Ovaries waking up

OK I have yet another question for all of you. Iv read some posts that talk about leaving the ovaries and them possibly not "waking up" and some taking time to "wake up". Can you explain this to me? Do you experience menopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats ect? I asked my dr and she said she'd never heard of that. She's a student, just about to graduate, and I do trust her as far as the nuts and bolts part of this but I do think that she doesn't believe it unless it's written in a book. Over my experiences I do think they don't know a lot about how a woman's body works. I'm not a text book, LOL !

I asked a similar question in another thread but forgot which thread it was so I didn't get an answer. I kept my ovaries and have felt no difference. But I did see posts about women who kept their ovaries having night sweats and stuff for a bit. I would like to know how common it is for ovaries to stop working temporarily after surgery.

My mother kept her ovaries after a TAH in 1980, but had horrible crying spells for about a month or so. No menopausal symptoms other than mood swings. She got back to normal within a short time frame and began menopause in her very late 40s, like any other woman.

My girlfriend had her TVH at 19 due to stage 3 dysplasia and kept her ovaries but they didnt wake up for about 6 months. During this time she experienced hot flashes, night sweats.. etc. All of the menopausal symptoms. She chose to tough it out and wait for the ovaries, which did come around and shes been fine ever since and now shes in her late 30s.

I have no idea what the percentages are on the ovaries taking their good sweet time to wake up. I guess it depends on the person.

...I'm pretty sure mine are still working. I had a few VERY hormonal days, very similar to PMS- and this was right at the time I would've gotten my period. And, I'm only 3 weeks post-op! I'm sure everyone's different, though.

I kept my ovaries and I did notice a few warm (not hot) flashes early in the wee hours of a couple mornings. After 2 weeks they were gone, so I'm assuming it had something to do with sleeping ovaries. It was no big deal and I'm happy that they must be working as intended ever since. Good question.

After reading your postings, I'm feeling encouraged that the ovaries do possibly "live" after hysterectomy. However for all of you who say your ovaries came to life after hysterectomy, any of you over age 50? I'm 51 and am wondering whether or not to keep ovaries, if healthy.

My mom didn't menopause until 55 or 56 and I'm presently not experiencing any menopausal symptoms...so I'm kinda in a dilema about this. So far I've heard more women saying that their ovaries stopped functioning after a short time. I'm quite adamant that I don't want to go on HRT after hyst

So for those of you over age 50, what made up your minds about whether or not to keep your ovaries? Did you go with the majority your doctor(s)'s opinions?

Hi Jen
I'm 46, but I'm definately doing the menopausal thing. I kept my ovaries, but they have decided to sputter around. I had been having night sweats before my hyst but I didn't know what they were. When I was having the post op exam, I happened to mention this to my GYN and she responded by saying "Linda, those are night sweats" to which I responded "Are you serious?" She was and now I'm on an estrogen patch. I thought I would get a few more years use out of the ol' ovaries, but mother nature said no. Actually they still work partially. Sometimes I have periods of time when the "system" puts out a bit more estrogen and I get sore breasts for a day or two. Other times I get some pretty good hot flashes--you know, the "I just stuck my face in the fireplace" feeling. There is no apparent pattern to the symptoms so I assume that sometimes the ovaries cycle and sometimes they don't. Anyhow, when I was researching whether or not to keep my ovaries, I came across information that states that even old post-menopausal ovaries secrete hormones that the body can still use. You wouldn't get that benefit if the ovaries were removed. There was no medical reason for me to have them removed, so I kept them. Hope this helps.
Linda