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Originally Posted by Toodee  On Tuesday, June 16, I had surgery to remove both of my ovaries and fallopian tubes. I had an ovarian torsion at the end of April and my ovaries continued to enlarge over the next 2 months and my doctor told me that they needed to come out -- for my own comfort level, because they would continue to torse due to their size, and also because of my greatly increased risk of ovarian cancer. I am recovering at home but doing well. The removal of my ovaries has actually helped my blood sugars (I'm a Type 2 insulin resistant diabetic) come back down quite a bit. The hot flashes and the rest of surgically-induced menopause truly SUCK, though. Hopefully, it will get better with time.
I am 40 years old and had been trying to conceive with my husband up to this point. So that part is quite disappointing for us. But we will now explore other options.
My questions are these: Has anyone else had a similar experience? All the literature that I've read so far since my surgery indicates that women under age 45 who have their ovaries removed have a 170% increased risk for early death. This does not make me one bit happy at all, as you can imagine! Also there is a lot of conflicting info out there regarding hormone replacement therapy. I am confused and concerned, to say the least. I have a follow-up appointment with my doctor, but not for 2 more weeks.
Anyone have any info or personal experiences to share? Any / all would be appreciated! |
No personal experience to share. But it's not nice to have no answer, either.
Sorry about your disappointment. Is fostering or even adoption an option?
Don't attach over-much importance to statistics. Concentrate on what you can do to improve your own situation. To select just three of the most obvious reasons for an increased risk for early death among women who have had their ovaries removed before age 45:
1. The underlying problem or problems which led to the removal may affect life expectancy
2. The removal of estrogen may lead to increased risk of death from diseases normally more prevalent among males -- heart disease, strokes etc.
3. Excessive or long-term use of HRT may lead to increased cancer risk in uterus or breasts.
As you say, a lot of the information available is confusing and sometimes apparently conflicting. I myself have serious doubts about HRT and take the line that I prefer to avoid it, but that's possibly over-cautious.
Remember that your body will get used to its new hormone balance, the hot flashes should stop as the hormonal swings stop and you yourself will get used to the new balance as well, even without HRT.