ovary removed...what to expect now?

[roadster]

Three weeks post-surgery for dermoid removal (laparotomy).  Surgeon removed right ovary and tube and now I was wondering what to expect.  I've read that the remaining ovary picks up the slack but what have others experienced?  Does this happen right away?  First period was on schedule but that was only days after the surgery. I felt like I was bouncing back great after two weeks but in the last couple days - not so great.  My energy level was great and now dropped.  My mood swings are all over the place and of course everyone knows the swelly belly.  I don't know if it's surgery or PMS or what the deal is.  Have others noticed hormone changes after having only one ovary removed?  Doc has me following-up at 4 weeks so I haven't talked to her since I left the hospital.  Thanks - jen

[delt]

I am 46 yrs old andhave  crohnS disease 9 months ago I had a lower section of my bowel removed as well as one ovary and my fallopian tube removed as they were also covered in tumors do I need hrt? I find I am very irritated and cry all the time I am currently taking antidepressants

[caz18]

hi i had my right ovary and tube removed june 2009 ,i also had tissue scaring from my 2 previous ops which has caused over the last 14yrs alot of pain, the docs decided to remove the bad side which was cusing me the pain and leave the left removing the cysts and scaring ,before i had the op i was havin hot flushes mournin and night really bad went to the docs couldnt understand why i was havin them,left with no information put with them , when i went into hospital had the removal ,stomach bloated feelin like i was pregnant , that is gradually goin down still feel erhhhhhhhhhhh. most days but the hot flushes haave not gone away went for my follow up yesterday and told him , the reason is te one left has to get use t workin on its own should get better, he gave me a chart to fiill in when i have them got see him in 3 mths , with all thiis sweatin i should be down to a size o im only 12 now, lol but he said he might have to give me a replacement hormone pill but i will wait and see , i feel sorry for the family wit all windows and doors open never mind, my husband is the same what can you do, anyway take care hope all goes wwell .

[jlr131]

I had my left ovary removed 2wks ago due to a dermoid cyst. I am now experiencing hot flashes and mood swings.  I didnt think it was normal until my daughter found this page and i read that other people were experiencing the same side effects as I am.  Does it stop at any point? is there anything that I can do to control these side effects? Also, when does the swelling of the stomach go down? does anybody have any suggestions on how to explain this to my husband so that he can understand what I am going through?

[liv1023]

Hi
I had my right ovary removed on 6/1/09 and wanted to know if anyone had swelling above the incision?  I am getting a large large swelling above the incision and was wondering if that is normal?

Thanks!!!!

[shewrites]

This thread was originated in August, 2006, and most of the more recent posts have gone unanswered.  I suggest you start a new thread by posting a question (see the button on the top of the page).  Also, there's an ovarian cyst forum that might be more helpful for you.  

I think if you still have one ovary you will not be in menopause.  Others will know more about this than I do.  Including your doctor.  

There was a study done in the UK recently.  They had 100,000 women in the control group and 50,000 had transvaginal ultrasounds and 50,000 had the CA-125 blood test.  Both tests (alone) picked up ovarian cancers more than 75 percent of the time.  Neither test is perfect, and you might get some "false positives," but with a history of ovarian cancer you should certainly try to have those tests done by your gynecologist on a semi-regular basis.  

There are also genetic tests that you can take to determine if you're more likely than average to get breast or ovarian cancer (the two are related).  Some women with certain gene problem would have  hysterectomies or mastectomies on a preventive basis.  Others would, of course, just watch more closely.  

Good luck.  

[Nick67]

I have a 'mildly suspicious' cyst on my left ovary along with a strong history of ovarian cancer in my family.  Over the past 13 years I've had cysts removed from this ovary on three occassions.  My gyn now wants to remove this ovary.  Im 39 and afaid I will go into an early menopaus.  I Can somebody give me some advice? I've one month to make up my mind.... thanks Nick

[Missy79516]

I am 29 years old.  When I was 21, I had a cyst the size of a baby's head that also strangled my left ovary and fallopian tube (cutting off all blood supply).  Both were removed.  I was immediately put on the pill.  In November of 2008 I went off the pill to try and get pregnant.  I have had regular periods until this month.  I was supposed to start my period last Thursday and it hasn't come yet.  I took a pregnancy test and it said I was not pregnant.  I will keep you updated if you would like.  If I am pregnant, that will be amazing.  Everyone has told me that I will have no trouble conceiving.  That has comforted me and I hope it will comfort you as well.

