Surgical Menopause...?

I had a LH/BSO 18 days ago and haven't had any signs of menopause. I'm not complaining, but wondering when symptoms kick in after surgery, especially the hot flashes, which I am dreading. Had my 2 week check, but the doctor didn't mention HRT and I forgot to ask.

Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

everyone is different. I had my surgery 2/24 and aside from some mood swings I haven't had any menopause symptoms.

my mother had a natural menopause, and tells me she NEVER had hot flashes or night sweats or any physical symptoms.

Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since my TAH/BSO. I will be 50 in May and had very few complaints prior to my surgery. My periods were still pretty regular and I only had an occasional hot flash while sleeping. I was really afraid of what would happen after surgery. A neighbor said she had hot flashes every half hour on the day after surgery. However, my doctor said that would be highly unlikely as the estrogen would take a while to run out. She suggested I wait and see how I react to surgical menopause.

So far so good. I noticed a change at about 12 days after surgery. I have a few more hot flashes while sleeping now with no sweating yet. I wear a cotton, sleeveless nightgown with layers of blankets over me. I just flip them off and on as needed. I also have a super quiet fan that I keep on my night table. If I get really hot, I just switch it on. It has a 60 min. timer on it in case I fall asleep before turning it off. I got it from Sharper Image. Check out their E-bay store for reconditioned ones. It was 1/2 the price of new.

I asked my doctor why I get hot flashes at night and not in the daytime. She said it was related to cortisol level changes. She suggests that her patients not sleep on thick pillow top beds or on feather beds as they seem to absorb the heat. We have a memory foam pad that is supposed to adjust with your temperature. So far no complaints.

We will all have different complaints based on our age and genes. Hope things go smoothly for you.

Hi. I am 3 mos. post TAH/BSO, I started getting hot flashes about 6 weeks after surgery. I get about 3-4 a night which wake me up and I need to fan myself and take covers off. I also get about 3or 4 during the day. I am considering going on HRT, especially for the night sweats that wake me up.

I'm 7 weeks in and have been taking HRT since day 4; no menopausal symptoms yet except feeling really down on the odd day (but this could just be a reaction to the surgery). doc says I need the HRT to protect my bones even if I don't have any symptoms until I'm 50.
anna

After my surgery, my Dr. put a patch on, but it came off after a few days. In fact, I didn't notice it had come of right away, and when I saw my Dr., I told her we could skip HRT altogether because I wasn't having any symptoms. At or about 2 months post-op, though, I started having hot flashes and night sweats. They aren't really a big deal, for the most part. If they wake me up, I just shed some covers and go back to sleep. Occasionally I'll have a hot flash in the middle of something important, but I can usually get through anyway. A couple times, when I went bright red while I was lecturing, I just told my adult students, "Excuse me....power surge...." and kept on. They got a chuckle, and I was just fine after a couple minutes.

Grace & peace,

Terry

I had an LAVH and started experiencing bad sweats and hot flashes and bladder prob. after about 3 weeks after the surgery. At 6 wks. I went on Estratest-HS (a 1/2 strength version of Estratest) and have felt so much better. My quality of life was really bad with the removal of my ovaries so that's why I decided to go with the hormone therapy. It is not something I want to take for yrs. and yrs., but it has definitely helped me and I have low risk factors for HRT.

Hopefully, Sunshine 50, all will go A-ok for you!

Hi all

I keep having hot flushes. About 5 times a day and they are so embarrasing. I was talking to someone the other day and I could feel the colour of me changing, so said, "tell me, can you see me going red?"and she said yes. I was told this wouldnt happen yet, as I kept both ovaries.

Hubby hates me slapping on heaps of makeup to cover up the redness, so I look like a lobster half the time and have started going on a sunbed 5 times a week as when I am tanned i dont look quite so red.

I'm 46. i'll be 3 weeks post op tomorrow, LAVH/BSO. and I have had warm flushes and night sweats since day one. I'm not a thin person, so this is surprising, since i heard the fat stores estrogen, etc.

but probably 5-6 times i day i get all warm and "peppery" feeling...luckily they don't last long. At night probably once or twice a night I wake up all hot and only my head/neck sweating....but i throw off the covers and manage to fall back asleep once i cool off.

i've noticed my skin is dryer.....and my eyes are dryer when i wake up in the morning...does this have anything to do with it? No HRT for me since I had breast cancer.

hugs,
anush

Thank-you for all your feedback ! I've read taking 1 Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in warm water daily will aleviate hot flashes. I have some on hand, "just in case". If anyone has tried this, please let me know if it works.