new here....question on HRT

Hi...I'm new and have a question. I'm scheduled for a hysterectomy on May 13th and will most likely (having final conversation with my dr on Tuesday) have my ovaries removed as well. When I spoke with the nurse at my clinic she told me that my doctor would just put a patch on me post surgery and I should be good to go.

I told her I had some concerns about HRT and needed to learn a lot more before I made any decisions.

Here's my question: Is it common to start on HRT immediately after surgery or do you wait until you see what your symptoms are? My inclination is to just wait and see how I do first. But be well armed with information in case the symptoms become so bad that I need to start on hormones.

What do you all think? Any advice is much appreciated!!
Thanks!

Hi
My doctor had the patch put on me in the recovery. After a BSO we still have some hormones stored up so menopause symptoms may not show up right away. I have read here that some women wait until they have symptoms before starting on HRT. In my case, I didn't want my estrogen level to drop way down then try to bring it up when symptoms started. I've been on the Vivelle Dot patch since my surgery 5 months ago and have been very happy on it. But it is a personal decision which hopefully your doctor will discuss with you.
I also found it very helpful to read books on the subject. I've been reading books (from the public library) by Dr. Uzzi Reiss and Dr. Elizabeth Vliet who are both hormone specialists.
I wish you well with your upcoming surgery and recovery!

my dr put the vivelle dot patch on me when i was in the hospital. didn't want to have my estrogen drop to low and wanted to get on top of menopause before it was too late. i love my patch and haven't really had any problems at all. couple of warm flashes and i get hot at night,but it's not unbearable.

Thanks LoveBirds and miss feb! I appreciate your input. There is just so much information out there and so many things to think about. I'm sure I'll feel better after I talk to my doctor this week too. Boy how I wish I had a crystal ball to look into and see how my body will react to all of this!

Thanks again!
Karen

Hello There......My doc and I talked a lot and decided to wait and see how I did. Now at the age of 50 and no ovaries I am having very few meno issues. I believe if given the option I would give it a try without again.
Hope this gives you some help. Hugs and hope you do well, Lori

Thanks Lori! May I ask how long ago you had your hysterectomy? I'm 44 right now and the nurse kept saying that because I am so young, that the surgical menopause is going to hit me hard. I realize that that can happen but I'm really leaning toward just waiting and seeing how I do.

Its encouraging to hear that people can do just fine without HRT too. From everything I've read on this forum it seems it can be very different for everyone. Obviously we all have to do what works for us but it just helps so much to hear what other people have done.

Thanks again.

Good Morning,

I would be glad to share. I had a total hysto in November of 2005 my age was 45. I decided to have my ovaries out because of having a large cyst in one and the doc telling that it would be likely that at my age that I would have another in the future.

At my pre op visit we talked about my meno symptoms that I was having before surgery. I had been having a few but nothing to stand out. So with that we thought we would give it a try with out hormones. He did tell me that I would be going straight into full blown mennopause and when I returned for my 6 week check I could change my mind.

But guess what......at my 6 week check I really felt no different then before my surgery so I am to this day hormone free. I do get really hot at night but NO real sweats. Mood swings from time to time but nothing that my family or I can not handle. I do take an over the counter med called "Remifemin" that seems to help with both. I do plan to see him sometime in the next few months to see if it is still OK for me to be hormone free.

This is a scary time, please feel free to contact me at any time if you need support . I am a much happier person withOUT my female parts.

Hugs, Lori

I was put on HRT about a week after my hysterectomy because I was very young. I don't think the HRT has helped too much, but it might be worst if I didn't have it. I think some people has good luck with it and some people not so much.

I was almost 47 when I had my hyst. and I tried to go off the patch a year ago and ended up with very bad joint pain. Once I went back on the patch, the joint pain went away. So it isn't just hot flashes that can be a problem for many of us. How I wish I didn't need it, but I now realize how much I really do need the added estrogen, and I'm not going to try to go off it again any time soon.

Blessings,

Brenda

I am 36 and had a hysterectomy this past valentines day, also had my ovaries removed. My doctor and I talked at length about different options after surgery. Tried to go without anything at first. At that time it seemed that symptoms were not that bad and I could handle them without medications. Over the next few weeks the hot flashes grew more and more intense. Sometimes to the point I had to actually lean against something or just sit down. I finally decided to stop trying to tough things out and have an appointment Friday to start HRT because I have reached the miserable point. I am hoping for some relief with HRT.