How long does surgical menopause last(can't take HRT)?

Or should I have titled this "how long is a piece of string?"

It's three months since my hyst, my Dr refuses to give me HRT so I'm taking so many supplements that I rattle when I walk...

I'm 44. I just wondered if there's anyone else here who's been through this and can tell me how long it took before all the menopausal symptoms stopped.

After surgery I was just getting hot flashes at night, but now I'm starting to get more during the day. I guess it's as my hormone stores are running out or something. I know all the stuff about wearing layers and stripping off when the hot flash strikes, but what are you supposed to do when (like I was this morning) you are driving??

This is no fun.

What a great question! I've been wondering the same thing! I'm 43 and just had a TAH about 2 months ago and I can't take HRT either! What you wrote about rattling when you walk from all the supplements made me laugh out loud and I really needed that laugh, so thank you! I've been taking the estroven which helps. My big issue is I feel so alone in this no HRT world. My Dr. pretty much told me "you can't ever take HRT so take estroven and I'll see you later!" Everything I've been reading is making me think that not taking estrogen is going to make me a dried up wrinkly lady soon and I'm only 43! Do you regret having the surgery? I feel like we're in similar places and I'd love to hear what you're feeling. I can't sleep (used to be a great sleeper!), I can't have sex because it's just as painful as it was for the last 2 years, and I'm having hot flushes like 10 times a day. Estrogen is the only thing that is truly supposed to alleviate all the symptoms. I don't WANT to be in menopause right now! I knew going into the surgery that there was a chance they'd have to take both of my ovaries, but I really thought I'd be able to keep one and now I'm just feeling so bad! Hopefully the symptoms don't last for too long!

i had my lavh on jan 7th, everything removed - am 43 years old... had severe endo and i can not be on hormones for 4 to 6 months. had my first hot flash yesterday morning and an emotional moment that afternoon (which i laughed at myself while crying)! i am soo scared of being a crybaby and of not being able to sleep... and all the horrible things i have heard about. i will look into different types of herbs and stuff to help.. any suggestions are appreciated! best of luck to all!

We are all different so menopause may last a short time or a longer time for some.

There are perscription medications that a doctor can give you that is non hrt for hot flashes, if you are having severe or moderate symptoms.

There are herbs and other alternatives to look into. Acupuncture is one that is being discussed as one way to help without drugs. You can do a Google on acupunture for menopause.

Here is a link to alternatives for hot flashes:
http://www.project-aware.org/Managin...hotflash.shtml

You might try looking into the homeopathic alternatives. I use homepathic for my sinuses and it works beautifully. You can find it in health food stores, vitamin shop, or online. I use Boiron brand which has been around for many years. I have not tried the one for hot flashes yet, as I am a new user of homeopathic. I may have to try it because I am on lowest dose patch trying to get off and I have trouble with hot flashes when temp goes up. We have very hot summers in Texas.

I find Silk Vanilla Soy milk to help with hot flashes, and any soy food.

We have some very good books in our store here and you might want to research in our Resources under the No-Hormone section.

Hang in there

s

Hi Bailey, it does sound like we are in the same situation. I certainly do regret having surgery, even tho it was for cancer. The Dr could have left my ovaries, but she decided I "would be better off without them" (her words) - I have to disagree. Won’t your Dr let you have HRT (like Lynn said) after 6 months or so?

The lack of hormones does scare me a lot. It's not just getting old and wrinkly before our time, we are also at a higher risk of dying prematurely from heart disease and neurological diseases and of course that's only if osteoporosis doesn't set in first! Our immune systems have been compromised so we are more likely to pick up any infections too.

I went to my regular Dr who said she couldn't override the gyn regarding HRT, but she has put me on antidepressants. I have been taking them for about 7 weeks now. I don't know that I feel any better, but they do help me sleep - the lack of sleep was making me feel even worse. Now I generally only wake up 2 or 3 times a night, instead of every hour (which I did about four weeks out from surgery). She has also referred me to a counsellor to try and sort out my feelings. I've seen her once so far, but I can’t help feeling that if they don’t address the hormone issue, how am I ever going to feel better?

I’m drinking lots of soy milk, taking phyto soya tablets, sage leaf capsules, flaxseed oil capsules, calcium and vit D, and (just in case all those don’t work!) a multivitamin for women over 50. And I’m still having hot flashes! I don’t think I can keep up the cost of all these supplements for the next five years anyway…

Lynn - I was having hot flashes in hospital and complaining to the nurses how hot I felt. They just said "it's always hot in hospital", no one pointed out that I was having a hot flash! As Suzy said there is a lot of information on the internet about alternatives to hrt. It's just a case of trying to find something that suits you.

Next time I’m coming back as a man!

