TAH: Possitive Thinking?

The countdown has begun five days and counting. I go in on thurs. Aug 13 for TAH BSO. I have five fibriods and andomyisis. I have read so much on this site it has been very helpful to know what is coming my way. I am wondering about HRT. I am not the type to take pills....I hate them. Is there a way just to muddle thru after the hyster with all the hot flashes and mood swings? I have a very possitive attitude and I honestly feel like I can do this without the use of pills. What type of health risk if any would that pose? I have also read about taking vitiamin D and St. Johns Wart. I know you have to be careful of the amount of D. I know that defeats the purpose of no meds but would rather do it natural or by vitiamins if possible. Im not really worried about the vaginal dryness as I have that problem already along with hot flashes and my moods the last two months have been insane but I am dealing with it by reminding myself eveything is ok. I will be 45 in sept so I asume I am starting menopause anyway. Just wondering about the medical side of not taking HRT. My Ob doesnt really say much about it other then we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Thanks in advance for the help!

I kept one ovary so i should have a natural menopause.... However, my Mom and 3 of her sisters had a complete hysterectomy (ovary removal) at around 40 and she never took HRT and is now in her 70's and healthy and active .. and her sisters are not on HRT and relatively healthy too. One of her sisters started out on HRT and then stopped taking it. They did experience some mood swings and hot flashes in the beginning...as i remember... but I think that is relatively positive story of not taking HRT...

Good luck with your surgery...

Karen

I was 54 and menopausal at the time of my hyst. I still had some pretty unpleasant menopausal symptoms until my dr and I found the right dosage of hrt ( estrogen only ). We're all different and react differently, so there's not a "one fits all " answer. I think that reading, researching and asking your dr to discuss it ahead of time might be the best for you. That way you can have a plan of action and maybe avoid some problems. My dr said that I could take the hrt as long as I needed. I'm taking it still, but a much lower dosage. Will probably discontinue it in another year or so. He said that it could help me with lessening the chance of bone loss and heart health. My testing this year was all good

Best wishes.

I haven't had my hyster yet (I get my surgery date tomorrow) so I can't say as someone who hasn't been through hyster yet, but have you looked into asking your doctor (or finding a naturopath who can do hormonal testing) about prescribing you bio-identical hormones/creams? I *personally* don't advocate "suffering" or trying to "tough it out" when there are so many natural options. Of course, this is JMO.

I hope you get some relief and start to feel fantastic!