Surgery tomorrow AM; just read posts about HRT/meno.. :(

I'm afraid to say, I just spent 30 mins reading posts about HRT/non HRT, menopause, vaginal atrophy, etc....

I was fine about the surgery until today. I'm now quite scared.

I wasn't too worried about being thrown into surgical menopause until 30 minutes ago. Now I'm absolutely terrified!!!

I'm having a complete abdominal hysterectomy @ 6am. I guess it's a TAH? They're (obviously) taking my ovaries due to a risk of ovarian cancer...

I'm 31. I'm terrified now that I won't be able to function in any capacity... but most especially, sexually with my husband. He is naturally, a very intimate person. What is to come for us?!?!?! I'm nearly in tears now and I haven't even been cut yet!!!

I'll post at some point (hopefully) in the next few days with surgery story. I see now that the rest to come will change several times over the next year.. sooo... *insert scream*

*SHRUG*
Jo

Jo,

You will be fine. I can't answer the sex aspect of it as I am single and not dating anyone.

I can tell you that I had a dVH/RALH (DaVinci) surgery and I was put on Premarin after my 2 week post-op. It is the lowest dosage and it worked for about a 2 weeks. I went to my 4 week post-op appointment and I had not had a hot flash, night sweat or chills that made my teeth chatter than WHAM about 2 days later I had the hot flashes and night sweats again. I was worried about the menopause symptoms but I can tell you the Premarin worked. I know I am going to have to have it tweaked when I go back this Thursday (6 week post-op). Some people on here their doctors put the patch on them right away. I asked my surgeon about my symptoms and he says he usually does not give any of his patients any sort of hormone (if they need it) until the 2 week post-op appointment because the body still needs to "calm" down from surgery. I liked the idea because to me throwing a patch on someone right after surgery I did not like the idea.

You will be fine. Good luck with your surgery. Sometimes reading ahead of where you are surgery wise will give you some anxiety. I know it did for me at times and I finally said I am not reading anything but the pre-op board.

Jo,

God Bless you, everything will be ok. I know, I keep going back and forth about trying to keep my last ovary, or just letting it go. I guess I will leave it up to my doctor to see what it looks like when she gets in there, it has a "thick walled mass" on it, so we will see, if it can be saved. Enough about me, focus on you, and have positive thoughts, and faith, you will do great.

Hi. I had a TAH on 8/14. Everyone's experience is different but I will tell you that the menopause has been very easy. Keep in mind that people usually post when they are struggling because this is a site designed to offer help, so we are less likely to post when all is well.

I did not experience any true menopause symptoms; no hot flashes, mood swings, etc. I am not on HRT at all. During the 4th or 5th week, I felt a little more emotional than normal but I think a lot of that was due to the stresses of returning to work.

As for the sexual side, I was scared about the pain and the possibility of dysfunction. Everything is the same as it was before.

Try to relax and focus on getting through the surgery and recovery. Your doctor will help you get through the menopausal side and figure out what, if any, HRT you will need.

Best wishes and keep us posted on your recovery.

Oh, (((sister))) I'm sorry you're struggling right now.

I wish I could assure you that you will do fine, but you and I both know I can't do that. What I can do is to give you my very best wishes for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.

I can also tell you that most (((sisters))) find that after surgery they are either just as able to enjoy sex or they actually have BETTER sex lives once their gynecological issues are addressed.

As for surgical menopause, it is true that it can be rather harsh. There's no nice way to say it, either! However, many (((sisters))) report that finding good hormone replacement therapy makes all the difference in how they feel, assuming that you are going to be able to use HRT. It isn't always easy to find the right balance, but sometimes it happens on the first or second try, which would obviously be the best for you.

I know I've read that sometimes the will put a hormone patch on you when you're still in the operating room... this could be a great help with the hormone fluctuations.

You still have a couple of days to think about things, and it might be worth a phone call to the or to ask about hormone replacement. You'll also have lots of time to ask about it at the and at post-op appointments.

to you. As hard as it is right now, try to put this part of your situation on the back burner until you're through the surgery. You'll have time to deal with it then, and we'll be there every step of the way to support you.

Thank you all (though I never even came back to read these until just now!) I should have 'listened' to a previous post I'd read about NOT reading these post-op posts.

I'll post an update in post-op!

Things are ok, for the most part, though!

XO
*Jo*

There are ways to be sure you keep your sex life alive. You sound like you are very motivated to do so! ;-) You sound like you really need the surgery, so don't let these small humps in the road ahead scare you.