estradiol.
A good place here about HRT is the Hormone Jungle.
https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/for...p?s=&forumid=5
As you can see by my signature, I had a TAH/BSO. I was told by my doc to take is very easy for for 6-8 weeks. Was not cleared for relations with dh till 4-5 weeks. Still tender then but lots better now. You can "play around" but remember, nothing in the vagina till doc says its ok.

As far as mood swings go, I was much worse before my surgery. I think it was due to alot of stress in my life at the time and me not feeling well many days. Now, my life is somewhat less stressful and I feel 1000% better than I have since I was 17. If i only had known or was willing and ready to face things, i would have gotten myself cared for long before now. I am still me, just new and improved! LOL
Keep reading and learning here, lots of great info and experiences....knowledge is power!
Hope this helps! It will all be ok. We are here for you anytime.

I agonized over whether I should keep or have the ovaries removed. Read my posts and you will see how crazy I got over it. I had the surgery on Sept. 10th and ended up keeping them. Its just a decision I finally came too and was glad I did. My family gets menopause around age 53. That was good enough for me to keep them in. With all the controversy over HRT I just decided that I didnt want to deal with surgery PLUS hormonal junk too. You just wouldnt believe the agonly I went thru over making the decision. Once you make it, you will feel alot better. I read EVERYTHING I could on this web site and it helped alot. I must have read every post there was about ovaries. All the Drs. will tell you to take them out. I came from the "if it aint broke, dont fix it" philosophy. Its a very personal decision. I was the queen of posting about this subject, hehe. Good luck!!
Sue
P.S. I am really feeling good post op.