Upcoming hysterectomy: Ovaries, To keep or not to keep?

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Evelyn.Jones I think this is a hard decision for most women to make. I was 30 when I had my surgery and both of my ovaries looked fine so I decided to keep mine. If I were closer to natural menopause, I probably would have just had them taken out. The main reason most women keep the ovaries is for estrogen production. HOWEVER, let me say, even though I kept both ovaries I have still been put on a low dose of estrogen for 3 months due to my doctor thinking that my ovaries are kind of "in shock" from my surgery so he's trying to "kick start" them back into estrogen production. I hope this helps a little. Good Luck!!

The problem about thinking that if we are close to menopause it is more safe to remove the ovaries is twofold. First, we don't know when we are going to enter menopause. My mother's sister began menopause when she was 51. My mother's mother began menopause when she was 61 (she lost a pregnancy in her 50's). My mother showed no sign of menopause at 56 when she had her hysterectomy. We just don't know when it's coming and none of us is an average. I was 45 when I had my hyster and was showing no signs of menopause. The second problem is that some women experience a Surgical Menopause after Natural Menopause. The ovaries continue to trickle hormones for years after menopause occurs, so some women have menopause all over again after a BSO. Also that trickle of hormones protects bones, heart, mental health, sexual health, etc. Personally, I intend to use HRT the rest of my life so long as my doctor allows. I know a couple women in their 70's how still use low-dose HRT.

I hope your ovaries "wake up" soon. The shock is likely due to the severing of uterine artery which supplies the ovary with most of its blood supply. It can take a while for the ovary(s) to re-establish a proper blood supply to function normally. That time can vary from woman to woman.

Thanks for sharing your story and information with others!

Yes, that's one thing to keep in mind is how the surgery can affect the ovaries by disturbing their blood supply. They can get a little wonky afterwards for a bit.

For four months after my surgery (uterus, tubes, cervix all gone), my pre-menstrual issues were worse (godawful sore chest, black mood, etc.) and my sex drive was high enough to be irritating. After those four months though, things went back to normal, and I now feel perfectly fine -- better, since I no longer have a boulder in my guts. :-)