Hormones after a Hysterectomy

Hi Everyone!

    My name is Nichole and I am 25 years old. I had a vagina assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy about 4 weeks ago. My doctor and I felt this was my only option because I had already had 15 laparoscopic surgeries to remove endometreosis since I was 18. I have a beautiful baby boy who is 3 years old and my husband had a vasectomy before I met so we weren't planning on having any more children. The doctor did leave my ovaries so that I wouldn't have to go on hormone replacement therapy. However, I have really been struggling the past week. I did fine the first 2 but I was technically suppose to start my period the past few days. I have been struggling with fatigue, having hot flashes, being very emotional as in sad and depressed, loss of appetite, nausea, lower back pain, and feeling like I'm cramping. I was just wondering if having a hysterectomy affected my hormones at all and why I could be feeling this way. Am I just weird? My husband and mom both seem to think I am because they say the hysterectomy should have resolved all my problems and the uterus doesn't effect the hormones. Please help me figure out if this is normal or if I really am crazy. Thanks :)

[Cherie762]

Hi, I am so happy for you that you had the chance to have your son, many young women with endo never have a child, Im gonna address 2 different theory as to what I think may be happening with you, in all likelyhood its a bit of both.

first off, your only 4 weeks post op, this surgery is considered major, major surgery its harder on the body than one thinks, your still in the healing phase, think of the void or space where your uterus used to be things are shifting and your anatomy is adjusting to fill that space,

Lower back pain at one month post op is sooo common Im not real sure of the cause it could be from position on operating table ( one school of thought ) or from the ligaments that hold the uterus adjusting ( another cause according to docs)

I wonder if your doing a bit too much a bit too soon could explain the cramping, I really hope your not lifting your 2 year old you should not be lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs for 6 weeks..You should be relaxing and resting a lot it is crutail to healing..I got a full journal page full of post op hint on my home page iof your interested..

so to sum up theory one I think your still healing and possibly doing too much.

theory 2, its odd but sometimes for reasons unknown when the uterus is removed, even with ovaries being retained, the body gets thrown off a bit, your hormones may be off, The only way to accurately have this checked is by getting a blood test for female hormone levels, If they are too low you may want to consider bio-identical hormone replacement therapy. It will help with the emotions and hot flashes.

A hysterectomy is an emotionally hard operation its very common to be blue, sad and depressed, if these symptoms dont subside do discuss with your doctor there are some women who develop a bit of post surgical depression.

As I mentioned to someone above there is an herbal called Black Cosch that really helpw most with hot flashes and sometimes helps with depression , you must get drs permission to take this please, as herbals are interactive with other medicines....

if you have anymore questions feel free, I check on here atleast once per day...Cherie

[caro40]

Hi
I had an hysterectomy on April 6th, mine was complete and I am older then you....I am 40.  I do have to take hormones so I don't know about the hormones part for you but I can tell you that I did do too much too soon and I am still having pain in the lower back and lower abdomen where my ovaries were.  8 days after my surgery I was back to being alone with my sons (3 and 4) and taking care of them.  This was CRAZY.  being able to walk does not mean you are good to go.  This is my #1 advice to you: REST and ask for HELP even if you think you are better....I did not have help for long and this was not a good plan.  Dont lift you son, I did it, it is not a good idea.
I am still having post op issues and I am thinking this could have been prevented with more rest.

take it easy
take good care
Caroline

[Cherie762]

Caroline your so right, its common to feel kind of ok, but your not, its just completley physically impossible to be "ok" that soon after a hysterectomy, there are so many vessels and ligaments that are severed, it takes the body time to recover from that, The very very best thing one can do to help oneslf heal is nothing. Literally for once be a couch potatoe, rest is the very best thing for anyone recovering from this, also for the pain try using ice. never use heat it increases swelling and possible blood loss from this type of surgery.

[djsmommyn05]

Hey Girls!

       Thanks so much for all your helpful advice and concern. You are not the only people that have told me that I am over doing it. I had my surgery on a Monday and by that Friday I was back to taking care of my three year old on my own. He had to have tubes put in his ears 10 days after my surgery so I was busy taking care of him and then we had to move roughly 2 weeks after my surgery. So I can completely see the fact that I was overdoing it but I had no other way to do it. The world doesn't cease to stop running just because mom is done. I wish it did though. Anyways, thanks again for the concern and advice. I'm going to see my doctor on Wednesday for my 4 week post op. I'm sure he will say the same as both of you but I am hoping he will also test my hormones. Thanks again for everything. You guys rock and its nice to know I'm not alone in all of this. :)

[caro40]

Hi!
you are not alone....I was thinking the same because I have no friends who went through this but you are not alone..and you are not crazy
ask you doctor to test your hormones
I did not and I will....because I dont like the fact that I am taking a pill every day and I am not sure it is the right one for me

good luck
try to rest when you son is napping
the house does not have to be clean.....

[Cherie762]

because you over did it so, its not to late to go back to square one, I would advise you to try to find someone to help with son and spend a good 2 weeks resting,,,you probably set yourself backwards as far as healing time, and theres no avoiding the rest you have to be inactive for a certain amount of time for things to heal properly.

[D68]

Hi, I'm Donna68
I had a robotic lapro hysterectomy less then a week a go; since being home these pass few days, I've noticed a few changes that scare me a bit.  I am very emotional, crying quite a bit; I'm having nightmares and feeling a great deal of guilt because I failed to inform my boyfriend about my exact procedure. He's a jazz artist and has been traveling for performances the past few months. He's 48, never married and has no biological children; I on the other had am 40 and have two (20 & 15). I never imagine wanting to have more children prior to meeting him but when he told me that's something that was missing in his life, I felt like I was stuck between a rock and hard place. Medically, I needed to have the hysterectomy but emotionally, I wish I could share a child with him. I've never been married and feel he is the one I'm meant to be with............this may be a stupid question but, if my ovaries were left intact, are my eggs viable and if so, could they be frozen.

[CATHLEIN]

My name is Cathlein I'm 53 years old and on the 12 of October I had a complete hysterectomy I know its only been six days which I was expecting to be very sore. I had my son 23 years age and he was cecerian(not sure I spelled that right) so I new what to expect with the surgery.What I wasn't expecting was the Hot Flashes they are really bad. I took Lupron Depo Injections for a year to try and stop the bleeding and had hot flashes then, but now I feel like I'm going to go up in flames.And I have blow up temper wise twice totally looseing it.I thought with all my junk gone that would be over.I don't understand the hormone situation are we supose to take them until this feeling of killing someone passes. I'm hearing that the bioidentical creams work wonders????