[buffy910]

I am seventeen years old and just had my left ovary and tube removed due to a large mass and cyst that had flipped the ovary/tube over and cut blood flow off killing the ovary. This was 5 days ago so I'm still recovering from the surgery, but I'm wondering about what will come in the future?

I so desperately want to have kids in the future, so of course (being emotional anyways from it) when I found out that the whole ovary itself was removed, I cried. However, I have been told that several people we know were still able to have kids after having an ovary removed, but they had already had kids before. Does this make a difference?

I was wondering because of the fact that I am relatively young when all this happened if its going to hurt my chances of getting pregnant eventually. Has anyone heard of anyone else similar to my case?

[3lovelygirls]

I to had my right ovary and tube taken out , due to dermoid on feb 25 09, just able to get up and around by my self . As others have mentioned my normal period was due to start on March 1st its now the 5th and still nothing... should I be concerened? And when does the swelling go down, I look like I am about 5mths pregnant..lol Iam only 28 so I hope I will bounce bacck fairly quickly. Thank you all for sharing your experiences..

[mrcdes]

Wow! I had posted a question on another forum but after reading the ones here am happy that I am not alone.  Had my r. ovary out due to dermoid 2.5 yrs ago.  4mths after birth of my daughter.  My moodiness is not as bad as it used to be, but i still have weird periods and pms, that i didn't before.  

[JenAK]

Thank you to everyone who has been sharing their experiences! I had a dermoid and right ovary removed in Oct 08, about 2.5 months ago, and I keep expecting to feel back to normal, but some things seem to persist. Sometimes I feel a deep exhaustion that is foreign to me. Also, I've been really emotional off and on - not when I'm PMSing. Jen mentioned belly bloating. What's up with that? My pants are SO tight, and I may have gained a little weight, but it seems not proportional to my increased waist size. All in all, surgery was not hard to recover from, I hadn't anticipated these other side effects. (nor did my family-ha) By the way - should mention that I had my gall bladder removed at the same time, which might have something to do with some of these things.

[Jayne17]

I can second that. I had a dermoid and right ovary out in Dec 07 and I felt that it took my hormones a good 6 months or so to sort themselves out. I often felt extremely tired and pretty emotional - quite a bit of random crying and having to go home from work early for a sleep - which was so out of character. I really felt like I was pre-menstrual a lot of the time too - a tense feeling and the odd headache that wouldn't shift with tablets combined with nausea and over-heating. This lasted up to about 6 months after the op. All better now :- ) Thankfully my work were extremely understanding and supportive, unlike my GP who just thought I was depressed!

[CaydensMommy]

I had my left ovary and tube removed in 2005 and I don't think I ever went back to the way I was before the surgery. I do get my period every month, though. I would tell your dr. that you haven't gotten a period yet if you have another surgery follow-up appointment. I was concerned about mine and actually concerned that I was pregnant because my PMS symptoms were so bad before the first period I got after surgery--it was not on schedule, and I went about 6 or 8 weeks without a period, I think. (Some of the experience is a little fuzzy to me now.) Fortunately, I got it the morning I was scheduled for a CT Scan so I knew that I wasn't pregnant. As soon as I got my period, I went on bc pills to help prevent any future cysts. (Not that it necessarily worked.....) My periods were pretty much normal from then on.  I think it took quite awhile for my moods to level out--like 3 months or something, I think, but I was also dealing with a cancer diagnosis so I think that affected me emotionally as well.  Now I'm mostly leveled out, but I think that I'm definitely more emotional than I was prior to surgery and that I'm more moody when on PMS. I will say that I feel just about as normal as can be now. It may not be the old "normal," but it's not a bad new "normal." I hope that you will level out soon. I know that it's hard, but try to relax and let your body heal. You may feel like you are physically healed because your scar may be healing really nicely, but you have to remember that you had so much done in your surgery that it may take longer for your hormones to get used to their new regimen. Take care and rest as much as you can. I hope you feel more normal soon. :)
Best of luck to you!
Glenda

