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

[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!