hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy

aram - I had this surgery 9 years before my breast cancer diagnosis due to many very symptomatic uterine fibroids, but I had an undetected pre-malignant ovarian tumor as well, that was found on post-operative pathology. The ooph was elective, but I am very glad I chose to do it. I was very much pre-menopausal at the time of surgery (I was 45) so I did have a surgical menopause. I did have hot flashes from hell, and I still have them 20 years later, but they are not as severe now. I did not really have any other issues - I did not gain weight, didn't have thinning hair, no mood swings, no cognitive decline, and I actually felt better once I recovered because I had been bleeding steadily, and pretty copiously, for six months before the surgery. My anemia resolved as a result and I had more energy. On the downside I did develop elevated cholesterol and I can tie it to the loss of estrogen because it had been monitored prior to surgery regularly, and it was below average numbers for my age. The numbers after surgery were elevated enough that I did take a statin for several years. After the breast cancer diagnosis I weaned off the statin and the cholesterol numbers have remained slightly elevated, but stable. A clean diet has reduced them somewhat. I also developed osteopenia, but I may have anyway as I fit the physical profile for it. I tried oral bisphosphanates but could not tolerate them, and my osteopenia stayed stable until I went on letrozole after chemo. I did have Prolia injections at that point and that reversed my bone density back to a normal reading. I am no longer on Prolia and two subsequent Dexa scans show that I am maintaining the acquired density. My surgery was an open incision so the recovery was like after a c-section, but I have a good friend who just had this done laparoscopically for a uterine cancer dx, and her recovery was relatively easy. I also have a good friend who is BRCA1+, who had TN breast cancer at 37, who elected the ooph only, and her recovery was also relatively easy. She gets the occasional hot flash but has no other truly bothersome side effects. Wishing the best to you and smooth sailing tomorrow.

I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy in 2008 due to endometrial cancer - they took everything except my vagina, which is like a sausage casing tied off at the top. In spite of all the removal of organs, I still seemed to be cranking out enough estrogen to get estrogen positive breast cancer in 2018. I hadn't gone through menopause yet when I had the hysterectomy (I was 58 at the time), and except for a few damp nights and strange dreams in the first month post-surgery, I've never had a hot flash or any other symptoms of menopause. So a hysterectomy GENERALLY cuts down on estrogen, unless you're a weirdo like me.

I had the surgery well past menopause at age 77. It was not only laparoscopic but also robot assisted (by a surgeon who teaches others how to use the robot). Recovery was really easy, major challenge was dogs who weighed more than I was allowed to lift not understanding why I was not lifting them! Cannot even identify the three tiny incision sites now 3 years later. Hard to know if the occasional hot flash is related more to the surgery or to Tamoxifen.

aram - glad you're on the other side of your surgery - sending positive vibes for an easy recovery!