Hyster for PolyCysticOvary

Hi again! Had a 2nd opinion for prescribed hyst. Have had PCOS since teentime and now a fallen uterus made my reg OB say "it's time". 2nd OB was less urgent.

Only because of the great info I've gotten on PCOS from this site and its PCOS links I understand that my ovaries are just the innocent victims of a haywire endocrine system.

I'm only 40 and if I live as long as my ancestors, my life isn't half over yet! Yay! I don't want to spend 45-50+ years on HRT if it's going to hurt me. Ten years would be scary enough.

2nd doc's nurse told me that the study that concluded that estrogen causes breast cancer was flawed because the subjects were all women over 60. Some docs seem absolutely unconcerned about HRT and cancer. So many women are at the other end of the spectrum and are almost vicious about avoiding HRT at all costs. It's so confusing!

Will those of you who have had the big H for PCOS please let me know if anything changed? I'm scheduled for H on Jan 2 so I need to cancel it this week if I'm not going through with it. I'm not in pain and don't know if H will help with weight, hirsutism, depression, acne, and other things not in the pelvic region!!!!! If I knew I could look forward to relief, I'd do it in a second. But isn't there a chance things will not get better or even get worse????? Or am I being too pessimistic?

My hyst was mostly due to fibroids, but I've also had PCOS for more than 20 years. My biggest PCOS symptom was weight gain that just wouldn't come off. Since my hyst I've been taking Estradiol, which is one of the new bio-identical estrogens (identical at the atomic level to the estrogen our bodies produce). Here's what my gyn told me about the HRT study we've heard so much about: First, it was a study of the effects of estrogen/ progesterone combination -- no equivalent study has been done of estrogen only. Also, the study was discontinued before it was complete. Given that, he felt that the benefits to be gained by taking estrogen outweighed the risks.

Since I started taking estrogen I feel like my hormones are in balance for the first time in years. I have terrific energy and have lost 10 lbs. since my surgery without changing my eating habits and with less exercise! Only you can decide if it's right for you, but I am very glad I went through with it.

Kathie

Hi Staci,

I don't have PCOS, so don't have any personal experience to share with you, but there have been several threads discussing PCOS and hysts. You can find them by clicking onto the search link (at the upper right, under the banner) and then typing in either PCOS or Polycystic. Here are a couple that I hope may be helpful:

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...highlight=pcos

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...highlight=PCOS

s

Staci, I had my hyst for fibroids and precancerous/poss cancerous cells on my endometrial biopsy. I was having terribly painful periods and VERY heavy. Those were the symptoms that took me in. I had the ovaries taken because I had just in the past month had a painful ruptured cyst...knew with my history of them I just wanted them out and no further place that cancer could find. It turned out I did have endometrial cancer and I had to go back 6 weeks later to have a lymph node dissection to rule out metastisis...the staging that required this was not available until 1 weeks post op...not really the norm to have to go back but not unheard of either. It wasn't until my followup visit with my gyn oncologist after my second surgery that it finallly added up to me. PCOS....endometrial cancer (I blame that on the pain pills). That is one of the things that can happen to PCOS women who don't get treated for it (the metformin, avandia type drugs that make you use your insulin better with the insulin resistance that causes all of our messed up problems). Untreated you can end up with hypertension, stroke, heart disease, diabetes AND endometrial cancer. I had gotten treatment on metformin and started having regular periods (which I was glad of but then again after not having many it was not any fun either) and was able to loose weight successfully WHEN I dieted (as compared to it never working or sticking before). But I still had had many years of no periods or very few prior to then and this is what leads to the endometrial cancer.

Having surgery has not changed my PCOS. I still take metformin and unless I follow a low carb diet I don't loose weight. None of my other PCOS symptoms have changed. That changes nothing about PCOS except for me I don't have the ovaries for it to bother anymore. Being treated for PCOS with metformin is what has changed my symptoms the most...., acne is better and hirsutism is maybe a bit better, but have found from being on a PCOS support site that that doesn't usually reverse, no more depression. The migraines I was having monthly have gone and I think myabe I have had 2 since last January. When I do a low carb diet it really falls off easily. I don't think having a hyst for PCOS is a reason to have a hyst, but prolapsed uterus and painful terrible periods are if they are changing your quality of life. It is a decision you have to make for yourself. Having a hyst for me has not made any difference in my PCOS. Didn't make it worse or better. The only thing that helps PCOS is being treated for it with the metformin type drugs. A hyst has no influence on this disease. I would ask about having an endometrial biopsy though. I had one about 3 years ago that was negative and then this one last year showed precancerous with possible cancerous cells. That right there was my first and most important reason for why I needed the hyst. Having one now would at least be a baseline. If your prolapsed uterus is not causing you problems and you wanted to wait until it did, that is certainly an option I think that would be acceptable, but again, your decision to make. I have seen many women who even get a third or fourth opinion. Maybe you would feel more certain if 2 out of 3 doctors agreed.

