HRT post hysterectomy

[ccsmith]

I'm sure this has been posted before. I'm at the end of a long road of treatments and I'm at the point of thinking hysterectomy. I have endo stage 5 bowel and lower abdo. My consultant has said in the past hysterectomy with bowel involvement which I have always put off. I'm having terrible side effects with all the treatments and have Mirena coil in which has helped the bleeding but I still have pains, constant nausea and also very severe depression now. I'm now happy to try the surgery and realise it's not curative but will help in many of the side effects etc. I've looked up HRT and at age of 40 know I should go on it but worry re it feeding the endo and also side effects!! Anyone have any advice I want to go with as much info as I can next week

[Hidden]

I had this surgery in March after a year of assorted drug treatments, none of which worked. It was carried out at a bsge centre (I assume you're being treated at one of these, if you're not you should be if you have bowel involvement). I had a total hysterectomy with removal of tubes and ovaries, excision of a large rectovaginal nodule plus other bowel endo, a cystoscopy and stents and excision of endo from my left ureter. I also had adenomyosis, a hydrosalpinx in my right fallopian tube, kissing ovaries, endometriomas on both ovaries and bladder endo. And fibroids, because all the rest obviously wasn't enough!

I had a course of prostap without HRT addback in the weeks leading up to the surgery, then 13 weeks with no HRT after the surgery and I've now been on tibolone for 8 weeks. I should also add that the surgery was carried out in 2 stages as I also had a lap back in november when they drained the cysts on my ovaries and fully mapped out the disease. I was warned about the possibility of bowel resection but fortunately they were able to shave the endo off the bowel.

With regards to HRT, you will find that they are very keen for you to take it to limit the risk of osteoporosis. I've been told that I will need some form of HRT until I am 50 (I'm 39 now). Side effects wise, I am finding it is helping with the hot flushes and I can sleep better, but I am finding it very hard to lose any of the weight I put on over the past year and I have a lot of bloating and water retention. I have been told that breast cancer risk is not increased unless you take HRT beyond the age of natural menopause and that it also depends on what kind of HRT you take. Obesity and alcohol have a far bigger impact on breast cancer risk than HRT does.

For me it was really a case of what would give me the best quality of life and although I am not now a normal 39 year old woman, I have been able to stop taking all pain meds, I don't have to take laxatives every day, I'm not anxious all the time and it has been a positive life changing step for me. I am still coming to terms with everything that happened and being a woman without a uterus but it is early days. I have no regrets (other than wishing I'd been diagnosed earlier, or better still, that I'd never had endo in the first place!).

[ccsmith in reply to Hidden]

That sounds a huge amount of surgery, but you sound positive which is what I wanted to hear (only ever hear the negative). The HRT is my fear but it's reassuring to hear your experiences. Thank you soo much