To keep or not to keep my uterus?

I went to the doctor today for my pre-op. i'm scheduled for my left ovary removal on 12/2. I had my right one out last December. She said she can take my uterus or leave it. What should I do? Do I really need it? If I keep it I would also have to be on progesterone along with estrogen, but if she takes it, then I will only have to be on estrogen. Also her taking it reduces my risk of uterine/cervical cancer. I'm not sure what to do! If she only takes my ovary its less invasive and less time in the hospital. Help!!!!

This is almost funny, because usually the question is: "I'm having a hysterectomy, should I keep my ovaries?" Your question is exactly the opposite! :-)

Okay, as you say, an oophorectomy is less invasive and involves less hospital time than an hysterectomy. Your cervix helps provide support for your pelvic floor. And for some women, their cervix and/or uterus are important parts of their sexual experience that they miss after having hysterectomies.

Those are three reasons you might want to keep your uterus.

On the other hand, if you have it removed, you won't have to be on progesterone, plus you won't have to worry about uterine or cervical cancer.

Question for you: do you have reason to believe that you're at greater than average risk for either of these cancers?

no I don't have reason to believe that i'm at greater risk for these cancers. I was looking for reasons to actually keep it lol because not that I would feel less of a woman, but I guess so. I also thought it kept other organs in place and my doctor said there is really no need to remove it, it's totally up to me. there is an estrogen/progesterone combo patch that I could be on, but when I was pregnant my progesterone was through the roof and it made me very sick, nauseaus all the time.

I'm not a big fan of removing things when "there is really no need."

I would think that if one particular estrogen/progesterone combo doesn't work for you, then your doc could prescribe a different one that worked better? Also, how many years (roughly) would you be on the patch? I.e. how close to natural menopause are you?

im 30 years old, so still a couple decades off from natural menopause. she told me today I would only be on hormone therapy for 2-5 years anyways, she said in the "olden" days they used to keep people on until natural menopause sets in but new literature released suggests otherwise.

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Originally Posted by oobie84 im 30 years old, so still a couple decades off from natural menopause. she told me today I would only be on hormone therapy for 2-5 years anyways, she said in the "olden" days they used to keep people on until natural menopause sets in but new literature released suggests otherwise.

I have a lot of cancer in my family. One of my cousins had her uterus left in because of her age (30yrs). She is now finding it very difficult to balance her HRT and doctors are with hindsight saying that they should've removed her uterus. However because she has had so much surgery this year she can't go through another procedure for awhile. So in the meantime she is living with menopause symptoms.

I have to say that I don't agree with your Dr. re how long you will be on HRT. A dr who understands how surgical menopause works will let you take HRT as long as you need or want to take it. I'm not aware of any new research that would suggest coming off HRT after 2-5 years.

Most literature out there states it's safest to be on HRT for the shortest time possible at the lowest dose. I'm just confused as to keep my uterus or not. I know it's a very important organ as to hold up the pelvic floor and still give me the best sexual experience. I know HRT may be a juggle but I'm leaning more toward keeping my uterus for more reason than not.

I would have given a detaed response, but SurprisedinNB couldn't have said it any better. I agree with every point she made whole heartedly. I don't understand why you would throw a part of your body on the trash can for abdutely no reason. A man would never remove his prostate just to remove the his common cancer risk. Besides, nothing is 100%. For example, you can still get ovarian cancer after you have your ovaries out! I say hang on to your uterus for all the reasons mentioned above. Even though you never see her, she's still part of you.

I can't tell you what to do, that's going to have to be your decision. However as for the hormones, if you do keep your uterus you will have to take progesterone. I have neither a uterus or ovaries and I take HRT and plan to use it as long as I live. Even without a uterus, some of us find progesterone beneficial. It does a whole lot more than tell the uterus when to slough the endometrium, it is also a natural diuretic, promotes sleep, and helps with breast tenderness among other things. See Progesterone Matters Just be aware that some women, for whatever reason do not tolerate some hormones well. As far as I'm aware there is no research to support stopping HRT after 5 years. See HRT Safety Breakthrough.We have many healthy members who have been on HRT for far longer than that. As far as I know, most doctors want us to take them until we would reach natural menopause, and many doctors, like mine, have no problems with our continuing to use them as long as we want/need to. I wish you the best no matter what you decide.