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Anyone had one ovary removed?

I am faced with the decision of removing my ovaries if this cyst is endo and not OC.  I am 46 (47 in april) and my doctor says at this point we should take them out.  As I have already said - I am terrified of the hormonal changes that may accompany this.  I was wondering about just taking out one - the one with the mass on and leaving the other.  I think I read that ravenlady had that.  Anyone else?  Did you still have surgical menopause.  Any advice on to take them or leave them would be appreciated.  My friends are all saying take the darn things out and don't have to worry about them - but I worry either way!  I have a lot going on in my life right now and adding hormonal chaos isn't looking pleasant.  Of course, worrying about it being OC is a whole other issue!  Maybe worrying about the hormones keeps me from worrying about the real serious stuff!
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Avatar universal
Hi Amanda, how did your symptoms resolve? Did you have any lasting problems from missing ovary? I just had an emergency oophorectomy and I want to know what I can expect.
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Avatar universal
Like many others I had an 11 cm cyst that had engulfed my right ovary and so they removed the cyst and the ovary.  No symptoms of surgical menopause (I am 36)
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Avatar universal
So about a year and a half ago I had a ovarian cyst rupture which caused me to have massive pain in my abdomen i was in the hospital for 2 days this was when i was 18, might I add.. The doctor noticed that during the eruption the cyst caused my right ovarie to turn over and loose blood flow...i didnt and still dont have money to have it surgically removed but my doctor said i would be ok i just lost an ovarie, but scary part was there was another one on my left ovarie that was a size of 2 quaters, it hasnt bothered me at all and still doesnt and i am 20 today. But for some reason my harmones seem to be going out whack lately....I am 125 lbs and 5'5 that doesn really matter but the other day I was at home taking care of my son and all of a sudden i was just really irrate i was getting mad at stupid things and this last few weeks i have yelled at small things and things i normally wouldnt care about are all of sudden making me so angry...my cramps for PMS last month was soooo painful that i could barely stand up with out bending over ( i took a bath but it didnt seem to help) I am getting sweaty a lot more and i never sweat before my underarms are causeing my shirts to be soaked. I am really scared. can someone help me ?
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Avatar universal
Hi, just saw your post. I had one ovary and tube removed from large ovarian cyst 3 weeks ago and all back pain cramps are gone. Yay! There was no family history of ovca but a big history of stroke and fatal heart attacks with family members in their 50's. My gyn/onc reavealed that the benefits from the estrogen produced from the other ovary was beneficial to me and was not concerned with a cyst developing in the other ovary. He even suggested that I was still quite a few years away from menopause and I am 47. You may want to take your family medical history  into consideration when making your decision. hope this helped.
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Avatar universal
I am reading all of your post and I must say I am still scared to death. I had my tubal 6yrs ago, (I always was told had cyst on ovary but they never bothered me until 3yrs ago) It's just the left side. I have nova sure done so I am periodless but I do however get pain on my left side at least every other month. Its very painful and goes down my right leg, and causes me to throw up.(I was told by dr that pain level is so hi that it can cause nausea). He wants to remove the left ovary but said that if he does that, the cyst will manifest to the other ovary and will eventually need to come out. I am only 41 and still have a very ACTIVE sex life. I am afraid of what may happen to me if I get them both removed, I am wondering if anyone had 1 ovary and 1 fallipion tube removed and the cyst came back? Please help. (GET THIS THING OUTTA ME)
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282804 tn?1236833591
The person you are writing to has not been on here for over two years. You would probably get more responses if you went to the Ovarian Cyst forum. The link is on the bottom right hand of most of the ovca forum pages or on the list of forums.  None of us on here had a choice about surgery. We have cancer and the choice for us was to have surgery or die.  I think the cyst forum will give you a better perspective on what you are going through.
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Avatar universal
Hello  I am 47  married, mom  and I feel scared about my recent recommendation from my OBGYN , .Hysterecomy!  I had my  left ovary removed in 2003/diagnosed with  Fibroids and Endometriosis ...I am Post Op Cervical Fusion/ almost a year, (Neck Surgery) and was Diagnosted with Diabetes type 2, Pre-operatively. My Rt Ovary was doing fine, or at least I thought it was...No real Menopause symptoms, Sex is good to great..LOL periods still regular..But heavy  and painful and I look about  2 months pregnant. each cycle, andf fatigued!
I  tried birthcontrol but I went off of them due to my bloodpressure and didnt feel any relief of period problems/ Now I am about to schedule this Big Surgery, I am loosing sleep becuase of the Pro and Cons, and I may go into Surical Menopause...My doc said he could do a (Ablation or DNC) but then seem to change the choice to Hystectomy. My  biopsy came out fine, but I have 2 Tumors (fibroids) one about 4.5 centimeter and the other the size a pea, both benign.thats good news, I dont want to go back to work, just until these problems are solved , My husband supports us financially and mentally, yes  Im a lucky gal!  But I am sad all the time, I know I need  this surgery. Im just Scared!!  I study all about my female diseases. Its been said,  with Diabetes and  my age,  and the 1 Ovary,my  chances are greater that my Ovary wont still function without my Utereus. Im not ready for this Operation, Im too young to get old fast, my family needs me to go back to work  and have a l Life, anybody with me ? ...Any suggestions?? everybody is different I realize! going crazy anyway! LOL Noel61jd
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Avatar universal
I'm glad to have stumbled on this page, I am currently trying to muddle through my own recovery. Last week, I had emergency surgery to remove my Rt ovary due to a large dermoid cyst that was causing torsion to that ovary (cutting off blood supply). I was told after surgery that my Lt ovary "looked fine", and that even though I might have some hormonal fluctuations for a month, then things should settle down.

