Hysterectomy possible - what symptoms?

[Guiwenneth]

I am 37 years old I have a 5cm complex cyst on my right ovary.  I am scheduled to have it removed laproscopically on the 17th.  If is is cancerous they will do a full hysterectomy, node removal, omentectomy etc.  The idea of waking up to the news of not only cancer, but losing my womanhood and all chances of having children terrifies me.  I know that most cysts are not cancerous, but I have a very strong family history of gyn cancers, so that knowledge doesn't soothe me.  For those of you who have gone through this, could you tell once you woke up that your uterus was gone, or did you have to wait to be told?  How long did it take for menopausal symptoms to begin?  Will I immediately begin having hot flashes etc?  How long did it take to recover from the surgery?

[Casey06]

Remember recovery is usually easier if you have a laproscopic procedure vs. a full open (laparotomy), which we hope you don't need. Recovery for laproscopic is 2- 4 weeks I think and you should be able to drive sooner, but ask your doctor!

[Guiwenneth]

Thanks for your reply.  Wow, 1.5 weeks was too soon to drive?  I don't know what I will do if that is the case.  I live in the mountains, it is 30 minute drive to town, and there is no such thing as "delivery" here.  I guess I will have to try to stock up on a few weeks of stuff before I go in.

[Casey06]

Hi, my name is Debbie and I had surgery for a 5cm cyst/tumor last August (at age 46).
My gyn/onc thought it was an endomtrioma (blood filled cyst from endometriosis) BUT prepared me that there was a remote chance of it being cancerous or borderline. So I prepared myself by asking many questions of the doctor and others (on this forum) but also read quite a bit (because it is a big thing and a little worrisome). One book I read (and I cannot remember the title) said your mindset gong into a total hysterectomy (or possibility of one) can help...so in other words if you think negative or positively about it (to some degree, because of course there is the physiology/biology of it and we are all different). So I was worried but then decided it would be ok no matter what and I tried to be positive.

So I ended up having a borderline tumor, which my doctor treated like cancer with full TAH/BSO and appendectomy, node sampling, omentectomy, etc.

I was not so concerned about the total hysterectomy upon waking, as I was the "near cancer" dx. Surgery and recovery was a little rough for me, but maybe I am a wimp....lol. Make sure to take it easy, I drove at 1.5 weeks and that was too soon. Also, use pain med as needed, don't be a hero. Hot flashes started pretty soon after, but I did not use HRT until 4 months out and now use CombiPatch (combined estrogen-progesterin) which works great for me (no hot flashes, no dryness, good libodo).

Well good luck and I will hope for the best for you!