Do I keep my ovaries???

I am not thrilled with the lupron and am talking about a hysterectomy. It was suggested that at my age I should think about having my ovaries removed as well. I guess they could cause problems and develop cysts that could require a second surgery. My left ovaty already has a cysts. What are the repercussions of going this way, Anyone?
Thank you again
Wisdom

Unless you are at high risk for ovarian cancer or have an estrogen fed disease, there is no standard medical advice for removing healthy ovaries. Oophorectomy is the treatment of last choice for cysts, not the first one.

If you are post-menopausal there is no need to worry about cysts. If you are pre-menopausal, then your ovaries are still putting out necessary hormones.

Cysts can usually be treated by laproscopy which is less invasive than oophorectomy. Take some time and read up on both Lupron (which causes chemical and temporary menopause) and oophorectomy which causes permanent surgical menopause.

You might want to read this article called The Rationale for Ovarian Conservation. It's a few years old and doesn't incorporate the newest findings which support that post-menopausal ovaries put out substantial hormones and loss of them can have negative effects on your overall health. You might want to consult your primary care doctor to talk about what surgical menopause may do to your pre-existing conditions or those that you're at high risk for.

Take care.

Unfortunately cysts can occur at any age. My TAH/BSO resulted from a benign cyst that had been hanging around for well over a year. This does happen to many postmenopausal women. Technology now allows for us to find things that were not in the past known to be there. The 24 dollar question is what to do about it! In hindsight I wish I only had the cyst removed or even just to continued to watch it. There are many of us who have surgery because we have been advised to in order to prevent future problems. In hindsight-I don't buy this argument. The article posted by Juniper is a very good one. All the points it makes area valid arguments. I don't think there is any new research that counters any of the points made.

Surgical menopause is a big deal and worthy of all the time you have to research it --along with getting a few different opinions on your individual situation.