Kept uterus, no ovaries, no HRT

I had a bilateral oopherectomy 7/2011 for increasing cysts and benign tumors. My doctor wanted to take my uterus also because of bleeding but I declined. I have one sister with stage 1 metastatic breast cancer, doing well and another sister that has LCIS of her breast with a radial scar that did not show cancer. I assumed I wasn’t a candidate for HRT because of my family history but I was still having regular periods at 53 when I had the surgery. I never brought up HRT, nor did my doctor but now I find myself with vaginal dryness and no sex drive. My doctor put me on Estradiol 0.01% vaginally 1gram per week. She wants me to cut it down to only every other week. The dryness and pain with sec us better but I have NO sex drive. My husband is trying to be patient but I can only ask so much of him. Could I take HRT and what about bio identical HRT. I’m scared and confused because I haven’t asked before this. I don’t think she will order anything since she didn’t after the surgery. I would like to feel normal again.

and to HysterSisters!

While you wait for input from someone who can share from the same circumstances, I'll answer what I can from my experience after having a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo oophorectomy.

The estradiol your doctor prescribed is bio-identical. For the mixing sex drive, you could ask your doctor about using testosterone. That's what worked for me when I had that problem. It was a bio-identical cream that I got (with a prescription) at a compounding pharmacy. Eventually I got to the point where I didn't need testosterone anymore so I'm using just estradiol in a patch form for my hormone therapy. It's one of the many systemic estrogen options. What you're using vaginally is a low dose which would pretty much just stay local rather than going systemic, if that makes sense.

Whether or not you are a candidate to use hormone therapy is something only you and your doctor can decide together. There would be nothing wrong with seeking an additional medical opinion or two to ask. Have you had any genetic testing to show if you are at a higher risk?

Thank you for responding. You bring up a good point. I haven’t been tested for the breast cancer gene but my sister who has breast cancer did and was negative, so I assume I would be negative, I hope. From reading I figured I would need estrogen and progesterone. My internist said there would be no reason I couldn’t go on HRT but my gynecologist and I haven’t discussed it yet. I will see her in February of 2021 and definitely will bring up the subject. Thanks

Yes, with an intact uterus you would need both estrogen and progesterone. Using a systemic estrogen without also taking some form of progesterone would increase your risk of uterine cancer. Let us know what your doctor says and what decide to do.

I will definitely let you know. Maybe it can help some one else. I’m no great at advocating for myself, so this helps a lot. I am going to do my research before my appointment.