Nausea, acid reflux, light headed...not happy.

Hello all,
My TAH BSO was 5/8/12. Surgery & recovery went as expected. Actually I felt pretty good and the only thing really bothering me was the incision site, which I knew would heal given time and some TLC. About 3 weeks later the hot flashes really started, mostly at night. I could tolerate the few I was getting in the daytime but the night ones were really disrupting my sleep and left me feeling pretty tired the next day. So at my 4 week post-op Doc visit I asked for help with this. I was put on 1mg Estrace (Estradiol) once a day. Wow! the hot flashes were gone! I was sleeping and all was well with the world. Things seemed to be getting back to normal. Then around the 3rd week whammo! I started with really heavy brain fog, nausea, light-headedness, complete exhaustion, a never-ending headache and acid reflux. Since the estradiol was the only thing I was taking, (aside from trying to incorporate a multivitamin and calcium and continuing with my probiotic) I thought it might be the culprit. Alot of these things are noted side effects so I tried splitting the dose to take 12 hours apart. I really didn't notice any great difference, and then went down to half a dose/day. Again, symptoms still persisted, and hot flashes were still under control. But truly I think it was making me feel sick and I've discontinued use completely for at least a week now. The 24/7 headache has gone away, and I do have a bit more energy then when I was taking the hormone but the nausea, light-headedness and acid reflux are still hanging around. I even wake up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous. And yes the hot flashes are back but they come and go, while the nausea and other symptoms seem to be sticking around alot longer. I figure, perhaps it may take another couple weeks to shake all this off. After all it was 3 weeks in the making. Anyone else with similar experience? Sure would appreciate your thoughts..thank you very much!!

I'm sorry you feel so miserable I can't offer an explanation or similar experience as I do not take HRT, but just wanted to ask if you are still taking the calcium pills? Those make me extremely nauseous and I can't seem to find a calcium supplement (pills or chewies) that don't make me very nauseous. Just wanted to throw that out there in case that might be contributing to your persistent nausea. Really hope you feel better soonest/and find a doctor who can help you.

Dear Carolinagrl42,
Thanks for your suggestion. I've never experienced problems with calcium before but who's to say that it can't all of a sudden happen? After stopping the estrogen I also stopped taking everything else, except my probiotic, (which I sometimes still forget.) I thought it might be best to start anew with the vitamins and such when all this other stuff passes, which I'm hoping is SOON!

Netti1960:

Had my total hysterectomy with ovaries removed on 6/27/12. I am taking the Estradiol like you were. I am doing great, but I am afraid that something is going to happen, like I feel too good almost. I am 6 weeks out and it is scary! I hope you are better. I have been taking Lexapro for a long time. When I had to do Lupron injections I was about to burst into flames on a daily basis and night sweats were terrible. Dr. put me on Lexapro. He said it would help with the night sweats. It is very hard to get off of though. Just some food for thought.

Love & Hugs

Hi Maxi747,
Sure do hope you fare better than me! Right now I'm just hoping that I can deal with the "power surges"! I've altered my diet to help with the acid reflux, and the nausea is still hanging around. I guess it's just going to take time like everyone says. I can understand your apprehension about "feeling too good". We are all so different, so there's not a one size fits all remedy. It may work perfectly fine for you and I hope it does so don't fret over it- that's just another stress your body and mind doesn't need. Anyways, thanks for your reply and be well!