the ovary question

My DR has said he's leaving my ovaries, but I'm starting to wonder about whether to have them removed. I'm 45 y.o.

I get migraines that I know are from hormones. I'm **** near homicidal when I'm PMSing, and my DH is definitely going to heaven when he dies for putting up with me. I'm not worried about my sex drive, since I already lost that a couple of years ago. Any change to that could only be an improvement. So, anyway, I keep thinking that my current hormone levels do not make me feel good most of the time.

So, will having the hyst calm my ovaries down and give me more normal hormone levels? Or would I be better off having them removed and going with HRT? My pre-op appt is next week and I know it's my last chance to bring this up. Any advice would be appreciated.

Apparently,there is alot written about when ovaries should be removed, some say after age 45. Also, I have read that if they are not removed, (sorry, don't know another way to put it), they will bottom out faster if they are left after a hysterectomy. MIne are both gone now, but I was already experiencing peri menopausal symtoms before surgery, and my ovaries were full of cysts anyway, so they were coming out whether I wanted them to or not. And it is a great feeling not to have those nasty cysts rupturing anymore. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

Hi Voo-

I am 45 too. I have had at least 1 documented ovarian cyst and I truly believe I have had more than that. For me I have decided to have them taken out. The pain from cysts is not fun. My Dr was very supportive of this decision. If there was some way to be able to monitor them better I may have different thoughts. I am still battling with the hormone decision. Thank goodness that is even an option. Seems like the closer to surgery the more questions and confused I get!

I would definitely bring it up with your doctor. IMHO

I went back and forth on this question, to leave or not to leave. I have on occasion had cysts and sometimes pain on one side when I ovulate, but I haven't had anything to indicate I might be at a higher risk of cancer or a lot of problems with them. If I did, I would probably go ahead and remove them. My doc said if I asked him, he'd say leave them, but it was up to me, but said since I'm 48, it's a reasonable choice if I did have them removed. So, I've done a lot of research, and coupled with what my doc told on the number of cases of ovarian cancer, I have decided that if they are healthy looking when he does the surgery, to leave them. Doc told me that the rate of surgery later to remove ovaries is about 8%, not as high as I thought. I also found articles online that say a woman who has a hyst, but does not remove the ovaries still reduces the chances of ovarian cancer by 40% compared to those who don't have a hyst. Significant to me are the studies that show the younger a woman is when having them removed, the higher the risk of heart disease. This struck a chord with me because my family history contains more heart disease than it does cancer, especially estrogen enhanced cancers. So, that's what has affected my decision, but my suggestion is a thorough talk with the doc on all the facts, and then deciding on what's going to give you the best quality of life now and in the future.

Hi Voo,

I had my LSH 8/4/8 and kept my ovaries. I have had some cyst pain over the years, but I'm hoping it won't be so bad now. I am experiencing either ovarian shut down or just the 'after surgery' shock as I'm having hot flashes and night sweats. BUT, I already had some of the hot stuff before anyway. I'm still glad that I kept my ovaries so I hope to have some trivial hormones floating around to keep me going.

I would definitely talk the mood issues over with your dr. There are other things out there to help level things out. I have depression but also had moody periods. My depression meds are helping with the moods and I wouldn't give up the meds for nothing! I take wellbutrin and lexapro. Wellbutrin is the best for me. I'm not pushing meds, but it may be a viable option for you as well.

I wish you all the best!

Renegade

This question was easy for me. My mom and grandmother both died of ovarian cancer in their 50s. Uh, take 'em out! But, I realize that the decision is not that easy sometimes. The dr. is the one that you've told all your information to and is probably the best person to help you decide. My right ovary had a suspicious spot on it. My dr. called a gyno/oncologist to double check her recommendation and he said he concurred and I took their advice. Turns out, the spot was a complex cyst and there was no cancer. Just something to think about...what if you leave them and go through all this surgery, then several years down the road your ovaries start giving you problems. I wouldn't want to go through all that again. Just my personal opinion. I am 39 and my dr. has me on low dose hormones and I'm feeling pretty well at this point.

