Keep or remove 59 year old ovaries

[lexiecat]

I need a hysterectomy because of uterine prolapse. My doctor says there is no medical reason ot keep the ovaries and no medical reason to remove them. It is totally my choice. I finished(?) menopause at 51 . I am now almost 59. I need to decide whether to keep the ovaries or have them removed. My family does not have a history of ovarian cancer. A few relatives have had breast cancer but not close relatives. What do you think I should do?
Thank you

[madgeOwens]

That was very well thought out and I think it will help many other women.  I too was on Fosamax for 6 weeks and had bed heart burn, and they stopped the med right away.  I have heart palpitations and take Proprololol(Inderal) 80mg for it, and it works like a charm...however following surgery I had a few here and there.  I had a heart catheterization some years back and my heart was healthy so my palpitations (irregular heart beats) were harmless. However if you get really rapid pulse that can be serious (tacacardia) .  The palpitations I have are usually harmless but in me they were causing light headedness, and I was afraid I would pass out behind the wheel when driving.  Good luck with surgery, you will be sooooooo glad to be rid of that prolapse!

[lexiecat]

Thank you for your response. Your take on the osteoporosis was very helpful. I also was on Fosimax for bone loss. It did not make a difference. So now I am off it. But I resent the whole ordeal. I had to take increased amounts of calcium. I did not realize the decrease in estrogen of menopause made me constipated and the added calcium made it even worse. Half the time I was using laxatives and I feel negating the effects of the fosimax and calcium. I was such a mess in a bad cycle. The straining I believe caused the prolapse.  My sister agreed with you about the usefulness of the ovaries. Her take was the 10% functional ovaries still prevent heart palpitations, which she now has because she has no ovaries. She can't stop HRT because when she does she has heart palpitations. She had hers removed at 50 before she was finished with menopause and regrest the loss. Since heart disease is a major cause of death in women, the heart palpitations could be a major problem. There is no medical evidence of the link between heart palpitations , absence of estrogen and death from heart disease but that does not mean there is no link. That may come out later. She also says that the body produces more fat in women who don't have estrogen in order to create estrogen from fat. She thinks the small mount of whatever the ovaries produce is converted to a small amount of estrogen. This estrogen is then helpful in strengthening the vaginal wall. So this precludes bladder problems from a cystocele and also prevents weight gain which can cause other serious problems. So... bottom line. Now that you  have added osteoporosis to the mix and I am not that worried about ovarian cancer ( no more than any other woman) I am going to keep the ovaries. Thank you again. I just wanted to write more for other women to read about my experience and my journey in thinking.

[madgeOwens]

p.s.
If I had a fear of cancer or risk of it that would be another story.

[madgeOwens]

I am 56 and just had hysterectomy about 8 weeks ago for prolapse. I had surgeon check my ovaries, and if they looked good keep them.  The reason for this on my part was I am already at high risk for fratures with osteoporosis and the little drip left in the ovaries I thought was something I would try and keep.  If there is nothing wrong why take them?Hope you make a decision you are happy with. Good Luck.