hysterectomy because of endometriosis

I am scheduled to have a vaginal hysterectomy on July 1st. I have had endometriosis for years. I have already lost one of my ovaries due to a tubal pregnancy. My doctor is recommending that I leave the remaining ovary. I don't know what to do. I have been told that I could still get endometriosis on the remaining ovary and still have pain every month. I am tired of living with this pain. I am scared of hormone replacement. Please tell me your thoughts.

Hi, I know exactly how you feel. I had my hysterectomy last year (August 8) and let me tell you, It was the best decsion I have ever made. I had endo gor 5 years and some days I could barely get out of bed! I had a hard time walling some days. I tried EVERYTHING to get out of pain, from hypnosis, biofeedback, pain managenent, trigger point injections...nothing helped. I have 2 wonderful children ( 6 & 7 ) and I found myself missing out on the things they were doing because I was always in so much pain. I decided to get the Hysterectomy. It has been almost 1 year now and let me tell you, I feel 100% better! I am on hormones, I take Estratest H.S. and it does help. It has testosterone in it so it helps with "sex drive". But seriously, I am so glad I did it. I love being able to concentrate on the things that matter in life and not how much pain I am in all the time. After the Hyst, it took about 3 months for me to feel ok. At first it still felt like the "same old pain" but then it faded and now I just get occasional "spasms". I am so gald I did this, it is your decision and I just wanted to share my expewrience with you! GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Donna
dlwdolly@aol.com

I'm sorry you are having this trouble deciding what to do about whether to keep the ovary or not. You are still pretty young and if the ovary is healthy then you might want to keep it.

I have felt good since getting everything out. I am on estrogen patch and have been hormonally balanced so far. I was close to menopause before the surgery and my Mom had ovarian cancer so I decided to let them go. It is still a risk if you get them out, but not as big of one as to keep them.

Good luck on your decision and surgery.

s

I must admit I am kind of surprised that your doctor would consider having you keep an ovary, unless he is really skilled at removing every single tiny lesion of endo you have. My doc says everything has to go (except cervix) and no hormone therapy for three to six months in order for the endo to die off! I realize it could still come back, but I am told, and basically from what I have read, that it is best to let both ovaries go in order to stop all estrogen production which is what fuels the endo.

I don't really want to go through losing both ovaries, but in my own heart, I feel that it is best for me. I know it is a rough decision to make!

Just because I have done some reading, and my doc says it's best for me, it doesn't mean it is best for you to have the remaining ovary taken out. Do some studying, see what you can find, and discuss it further with your doctor. Let us know what he says!!

Hugs!

Lisa

I'm also suprised that your Dr is giving you the option, because mine is not. I'm having my hyst Tuesday due to endo and probable adeno. From the beginning, my Dr said if I have the surgery he'd want to take everything to help prevent problems with endo in the future. He even said once that if he'd leave anything, it'd be my uterus, but not the ovaries. Then at my pre-op last week, I asked if I'd start hrt immediately or wait a while. He said I should start it right away - I'm a relatively small woman, and he said I'd be crazy without it right away. So that's what I'm doing. It's hard to know what's the best though, when I sit here reading all the different courses that people are taking. I know every case is different, but I'm just going with my gut that this will be right for me.

Okay, I had severe endo and had a hyster on April 30th of this year.

I lost my right ovary a couple years ago due to the endo. I still have the left ovary.

The reason some doc's will leave the ovary in is simple, the majority of endo growth is a result of the shedding of blood (involving the UTERUS) each month. Without that uterus there the chances of reoccuring endo are very slight. The benefits of keeping an ovary far outweighs the risk of reoccuring endo. If the endo should reoccur then I'd have the remaining ovary taken out, but right now she's doing a fine job and I am absolutely pain free.

If your doc wants to be conservative and leave in an ovary I can tell you that it has been a blessing to me. I don't have hrt to deal with. Surgical menopause is different that natural menopause. Even after a natural menopause your ovary will still supply your body with a fine amount of estrogen. With surgical menopause it's completely gone.

I understand your concerns about that ovary being left in there, but reoccurance of endo due to an ovary (without a uterus) is rare. It is VERY rare. Don't let fear guide your decisions. If you don't want to deal with HRT you can try leaving in the ovary. If at some point it causes you problems then you can have it removed through a laparoscopy. That's how my first one was taken out. It's a simple procedure.

PM me if I can be of any help to you, okay?

Rita

I was diagnosed with endo in Feb of this year and had a hyster 6/6 . This disease is so strange they won't call it cancer but it acts like cancer and some of the treatments are like those of cancer ( lupron-chemo, interferon-chemo, and removal of the infected tissue-hysterectomy). I decided to let my ovaries go because of the docs not knowing for SURE what causes the endo to grow. I was scared that if I kept either ovary that it would come back with a vengence which when they got in there both had to go any way. But they don't know enough about the disease to tell you what to do to get rid of it. I know that I have to keep an eye out for the rest of my life for the signs of it coming back. My doc also told me that a single cell left behind can manifest into a growing cysts. She was open with me about the risks of endo coming back and the drawbacks of hrt. I am not telling to let it go and I am also not telling you to keep it, that is your decision alone. There is just nothing that tells you which way is best to go. Sorry that you have to deal with this I know it is a hard decision.

It is my understanding that if the doc misses any small spots of the endo and you keep an ovary, then your estrogen production can further fuel the endo. I guess the doc must be very skilled in removing every last bit of the endo in order to keep the ovary or begin someone on hrt immediately.

My best guesses, anyway!

Lisa