LAVH: Newbie - upcoming hysterectomy 6/30

Hi all!
Scheduled for uterus removal & scope on June 30...second opinion dr. suggested total hysterectomy (shock) (because of my rollercoaster hormonal rides) and doing hrt...idk about that! Diagnosis: Adenomyosis and suspected Endometriosis (all 3 of my sisters and grandmother had it) and uterine prolapse (it's just very low) because of symptoms. I did ablation 4 years ago but still have a light period with increasing dark clotting. The duration of my PMS symptoms have gotten worse over the last few years. I'm tired of being tired and having mood swings & only feeling good 7-10 days out of the month...so many questions to ask! I think I've become so used to living like this I've forgotten what it feels like to feel good. Headaches, diarrhea, back & leg pain, bladder & uterine pain...all bearable but depressing, you know? Oh, and the brain fog...scary. Thanks for reading

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Originally Posted by EmMuff Hi all! Scheduled for uterus removal & scope on June 30...second opinion dr. suggested total hysterectomy (shock) (because of my rollercoaster hormonal rides) and doing hrt...idk about that! Diagnosis: Adenomyosis and suspected Endometriosis (all 3 of my sisters and grandmother had it) and uterine prolapse (it's just very low) because of symptoms. I did ablation 4 years ago but still have a light period with increasing dark clotting. The duration of my PMS symptoms have gotten worse over the last few years. I'm tired of being tired and having mood swings & only feeling good 7-10 days out of the month...so many questions to ask! I think I've become so used to living like this I've forgotten what it feels like to feel good. Headaches, diarrhea, back & leg pain, bladder & uterine pain...all bearable but depressing, you know? Oh, and the brain fog...scary. Thanks for reading

and ! It's interesting that Dr. Second Opinion suggested the total when it sounds like your first doctor suggested leaving the ovaries. Doctors will suggest removing the ovaries if you're at high risk for breast or ovarian cancer, but not so much for other issues - women with endometriosis may consider having them removed, and I'm wondering if that's what Dr. Second is thinking. Still, even with keeping ovaries, there are options for getting hormones back in balance. Have you questioned Dr. First on leaving the ovaries and what might be his thoughts on your wildly fluxing hormones?

I found a pretty good PDF from a laparoscopic surgeon which details things to consider regarding ovaries:

How Do I Decide About Removing Ovaries?

Hope you find peace in whichever route you choose!

Well, my sister did have Breast cancer which was pretty severe and had to have a mastectomy. It had spread into the lymph nodes, she had to do chemo for a long time, the whole Sha-bang. Thank God she's cancer free today. She did a lot of hormone stuff and eventually invetro to finally get pregnant, so idk if that may have contributed to getting cancer. My first cousin had breast cancer also. (Cancer-free now thank God) My great - grandmother died from cervical cancer ( which was about 200 years ago, so...). He did comment that I would never have to worry about any cancer of the female organs if I removed everything. I also know friends who had to go back & remove ovaries later, so that may have been his reasoning also. My pre-op appt with my obgyn is next week so we'll discuss second opinion and I trust his judgement. It's the mood swings that I hate the most. I want to be level, but I don't know how well the hrt will work for me. I just want to be level!! The headaches, diahrrea, fatigue, mental fog, mood swings...I hate it. I could live with the bladder & uterine pain as its not bad. So I'm anxious to discuss all of this with my obgyn. My progesterone is low, I don't think my hormones are severely off but I think combined with the other issues it affects me. I don't want a period anymore. But I'm thinking I may keep the ovaries. What would you do if it were you? Thanks!!

Also, I'm mildly Bipolar with some tendencies of OCD, so maybe slight hormone changes affect me more that they would affect an average person. I have 5 children (from ages 16 to 5 year old (twins)) and two of them are highly functioning autistic & ADD kiddos and my oldest is ADD. My parents are deceased, and although I have help, I'm a stay at home mom and let's just say life is stressful. That probably contributes to how I'm affected each month. Lets just say I work hard at keeping it all together & put lots of effort into getting my children the help they need to thrive. So that one day, they WILL ALL be able to live on their own & be fully independent

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Originally Posted by EmMuff Well, my sister did have Breast cancer which was pretty severe and had to have a mastectomy. It had spread into the lymph nodes, she had to do chemo for a long time, the whole Sha-bang. Thank God she's cancer free today. She did a lot of hormone stuff and eventually invetro to finally get pregnant, so idk if that may have contributed to getting cancer. My first cousin had breast cancer also. (Cancer-free now thank God) My great - grandmother died from cervical cancer ( which was about 200 years ago, so...). He did comment that I would never have to worry about any cancer of the female organs if I removed everything. I also know friends who had to go back & remove ovaries later, so that may have been his reasoning also. My pre-op appt with my obgyn is next week so we'll discuss second opinion and I trust his judgement. It's the mood swings that I hate the most. I want to be level, but I don't know how well the hrt will work for me. I just want to be level!! The headaches, diahrrea, fatigue, mental fog, mood swings...I hate it. I could live with the bladder & uterine pain as its not bad. So I'm anxious to discuss all of this with my obgyn. My progesterone is low, I don't think my hormones are severely off but I think combined with the other issues it affects me. I don't want a period anymore. But I'm thinking I may keep the ovaries. What would you do if it were you? Thanks!!

I tend to be a "don't do more than necessary" gal when it comes to medicine (let colds and infections run their course), and that holds true with the hysterectomy - when doc said he'd leave my cervix and ovaries unless there were issues, I was all for that. Your family history sheds new light on the recommendation to remove them. There are tests to see if you have the genes or markers making you more susceptible to breast or ovarian cancer. If I were faced with the same, I'd want to have time to have those tests done so I could make an informed decision, rather than simply react to a possibility. If there weren't time to have the tests to make a decision, I'd be more likely to keep my ovaries - for now. It's such a personal decision though, and I could see saying "take 'em away, doc."

I think your OB-GYN's input is going to be valuable to you. Every time you think of something, jot it down! Best wishes to you, and a pre-Princess !

Thanks so much for the input...I think taking as least out as possible is what he'll say and what I think is best also - and that's what my gut instinct has been also.

What a great resource you posted...thank you so much this is a very, very helpful article. I'm reading over it and it sheds a great deal of light on the problems I'm having. Very helpful in making my decision...Thank You!!!