hysterectomy

[Peetzo]

hi all I’ve just had an appointment with my consultant and looking for some advice..I’m 42 with severe endo and he’s advised a total hysterectomy with hrt.. but he’s advised me the wait will be another yr 😞 AGAIN! Anyway because of the wait he has suggested I start the process early by having an injection to put me in menopause and prescribe me HRT soon.. has anyone had similar and can put my mind at rest.. I’m worrying about starting menopause early and not naturally.. any help and advice would be great . Thanks for reading x

[Florrie2]

Hi Peetzo. What a pain!

I waited 8 months for mine and was on Prostap to put me in menopause (think - can’t quite remember) plus an HRT tablet. After a bit of settling down, I was fine on these.

I had the same concern about entering menopause early/not naturally but I felt it was a choice of do it, or carry on with awful symptoms. I was older at 47.

[Peetzo in reply to Florrie2]

Thank you for your reply it’s nice to hear others going through similar experiences xx

[Cazarooni30 in reply to Peetzo]

I was also on prostap for 6 months with hrt tablets, although at the time I stopped the hrt as I want getting symptoms. The prostap really helped my endo

[Chartolfrey]

Hi im in the same situation but ive been told 12-18 month wait for full hysterectomy.Im just finishing my 3 zoledex injection and have number 4 in 1 week. I must admit i was scared aswell but by 2nd injection i was on hrt and hardly notice any menopause symptoms. It has taken till injection 3 to have alot of pain free days and ive had no period this month but month 1 and 2 was rough.

[chocoholic30]

Hi

I have been on prostap since last oct and after a couple of months it has changed my life! I’m only 38 and had the same worries but the few menopause symptoms I have are nowhere near anything compared to the pain I was in! Obviously everyone is different but I hope it works for you like it did me! X

[Username12345678]

I had similar. Was on and off Prostap for about 2.5 years until I had a full hysterectomy at 46. Hands down the best thing I ever did! Actually wish I’d done it sooner. Good luck x

[MrsPaddingtonBear]

Hello

I had a total hysterectomy last October. I was on zoladex and hrt patches then prostap and patches for nearly 2 years. I had severe Endo, multiple miscarriages, ruptured ectopic and multiple cysts. They discovered I had a “bumpy womb “ during surgery. This was the reason they said I’d never carried a pregnancy properly. It only took them 20 years to figure this out! Hope you don’t have to wait a year for op, best of luck

[Neenz1]

Hi.

I’m 46 and had a total hysterectomy 11 days ago. I had about a ten month wait but I was on the priority list. Whilst I was waiting for the surgery I was put on Zoladex and hrt. It definitely helped my endo symptoms which indicated that the hysterectomy was the right option for me. Maybe ask to go on the cancellation list to increase your chances of getting in a bit earlier. I got called once but happened to be going on holiday that day! The first couple of months on Zoladex was hard going but it does settle down. Good luck with everything!

[Sunset-lady]

I'm on zoladex too although my endo is so bad I cannot have a hysterectomy. I'm 51 so praying for menopause. Zoladex runs out for me around 9 week mark so I have to get it early or I hemorrhage. It's an awful drug but a necessary one for some and I would advise you to read up on it. It affects the messages sent by your brain to your pituitary gland which becomes overwhelmed and stops working thus you go into chemical menopause. You can take addback HRT and this relieves a lot of symptoms. A lot of women are placed on Tibilone which is a synthetic HRT and very low in hormones. If you can, I'd opt for a natural progesterone like utrogestan which your body will prefer particularly if you have endo (endo doesn't do well with progestin as it needs progesterone). Take as small an amount of estrogen as you can as it's estrogen that drives many of our conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, adenomyosis etc. You also need to remember that for many women endo comes back after a hysterectomy unfortunately; it's a life long disease. Zoladex and prostrap strip your body of calcium so you can't be on them too long due to bone mass risks leading to conditions like osteoporosis. Many women get a scan at the end of treatment. You need to take collagen and other supplements to support your body. The HRT should help to protect you. You may also put on weight as the drug makes the body store fat diffetently so you may see a change in your shape - which is also mrnopause i guess. For many, zoladex stops pain and bleeding so they can exercise again. I see zoladex as a last resort - I tried everything before going on it, but without it, I bleed constantly. Be patient as it takes around 3 months to settle and the first month is hard (particularly if you're swapping contraception to HRT or going from synthetic progestin to utrogestin). When it works it's incredible. I'm having my next one today (the first one they give you is for a month then you move to 3 months). I have to go to the hospital for mine as my GP doesn't do them. Think of zoladex as one part of your treatment with good diet, exercise, sleep and supplements also supporting you. Zoladex gets a lot of bad press, but for many of us it gives us our lives back and stops us being anaemic which is amazing. Good Luck x

