Menopause clinic - info for ladies post hyst/BSO

Finally had my appt at the menopause clinic yesterday at the same hospital as my BSGE centre. It was a really positive appointment - the dr was very knowledgeable and kind. I've stopped taking tibolone and have been given combi patches instead, so I am to use a low dose for the next 10 weeks or so and then start using 2 patches at a time to increase the dose. He had a long term plan for management and went through a list of all the things I can try until I find a treatment that helps. I will be having regular check ups at the clinic as well as bone density scans and mammograms as I now have POI (premature ovarian insufficiency) and that is a medical condition in and of itself and needs specialist treatment. It was never mentioned to me at any point before or at surgery that this was needed or how to access it, I was just told to see my GP who TBH was absolutely useless. I only found out about the clinic when I went back to the specialist endo nurse desperate for help. I will be contacting the specialist nurse again today to ask that this is discussed at the next endo team meeting and to try and make sure that women get this info when they have their BSO.

He said that the bsge consultants hadn't really handled my post op hormone treatments properly, that there was no need for me to have no treatment at all for so long (I had 3 months of prostap with no HRT prior to surgery and then no treatment for 13 weeks after the surgery) and that there was no need to keep me on tibolone for so long when it obviously wasn't working.

I'm hoping now that the change of meds will start to make a difference quickly now I'm on real oestrogen and not the fake stuff (it's really funny, I told my OH ages ago that taking tibolone must be what heroin addicts feel like when they are given methadone) but just wanted to pass this on so that if anyone has had or is due to have this surgery they are aware that this help is available.

It was a bit weird to have to go to a clinic in the reproductive medicine unit and listen to the other couples talking about their fertility issues when you've got no reproductive system any more though.