I am nervous because I am one week out from surgery and am experiencing all the same symptoms of my "usual" PMS - which, for me, are quite severe and thankfully usually only last for 1-2 days. I don't know if I can handle doing this for a month!

I guess I should be grateful that I am healing well and there was no evidence of cancer. I am 36 and showing no signs of being menopausal or peri-menopausal.... I can't really find much information on what this all means, in the grand scheme of things, to lose one ovary. What little info I can find says "no problem, as long as the remaining ovary is functional"....and while I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill, it seems to me that there will be -some- repercussion from this.

Thoughts?

Amanda
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117289 tn?1391712825
"Power Surge"  I like that!!
~Tascha
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Avatar universal
Yes I am still learning everyone's names on here as well.  One minute I lean toward just having the ovaries taken out and the next I feel like it isnt the right thing.  The whole out of whack hormone thing is so tough to deal with.  For me it is the sleeplessness that I seem to get.  Then someone told me that it might actually be better because you don't have the hormone fluctutations you have with perimenopause.  I would def consider replacement at least for the short term.  But after going through one cancer and now this ovary scare - it would sure be nice to not have to worry about it.  Of course, this all assumes that I will actually have a choice when they get in there.  Didn't someone just say that they had a complex cyst resolve?  My doc says that rarely if ever happens.  Maybe because mine has a solid mass component?
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Avatar universal
I just had one taken out for and endo.  If it had been ovca it would have been more taken of course.  Several doctors told me that as long as you have around at least 10% of one ovary it will produce the hormones needed, but it might take a couple months after surgery to get back to a normal cycle.  

I'm pretty certain after menopause ovaries still produce some hormones, just not estrogen, although I've rarely seen any thing mention that.  If so, I'd want to keep them functioning if possible.  

My doctor did tell me that this types of cysts (endo) do tend to reappear, but are hormone dependent so suggested I talk with my gyn about BC and also that I am getting closer to menopause (43yo) so it might not be a problem.

Personally I had the doc take out the least amount needed, and figured the least disturbance on my body the better.  This was my first body part removed and it was creepy enough and hard enough for me to think about it.  I also am just not ready to deal with menopause.  My other medical stuff has improved so much over the last couple years, I wanted to enjoy it and see if it could go all the way, before facing another body stress.  Recovery is going slowly, but definitely easier than I've been hearing from hysterectomies.  

However, I can certainly understand after a few scares or just plain surgeries, women deciding to have it done with!

Also, my onc and I talked and I'm going for genetic counseling.  If something shows up positive there, I'll make a complete about face on this.  So, if there is a genetic link for you that might be an influence on what decision makes sense for you.  

Sounds like you've been through a lot.  Best of ease at through this too.
Cheri
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Avatar universal
Well...the U/S technician said that mine "appeared to have resolved", but they aren't supposed to tell you anything and she said I would have to wait to hear the word from the doctor.  So, in a few days I will have a definite answer.  Also, I can't remember who said it...but more than one person on this board has had them resolve...so there is a chance.  =)
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Avatar universal
Mary, men  just don't understand the concept of hot flashes.  You have to tell them it's a "power surge"!!
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Avatar universal
Deb?  Hey...we were just chatting about thyroid cancer!  It just clicked with me after I sent the post who I was responding to!  (brain fog...symptom of many things!) (((Debi)))
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Avatar universal
Yes, I had one ovary removed over 20 years ago and had not one symptom of menopause.  Didn't miss a period...didn't have a hot flash...nothing.  I am (or maybe was, pending results) facing having the other ovary removed and my biggest fear was going through medical menopause, and all the things that can accompany a hysterectomy.  There's two sides with leaving an ovary (at our age).  The good...going through menopause naturally.  The bad...having to face another surgery should another cyst appear on the remaining ovary.  Have you started going through menopause?  You know...it's so easy for other people to say "take it all out"...I used to feel that way about myself until I was really facing "taking it all out".  Now I've grown rather fond of my last ovary and my uterus.  It's especially hard if you're not in pain...I can see wanting it all removed if you're suffering greatly.  It's a tough decision...I know.  I've been bouncing back and forth on this subject for a few months.  I think if it were me...I would leave one ovary...but I haven't started menopause yet...if I had I'm not sure what my decision would be.  You sound like you're more leaning towards keeping one ovary if you can?  Talk to your doctor, research it on the internet...I found a site called the hystersisters and found a lot of threads on the subject of keeping an ovary (pros and cons).  I hope this helped and I wish you luck with your decision.
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117289 tn?1391712825
Yes I had my right ovary and 90% of my left ovary removed 12/21/05.  I had 2 very large dermoids.  I will be 46 in May.  Right now, I am having menopausal symptoms.  My dr. has ordered blood work and a bone density scan due to estrogen loss (makes me sound old!!)  He wants to make sure I am in menopause.  He also told me to take 2 viactives (for calcium) per day.  It just goes on.  I hope all goes well for you, you are in my prayers>
~Tascha
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