No Date: Keep Ovaries?

altlbts14,

You are wise to ask questions and get info while making this decision. I too had a choice. I was 55 and still cycling at the time of my hyster and took my doc's advice to let him take my ovaries. At my age--what could happen? HA! I really need HRT but it can be expensive and a bother.

That said, I feel much better on HRT than I did with my ovaries PMS, mood swings--all the fun stuff of perimenopause. If I were making the decision with what I know now I just might still make the same choice. It's not an easy decision.

Your ovaries continue to produce hormones long after menopause just at lower levels. That estrogen can be protective against osteoporosis (take calcium and vit D), heart disease, colon cancer to name a few. A little estrogen after menopause can be good for you.

So you are moving out of the country and are concerned about medical care. What if you need HRT to feel well? Who will help you with that? I would be in bad shape without HRT and need a really good doc to help me with it. If it were only hot flashes, I'd be good to go. I can live with hot flashes. There can be lots more to it than just hot flashes. There are women who do okay without ovaries and no HRT but I'm sure not one of them. You wanted real life experience, hope this helps.

Good luck, there is no one size fits all answer, keep us posted.

This is only my opinion. If your ovaries are healthy, and you are not getting this done for cancer, keep them. They do have a purpose throught out your life, even after menopause. I had mine removed, and I wish that I had kept them. It has only been 7 weeks since surgery, I started HRT about a week ago.