Need you HONEST opinion about life without ovaries

I had a LAVH in March of last year (2010) due to heavy periods and unrelenting pain. When the Dr. did the surgery he said he found "a belly full" of endometriosis. I had a large cyst on my right ovary so when the surgery was done I knew that ovary would be removed. I was adamant that if there was anyway possible I wanted to keep my left ovary. I was 36 at the time and not ready for menopause.

So, I was able to keep my left ovary. Well, now it has started to give me problems. About 3 weeks ago I had some of the most horrible pain I have ever experienced. I'm talking labor-like pain. I toughed it out through the night and when I got to the Dr. the next day the ultrasound showed a lot of fluid in my abdomen. The doctor said a cyst had ruptured. Now, 3 weeks later I'm still in almost continual pain. It's not bad enough to keep me out of work, but it's unrelenting and getting to be quite old. I go back to the doctor in a few days for a repeat ultrasound.

I'm afraid that maybe all this pain is from endo. And, frankly, I don't know what I should do about it. I am 37 and my husband is 30. I am REALLY not ready for menopause.

Let me be honest....I want to know what having both ovaries removed does to your sex life. Of course, right now with all my pain, I don't have a sex life. But, I'm concerned about desire and lubrication after having my ovary removed. I will not be able to take hormone replacement due to a previous blood clot. So, I will be in full force menopause.

Want to hear your honest experiences with sex after having both ovaries removed. I want to be as informed as I can when I go for my next appointment. The doctor really doesn't want to take my ovary either, but that might be one of the options put on the table. Don't know if I want to have another lap to remove endo knowing it's just going to come right back.

Any thoughts and input would be GREATLY appreciated.

I'm older than you but I had everything removed with my surgery last year. I feel for you with the cyst pain. It's horrible.

My doctor told me to take a soy supplement to help with any dryness. I was using estroven (OTC) and adding vitd/calcium to my multi vit since I didn't want to do HRT. That worked great but too many pills to take so I found that One-A-Day makes a vitman for women in menopause and that has worked just as well.

We keep KY available but for the most part do not need anything. Life is good.

Good Luck

I'm 3 weeks post-op via LSH. I'm 34 years old and am still adjusting to surgical menopause. My endocrinologist has me on an estrogen in the morning and progesterone at night. Like you, I had severe endo and a mass on my left (existing) ovary. He removed the uterus & left ovary, but kept the cervix.

He told me estrogen makes the endo grow. So he gave me a shot after surgery to stunt the continued growth of it. I guess we'll see what happens.

My personal thought was if I was having a hyst, I'd want him to remove the left ovary as well. That is one less thing for me to worry about. I have polycystic ovaries anyway, and a history of ovarian cancer in the family. So for my peace of mind, I chose to do it all at once instead of removing the uterus and then removing the ovary later via another surgery. I've already had too many surgeries and I wanted to be DONE

Best of luck with your decision. I know it's not an easy one!!

Hi, I was 50 when I had my TAH-Bso. For me personally the loss of my ovaries was pretty life altering. But that is not true for everyone. As for the sex life, I have found that testosterone (along with an appropriate amount of estrogen) has made all the difference. In many ways, that part of my life is even better than before surgery. Probably my best advice is to find a Dr that is knowledgeable and willing to work closely with you if you develop problems. My own experience is that my regular OB/Gyn (not my surgeon) was only comfortable with estrogen patches and that was it. I had to find a menopause specialist to get the bloodwork and additional hormones. Good luck.

I would pursue every option to keep your ovary...if you are not able to take HRT. I am 53 and feel totally dependent on estrogen. Don't think I'd have any quality of life without.
I know everyone is diiferent, but you are young and there would be no turning back

LSH 3/13/09
BSO 8/27/10