Anyone here who had hysto kept their ovaries?
What was the reason for keeping them?
Did you take hormones (T) while having ovaries?
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I can't believe even after all this time I am so lost in deciding this. I am learning about new things after research and I am so overwhelmed with this. My situation is so complex:
I loathe the things E did to my body but I can't rely on T forever unless it's ok for me to be in a low dose where the T serum level is at 100-300 ish (meaning not in the normal male range) I can't deal with effects that T gives but at the same time E has always been my enemy. I wish there was an option for me such as cut the E amount that is being produced by the ovaries if I were to keep them? Do hormone blockers do this, I am not sure? As a matter of fact, even the doctors don't know what to do with my complexity. I am going to have my hysto soon but I wish I would at least know BEFOREHAND how much T I would need if I had the ovaries removed...
Another question I have is regarding menopause: During natural menopause (if ovaries were kept), do they not produce ANY hormones or just so little? Is it not the same thing as not having ovaries?
I had my hysto in 2009 and kept my ovaries. At the time, I wasn't ready to transition, and didn't want to take estrogen, either. And there was nothing wrong with them.
I'm having an oophorectomy today, along with my top surgery. I want them out partly because I have developed a fear of ovarian cancer and I'm at a little higher risk. But I didn't want a separate surgery. I'm almost at natural menopause age anyway and have been on T for 10 weeks.
Surgeon notes that removing ovaries a while AFTER hysto can make them more challenging to remove.
These decisions are not easy.
Good luck with both surgeries at once.
I think there is nothing wrong with mine too(since the doctor didn't say anything regarding the follicular cyst in the ultra sound) The thing with menopause is no one knows what age this starts at, correct? I was told some people don't even get the symptoms of it. My surgeon told me that he will be using the same incisions if I want my ovaries removed in the future.
Quote from: makipu on April 28, 2015, 01:13:10 PM
Good luck with both surgeries at once.
I think there is nothing wrong with mine too(since the doctor didn't say anything regarding the follicular cyst in the ultra sound) The thing with menopause is no one knows what age this starts at, correct? I was told some people don't even get the symptoms of it. My surgeon told me that he will be using the same incisions if I want my ovaries removed in the future.
I'm keeping mine. I don't like the idea of having to use another synthetic hormone (estrogen) if I decide to go off T for whatever reason (like a medical reason or something). The T kills off anything the estrogen might do, so the ovaries don't bother me. I am fortunate that my internal organs do not cause me any dysphoria, so I have no plans for a hysto at this point. Bottom surgery, yes. Hysto no (unless required by meta or something)
I'm not having bottom surgery nor am I planning to have a hysterectomy or oopherectomy unless either/both become medically necessary (due to family history, I will re-consider this at 40 when the risk factor increases significantly). Removing your ovaries, in addition to rendering you sterile, can cause problems with the endocrine system. Believe it or not, estrogen does good stuff, too! Of course, having them removed eliminates the possibility of ovarian cancer so, if you're not willing or able to have regularly-scheduled pelvic exams (once every 3 years if healthy and under 40, yearly after 40 is the standard recommendation) it may be worth considering. Keep in mind that if you undergo oopherectomy, you must be on some form of HRT for life.
Quote from: Brett on April 28, 2015, 06:19:02 PM
The T kills off anything the estrogen might do, so the ovaries don't bother me.
Do you mean that taking T actually prevents ovaries from causing problems, like cysts maybe? My reason of even having the hysto is only to not bleed. I need that 100% gurantee. And I can't rely on the medications anymore because they messed me up. 3+ years of Depo Provera, Seasonale, Errin and now Beyaz... I am sick of taking these as I know they caused me harm and I am still at it. I wish there was another way besides surgery. Is this an extreme reasoning? By the way, I actually don't consciously feel dysphoria towards the internal organs if I don't think about it so I guess that's not an issue with me either... but I definitely want the vaginectomy.
Ian68, are you referring to pap smears? I just refused them anyways. My cervix will also be removed because even if only the uterus was removed and not the cervix I may still get mini-periods.
EDIT: I meant to also ask about the fallopian tubes because I never see any mention of it. Do they also remove this with hysterectomy or does it fall under oophorectomy? What's the point of having them? For example if I decided to keep ovaries, will the tubes be removed or are they connected? I don't know how the female anatomy works due to my ongoing disgust so bear with me please. It was even overwhelming to learn this much...