[courtneysings]

Im 20 yrs old, about one month ago I had a laparotomy to get my left ovary and tube removed due to a goose-egg sized tumor that had attached to both..luckily the tumor turned out to be benign. However, I have not gotten back to my normal, upbeat self. I am usually very energized, but have been very tired SINCE the surgery. Also, I have been more emotional and have severe mood swings that scare me. And also have not had a period since april. Any help?

[social2005]

I had my right ovary removed Dec 19th 07.  I am bouncing back o.k.  I still experience some discomfort in my stomach and pressure.  I am beginning to feel tired more and edgy.  Is that normal.  My month check up is next Monday the 14th of Jan.  Any feedback

[claire99991]

hiya i had my right ovary removed with the tube due to a large dermoid cyst and the left ovary now works twice as hard so i still get a period every week i had a period about 6 weeks post op so it did take a while to get back to normal but now its every 28 days as normal. Hope this helps xx

[jenni9876]

One ovary removed this week.  Hot flashes have started within five days post-op. 50 years old. Was on patch already, but this is still not preventing the flashes.  Anyone else need to adjust hormone replacement after the removal of one ovary?

[Barb 3]

It has been over 6 months now since my hysterectomy and removal of right ovary. One month ago, I started having problems with my contact lenses (after 24 years, problem free)! My eyes are now 'burning' all the time and I can only wear my contacts for a few hours every third day or so. My eyes don't feel scratchy or like there is something in them......just burning so badly that I want to keep them shut! My optometrist says that it may be hormonal due to the loss of one ovary? Has anyone else had severe dry eyes after ovary(s) removed? I am waiting for results of blood test to check ovarian function. I'm hoping this is some sort of allergic reaction...........

[L3point3]

I just had my right ovary removed on Friday and I just started to bleed sunday.  Is it normal to have bleeding right after surgery?

[Barb 3]

I had a hysterectomy (with my right ovary removed due to severe endometriosis), in April of this year. I too had severe pain in my upper right leg. My gynecologist said that this was "normal" considering the fact that "things were a mess in there". It took around 2 months for that pain to totally subside. Each day it did seem to be a little better. Quite honestly, it took 4 full months for everything to feel 'normal' again.

[Tar1]

Hello
    I had my right ovary removed on Friday and its now Sunday. I am having the worst pain at the top of my leg the leg on the side where my ovary was removed  has any one else had that pain?

[drieth]

I had an oveary removed july 10. Had some bleeeding but since then nothing. I am trying not to get concerned, but I also am experiencing awful backaches and am so tired. I am 47 is anyone else feeling like this?

[Hudson]

Well, it has been 5 months since I lost my one ovary and I am having hot flashes like crazy and this spotting. So, maybe my remaining ovary has just forgotten what to do? Or is too darned tired to do it? ha. Maybe I will be like you and in a few months all will level itself off? Thanks for the support :-)

Hudson

[RavenLady]

Hi Jen,
     I am 48 so although I don't think I am perimenopausal yet, who knows.  The adjustment to one ovary took me about five months.  I had my left ovary out with benign tumors in Nov. and starting having the hot flash thing, out of the blue, in Feb.  That kind of stunk because I am an Instructor and had traveled to Virginia for a class when it started.  Of course, my entire class was comprised of adult men, as usual.  I seemed to get them about a half hour after class started and boy, what a drag, I started dressing in layers after the first one but that was somehow worse in a way, by the time I got down to my cami, the Guys were confused as to what was on the sylabus for the day!  That business subsided by May and not one since so suspect my other ovary got on the stick!  Bet its different for us all but survivable.  Hang in there Jen, three weeks is not that long and not surprised your energy levels are still unpredictable.  MV