Ovary removal...any regrets?

How many of you who had the option to keep your ovaries and decided to have them removed now regret the decision due to lingering side effects, etc.? Why?

Didn't have the option due to large cysts on my ovaries that just kept getting bigger, but I wish that would have been an option. I would have done it in a minute knowing what I know about HRT now....... maybe someone who has kept theirs would know better.
Good luck! Shannon

I kept mine and wouldnt change a thing. Even thogh mine are sleeping or dead now...and Im on mild HRT anyway... I would STILL elect to keep mine. For me, it was worth the chance that they still had a few good years left in them. It's a personal choice, but HRT isnt cheap and it is a balancing act. Laura

Hi Gal, I had the option regarding my ovaries. I had no choice re the hyst and very little time between a diagnosis and the op. I was told that the ovaries could remain but the chances were that they could fail anyway. Apparently in 50% of cases this happens within 5 years. He recommended that I have them removed but did not pressure me to agree. I reasoned that given my age (I'm 46) that was likely to be the case for me and perhaps it was better to get it all over with at once. After the surgery I was told that they would almost certainly have failed so it that regard it was the right choice.

Never the less, I have reservations. In the discussion on this issue, the surgeon merely said breezily that I would be put on HRT and all would be well. With all the rush and shock at the time, I more or less went along with him. I certainly did not research enough, I was not at all prepared for the fall out post op (6 wks now) and found the whole thing traumatic and very difficult to cope with. My instinct is that for my particular case, and given my age, it was the right thing and long term I shall not regret it. But I wish I had been more informed and better prepared emotionally. It is a different decision to the one regarding the hyst itself and with hindsight I did not fully appreciate the distinction.

Good luck with your decision.

When I had my TAH two years ago I kept one ovarie. IT only lasted 2 years and had to be removed because it grew a large cyst. Do i regret keeping it? (it was my decision) Yes and no. Yes because i prolonged this menopause thing, No because i had to have another surgery. This last one I had a hard time comming out of the anisthesia. I think each persons story is different as to wether they regret it or not. I would give anything to have healthy organs and do this meno-adventure naturally.

I told my surgeon to try to save an ovary if he could. If they were unhealthy, remove them but if one could be saved, that would be great. Turns out both had large chocolate cysts on them and I have severe endometriosis. Both ovaries went. I went on an estrogen patch a couple weeks after surgery and still have menopause symptoms we are working on. I dont know if they were trying to console me for losing both ovaries, but they told me that if you are left with one, that it would probably stop functioning within a couple of years anyway. That that was what happened quite often.

had the option to keep them, but decided to get them out as i had had numerous abdominal surgeries, didn't want more children, was over 40, etc.. i feel like i made the wrong decision. my experience is that surgical menopause is abrupt and rough and hrt is not the same as your own no matter how "bio-identical".

llpoetting:

I am probably going to mispell this, but have you seen/considered seeing an endocrinologist who specializes in sex hormones? Its my understanding that they will check your hormone levels and work with you to get a proper hormone balance. I dont like this guessing game I am currently in. They give you a low dose patch and make you stay on it for awhile. If you have more symptoms, then they up the dosage and you stay on that for awhile etc... Either an endocrinologist or a gyne who will take the time to work on balancing your hormones. I think its worth a try.

I regret it now. I wish I had been told what I might end up like now. This is a hell I swear. I just found out that I have osteopenia from a bone scan.

I wonder if the surgery caused this to happen as they waited 2 mos. to give me any HRT.

My breasts are very painful at times still and I am very depressed. *duh*

There was nothing wrong with my ovaries but my mother died of cancer with point of orgin SUSPECTED to be ovaries, never proven to be though.

I sure wish someone would have told me how awful I'd feel not having them. I wish I could have them back.

No sex drive, no sex, no feelings is so many ways that once were.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it as they say ...

SueF

I did have some choice, severe endo with large endometrioma. Three male drs advised me to have everything taken and that is what I ended up doing. That was 4 yrs ago and I regret it every single day since then. I was too concerned about not having another surgery and too overwhelmed by pain to make an informed decision. I have had a terrible time balancing my hormone, have developed allergies, have adhesions and what they now suspect is fibromyalgia. I think alot of this wouldn't have happened without the severe drop in hormones. What can you do? Research everything you can about your condition and go conservative first, you can always do the hyst but can never put it back. Take Care.