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Depression after 1 year laparotomy to remove 1 ovary- please help
Hello,
I find myself in desperate need of advice. I am 21 years old and last year July 2012 I had my right ovary removed due to a large ovarian cyst which had twisted and after passing all of the pain and sudden shock following my surgery I am once again in a pickle. All of my life I have always been very energized and uplifted and ever since my surgery I have not felt normal. Recently perhaps due to ovarian pain (in the process of finding whether another cyst) I have not been able to pull myself out of this sad slump, I cry nonstop and without reason and would like to know if others experienced this as well. I keep telling myself perhaps I am simply scared of losing my last remaining ovary since it has been my lifelong dream to have children. Has anyone tried DIM and herbal treatments? I am willing to try anything to save my one ovary and maybe pull me out of this slump so I can start feeling like myself again- and maybe a little happiness.
Much thanks,
Gaby
I find myself in desperate need of advice. I am 21 years old and last year July 2012 I had my right ovary removed due to a large ovarian cyst which had twisted and after passing all of the pain and sudden shock following my surgery I am once again in a pickle. All of my life I have always been very energized and uplifted and ever since my surgery I have not felt normal. Recently perhaps due to ovarian pain (in the process of finding whether another cyst) I have not been able to pull myself out of this sad slump, I cry nonstop and without reason and would like to know if others experienced this as well. I keep telling myself perhaps I am simply scared of losing my last remaining ovary since it has been my lifelong dream to have children. Has anyone tried DIM and herbal treatments? I am willing to try anything to save my one ovary and maybe pull me out of this slump so I can start feeling like myself again- and maybe a little happiness.
Much thanks,
Gaby
Thank you so much for your response it really touched my heart. I agree with focusing my goals more on myself for now and not worrying about losing my other ovary. I have not been on birth control since my doctor strongly believed the cyst I developed was very rare and would not be coming back.
Your story is very uplifting and I hope I can come to terms with this soon as well. I will look for those herbal roots, I am far from liking herbal treatments (soon to graduate from biomedical engineering) and I'd love to take medication but my doctor doesn't agree.. instead insists we wait for the outcome in a couple months. If I am probably going to love the ovary anyways it cant hurt to try some very mild herbs.
I also have an appointment to see my hormone levels to try to figure out why I am not feeling like myself- everything in my life other than this is at its greatest so it doesn't make any sense why. Thank you very much for your help, best of luck!
Your story is very uplifting and I hope I can come to terms with this soon as well. I will look for those herbal roots, I am far from liking herbal treatments (soon to graduate from biomedical engineering) and I'd love to take medication but my doctor doesn't agree.. instead insists we wait for the outcome in a couple months. If I am probably going to love the ovary anyways it cant hurt to try some very mild herbs.
I also have an appointment to see my hormone levels to try to figure out why I am not feeling like myself- everything in my life other than this is at its greatest so it doesn't make any sense why. Thank you very much for your help, best of luck!
DIM (diindolylmethane) isn't something I'd personally play with. Do you know where your hormone levels are at? If you don't have high testosterone, it's useless.
Looking around I actually have used a couple of supplements at a time when my PCOS was really acting up so I asked my gynecologist if she was okay with me adding Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus) which is great for balancing out hormonal issues and treating cysts in women, and also ****-Quai (Angelica sinensis root) which helps regulate periods and shrink cysts. It increases blood flow which helps circulation in the pelvic area and that is what is supposed to help the cysts. It helped me out a lot, I don't take it any longer. And never take either if you're pregnant.
I've heard of some women using Black Cohosh and Red Clover, but I've read that it can actually cause cysts to worsen, so I'd stay away from those.
Hope that helped a bit. :)
Looking around I actually have used a couple of supplements at a time when my PCOS was really acting up so I asked my gynecologist if she was okay with me adding Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus) which is great for balancing out hormonal issues and treating cysts in women, and also ****-Quai (Angelica sinensis root) which helps regulate periods and shrink cysts. It increases blood flow which helps circulation in the pelvic area and that is what is supposed to help the cysts. It helped me out a lot, I don't take it any longer. And never take either if you're pregnant.
I've heard of some women using Black Cohosh and Red Clover, but I've read that it can actually cause cysts to worsen, so I'd stay away from those.
Hope that helped a bit. :)
I'm unfamiliar with herbal treatments, I tend to steer clear of them due to being on a number of medications and not wanting to cause potential interactions. There's only a few I'll take, but those I'm not familiar with. I wish I could help you there.
Have you been on any birth control pills to help with cysts developing?
