As natural as possible...

[Safh]

Hi, having just had a full hysterectomy incl ovaries I'm expecting to be thrown into menopause. I'm hoping to use natural remedies for any unpleasant symptoms. Is it worth taking anything now? Does anyone have suggestions for bone health please? I had adhesions and mild endometriosis and hope that's all over and done with now. Also, when is it safe to resume pelvic floor exercises? I've been left high and dry with nobody to discuss this with and our lovely GP who was the women's health advocate for our surgery passed away so I'm stuck there too! Any advice gratefully received!

[DBrum]

hi Safh, speedy recovery to you, I had severe endometriosis and had a hysterectomy where they left one ovary, that then burst with a cyst so needed my final ovary out.

I tried to take hrt in the form of tablets patches and cream but after 6 months they told me I was estrogen intolerant.

Please ask for advice as they should not of left you without hormones.

I do hope you recover quickly but I have to say my life won’t ever be the same without my hormones.

Let me know how it goes 💗

Kind wishes

Dawn

[wobblybee Administrator]

I’m so sorry you haven’t had support after your surgery..

🙂 I hope this link gives information you need..

menopausesupport.co.uk/

[Belle76]

Hi hope you feel better soon, and menopause symptoms are kind to you. I would look into calcium vitamins for your bones.

There’s lots of products out there to help with symptoms, I can not recommend any as I haven’t tried them, the only one I tried was menopause support I think it was called. I also take magnesium to help me sleep.

I am on HRT as this was the only relief I got from my symptoms. I did a lot of reading and found that it is made from yams now and more like our own hormones.

[Safh]

Thank you for your replies. I've looked into HRT and it is indeed made from yams, who knew! I shall do a bit more digging, calcium and magnesium seem like a good start. I am more open to hrt now and shall see how symptoms go first. Thank you kindly x

[katiesails]

Hope you are recovering well from your op.

I am with you in terms of preferring to take natural route. the experience of menopause seems so so varied and personal. Good news is some do have no symptoms. What interested me was to discover this was the case with a lot of women in parts of the world with very different lifestyle.

I'd had endometriosis but kept a positive mind about what would happen and how I could impact my menopause. All I can tell you is that when I was good with my nutrition and lifestyle things were pretty good, and when I slipped up ( wine, chocolate, poor eating, not looking after me) symptoms started to appear, and would disappear when I got back on track.

I've not had any HRT or felt the need. Friends who work in the field have tried to steer me that way and been suprised that my determination to give my body what it needs the vast majority of the time has got me through. I do take supplements and I do use shakes that have a lot of plant protein and other nutrients. And I do eat a lot of regular foods, the occasional glass or two of wine and chocoaltes. I Exercise lightly most days ideally outdoors to get fresh air and be mindful

good luck with whatever way your journey takes you. You will find what suits you.

[Safh]

Thank you Katie, that's good advice. I'm feeling ok so far and healing well. I've got some supplies on hand like red clover, sage, maca etc but no need for them at the moment. I really expected to feel awful and am relieved that I feel fine, just more tired than usual but that's probably because Im trying to sleep on my back while I heal and it's uncomfortable. I think I shall follow in your footsteps with diet and exercise and enjoy my new chapter of life!

[amberbrown]

Hi Safh, I hope this helps. I am a 65 year old female who had cysts on ovaries and was advised to have total hysterectomy (UK, removing ovaries). I asked if this would affect my hormone levels and maybe give me side effects and nasties later as a result and was told by the gynocologist that no it could not, as our ovaries totally stop working when we reach the age of 42 and it would make no difference whatsoever.

At the same time I had a lot of aches and pains come on. And was sent to rheumatologicst eventually on my request and told it was fibromyalgia.

