LAVH: Worried :-( about losing Ovaries & Surgical Meno. Can those who had a LAVH weigh in to share your experience?

I am 41 years old scheduled to have a LAVH Hysterectomy on December 6th, 2016 due to Adenomyosis and Severe Anemia . My doctor says that if my ovaries are healthy she will leave them, and if not she will take them. I am worrying daily about her taking them and totally reconsidering surgery. I mean what will things be like such as what will my sex drive be like, will it throw me into menopause etc. Could anyone who has had this done tell me some of the things you have experienced and would you do the LAVH again? THANK YOU

I can totally relate!!!! I will be hopefully having my surgery sometime in the month of October, still trying to get it scheduled, insurance approval etc.

I can totally understand the ovary fears. I myself have cysts on both of mine. I'm 49 years old, not having any children, and I'm more concerned that the cysts WILL most likely come back. I have also read that in SOME cases when you keep the ovaries they CAN go into shock from the surgery and NEVER work again!!

I really don't want to keep something that COULD be healthy, has cysts on them, my biggest fear is getting ovarian cancer after the fact, and keeping them for nothing, IF they should never work again. Our body from what I've read can produce estrogen from other places in our bodies. Though I am not for just taking things out, in this case will ALL my reproductive issues, I'm going to hope the remove mine.

I have a list of major things going on with each and every part of my system down there. I can't take the pain and pressure much longer and pray they get this scheduled soon as they can.

I will keep you in my prayers, as I know the fears you have!! In the end it will be alright!!! Keep your faith and trust GOD Hugs!!

Hi saw2sw1 to HysterSisters!

I am so glad you found this site!

If your doctor takes your ovaries, you will be dumped into surgical menopause.

I was rudely dumped into surgical menopause at age 46 with my surgery. I had a TAH BSO - so I lost my uterus, cervix, ovaries and tubes in an open abdominal surgery. I did not have a choice with my surgery. For me, surgical menopause was MISERABLE. I went on HRT and it gave me my life back. But, it is not the same as my own hormones. I would have kept my ovaries if I could have.

Sex after surgery is different for everyone - some say it is better, some say worse and everywhere in between. For me, sex feels different. My orgasms are not as intense - I miss the muscle contraction of my uterus. But, they are more frequent. We have to use lubricant which frustrates me. My libido is relatively low and not what is was before surgery.

Here are some articles that may provide information.
Intimacy after Hysterectomy | Better or Worse?
10 Concerns about Intimacy after Hysterectomy

Talk to your doctor about your concerns.

I didn't have an LAVH, so I can't answer your question on that, but I can answer your question about keeping your ovaries. I kept mine because they were perfectly healthy, and my surgeon and I agreed that the benefits of their continued hormone production outweighed the risks; I think your concerns about surgical menopause are a strong argument in favour of keeping them. I also think that most surgeons would want to leave them in unless there's a clear-cut reason for removing them, so I would recommend speaking to your surgeon, and asking under what circumstances would he remove them, and what are the chances of that happening. I would also recommend asking about having your Fallopian tubes removed, as was done in my case, because recent studies suggest that ovarian cancer often starts there. Best wishes for whatever happens!

Similar to Tiger_Eye I would suggest looking into having your tubes removed if you keep your ovaries. Following my consultations and reading, I decided to ask that the surgeon keep mine if the looked healthy or take one or both if he suspected it was really needed. This stepwise approach was comfortable for me and I woke up with both ovaries still intact.

The plan was always to take my tubes. I understand that keeping my ovaries and cervix means that I can still have issues in the future but I am most happy with my decisions.