Hi I posted this in a different forum and really got no hits. Has anyone had a total Hyster with ovaries out and have anxiety you never had before? Or any other terrible symptom you have now that you didn,t have before the Hyster. Thank you for all your responces, I could always count on the PS sisters.

I am sure I have replied to you before on this-but YES I did!
I had my surgery over 3 years ago and the first two years was very tough! Hot flushes and anxiety through the roof. I was not allowed ERT and by the time I was allowed it my body could not tolerate it.
I don't know how long ago you had your surgery but if it is early days then you will be feeling more anxious until your body adjusts. I feel fine now (except if I try to use estrogen-THAT is what cranks up my anxiety )
Actually I feel better mentally now than I did when I was younger because I don't think my body ever tolerated estrogen. I always suffered dreadfully with panic attacks and anxiety but now I don't.
Please give yourself a chance to heal properly. Surgical menopause is much more severe than going through it naturally and it can take a long time for your body to adjust but you will get there.
My only bad symptoms now are vaginal dryness and my skin getting dry and wrinkled but apart from that I am feeling mentally and physically fit and well. I am sure one day you will too

janet c

Hi there, I haven't actually been through this experience, but my Gramma (who's now 81) went through a horrible experience when she was about 33 and had her fourth & final child. Shortly after giving birth she had a hysterectomy (not sure why, but I think because of ovarian cysts) and began having panic attacks and terrible anxiety. This led to about 6 years of all kinds of bizarre and scary symptoms like numbness, extreme fatigue, weakness, panic, depression, etc. Her own father was a doctor and kept suggesting she might have some horrible disease so she was tested for virtually everything possible and no one made the connections to hormones. She finally began counseling and her hormones began to stablize a bit on their own (after six years!) and then ultimately she took hormones (I don't know if she still does). I learned all of this from her after suffering my own hormonal meltdown after weaning my son from breastfeeding & suffering a miscarriage this past March (I'm virtually the same age she was -- 34). I, too, began having panic attacks and terrible anxiety. I'm finally starting to feeling a little better, but recently had my hormone levels checked and meet w/ a specialist later this week. I hope this helps a bit and reassures you that you're not alone; it's very sad that this happened to my Gramma almost 50 years ago and you'd think by now women wouldn't be so left in the dark about how these things will affect them physically and emotionally.

Thank you my surg was 5 yrs ago but the symptoms hit hard about 2and a half years ago I can,t take estrogen and just started Elavil I just upped the dose and feeling off last week was better so i,m hopping it,s just the up of the Elavil I upped it 6 days ago before that I thought things were starting to get better now I,m ready to give up I have no other options, yesterday not to bad today anxious this am now this pm tense crying I just can,t stand this and don,t understand why it isn,t letting up!!!!!! I,m getting scared!!!

little lil

I can't take estrogen either, as I said. As time goes by the body adjusts to having no estrogen and by now you should be fine. I am fine without it and I had my surgery only 3 1/2 years ago. You should really be stable after 5 years and I am wondering if your anxiety and crying has another cause?

I know you have tried all sorts of anti-depressants but to be honest I am wondering if you are giving your body a chance to get over one onslaught of drugs before going on to the next? They all can have horrid side effects
After my surgery (I had cancer) I was in such a terrible state, both from the immediacy of surgical menopause and the horror of the fact I had a cancer diagnosis. I had also suffered all my life with anxiety so I do know how you must be feeling right now.
I was not allowed estrogen because my cancer was hormonal so I had no choice but to cope cold turkey.

Rather than do anti-depressants( which I myself am terrified of because of the side effects) I decided to look at alternative therapies.
So I started seeing an acupuncturist and she changed my life.
The therapy is all about treating you as a whole person and working out why you are having symptoms.
It is very different from conventional medicine but it is all to do with blocked energy, which is released by the acupunture balancing your body and mind.

I went along for treatment of hot flushes but it became more about a treatment for my anxiety state and explanation of why I had always been an anxious person.
There is also a long discussion about your general health and diet and often guidance about what foods are good for you in particular. The whole treatment is aimed at you as an individual.
I felt immediate benefit from my treatment-I staggered home and slept like a baby in the armchair for hours.
I went regularly and I was lucky to have such a wonderful, kind compassionate woman, who used to be a gynacologist so she was very reassuring.