[Lucinka17]

hello Peetzo,

My name is Lucie 42 and exactly 100% spot on same story the only different is I am already on these injections and waitting 22 weeks🤣

Injections I am on is call prostap and I am taking HRT alongside call tibolone

First 3 months were very challenging I am not going to lie as your body goes into chemical menopause so hot sweats… tired …swings of moods … palpitations … brain fogs you name it but it goes under control a bit later and it does prepare your body for surgical menopause so you want have a massive shock to your body after hysterectomy.

If you got anymore questions please msg me no problem and all the best and luck😍😍😍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[ChicaPixie]

Hello lovely, So sorry you're going through this.

Coincidentally I've just had my last injection of Zoladex and I'm also on Tibolone to help with some of the symptoms of the medical menopause. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for me personally with a lot of different side effects, mainly mood but also weird aches and feelings. I'm due to have a total hysterectomy in August and I will have to take HRT too as they will be removing my ovaries.

Whilst I really struggled with this medication and it's been a trying time, I know it can help and apart from a very recent flare up, I've not had much endo symptoms. But I would say reading through this forum this treatment is so very personal and everyone reacts so differently.

I truly wish you the very best of luck lovely and sending strength. I know this can feel so overwhelming xxx

[Rast]

hi- sorry to hear of your dilemma. I had the same advice from my consultant before my surgery in January . But I was adamant not to have a hysterectomy even tho the consultant was insisting. I demanded that they only remove what they can with keyhole and hysterectomy is the absolute final resort. It’s your choice and not knowing how severe ur endo is , think about what works for you and your future plans. Best of luck x

[Stopalready]

Hi, sorry to hear this! I have endo and also endometrioma growing in rectus muscle which is very debilitating and painful. As part of my treatment I was given Zoladex last November to put me into menopause and stop the lump growing. (i was already peri menopausal age48) I was also given HRT to replace a little of the eastrogen, sadly this continued to feed the lump which has grown and the pain was worse than ever. I've now been told to stop the Zoladex and the HRT and await a full hysterectomy and surgical removal of the lump and reconstruction of the muscle.

The overnight menopause was awful and after 2 weeks my mood was through the floor, but my doctor told me this would settle after 2 weeks, and it did to be fair.

In short though the Zoladex didn't work for me, but I had a few issues going on, the lump in my muscle being the worse issue.

I was told though that if the Zoladex worked there'd be no need for hysterectomy, but I guess everyone's situation is unique xx

[PM24]

Hi, I’ve just turned 40 and I’m in the same boat unfortunately, it really is tough. I was advised to start injections last year before a laparoscopy but really did not want to begin menopausal symptoms. The laparoscopy was unsuccessful and my pain became completely unmanageable so I reluctantly starting monthly Decapeptyl injections in February and they really have helped the pain caused by my cysts and endometriosis. I started with HRT patches last month as I’ve been having hot flushes. The HRT caused my pain to return, my hot flushes and sweating became worse, my sleep pattern became disturbed and I generally felt like utter crap. I’ve taken the patches off and I’m just going to leave it now until I’ve had my hysterectomy. I don’t need anything else added to the mix at the moment!

I was told in December the hysterectomy waiting list was 18 months but I’ve been given a face to face pre op appointment in 2 weeks so I’m really hopeful it might be sooner than that. I need a bowel dissection too and endometriosis removed from my diaphragm and liver.

Fingers crossed for you to be all sorted ASAP. Give the injections a go and see how you feel. I was so low about it but they truly have helped me.