ooph: how was it for you?

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peggy_j
peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
edited June 2014 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

For those who were pre-meno when they have their ooph: how was it for you? A complete hormonal shock to your system or not as bad as the stories we hear?

I'm BRCA-neg (thank God) but I've had a cyst on one of my ovaries that we've been monitoring for close to a year. It gets smaller then bigger (etc) so it doesn't look like cancer but you know how it is in cancerland, you feel like you're never 100% sure. Anyway, it looks like surgery will be the next step and I'm trying to decide whether to remove both ovaries or just one. (they'll remove both tubes). My gyno said that hormones work on the feedback system, so even if I lose one ovary, I won't have a 50% drop in hormones.

FWIW, I'm weighing the other issues, such as increased risk of bone loss (I'd take tamox) and heart disease.

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  • krisnanbrandy123
    krisnanbrandy123 Member Posts: 66
    edited April 2014

    I have brca1 gene mutation. I had ooph this past summer.  No pain to speak of.  Took it really easy for a week.   Very minor hot flashes.  Like one a day.  Sometimes more at night.  Acupuncture helped.  I was 40 yrs old at surgery.  I do not notice anything else.  

    I take calcium and vit d.  Dexa scan every two years.  Just had one and it is the easiest test.  

    Ask me anything---I am fine with personal questions.  But I am doing great and will wish for that for you too 

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited April 2014

    Had a total hyst/ooph at 45 for numerous symptomatic uterine fibroids.  Ended up with a surprise 3cm mass in the right ovary that was pre-malignant, so I was happy to have removed everything.  The ovarian mass was undetected on a pelvic US 6 months earlier.  Immediately had pretty severe hot flashes about once an hour, around the clock, which have continued to the present, and were unchanged by chemo and hormonal therapy for the BC that was diagnosed nine years after the hyst/ooph.  Did have a bone density baseline done at the time of surgery and was osteopenic, but I fit the typical profile irrespective of the hyst/ooph.  I remained stable with that until chemo and six months of Femara, and then had a measurable increase to the brink of osteoporosis so am now on Prolia injections which have allowed me to recover normal density over the last 18 months.  I am no longer even osteopenic.  I did have an increase in cholesterol - went from the 150's to 260 with no increase in weight or change in eating habits.  I went on Lipitor, but asked to wean off within the last year and have maintained a healthy ratio with diet and exercise.

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  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited April 2014

    Thanks krisnanbrandy123 and SpecialK for your info. Yeah, I'm worried about bone health. I have a rare bone disease and I can't take bisphosphonates.  A SERM would be the answer for me (like Evista) but lo and behold, I was one of the pre-meno women who had bone loss on tamox. (I don't know if it's actually unusual or if it's just unusual for MOs to be monitoring this). Anyway, that's one issue. I'm concerned about heart disease. Interesting that your cholesterol increased. (that's a factor for heart disease, I believe). But good to know that you can control it with exercise and diet (that happened to another friend; her doc wanted her to take meds but she started exercising more and that helped) Sorry to hear, SpecialK that they found a surprise during surgery. Those stories always make me nervous. I've had a few pelvic U/S (formal ones and informal ones in my gynos office). These measurements keep fluctuating. I asked my gyno if my uterus is really changing size all the time (a little bigger one time, a little smaller the next; never the same size twice) and she said no, it's the limitation of the tool. So even though I had another US this past week it makes me wonder what we actually know. Anyway, I'm rambling. Thanks for the info.I'm kind of leaning towards removing just one ovary and both tubes but having the surgery done by a gynocological oncologist, so that if he/she sees anything suspicious during surgery, he/she can take action then. (vs. a gyno, who would sew me up and refer me. yeek). I hate that I have to be thinking about this. The joys of cancerland. Thanks for your feedback and support. I appreciate it.

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  • lemon68
    lemon68 Member Posts: 684
    edited April 2014

    Hi Peggy

    I had my ooph in Sept. at age 44. It was planned to just remove the ovaries laparoscopy but once in I had a plum size cyst on one and a burst cyst on the other, hence the pain I had. The cyst had adhered my uterus and bladder so it was a mess in there, I ended up with a total hysterectomy. No cancer and that's all that really mattered to me.  Two months previous internal ultrasound showed both cysts at the size of peas. I had no hot flashes or anything till 5 weeks after the surgery. I then was having numerous hot flashes in daytime and much worse at night. My oncologist put me on Remifemin, it is all natural, I take 2 a day.  He has also offered me Effexor but I don't think I need it yet.I am having an upcoming surgery so had to stop taking them a week ago, now I know for sure they work as I am having a lot more now. I also bought a Chillow pillow and it really helps. Other than that I am fine.

    By the way my estrogen level was in the 90s and I chose to stop tamoxifen so they had to go!

    Best of luck to you.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2014

    Peggy--I was almost 48 when I had my TAH/BSO (everything removed due to large ruptured ovarian cysts while on tamox).  I had my first hot flash within 48 hours of surgery (while still in the hospital) and it was a doozy. ( Complete with major panic attack). Fortunately, that never happened again, but the first year was really rough, dealing with immediate surgical menopause and recovering from major surgery.  If you have the option of saving one ovary, take it!  you won't have surgical menopause, you will go thru menopause naturally just as you would have before the surgery. Whatever complaints you hear about menopause, it is definitely better to go thru it gradually if you have the choice.

    Anne

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  • peggy_j
    peggy_j Member Posts: 1,700
    edited April 2014

    thanks lemon and awb. Your comments were very helpful. Yes, I am leaning towards keeping that one ovary if I can.

    Overall, thanks everyone for your comments. These issues feel stressful but it was comforting to get help and support here.

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  • pajim
    pajim Member Posts: 2,785
    edited April 2014

    Peggy, I started Lupron when I was 41.  It was definitely menopause.  I don't know whether it's worse than natural menopause (my endocrinologist friends didn't seem to know either).

    I think each individual woman's reaction to oophs is a lot like their individual reaction to natural menopause.  Some suffer, some slide through.  I was somewhere on the lighter side.

    The actual ooph was last year.  I got tired of the shots.  I noticed an increase in hot flashes, but they have since subsided to the "normal" (pre-ooph) level.  When I asked the surgeon about it he said other women had complained about the same.  The ovaries don't just make estrogen but some amount of other hormones as well.

    This probably isn't much help to you, but the answer really is you will react however you react.

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