menopause????

If you have your ovaries removed do you go into menopause all at once and if so, how long will it last????

Maybe I should have them out to save me from the possibility of haveing another operation down the line.

Do you have to take hormone replacement?

What would happen if I didn't?

I'm moving soon...June....and won't have any insurance to pay for any type of meds.

Yes, you would be in a surgical menopause. The severity of symptoms does vary between individuals. Most women need estrogen after removal of the ovaries to control hot flashes.

You should question your doctor about the likelihood of needing another operation down the road to remove your ovaries. For most women, the chance is not that high.

I had both ovaries removed in February 2004. I did go into surgical menopause. According to my doctor, surgical menopause can be up to 10 times worse than natural menopause. When I went in for my first post op doctors appointment a little over two weeks after surgery, the doctor told me that 90% of my estrogen was already out of my body. The remaining 10% that was left did not come from my ovaries. Your fat cells and some type of gland (I dont remember the name) produce some estrogen as well. I could stand to lose a few pounds but am not very overweight so my fat cells probably wouldnt be able to produce enoough estrogen to get me through surgical menopause. I therefore went on the v-dot estrogen patch. I started off on a fairly low dose. I am glad I did. Even with the patch I get hot flashes, are more emotional than usual and have trouble sleeping. My doctor wants me to give it a little more time at this dose before considering increasing it. The length of menopause would vary with the individual but my doctor thought for me, I would probably need to be on HRT for 5+ years.

If my ovaries were healthy I would never have had them taken out, but that's just me. Please talk to your doctor about the condition of your ovaries and ask him if he thinks you need to have your ovaries out. Its just my opinion but I think most people who have both ovaries removed will need some form of HRT for a period of time.

I have been wondering the same thing as I had a complete hysterectomy with both ovaries removed in February. I am on a low dose vivelle dot patch( I have already tried several types of patches in 6 weeks) and planning on trying natural HRT from Women's Health America Pharmacy in Madison,WI soon. My Doctor is making the arragements. My symptoms are more emotional than anything. I have also been told sudden surgical menopause is far more intense than natural menopause. I was told that you enter "sudden surgical menopause" first, which I am told and hoping is true that your body eventually adjust to.....as you approach "normal" menopause age and get off HRT you go into physiological menopause. So, we do menopause twice?! Does anybody have the answer to this? Thanks.
40something

The gland that produces estrogen in small quantities is the adrenal gland.

I had my TAH/BSO 12-30-03 and have not taken any HRT and doing fine. I still get hot flashes, but not as bad or as often, but they are still there, nothing I can't handle, no big deal. I had also been in menopause before the surgery, so I knew what to expect and I also take extra calcium, have been for years.

Thanks for posting this question! One of the things on my mind is how to handle hormone hell. I get raging PMS, so I think I will be glad to get regulated, but how long does it take to be "regulated" with HRT? What else is there to look for? ( Vag dryness, etc? ) I'm full of !


July 2004, prophylatic hysterectomy salpingo oophorectomy, (colon cancer, Lynch syndrome) no more PMS or "products", only one menstruating female in the house (my daughter). 40 years old.