scheduled for tah on 2-11 removing ovary will this help my moods?

First time here and like some imput. Having a TAH soon for endo and dr. says I should have my ovary removed (only one left due to ovarian torsion) since I have severe PMS. Is this wise?
I don't know what to think, I want to get rid of the PMS, severe depression, migraines,
terrible mood swings but will estrogen therapy help maintain a steady balance? The doc
seems to think so but I worry this will not fix me. Anyone have this done for severe pms and endo? I am 40.

Hi CMT876,

I too had severe endo, diagnosed at 27, had 3surgeries to clean it up and had to have IVF 3 times in order to have my daughter. I went on birth control pills back to back for 5 years (having a period 2-3 times a year) only to have the endo catch up with each diff. pill- making me switch 3-4 kinds. I didn't have pms but pain along with Migraines. My mom had breast cancer , and is 4years clean, so I worried about all the pills I was taking. I ended up having a Total Hysto when I was 35 (2 years ago) even though I'd need ERT to bide my recovery time for a few years. I have had a very good response to the surgery, ie- no pain, and quick recovery time, no Migraines for 6-9 months. This was 2 years ago, I went on Cenestin (would not choose that now, knowing it is a synthetic ERT which has a higher rate of headaches and other side effects) and finally switched 2 weeks ago to Estrace 1 1/2 mg a day. So far so good, I am aware of the need to eventually wean myself off ( because of my mother) but I figure I'll slowly go down- and if the Migraines come back, will probably try stopping altogether to see if its any Estrogen..not necessarily the kind.
Remember, Hysterctomy is a very serious surgery, I had to have a blood transfusion (luckily my Dad is a surgeon and insisted on it) and you don't get out of having ANY problems. Going through Menopause at 35 (which was my age) is very serious, and I hope my decision was the right one. I am definately pain free, but do worry about heart, and bone issues. There are also other side effects like, inability to sleep, anxiety or heart palps quite a bit, incontinence, bone loss, etc. Research all you can and know that this website is a godsend!! Good Luck and I wish you the best.. Kristy

My doctor did not tell me this. I have been on tri levlin for 4 years, he said I will be on a
lower dose of estrogen than this. The tri levlin has been good for my endo at releving
symptoms but the last 3 months I have been bleeding half the month. I was told it was a hormone problem and my pills would have to be changed if I did not do the surgery.
So what are the side effects to estrogen? My doctor said without it my body would age
fast, ie. osteo. Cathy

cmt876,

My birth control Pills always ended up with breakthrough bleeding or pain after time..some took a year or two to catch up to my body, others only took 6-9months. The estrogen you get from BCpills is alot higher than ERT. You are trying to fool your body into skipping periods. That's why so many people end up with breakthrough bleeding-especially on the low dose birth control pills you're on. I kept moving up to stronger birth control when I finally realized I'd had enough! When you have no ovaries and uterus you don't need as much estrogen. No ovaries and uterus usually mean no endo-but you still have side effects from not getting enough estrogen (for those who don't supplement, or supp. enough), also, long term effects of not getting all the Natural hormones our bodies would have given us is still being studied. Having surgical hysto. so young is still a relatively new concept. I think we'll be the guinee pigs for our kids . So, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. You just have to decide which route you want to take. Everything has side effects, birth control pills, and ERT..However not having the pain was my main determining factor.

For myself, I take ERT for now, I am just as perplexed as my DR. and other specialists about long term usage of ERT, the neg. side effects and the more recent studies don't help since most have been showing conflicting research on whether ERT is as good for the Heart as originally thought... The Women's Health Initiative is a BIG study that will come out in 2005(? maybe 2008?) Hopefully that will answer alot of ques.. Until then we just need to look at our family history and do what makes us feel right. I know that at this time in my life ERT makes me feel good. . W/O it I had nightmares, slight leakage problems and just a sense of not feeling grounded. We'll see... I'm hoping that I'll feel normal w/out the ERT if I just slowly wean off.. The side effects of ERT are very similar to BCpills- so you probably have a good idea already about most of them.

Let us know what you decide! Kristy

PS.. Breakthrough bleeding is usually a problem with tri pills, have you tried Nordette? That's a stronger one that usually works well- I went back to back for 2 years having 3 periods a year..

I don't understand how I can have a period for 7 days, stop for a week and start bleeding for weeks. I have been on tri levelin for 4 years, before that several higher dose BC pills, all made me sick, tired, gain weight, moody and I had mild break through bleeding sometimes. I had no real side effects on tri levelin, or orthro tri cycline, until this year, I started getting more migraines, and now the extra bleeding.
My surgery is scheduled for 2-11, it's mainly the removal of my ovary that I worry about, since I can't reverse it if hormone therapy is difficult to control. It sounds like it will be impossible to predict. CAthy

Boy Cathy you sound just like me!!! I had exactly the same problems you're having. Maybe a complete hysterectomy will help you like it did me...Don't worry, I hope I didn't lead you to believe that ERT is a nightmare, because it really isn't. I am definately happier now than I was before. Please let me know if there is anything I can answer. Everything WILL be sunny for you again! Kristy