will hysto make me psycho?

Hi girls, I'm new going to have surgery in June but very concerned about how it will effect my emotions. I have teenagers and one that I have to be very unemotional with- he already calls me psycho. I know that everyone is different in the way they react to instant menopause but I wonder if it matters if you have a history of PMS like me? I'm looking forward to not having that monthly change of mood but worried about depression. I have stage 4 endo with alot of adhesions and huge ovarian cysts and possible fibro, just diagnosed in the last year since spotting started. Wondering if there is any pattern to all this like what you have removed, drugs surgery , years , etc. ? Oh, and I actually had a Dr. tell me about this site! It's great!

Good question. I wonder the same. I am bipolar (manic depressive) and will not be able to take my medication of five days at least. (It interferes with anaesthetics and can't be taken on anything but a full stomach ie. not on fluids). I am normally solid as a rock (or stolid as a rock), but I expect that I will be crazy than a bed bug by the time they let me out four days after surgery.

Any input would be appreciated. Did any of you "lose" it in hospital or afterwards?

Liatris52

Hi ladies,

I've been reading and posting here for two years and have never read a post from someone who said they "lost it" at the hospital following surgery!

I really can't speak to how you might feel after several days without medication for depression ... I was not taking anything like that prior to surgery.

As for how you might feel going into sudden menopause (due to ovary removal). Been there, done that. I had a TAH/BSO at age 46, primarily due to severe stage 4 endometriosis. I was not given any estrogen for the first 3 months post op. In the first few days after surgery, my biggest issue was dealing with incision pain, figuring out how to get into and out of bed, into and out of a chair/couch. Plus, I was on a morphine pain pump for the first day and then on percocet pain pills. So I was in a bit of a haze.

I really started noticing the night sweats several days after surgery. I was feeling pretty depressed too ... but remember, your body has just experienced a major trauma (surgery). I started taking a Soy supplement to help with the night sweats. After a couple weeks, I also started taking Tylenol PM to help me sleep at night (the night sweats would wake me up).

To be honest, going into sudden menopause really wasn't that big a deal for me. I had been in so much pain and misery pre-op, the menopause symptoms were more nuisance than anything ... certainly not painful.

I have read that younger women often have more difficulty when facing sudden menopause ... their bodies are producing more estrogen than someone in their 40's. Since I was 46, this might help explain my minimal discomfort.

No one knows for sure how they're going to feel after having ovaries removed ... but I'd encourage you to focus on the positive aspects of having your surgery and work with your doc post-op to make sure you have what you need to be comfortable. My gyn prescribed Celexa at about 6 weeks post op to help with the depression until I could begin taking estrogen a few weeks later. The Celexa, Soy supplements, and Tylenol PM got me through the first few months. I was also taking Megace at that time (a progestin) to further suppress any possible endo remnants.

Hang in there, ladies. I think it's pretty unlikely that you'll go over the deep end as a result of this surgery.

Keep reading and posting and we'll do our best to answer your questions and provide support.

Beth

I'm 50. Already menopausal so loss of ovaries is not an issue as my estrogen levels are already virtually non-existent.

The concern is not depression so much as psychosis and mania. I am manic depressive, Bipolar I, after all, not just manic. I have found focussing on the positive singularly useless in the past when dealing with mania, but perhaps you've found thinking up thoughts works when you are becoming psychotic due to lack of mood stabilizers.

Hi Jengeranium, I too have stage 4 endo and possible adenomyosis. I am on an antidepressent right now, and fear feeling worse if I go through with this as they will not give me hormone replacement therapy for 6 months to kill the endo. My husband is not managing all this well, my little 6 yr old worries about mommy and my 14 yr old fears she has endo and hates having periods. I was told that once hormone replacement therapy begins, the steady dose may be better than my natural fluctuations. Please write @jacquistitches@aol.com. I feel for your fear.