Estrogen patch, etc.

Hi ladies: Well I never thought I would be writing about this subject, but...I guess it's my turn for a hysterectomy and I have to admit - I'm kind of scared!. My periods have always been pretty easy and very regular up until a year ago when bleeding got a little heavier and cramps got real bad. Then my period before last - whoa - talk abut a gusher! I bled like crazy - uncontrollable for a couple of hours and severe cramp. Then a few days later when bleeding should be dying down it happened again - gusher (hahaha - how else do I explain). Of course I called my doctor, went in for an ultra sound and he found 2 nice big old fibroids having a good old time hanging on my uterus. About 12 years ago I had 3 big ones removed. I had no symtoms but I was married then and trying to get pregnant and they were found and removed. But now they are growing back and causing problems. My doctor wants to remove everything (ovaries and cervix). I am a young 49 year old single woman who does not plan on having anymore puppies but the instant menopause is one of my concerns. I get migraines which are related to hormones so maybe without the ovaries I won't get them anymore. The women in my family all got migraines and they stopped after menopause. My doctor said he is going to put a estrogen patch on me. Is there anyone who has experience with this? I am scheduled for surgery on April 14th. I would just like to know what to expect although I know everyone is different. This is all so new for me my head is swimming with questions. I just recently started my period and it is worse than ever so I think surgery is the only way. I feel blessed for this website!!!
Thank you for listening

Hi Diane,

I had TAH/BSO at 45 (6 months ago) and it was the best decision I could have made. I no longer have the bleeding, pain and migraines that I used to. I'm on Vivelle-dot 0.05 and it works great for me. I've had 2 migraines since surgery...one for about 30 minutes and one for almost 2 hours.....but when I remembered to change my patch (duh) it went away

The best thing you can do is read read read and ask a lot of questions...both here and at your doctor's office. Knowledge will make you able to make informed decisions.

Good luck to you!!
s
Cat

Hello Dianekf,

I had a TAH-BSO (everything out) on 1/20/04. I'm 48 and also had migraines. I didn't want the symptoms of menopause after surgery, but I was afraid of using HRT because of the migraines. I discussed my fear of getting migraines with using HRT with my Dr. and she suggested trying the Climara .1mg patch. I have to say, so far so good! My moods are even, no night sweats or hot flashes and so far no migraines.

Did you discuss your migraines with your Dr.? My Dr. told me that the patch is a good alternative for those of us that suffer from migraines. Supposedly, the patch delivers a more constant level of estrogen.

I put off my surgery for a couple of years. Not only was I scared of the actual surgery, but I was scared of how I would feel afterwards. I had fibroids and my bleeding was controlling my life. I was having ultrasounds and uterine biopsies every 6 months to "watch" what was going on. The ultrasound in June showed one the fibroids was about 5cm. In December the ultrasound showed the fibroid had doubled in size. Plus, I had several others that had begun to grow and the bleeding was almost non stop.

I can say now, I wish I hadn't waited to have the surgery. I'm almost 10 weeks post op and doing great. I'm thankful I had a good recovery and no complications from the surgery. One thing to remember is to take it easy after surgery. Follow your Dr.'s orders and give yourself permission to rest and heal properly.

You stated that your head was swimming with questions. Every time I thought of a question I would write it down. Then, I went over the list with my Dr. which helped a great deal. This site is a wonderful place to get information and support. I don't know how I would have made it through without this place!

Let us know how you're doing and we'll see you on the post-op side real soon.

Best wishes and good luck!

Sharron

Thanks Cat for your encouragement. I am hoping the estrogen patch will work well for me. I will not hesitate to tell my dr to adjust if it does not.