Bearing this "insight" in mind I went ahead with the operation - July this year - a month or so later I was very ill with breathlessness, lack of energy, depression, anxiety, memory problems, which I had never had before, was rushed into hospital urgently. The hospital new I had just had a total hysterectomy but never listened to a word about it or took it into account. According to them I suddenly had major asthma out of nowhere and gave me inhalers, which did not work. After a bit I was sent home. The depression and anxiety got worse and worse, I was suicidal with it, I also had very dry skin on legs, felt extremely cold, insomnia and other symptoms. My aches and pains -so called fibromyalgia all disappeared instantly . I knew something was seriously wrong when my next door neighbour came to see me about something and said she needed to speak to me about something and I said to her"well you need to find out who lives in this house and speak to her" - when I was the one I was speaking about and could not remember who I was or that this was my house!!!!

I did some research on google and found a lot of stuff about lack of estrogen and how it can afford - it all matched up - and went onto hrt patches. Within a very short time I felt much better and could sleep, mood better, and all the rest, but after a while it sort of wore off and was back to square one. I spoke to the nurse at my doctors practice who said I needed higher dose patch so switched to that. As a back up separately I also bought myself some SOYA PILLS to have on stand by as a sort of plan b.

We are now six months down the line from then, I am using the patches and have done both. At one stage a few months back I had to speak to the gynocologist doctor at my doctors surgery who told me to just stop using patches altogether - with no thought to how I would be without them. I had two weeks of feeling so could I had to stay in bed with my electric blanket on all of the time. For months I have had a feeling of fullness in right ear and face, very much like when you have the flu, but nothing will shift it.

As for endeometris, I was told when I had the operation that they found it, but as they had removed my womb it was gone except for some that was left. I insisted they look into this but they dismissed it and would not listen. Months later I spoke to them about my patches and they said YOU DO KNOW YOU HVAE ENDEOMETRIS dont you> We need to refer you. I also wanted to know if there was a problem with taking estrogen when this is the case. They were clueless and said to wait till the hospital contact me about it. This was months ago. Strange that when they first discovered it they said it did not matter and then months later they decide I must see them about it, even though that had not changed.

I am now a the stage of awful stomach aches all day and back aches. Finding it very depressing and debiliating. IF I wean myself off the patches slowly it is still there, it makes no difference. Feel trapped by how bad I feel and that I am stuck with it.

If I had known all this I would not have agreed to the op. Well not the removal of the ovaries anyway. As for the gynocologist saying that ovaries stop producing estrogen when you are 42, strange then that as soon as I had the hysterectomy I got hit with all of these lack of estrogen problems. Please do not take whatever a consultant says to you as being definitely true. I am now too ill to do housework, go out or work most of the time. Painkillers do very little for me if anything so no point to anyone suggesting all of the obvious routes.

[Safh]

Oh my goodness Amberbrown, you've had an awful time! This is exactly the mess I'm hoping to avoid. It seems that some doctors and even gynaes are clueless when it comes to hormones. I'm so sorry you have had such a horrid experience. It's amazing how much role our ovaries play. I'm feeling ok, just some pain and twinges here and there, especially in the area where my cervix used to be and right ovary area for some reason. I had a hemithyroidectomy a few years ago and really don't know if that will affect how I feel later down the road. I'm taking one day at a time and so far just feel tired and my bones, especially my pelvis and hips ache. I'm trying to pace myself and eat well as suggested by others. It's my bones I'm most concerned about so shall look at supplements but I shall resort to hrt if I feel I need to. I really hope you can find a happy balance with your hormones and ill health. It's such a juggle for some people and unfair on our bodies which receive no end of problems just because we're female.

Take care

[Lara1244]

Hi Safh

It’s been About 3.5 years since my total hysterectomy to cure early stage cancer - I’m 63 and working as I need to and all of a sudden I’ve been hit with a raft of health problems due to lack of oestrogen- thinning hair irritability mood swings, elevated anxiety, vaginal atrophy, urge incontinence, joint pain, hot spells leg pains, dry eye and earache. I’m thinking should I be enduring or can I have a better quality of life? Would hrt patches help me?

That’s rubbish about ovaries ceasing to work at 42 - they continue to produce small amounts of oestrogen into old age and you can have a baby in your 50s!!

Kind Regards

Lara

[Kingsquest]

My mother used to take hrt, but stopped when she found out it caused cancer. Her symptoms returned so she was put on an antidepressant. She takes maximum dose. We are in the US.