HRT after?

Hi all you sisters!
I have a question about HRT. My Gyn has suggested that I go on hrt after my surgery. He said it would be a "shock" to my system to have nothing left. My question is- how many of you were put on hrt and did you leave the castle with them, or is that something that you get started on after your post-op check-up. I guess I'm just worried that I'll be a hateful person and want to hurt people although I do work in a correctional facility...maybe I'll be just what those boys need
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
God bless each one of you and good luck to my fellow LIW

I didn't start any HRT until about 10 days post-op, though I was having hot flushes and night sweats by then. I thought I'd just wait and see how bad it got before I slapped on the patch.

My doctor told me I wouldn't need any HRT for a few weeks because we supposedly have stores of estrogen in our bodies. However, my doctor was full of it because I was having hot flushes while I was still in the hospital. (May be true for some, but not all of us.) I insisted on a prescription before I left.

I don't think there's any way of knowing for sure whether you'll need it right away or not. I was following a thread in the Hormone Jungle where several ladies weren't having ANY symptoms and doing fine without any help.

If you've already decided you're taking HRT, you may as well start right away. If you're not sure, you could wait and see how it goes. Even if you start it right away, you may have to do some adjusting before you come up with the right dosage.

Good luck.

HollyK

My DR slapped the patch on me in the OR, and after I went home I started immediately on HRT. My Dr said that having the ovaries removed would cause a complete meltdown in about 1 week after surgery, and he does not think anyone should go through that. I would not wait until you feel bad to start HRT, its too late then to get relief for awhile. My friend who kept her ovaries had a complete nervous breakdown around the 3 week post op period, because the ovaries go into shock for a few weeks after a hyst. Granted, she's a little high strung anyway but your post op is such an emotional time, I would rather take the hormones than to have another worry. I did not have one bad hormonal moment since my surgery. I did have alot of pain and all that but no menopausal symptoms at all. Everyone is different, see what your dr says. I did have post partum depression after 1st child, so I am sensitive to rapid hormonal changes. I feel so much better now, 5 months post op. If you don't like the hormones you can always taper off later on.

Hi,
I was real nervous too and scared about the HRT. It seems silly to me now, but at the time (of my surgery) I was nervous about it! My doctor sent me home with a script for it,, to get started on it right away. She even thought the nurses may have put a patch on me right after surgery, but they had not. So the day I went home I had my hubby go get it at the pharmacy. I was nervous about putting it on, as though somehow it would make me feel wierd or something. I read all the insert info before putting it on. Honestly, I couldn't tell anything at all! So far (I'm at 13 weeks) I have been one of the lucky ones who has adjusted to it fine! I hope it continues! I may have had a few very minor hot flashes but nothing unbearable at all. I really can't tell I'm on it at all, except for remembering to change it twice a week! The first patch they had prescribed was a big one that had a tendency to fall off after a shower, so she prescribed a smaller one (the vivelle dot) and it stays on great!!! It's amazing something that small--it's like a little piece of scotch tape!!-- can do so much!! My doctor advised me to start on it right away also and I too thought maybe I should wait for some reason, but she said I needed to start right away. So for what it's worth, I haven't had any problems. I guess I have had a few emotional moments and outbursts, but very few. The majority of the time I feel pretty even-keeled. I hope it works out as well for you too. Don't be afraid of it, it's not as though you're going to turn into a raving lunatic! hope this helped! Best to you! zanylynn

Hi blueintn,

I would recommend that you have hormones before you leave the hospital. I had nothing when I left the hospital and had a terrible time. I had the usual hot and cold sweats, I couldn't sleep, I seemed to lose my mind too. My friend came to visit me from work and I couldn't recall the faces of the kids in the class. I couldn't follow the plot in movies, it was awful. After 2 weeks I went on ERT and felt a whole lot better within a few days. I never want to go through that again.

	Quote:
My Dr said that having the ovaries removed would cause a complete meltdown in about 1 week after surgery, and he does not think anyone should go through that.

Wow AuntDot, wish your doctor could have talked to my doctor! When I told my doc I had hot flushes in the hospital, he told me it was "psychological"!

HollyK

My doctor told me I'll have to go on HRT right away to ward off the symptoms of menopause since I'm having a TAHBSO. I hope to be on it while in hospital. I know I'll go home with a RX for it.

I will be 2 weeks post-op tomorrow. I am not on HRT yet, due to endo/adeno. (There seems to be some debate on whether you should take hormones right away after a hyst for endo) Who knows? All doctors are different.

Anyway, my doctor gave me a prescription for progesterone and told me that if the hot flashes and night sweats got too bad to go ahead and start taking it--but no estrogen for now.

I do have night sweats, but so far they are not bad enough that I've had to take anything. I had one crying spell last week and have been fine since.

Like someone else said, everyone is different. I feel like I have been very lucky so far. But I do realize that this could change with more time, although I hope not.

I asked my Dr. about the endo and hormones after, he said that the recurrence rate was so low, that he thought I should start them right away to keep my system fromj"shock".
Thanks for all the input, I feel better about my decision to start them now.

God Bless and good luck to all you LIW