I had my second ovary out almost 5 weeks ago instead of a hysterectomy to deal with my endo, they excised the endo, resected the cul de sac and separated the bowel from my cervix. Prior to this I had an ovary with cyst removed and endo cleaned up and threw in an ablation for fun. While the ablation was sucessful, the pain was still bad every month and I knew that if I kept my remaining ovary I would still go through the monthly pain, headaches and bowel issues so for me making that decision and was a lot less drastic then the thought of a hysterecomy, you really need to weigh the pros and cons, risks and rewards. I am very happy with my decision, good luck with yours.

All I can do is share my own experience with you. I know this isn't an easy question, and it wasn't an easy one for me, either.

I elected to retain my ovaries if they looked healthy. The doctor said that I should still have at least 10 years of strong ovarian function (I was 44 when I had my surgery) so it was a good decision to retain them if I could.

My ovaries looked good, so they stayed. As of now, they are still working.

Now, here's something to consider: I also felt I had very bad PMS before my surgery. But since my hysterectomy, my PMS symptoms are considerably milder! I still get a bit of breast tenderness, but the mood swings, water retention and food cravings are almost non-existent now.

Also consider the fact that ovaries do more than produce estrogen and progesterone. They are part of a delicate and well-designed system to help keep the body's chemistry in balance. There's really no way to duplicate what the ovaries do. Additionally, surgical menopause is almost always much more severe than natural menopause (which some women barely notice! I'm hoping to be in that category....) and sometimes hormone balance is never achieved. That's not to say it doesn't happen -- in fact, many (((sisters))) do great on hormone therapy. But it's not guraranteed by a longshot.

And finally, it's important to understand that your ovaries don't actually stop producing hormones when you reach menopause -- they only produce those hormones at reduced rates. So it's a fallacy to think that once you're done having children (or when you have your uterus removed) that you may as well have your ovaries removed, too. Simply put, they do more than produce eggs to be fertilized.

This having been said, it's really important to read all you can and to discuss the ramifications of keeping and removing your ovaries with your health team.

Whatever road you choose, there will be plusses and minuses to consider. We're here for you, no matter what you decide.

Thanks for everyone's advice.
I'm still really confused.

Here's what I've been going through for a couple of years--
no sex drive (not enough testerone?)
this is gross but extra facial hair (too much testerone? what the heck?)
terrible PMS (who knows?)
frequent migraines (too little estrogen?)
I don't know what's going on with my hormones, but I suspect that during each part of my cycle, I'm producing too much of either.

I have no living female relatives besides my mother and one aunt. My mother and grandmother both had hyst's, my mother at the exact same age as me, and my grandmother in her 30s. So, I have nothing to gauge when menopause would take place for me. This crap could carry one for another 10 years for all I know! My mother did go through surgical menopause and didn't have any problems with that. She was never offered HRT! Recently, (at age 72) she decided to go on bio-identical hormones and has lost weight and looks healthier.

So, I'm so torn.
If I leave my ovaries in because they look healthy, and the above symptoms continue - I don't think I could get surgery approved down the road to remove them.
If I take them out, there's not guarantee that HRT will solve my problems. I could be trading one problem for an even worse problem. I never did well on BCPs, except the high dose estrogen ones. (That was 25 years ago! I don't think they even make a BCP with estrogen dosages that high anymore.)

My DR wants to leave them in, but I have yet to really discuss the above with him in depth.
Argh! These decisions can drive you crazy! Debated ablation vs IUD vs hyst for 2 years, then cervix, then bladder sling. Finally figured all that out and now this.

Love to hear from more people like me.

did you ask your dr why he/she wanted to leave the ovaries? Perhaps there was a good reason...and have you told the dr. about the facial hair /pms stuff....

I'm 50 and opted to keep one ovary..my right one gave me fits every month and I was not in menopause yet but osteo IS a problem in our family and I wanted an ovary to at least help the old bones as long as possible....

... if you trust the dr really and truly go over the pros and cons...I had the utmost faith in my dr and she allowed me to choose based on facts she gave me...

Best wishes in your decision... not an easy one... however, its good to know we have choices in a situation we've been placed in where there are NOT alot of choices...