As all your other treatments have not helped and indeed seem to have made you worse, why don't you give acupuncture a try? You have nothing to lose and it may be the key as there are no drugs involved. It seems to me you need someone kind and reassuring to treat you as a whole person and I just wish you could see my lady because I know you would feel better with just one treatment.
Could you see if you can get a therapist recommended by someone you know?
It is just my suggestion because I can tell how badly you have been suffering and I really do think it may help.


janet c

What do you mean another cause? I too think that but I was never like this before the surg. saw 2 physciatrist and they both say the same thing severe vasomotor symptoms due to meno and due to my sensitivities to drugs and HRT. They both said to ride it out. I have a friend with similar symptoms from Meno (no surg) and she,s had it for 5 yrs!!!My symptoms started about 2 and a half years ago and stopped the HRT 4 mths ago. My MD feels I,m in the middle of it he said women with surgical meno and not treated with HRT suffer their worse symptoms 2-5yrs after the surg. So bang there I am. He also said at 44 my body was not prepared for this and it threw eveything out of wack like my body went into shock when the Estrogen finally bottomed out all of a sudden, I was on BRT for 15yrs cont. so I never had a cycle he said my body stored the extra estrogen and when it bottomed out here I am a mess.How old were you when you had your surg?I was off everything for 4mths I did try Remifemin felt great for about a week then bang sideeffects they say it,s Estrogen free but it,s not Black cohosh is estrogen product, so you see the predicament I,m in.

PS I questioned my MD if I would settle down without the Estrogen? He said some women do others don,t. One more thing to upset me!!!!

I have never heard that women suffer their worst symptoms 2-5 years after surgical menopause. Most that I know of find the first 2 years the worst and then they start feeling better. A lot depends on age I suppose. I was 54 whereas you were younger.
Of course the surgical menopause was the original cause of your anxiety. (I remember how dreadful I felt!)
However once your brain chemistry goes out of whack the original reason for the anxiety and depression may pass but you are left with the problem.

Unless the problem is addressed properly then your brain will not recover and it can go on far longer than necessary.This is obviously why the doctors keep trying to treat you with anti-depressants. You need to mend your brain-increase the serotonin etc in order for the anxiety to go. However as the anti-depressants don't suit you your brain is being messed with all the time and you are not giving it sufficient time to recover. This is just my theory, based on my own experiences and advice from my acupuncturist.

I think there is a misconception that menopausal women will never feel better until they have HRT. Menopausal symptoms such as vasomotor and anxiety are not caused by having no estrogen. They are caused by the CHANGE in the levels of hormones-either up or down. Did you notice that when you tried to restart estrogen that your symptoms such as hot flushes got worse? This is because the hormone level suddenly changed. After 5 years your body should be getting used to the lower estrogen and your symptoms should reduce in time.

I recently tried estrogen again and it made me feel really ill. I gave it a good month and by the end of it I was a wreck. Without it I feel fine. It is not always the magic bullet everyone thinks so don't be upset if it doesn't suit you.
I don't know what else to say to you. I have made a suggestion to you which may help. It is for you to decide if you step outside the box and try something different to help you.

Best wishes

janet c

By the way I stared peri when I was about 47 and had my surgery when I was 54 so that was 7 years. Then after surgery I have had another 3 years making a total of 10 so your friend who has had problems for 5 years is not unusual.
Surgical menopause should actually shorten the time of suffering because once the ovaries are gone they can no longer push out differing levels of hormones as happens in normal menopause.

janet c

They say a surgical Menopause is the worse Meno you can have. I didn,t even start peri when I had my surg. I see nothing else that can be causing this since I was fine before the surg. I went to a Speacialist at Yale University and she stated hormones are chemicals and when the Estrogen is missing your are chemically unbalanced. I,m glad you have come through this fine but many of usstruggle that had this surg. I pray and pray I too will settle down and find peace like you did.Surgical Meno is worse because you suddenly loose the hormones all at once and your body at least mine and others isn,t prepared for the sudden loss and your body goes into like a shock from it because it wasn,t ready should I say for the sudden loss. So your saying it took you 10 yrs. because you were in peri I wasn,t even in Peri. and no symptoms appeared for 2 yrs later, I read a post that someone had a total hyster 6yrs ago and she,s suffering now so everyone is different as to how their bodies respond.