StampinCat has given you a lot of good information. Please pay careful attention to her answer.

I would advise you to see an endocrinologist/gynecologist or an endocrinologist that specializes in infertility or menopause. Maybe you can be helped without surgery.

The HRT study was about progesterone and estrogen and the information floating around about it is often inaccurate. However, there is research that indicates hysterectomy itself increases the risk of breast cancer. It also increases the rick of vaginal cancer and heart disease. (I personally had two strokes and heart problems following my surgery due to hormone shock complications.)

This surgery is permanent, life-altering and not to be taken lightly. (Frankly, mine ruined my life.) Often women who think they are going to cure one set of problems, just end up trading them for a different set. Please explore all options before you commit.

Best wishes,

(((Staci))), StampinCat has given you some terrific advice. It is important to do your homework here, to be sure this surgery is really your only alternative and will really take care of the problem, before going through with it. It sounds like there is sufficient doubt as to whether the surgery will help with your symptoms that you might want to get one or two more opinions before making a decision. PCOS is a tricky beast, and has implications for other systems in your body besides your uterus and ovaries.

	Quote:
there is research that indicates hysterectomy itself increases the risk of breast cancer. It also increases the rick of vaginal cancer and heart disease.

I have not seen accounts of this research. Perhaps you mean 'oophorectomy' rather than 'hysterectomy'? But even then, I don't believe there are reliable data implicating ovary removal in increased rates of vaginal cancer or heart disease, because it is too difficult to analyze the data while accounting for the use of various HRT's (or none) by women who've had their ovaries removed. And I have seen no studies which suggest that having either an oophorectomy or a hysterectomy increases a woman's risk of breast cancer. If there is such a study, done by a credible research group, I would definitely be interested in reading a report of their results in a reputable scientific journal.

I don't mean to be argumentative here, but if we are quoting risks of things as serious as cancers, we should make sure we can back up our statements with hard data, otherwise we risk needlessly frightening women for whom a hysterectomy may truly be their only choice. IMHO, there must be a balance here between suggesting that we all do our own research and explore all other alternative treatments before undergoing a surgery which can have unanticipated negative consequences in some women, and providing support for those for whom this surgery is a life sparing procedure and their only hope of a healthy, normal lifespan.

(((Staci))), good luck with whatever course of action you choose.
s,
-Linda

I just thought I'd write in about an interesting thing which happened to me. I have PCOS too. In '93 I was diagnosed with "bipolar disorder" and began a regime of Lithium therapy. The hair on my arms and legs was reduced by 65% or so and became light brown to blonde, the hair on my face, thousands of dollars of electrolysis removal, quit growing in except for peachfuzz, the normal hair on most womens' faces. My periods started coming every 28-30 days. The psychiatrists don't seem to understand why this happened and my current gynocologist just shrugs. I think it was a fluke and there is no place to offer up this information. I am (was) scheduled to have my hyst tomorrow, but since I have bronchitis it has been postponed. And so I came here today to read and hang out and saw this PCOS thread. I just did the most reading about PCOS I have ever done, and thought I might make a contribution. Some of you have done a ton of research and I commend you for it. All my work and research has been toward eliminating deadly psychiatric symptoms caused by progesterone therapy. The estrogen alone has had miraculous effects on my supposed "bipolar" and so the hyst is a result of all this. This morning when I heard the doctor say she preferred postponing the hyst due to my bronchitis I just figured, in spite of my resignation and willingness to just go ahead with it, there was probably a reason for all this. Maybe it's just that I'm going to look more into this PCOS situation and get hip to what might be a better solution..............

Thanks all,
Gail

Gail,

Yes! Yes, this just exactly what I have been talking about! We are on the brink of a whole new era for women's health and it is all pointing to hormones.

You said, " The psychiatrists don't seem to understand why this happened and my current gynocologist just shrugs." May I respectfully suggest that you go to an endocrinologist? There I think you will find a doctor who understands your condition. (Make sure it is one who specializes in gynecology.) (Or infertility or menopause.)

Your are a very wise woman and I can see you are putting it all together and taking responsibility for your own good health. Way to go!

I wish you all the best and hope that 2004 is a turnaround year for you.

Best wishes,