Hi All,

I could use some of your wisdom and experience.I haven't posted in a while so I'll refresh your memory with a summary of my story. I will TRY to keep it short, lol.

On January 21 I had a TAH due to Adenomyosis and stage III/IV endo. While one ovary had a large endometrioma on it and both had endo, the specialist that did my surgery removed ALL of the disease and I was able to keep my ovaries and avoid premature menopause. I am 44 so I knew I had a few good years left!

Since the surgery, I haven't felt like myself. I just don't feel "right" if you know what I mean. I am not having any of the classic menopause symptoms like hot flashes. I do know what they are like though, I experienced them a few years ago while taking Lupron to treat my endo. Since I'm not having any hot flashes now but am having other strange symptoms, I'm wondering if my ovaries have quit working. I am having mood swings and am generally not my happy self. I have no sex drive at all, thank goodness my husband is Mr. Patient.

The doc has recommended that I try Estratab for a month to see if I notice any improvement. What can any of you tell me about Estratab? What kinds of side effects might I expect? Is it possible that my ovaries, 4 months post op, are just dormant or in shock and may begin working? Are any of my symptoms typical of surgical menopause? How do we really and truly know if our ovaries are working? The gyn I see here at home (not the doc that did my surgery) doesn't believe in blood tests for hormone levels, he says they are highly inaccurate. What is your opinion on that?

Thanks for addressing all my questions. I feel like I've lost myself somewhere during this whole process.

In Friendship,

Debbie

Hi............I am very interested in the responses to your post because I have had the exact same problems since having a hysterectomy in November of 96. Shortly there after, I started experiencing the same symptoms you mentioned. I have been on various drugs to treat each problem, estratest for lack of libido, serezone for depression, and climara patch to lhelp the menopausal symptoms. I also just dont feel right. There are days when I tell my husband, "I just wish I felt the way I did before my hyterectomy" I still have my ovaries and I am 38., I too had a hyster. due to adenomyosis. But I often wonder if my ovaries have shut down also. My Dr. feels I could be in early menopause (?) , but nobody knows for sure. I feel they just keep giving me prescriptions because they dont want to take the time to really find out. I dont know...............

Marlene

Debbie,

Last June I had a TVH and it took my ovaries 2 months and 1 week to get back into the swing of things again. The doctor said that the ovaries kinda like go into shock after surgery and it takes a while for them to get back to normal. But 4 months seems like a long time to me. I felt like I had an I don't care attutide about everything. There was nothing that I got excited about. Friends thought I was depressed. But doctor said no.

Pam

Debbie and Marlene - if your doctors won't test your hormones for you, why don't you first try another doctor? This guessing game is so typical, so time-consuming and so stupid. If you can find a doctor to help you, and you can afford to pay for things yourself (outside of insurance) maybe a naturopathist (sp?) can help you. There are labs that you can send off things like stool samples and saliva to that will test for you and send you results. I tried the saliva test for hormones. Found the address in the back of a book called Natural Women/Natural Menopause. I have to say that I didn't benefit much from it because I didn't understand how to interpret the results. They didn't spell things out as I expected them to. Actually I was kind of unhappy because I paid $60 out of my pocket for this. If anyone on the board has tried the saliva test thing from Aeron labs and has a better understanding of the results, I would love to hear from you because it really bugs me. I don't know if maybe I had done it through a doctor, he would have helped me with the interpretation. The results I got seemed to compare my levels with other women taking HRT. What I wanted to know was, how does it compare to someone premenopausal, not on HRT - in other words, the way I used to be. I mean, that's the goal, isn't it - to try to reach a natural level?

I got off the track. My reason for writing was to tell you to be tough and not quit until you get some satisfaction. Nancy

Hello everyone. I am new here. Been lurking for a few weeks now and you all seem like a nice bunch of ladies!

I had to reply about the ovaries shutting down. That is exactly what happened to me, too. I had a TVH last October. However, I DID have all of the menopausal signs: hot flashes, loss of memory (more than usual!), etc etc. It was so awful. I prayed hard for my ovaries to kick back in and start working, and they did, finally, the week of Thanksgiving. That was what I gave thanks for last year ;-)

The only good thing that came out of it was that I found a Menopause Board with the most wonderful women on it and I have 8 good buddies now that I Loop with. Well, I don't have any answers. Just wanted you to know you are not alone.

Nancy

Dear Gals,

I've heard it is very possible for the ovaries to shut down after a hyst. I've also heard this can be temporary or permanent. If, after a while you continue to have meno symptoms, check with your doctor. He/She can run hormone level checks and prescribe hrt for you. Blessings!

Kathy