Surgical menopause

[Becca418]

Hi everyone. I am 43 and am about to have a total hysterectomy and oophorectomy. I know that it's necessary due to several physical problems. My concern is about the surgical menopause it will cause. I've heard the horror stories and would greatly appreciate any words of wisdom or hope. Thank you!

[skt68]

I'm also very very interested I peoples responses to this as well, following in breast anticipation 😁

[Shali82]

Hello! I'm sorry to hear you've had to make this decision, never an easy one.

I had a TAH in March last year at 32 years old. Personally best decision I ever made. It gave me my life back.

The surgically menopause is different from natural of course. I will try to be as honest as I can about mine. I didn't start my hrt until three weeks after surgery. Those first few weeks were rotten. Nightmares, flushes and mood swings that my 3 year old would have been proud of. Thankfully being bed ridden I was confined to a small area so hubby coped lol. I began Elleste Solo 1mg and I noticed some vast differences after a couple of weeks. The flushes had gone almost completely. I maybe had one intense one a my tablets. nightmares stopped too. But it did cause some issues too. My mood was like a yoyo and three months in I had absolutely no sex drive. I went back to the gp who recommended changing my tablets. I changed to elleste duet 2mg. Not a lot changed except I noticed I was getting excess hair which wasn't nice but it made little or no difference to my sex drive. My best advice would be to at least give the hrt three month. 18 months on my sex drive is minimal at best but I have a wonderful partner so it's a bearable side effect. But I'd rather that than mood swings, hot flushes and sweating. The weight gain isn't a myth. I bloated to a 16 and I swear despite my best efforts I can't lose a pound! But despite the issues hrt is a better option for me. Each person is affected differently though. Best of luck with your surgery xx

[Becca418 in reply to Shali82]

Thank you for being so honest. I'm really scared but it helps to hear from people who have gone through this.

[Catspelle in reply to Shali82]

Hi there I was interested in your post as am due TAH in a few weeks and need to start HRT discussions with GP as am only 45. I can't afford the weight gain but I can't live with my giant fibroids anymore. I have read that full recovery takes a good 12 months so I feel prepared for what might happen but am very interested in real experiences. Thanks very much.

[Catspelle]

Hi you are similar age to me I am just 45 and due TAH shortly. I am due to start discussions with ?GP about HRT. I have read as much as I can to prepare myself and will take all my time off work to recover. I have read it can take a year to recover. Don't have any expectations as everyone is different. Good luck and let us know how you get on. At least you will be relieved not to have to worry about any problems down south again.