I also read that Estrogen is the brains tranqulizer so when it,s gone the main symptom seen is Anxiety because it,s like your body withdrawling from it.

I suffered hell for 10 years so it hasn't been easy for me and I already know all the things you are saying. I have been there myself haven't I? You are making it sound as though I have sailed through it and I really have not! I had the added trauma of a cancer diagnosis to contend with too.
Of course I know that surgical menopause is worse because it is abrupt. It is also over more quickly because there are no ovaries to shoot out hormones randomly.
I have been trying to suggest an alternative therapy to you which has actually helped me out of the hell. Almost every time I come to this site there are posts from you asking the same questions over and over again. You are clearly suffering but you do not seem to ever get the answer you are looking for.
If you are unable to take estrogen then maybe you should find another way of making yourself feel better-that is all I have been suggesting.
I was trying to explain how I did that for myself. If I made it sound as though I had an easy ride then I have failed. I worked very hard to get where I am now and it was not easy I assure you..

I wish you luck with finding your answer anyway

janet c

Thank you I wasn,t trying to insult you and thank you for your suggestions. I just get frustrated with all this junk I too wish you well.

If I seem to be asking the same questioms over and over it,s only because I have never expierenced anything like this and it scares the poo out of me i,m just looking for support knowing someone else has gone through the same things and I,m not alone.

It's alright darling I know you weren't. I am sorry if I got a bit oversensitive and I wish you well too. I can see you are going through a really hard time and I hope you can find an answer soon.
Take care

janet c

Honey-you have plenty of support from others here who have been through similar experiences, including myself. You are definitely not alone.
The question is now-are you going to just keep going around the problem or be proactive? It is a dreadful thing you have been through but are you going to let it beat you? I do hope not.

The day I was diagnosed with my cancer I reached my hands up to the heavens and begged God to "take me now" because I thought I might as well be dead. I had suffered so badly for so many years with horrible hormone imbalances and all I could see in front of me was years of terror always having cancer chasing me, the thought of a recurrence and the thought of a life with no female organs. The medical term for our surgery is "female castration". did you know that? Isn't it horrible? If a man is castrated it is a shameful thing-but we women are told to just get on with it. Yet it strikes at the very heart of our feminity. I just didn't know how I would function afterwards.

The aftermath of the surgery was horrific. Waiting for the result of the biopsy, having to have check-ups every 6 months, and the most horrendous anxiety and hot flushes imaginable.I was not allowed any HRT at all so I suffered a lot for a long time and so I really do have an idea of how you are feeling.

I went through the usual emotions of anger and despair and then I decided if I couldn't have my ovaries or HRT I could certainly take control some other way. I have a good marriage and three wonderful daughters and I owed it to all of us to at least try.

I am a little further down the road than you it is true, but it hasn't just happened on it's own. I have had to come to terms with many things that I can't change including acceptance that I had cancer and there arent any guarantees I wont get it again. I have had to accept that I will never feel as well again as I used to. Yes I do feel much better but some days I still don't feel the best.

I can't tolerate estrogen either and it makes us feel we are between a rock and a hard place, doesn't it? I still have some hot flushes and forgetfulness. However I managed to get my anxiety right down through acupuncture and when I am depressed I use St John's Wort as I cannot tolerate anti-depressants. We are very similar aren't we?

I think I may have mentioned to you once before that I also use a little testosterone. I can tell you now that it has made the most difference to my anxiety levels and mood.
These are all things I have tried for myself and they have all helped me recover.

I understand you are feeling lost and want reasurrance that you are not alone. Well you are not! But Powersurge is a place where we all try to not only support each other but also pass on our advice when we know that something that has worked for us just might work for someone else who is suffering.

I hope some of the things I have suggested might help you as they have done me. I recommend trying to take control of what has happened to your body and doing something positive with it.

Take care and hugs

janet c

My situation is unusual. I had a hyster after I was 4 years post. Yes, anxiety was noticebly increased almost immediatle after surgery. I am able to keep in under control with an occaision ativan(some days are better than others). I tend not to be able to handle stress as well as before, but I made it through peri so I guess I shall survive!!

Hugs to all

Anna

How are you feeling Little Ill? Any better? Just checking on you.

Hugs,
Mich

Thank you all you said is true I keep praying and I know somehow I,ll get through this I,ll pray for you and everyone at PS that we get our lives back.