My right ovary was removed during my appendectomy when they found large adhesions from my ovary to my appendix and there was significant damage to my ovary that it needed to be removed, it wasn't possible to save. (I had signed waivers and such before my appendectomy that informed me and gave permission that in some rare cases, they may need to remove one ovary, both, or perform a full hysterectomy and that I understood that it was a possibility and I consented to it if medically necessary. I didn't think they would need to, but they did. I think for liability reasons they took photographs of my ovary and the adhesions and gave them to me, it was not healthy looking at all.) I remember feeling some sadness for a while (I was 23 when this happened, btw) but I've always suspected I had fertility issues and probably wouldn't be able to have kids and had accepted that if it were the case, so I didn't take it as hard. I have since found out I do have fertility issues and am most likely unable to get pregnant, and after grieving over that, I've refocused what my goals and dreams in life are, had a permanent sterilization done (though my I may/may not need a tubal ligation due to a procedural complication), and I'm happy with things.
I do understand and can see why you are having such a hard time, and I'm sending a big hug your way. I know you want to have your own children, life sometimes throws curveballs at us and we have to think outside of the box. Try not to focus on possibly having your other ovary removed. Continue to be proactive about it, see if you can do anything both with medication and herbal supplements (I'm going to look into those you asked about for you and reply with anything I find. Also for information that is trustworthy about herbal supplements and complementary therapies, NCCAM is a great site for info: http://nccam.nih.gov — they have an A to Z list of supplements with info, articles, etc.) to help stop cyst formation and growth. With supplements, always clear them with your doctor first. Second, you can have children even if you have to have both ovaries removed. It may not be what you had planned in life, but sometimes we have to go with where life takes us and be open to altering those plans a bit. You can adopt, you can find an egg donor and if needed a surrogate, you can work with children at some capacity, be a foster parent, or, I'm not sure of your financial means and all the ins and outs of how it works, but egg freezing where you basically go through cycle of hormone injections and then they extract some of your eggs to freeze and use in the future, and from what I found it's about $10k per freeze cycle and $500 year for storage, and unthawing to prep for IVF runs about $5000 so it's not cheap but I mention it as an option because it is available. There's hope. :) You still can be a mom in the future, even if your ovary needs to be removed. Don't lose sight of that.
Whatever the outcome, remember that it's going to be ok, and you still can be a mother when it's the right time in your life.
You may want to look into seeing a therapist as well to help you process your emotions and cope.
Have you been on any birth control pills to help with cysts developing?
My right ovary was removed during my appendectomy when they found large adhesions from my ovary to my appendix and there was significant damage to my ovary that it needed to be removed, it wasn't possible to save. (I had signed waivers and such before my appendectomy that informed me and gave permission that in some rare cases, they may need to remove one ovary, both, or perform a full hysterectomy and that I understood that it was a possibility and I consented to it if medically necessary. I didn't think they would need to, but they did. I think for liability reasons they took photographs of my ovary and the adhesions and gave them to me, it was not healthy looking at all.) I remember feeling some sadness for a while (I was 23 when this happened, btw) but I've always suspected I had fertility issues and probably wouldn't be able to have kids and had accepted that if it were the case, so I didn't take it as hard. I have since found out I do have fertility issues and am most likely unable to get pregnant, and after grieving over that, I've refocused what my goals and dreams in life are, had a permanent sterilization done (though my I may/may not need a tubal ligation due to a procedural complication), and I'm happy with things.
I do understand and can see why you are having such a hard time, and I'm sending a big hug your way. I know you want to have your own children, life sometimes throws curveballs at us and we have to think outside of the box. Try not to focus on possibly having your other ovary removed. Continue to be proactive about it, see if you can do anything both with medication and herbal supplements (I'm going to look into those you asked about for you and reply with anything I find. Also for information that is trustworthy about herbal supplements and complementary therapies, NCCAM is a great site for info: http://nccam.nih.gov — they have an A to Z list of supplements with info, articles, etc.) to help stop cyst formation and growth. With supplements, always clear them with your doctor first. Second, you can have children even if you have to have both ovaries removed. It may not be what you had planned in life, but sometimes we have to go with where life takes us and be open to altering those plans a bit. You can adopt, you can find an egg donor and if needed a surrogate, you can work with children at some capacity, be a foster parent, or, I'm not sure of your financial means and all the ins and outs of how it works, but egg freezing where you basically go through cycle of hormone injections and then they extract some of your eggs to freeze and use in the future, and from what I found it's about $10k per freeze cycle and $500 year for storage, and unthawing to prep for IVF runs about $5000 so it's not cheap but I mention it as an option because it is available. There's hope. :) You still can be a mom in the future, even if your ovary needs to be removed. Don't lose sight of that.
Whatever the outcome, remember that it's going to be ok, and you still can be a mother when it's the right time in your life.
You may want to look into seeing a therapist as well to help you process your emotions and cope.
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