I had my TAH/BSO on 3/5/07. I tried various HRT for a few months, but the side effects were horrible, including fatigue, severe bloating, and I was afraid the HRT would help my endo grow back. Too painful. I went cold turkey and I do feel better now. But, I too wonder when surgical menopause will end! I still get severe hot flashes that stop me in my tracks and make it hard to earn a living. I'm still tired and have insomnia. I only use Estrace vaginal cream for atrophy. I wish I could feel better than I do...though I feel happy not to be in constant pelvic pain from the edno and adeno and I no longer have migraines/vomiting/ dizziness every month thank God. The severe constant chronic pain is gone but I just want to feel like a person with normal energy. Also, since my TAH/BSO, my brain doesn't function very well. I feel foggy brained, and it's hard to think straight. I sued to be soo quick and intelligent. It's very frutrating and scary to feel like I can't think clearly enough to work and earn a living like before my endo/adeno were so bad.

Hi

I would like to know this too. I had an oopherectomy for endo last May and took HRT for about 6 months. I started to feel really ill and tired on it and found out it was adversley affecting my liver so had to stop it. I find the flushes are worse some days than others. I have read somewhere that once periods stop hot flushes start to disapear about the two year mark, but everyone is different and there are no hard and fast rules. The foggy brain thing is annoying, especially when you get half way through a sentance and forget the rest. Some nights I sleep better than others. I don't suffer with the dryness (yet) so am hoping that won't happen .

Herne x

Hey all. I had my hyst on 1/7 (Lap Vag - all but the cervix - can't recall the correct abbrev!). I haven't had any symptoms yet (I was in the middle of PMS when I went in though, so comparatively, it's not bad!). I had a heck of a time with PMS prior to surgery, the gyno expects part of that may have been due to the fibroid (14cm) and enlarged uterus. I've taken Prozac for it for the last two years (didn't even know I had a fibroid until I found this new dr), prescribed by my gp (got to get a new one of those). I can't have HRT due to a blood clotting disorder, but I do have a wonderful hemotologist. I recommend finding out exactly WHY you can't have the HRT and maybe seeing a specialist for whatever reason. If your doctor says they just don't recommend it, find an endocrinologist who specializes or at the very least deals with hormone issues! Try to get a recommendation - it may be that if there's no medical reason not to, your doctor may not want to mess with the balances until the hormones even out, but they should still recommend something for symptoms! My hemo also ran several different blood tests and discovered I have elevated homocysteine levels, which can increase your chances of having a heart attack, despite good cholesterol levels, etc. He put me on a vitamin (I get it by prescription because my insurance will pay for it) - a B complex with Folate. He said this would also help with SOME of the symptoms of menopause and I could feel free to try the phyto-creams out there without any danger. I feel it's just so important that your doctor actually listen to you and work WITH you toward your healing - an open mind is a MUST! I've gone through several doctors to find the right one and every now and again, you still have to change (my former gyno semi-retired and my gp has fallen off the radar of reasonability). Don't be afraid to speak up, after all, it's YOUR body and YOUR life. The really good doctors know this and also know that the best advertising comes from patients, not insurance companies!

Hi all! I had a really good cry yesterday about my regretting surgery and all my fears about what's going to happen to me now. I really needed to grieve for my "loss" in order to move forward with a plan. My husband was so supportive of my breakdown and was very helpful in reminding me of what I was like before the surgery, from his perspective and my kids. I had forgotten how much I was missing out on due to my issues and how it was just getting worse and worse. He pointed out to me that now I'm free from all of that and that I will no longer miss out on things because of my problems. That really helped me to feel better. My husband has no regrets and I'm feeling much better since my crying jag! Sometimes I just need a good cry! I'm the kind of person who will research things to death in order to be empowered. I feel ready to start looking into ways to ease my concerns and fears. I have an appt. to meet with an acupuncturist who claims she can help me balance out my hormones and help with the hot flashes thru acupunture and chineses herbs. I figured that's a good place to start. I'm kind of done with modern medecine and their thinking that I'm fixed now in their eyes so they've moved on. I'm going to give holistic and natural remedies a shot and if I don't feel like that's helping, I'll definitely see an endocronologist. Thanks for the idea! I'll keep you posted on what I find, but I feel much better today. I had a long talk with myself to the effect of "there's no point in dwelling on the past, and worrying about what's going to happen to my appearances now is not going to help anything! I exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet and am blessed with genes that make me look younger than I am. Self-care is so important right now. I went and got a mani/pedi this morning to give myself a treat and a chance to relax. We'll get thru this.
My Dr. is giving me a prescription for "estring" which is a very low dose of estrogen and it's in the shape of a ring and you put in your vagina and change it out every 3 months. It's supposed to eliminate the dryness I've been having. I'm not sure I like the idea of having a "ring" inside of me for 3 months, but I'll give it a try. My hematologist is absolutely against me taking any form of HRT but she said the estring okay to take. We'll see.
Please keep me posted on how you're doing! Big hugs!

I'm so glad you have support at home - it really makes a difference! And pampering yourself is a spectacular idea! I went and had a spa pedi before my surgery and just felt like a million bucks! Sometimes it's the little things you do for yourself. And you sound like you're keeping it all in perspective, also VERY important! Let me know how things are going - remember, you're your own best health advocate! I'm still waiting for the hormone dump, but I'm not sure how long this will take because of the pre-surgery pms, etc. Keep positive!