Women's Health Community

You did not include your age. I had one many years ago and they left one ovary so I did not have to take estrogen.

No problem with the operation and I was on my feet 3 days later and glad to forget about having my period every month.

good luck

By "tumor markers" are you referring to the CA-125 blood test for ovarian cancer? The CA-125 isn't accurate in diagnosing ovarian cancer especially in pre-menopausal women. (You didn't say if you're pre or post menopausal.) It's more accurate as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of ovarian cancer treatment. Here are a couple of links about ovarian cysts and cancer -
http://www.ovaryresearch.com/ovarian_cysts.htm
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/ovary/page1/AllPages#6
This site says "CA-125 is a substance found on the surface of ovarian cancer cells and on some normal tissues. A high CA-125 level could be a sign of cancer or other conditions. The CA-125 test is not used alone to diagnose ovarian cancer. This test is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for monitoring a woman's response to ovarian cancer treatment and for detecting its return after treatment."

Ovarian cancer is rare. Absent a genetic risk, a woman's lifetime risk is less than 2%.

Do you have an ovarian cyst(s)? If so, did a transvaginal ultrasound or some other imaging study show characteristics of possible malignancy? Ovarian cysts are common and almost always benign even when they have some suspicious looking characteristics.

I personally was rushed into surgery for a suspicious looking cyst and my gynecologist removed both ovaries and my uterus even though the frozen section was benign. I wish I'd insisted on having the cyst monitored via ultrasound and if it didn't shrink to only sign a consent form that allowed removal of the cyst or, worst case, the one ovary IF THE FROZEN SECTION WAS BENIGN.

Hysterectomy and surgical menopause have taken a horrible toll on my health even though I was nearing menopause. I aged rapidly - I lost so much hair and my skin aged horribly. I became severely depressed and anxious in addition to extreme menopausal symptoms. My body has changed too.

Make sure you understand your diagnosis and ALL your treatment options. Educate yourself about the options presented to you by doing your own research. If you aren't comfortable with what you're being told, seek out other opinions.

I am 42 years old and suffer from mild anxiety. My old gyno never diagnosed me with endomitiosis. Like every other month I would have very heavy bleeding and alot of clotting. I would tell him about it but he said it was normal. My new gyno says it look like I have old endomitiosis in my system as he can see from vaginal sono. Im kind of relieved to have the surgery, it seems as if this is the cause of my aliments. I was not going crazy! Im just wondering if I have time to wait 2months to prepare financially for the time off. I clean houses for a living and have no paid vacation time. Other than this I have always been a healthy person, slight high cholestrol, thats it The only meds im on is Lexapro for the anxiety and Xanax only when needed, which is not often. I dont ever feel depressed, just slight on edge sometimes. Thanks for the replies!

Thanks! Im also looking forward to no more periods and not worring about getting pregnant, Im too old for any more babies

I didn't have any issues with depression or anxiety until after the hysterectomy. Hormones play an important role in mood.

It's my understanding that endometriosis can only be diagnosed by laparoscopic surgery. And If you truly have endometriosis, hysterectomy with or without ovary removal is not considered a cure. The problem with endometriosis is that endo implants can usually be found throughout the pelvis including on the bladder and bowel. It's extremely difficult to get all implants/lesions removed. Any remaining implants can continue to grow and cause pain. Granted, a hysterectomy will end the bleeding but if you have pain, it may not end the pain or it may come back as the endo grows.

Birth control pills or other BC medications are oftentimes used to control heavy bleeding, whether caused by endo or something else. There are also non-hormonal (non-surgical) treatments for heavy bleeding (tranexamic acid is one that comes to mind). You didn't mention if you've already tried these options. In case you're not aware of the diagnostics and treatment options for heavy bleeding, this may be helpful in discussing with your physician - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0015970/

The operation is not bad, you will be fine in a few days. Just take it easy for 6 weeks.

Anon_5366 - You can't know if she'll be fine. Everyone's body is different and all surgery has risks. The recovery from surgery was easy for me too but then everything "fell apart" due to the loss of my body's own hormones.

If she doesn't have ovarian cancer and is having her ovaries removed, that's very serious - certainly not a decision to be rushed into. Some of the studies that show the importance of the ovaries to overall health are:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16055568
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20226402

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19384117