Ovaries & Tubes Removed???

Hi BobbieJo,

I'm sorry about your family history and young age.  Even with such a strong family history, it could be an environmental factor instead of BRCA, and there are several more genes out there that they are trying to identify too, I wouldn't be surprised if we heard of BRCA 3, 4 and so on soon. 

I was 37 when diagnosed, and when I finished treatment I had a total hysterectomy.  I based my reasoning on the fact of my age, abnormal pap smears, ER+, grade3, not wanting to be on tamoxifen for years (I'm not good at taking daily pills), and not wanting to go through menopause twice in my lifetime.  I did anything I thought would help.  Ooph or hysterectomy does lower risk they say, so I went with it. 

There are side effects, and they change from person to person, you will get hot flashes, mine were easily controlled by Effexor for the first 9 months or so and are now completely gone without anything.  I compare that to my mother, who never had a procedure and still has hot flashes 15 years after starting menopause naturally, and I'm happy I went that route.  Libido can be affected by some, there is some initial dryness until your body adjusts, this is where KY makes their money.  My doctor told me to pay attention to my environment, and that worked.  I feel that I am totally back to normal, and I am only 3 years out from having it done.  I get one stray hair on my chin that I use the tweezers on once every 2 months like clockwork, that is way better than any monthly cycle in my opinion.

There is an up and down side to everything, and this is an intensely personal decision.  My personal feeling is that your body can recover more swiftly younger rather than older, but you need to base this on your own history of recovery and how well you heal from things.  I'm not sure how an ooph would differ with side effects, I think many are the same.  I hope this helps you.

((Hugs))

Sue

Hi Bobbie Jo,

No, nothing except of course at Christmas time when I'm faced with trays of yummy cookies.  Then I get a tummy, but it goes away after the holidays.  I've never been overweight for my size though either, I don't know if that makes a difference.  I've always just ate what I want, eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full.  That works for me. I was worried about the stomach area too, I have a lot of kids and I know that can be a danger zone, and my mom and sister are not the most slender, but so far so good.  I think I gained a few pounds right after surgery, but then lost it as I became more active again.

My humble $0.02 opinion...

Even though you tested negative for the BRCA gene, that doesn't mean that there is something they don't know about yet. You are ER+ and it seems that you are done having children. So, get the full hysterectomy, ovaries, tubes & uterus. I had mine done via a robot on a Friday morning & was ready to walk out the door by noon. Didn't slow me down at all.

Menopause sucks but not as bad as bc. My chemo slammed me into menopause. The night sweats that kept me up all night were the worst of it. I live in Phoenix. Yes, it's a dry BUT VERY HOT heat & it doesn't mix well with menopause. I did take Effextor for a couple of years & that leveled out the night sweats.

I was lucky because I had very little SE's from the Tamoxafin. The one that nearly took me out was a blood clot that ran from mid-thigh to the ankle because I had dumped my Harley & broke my ankle. The SE's from Femara was a slightly elevated cholesterol that I take a small dose of Lovastain to counteract.

I vote, better living through chemicals but I much prefer to NOT take meds unless I really, really have to.

One side effect from losing the ovaries is the calcium & bone loss. No big deal, just eat some calcium + vitamin d's.

I haven't had that much of a problem with keeping weight off. But being on Tamox  then Femara made losing weight tougher.

 Good luck with whatever you decide.

bonny