8 days away and feeling the anxiety!

Hi Full-of-Hope (my fellow 12/4 sister)!

Your dilemma is one of the toughest there is. I faced it myself. The driving force behind my need for a hyst is enlarged uterus, fibroids and abnormal bleeding. However, I also have had cysts on both ovaries in the past. I've been on hormones for the better part of the past two years to shrink the cysts, but they still occasionally return even when on hormones. I really, really wanted to keep the ovaries. I'm 41 and didn't want to commit to several years of HRT. However, the doc pointed out that simply removing the uterus won't necessarily stop the ovaries from developing cysts, (and boy can they be painful). He predicted that if I chose to leave the ovaries, I'd be back to have them removed in 1-2 years after the hyst. He also said that statistically, women who've had a long history of ovarian cysts are in a higher risk category for ovarian cancer.

Without a uterus, we really only need estrogen replacement, (not the combo HRT that's received so much bad press recently). I know that even so, there are risks involved, but I'm hoping with proper monitoring and adjusting, we'll get it so that it mimics my body now. (I believe Climara is a natural--not synthetic estrogen supplement). I'm going to ask him about that one.

Hang in there girl! I know it's scary. I'm more frightened about the aftermath of the ovary removal than of the hysterectomy itself. Nonetheless, I'm going for the "whole enchilada" so to speak! Good luck in your decision and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thank you all so much, i read your posts and you always have such positive things to say!
Jayjay, you were saying that we wont have to take hrt, just estrogen...I was thinking that hrt was estrogen, i am so confused!!
Anyway, i dont have a history of cysts that i know of, i guess i would know since you say they are painful. The only thing before these fibroids (and it could have been a fibroid, i dont know) that i can remember is about 4 years ago something happened to me at work, i became nauseas and clammy and pain in my lower abdomen, i was doubled over, and felt like i was gonna faint, i went to the bathroom and layed down on the cool floor! I called my gyn and she said it sounded like a cyst had ruptured, to just lay down, i did and a couple of hours later was fine. So i dont know what they will find when they get in there. All this worry over my ovaries and probably for nothing, she will probably have to take them anyway!
Whew ....sorry for rambling!!

Hi FullofHope.

I don't want to mislead anyone. I'm the first to admit that I didn't pay too much attention to the HRT issue until I found out that I'd be having a hyst. My concern with the Depo Provera, BC pills, Ortho Evra patch, etc. (all things that I've used over the past 2 years), is that they have progesterone in them. The reason this concerns me is that progesterone is associated with cardiovascular problems like strokes, blood clots, etc. My mom died at age 49 of cardio-related problems so I've always been concerned in this regard.

I told the doc that I wanted to keep the ovaries so I wouldn't have to continue taking progesterone-related meds. He said that in "regular HRT" (the kind you take when you go through non-surgical menopause), it's a combo of estrogen and progesterone. They put progesterone in it to prevent the uterine wall from thickening and leaving the woman prone to endometrial cancer, (since there are no more periods to slough off the lining). He said that since there is no uterus after a hyst, post-hyst patients generally only need to take an estrogen supplement. Since our ovaries are already making estrogen, he said that as long as the level of the "ERT" is regulated, there is no greater risk for breast cancers, etc. than if we still had the ovaries.

I know it's confusing, (at least to me). When I found out that my HRT would not require progesterone, I was elated as my mom's situation has always concerned me.

I'm sorry this is so long, and I can't even guarantee its accuracy. Just going by what I heard from the doc and what I've read on the internet. Hope it helps. Maybe some of the ladies who've been on it already can offer more assistance.

well that makes me feel better, knowing that i can just take EST and not have to take HRT. From what i've read here, i would like to try the climara or vivelle dot, are they just estrogen?

Jay-Jay, your last post did more to answer my ERT question than anything that I've read so far! I'm a few days behind you and Full of Hope - having TAH on 12/9, and my pre-op is on Wednesday. ERT will be one of the topics. Thanks for the explanation - it was great! Good luck and speedy recoveries to you two!

Miko,

I'm glad I was able to help. However, I still encourage you to review these issues with your doc as maybe he/she takes a different approach. Once my doc explained it to me, it was like "voila...it all makes sense now"!

Thanks for the nice thoughts. Best wishes to you too

Thanks everyone...I really appreciate your advice, and I know I am not the only one facing this decision, my heart goes everyone on this site, because we are all here for support, whether giving or receiving!
5 more days to the other side!