Sick of hearing "losing ovaries you'll lose your mind too"

Anyone else MAD about this stone age way of thinking? I think it comes from men mostly. But I hear women say it too and it makes me furious. If your crazy NOW, you'll be crazy after they remove your ovaries too. If your not NOW......then you won't be then either. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Well I have to admit....that is the ONLY reservation I have about this surgery! I am scared to death of losing my ovaries! But, they need to go. I went to my GP today and actually got her to prescribe an anti-depressant for me to start taking. Just in case the rumors are true about losing it I want to be prepared!!!! Just so funny I went and filled my prescription then saw this post!! LOL! Christy

Boy I sure hope they are wrong!
Im loosing my last one on Monday!
But the truth is......... Ive pretty much already lost my mind anyways.
Im trying to be funny but, the thought of sudden Menopause scares me to death. My mind is the last thing im worried about.

I have even seen it on this board. I think that upset me the most. Some of us don't have the choice. I have endometromas on both ovaries and have had much of both removed already. I don't like it when people say that if I loose my ovaries I will loose my sanity. Or if they keep theirs they will keep their sanity.
I think the pain I have from my ovaries makes me plenty NUTZ! And there will be no more PMS. I have really bad PMS usally 30-31 days a month
Take care,
Carrie

I, too, was a bit scared too prior to surgery...but then realized this was just another 'transition' and I felt I was lucky that there are such things as hysterectomies...it saves many lives (and almost always alleviates the problems and concerns)

I had no menopause symptoms until about 2-3 weeks out from surgery... (I refused an estrogen patch at surgery)...

So, I found it kind of interesting...in a strange way...I wanted to see what would happen...I wanted to identify and experience what (at least part of) menopause entailed...But didn't want to load up on any meds my body didn't really need...(the body's going through enough)...So be careful...and try not to worry too much. Think 'transition' Best to all!

TAH/BSO Dec '03

Oops..one more thing...after almost 8 weeks without meds, I felt I was more able to objectively evaluate what was going on and discuss meds, etc. w/my doctor and go from there. Not a method for everyone...but worth a try in some cases.

I am 33. 5 1/2 mo. ago I had TAH/BSO. I have not noticed, nor has anyone else around me noticed any loss of mind from me! If anything, I am actually MORE alert and with it than I was before! I do not hurt all the time and feel hormonally out of it like I did before! I do not sleep all the time like I did before surgery.

Everyone is differant and responds differantly to surgery and menopause. For me the sudden surgical menopause was not as bad as I feared! Once I was able to start on hormones, at 2 weeks post-op, I didn't miss a beat.

It is very frustrating for people, men and women alike, to make a blanket statement that if you loose your ovaries, you will lose your mind! When, alot of us feel that with our ovaries in the pain that they are will cause us to lose our minds!!!

There are no guarantees in any surgery~with or without BSO~and everyone heals at a differant rate. Everyone should know this is MAJOR surgery and should enter into it fully informed and should have discussed at length with their doctor all of their history and have come up with the best options avail. to you. This surgery is very individualized to each persons medical condition. IMHO, here at HS, women have the opportunity to become very informed~all LIW need to visit all the forums and read the GOOD and the NOT so GOOD results women have had from this surgery. It is best to be well aware of all outcomes! It is major surgery and it DOES take time to recover. The initial recovery can take up to the full 6-8 weeks, and for some it can take up to a full year to fully feel recovered. An important thing to remember is that NONE of us go into this at 100%~or else we wouldn't be doing it~ and it takes a while to get to 100% of the person we think of as 100%! Some reach that point earlier than others. You will see that on these boards.

Best of luck to you in your upcoming surgery! Just try to let those comments go in one ear and out the other~then prove them wrong when you recover with your mind still intact!!!

's,
Ronda

I haven't posted or even visited the site for awhile as life got very busy after I recovered from my surgery. It is not that I didn't need all of you, I have just been feeling so good and enjoying my "new life" that I haven't had time.

I checked in now and felt I had to answer this post.

I was one of the "crazy before" people. I suffer from bi-polar and had horrendous bouts of PMS which were getting worse by the month (my DH said just before surgery that it was quicker to count my good days cause there were so few).

I too heard the stories about having your ovaries removed. But let me tell you, I don't miss either of them! I had them out in early December and there is no looking back. I take a half dose (one squirt) of Estrogel once a day because I was having some hot flashes in the beginning (but that was the only symptom) and everyone has noted how calm and happy I have become.

I can't speak for everyone, but I was a "worst case scenario" and I do not regret the decision to have them out. My BPD is even more under control.

I hope this allays some of the fears, though as I said, this is just my story.

Ronda,

Our replies crossed but I totally agree with everything you said!

At 43, still with both mine until I have my surgery, I think I'm already well on the way to menopause.

I've been reading various posts all around the site. When I read posts from sisters who've lost their ovaries saying they can't believe how badly they sleep these days, how their hot flashes are so bad that their clothes actually get wet, that they are either screaming or weeping all the time, and so on (and believe me, the symptom list does go on), I feel so bad for them. I've felt like this for three years.

With my pain and bleeding being so bad, it never occured to me to mention these particular symptoms to my doc--good heavens, my mother didn't start her perimenopause until she was 50! I've got a final physical scheduled before my surgery, so I'm going to see if I can talk her into checking my hormone levels.

I'm looking forward to the hormone replacement as much as I am the relief from pain and bleeding.