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ovarian isolation?

by charlene

I have been wondering and reading about surgical menopause due to
hysterectomy (accepted risk with this procedure) and also tubal
ligation (doctors deny this is an associated risk.) My fears about
the extent of the damage to my body seem to be validated by my
symptoms compared to hysterectomy patients. It just seems logical to
me to explain the intensity of my problems, that maybe an ovary died
as a result of the surgery (apparently, this is not unheard of and
may be more common than they lead us to believe - with many post-
tubal women being put on birth control pills for hormone
replacement.) If that is the case, then what I experienced was a
version of surgical menopause (one ovary dying, leaving only one
ovary to struggle to maintain my body at half the usual hormone
level - that would explain the intense hormonal shock to my body
after surgery.) IF both ovaries are functioning, then it is at a
much decreased rate.

I know that ladies here have been tested out the wazoo. I have an
apt to see a GYN that claims to specialize in hormonal problems as
well as menopause. Does anyone have any suggestions on the questions
I should ask or the tests I should request to get to the bottom of
this ASAP. If both ovaries are alive, then I will be spending a lot
of my hard earned money on the chance that it will restore normal
function. If one ovary is dead, then I will not waste the money. I
just need to get to the bottom of this now. The other doc ordered a
vaginal ultrasound, but will that really show if my ovaries are in
good health? Do I need a laparscopy to tell for sure? If hormone
tests are run properly, will that always show if one ovary is non-
functional? I know that the range of hormones produced by women is
wide, so if a woman normally has a high hormone level then loses one
ovary, and she does not have tests showing her normal hormone level,
will the tests show below "acceptable" range or will she just show
as on the lower end of the scale when she would have previously been
on the high end?

Wow, there are so many "what ifs" and I just find it hard to believe
that any of this is normal. I have posted my symptoms here before,
and I know that a number of women have been helped by a reversal and
their tubes were not extensively damaged while causing problems. I
have more questions than answers myself, and I am willing to be a
test case in order to learn more since I have already gone through a
year of hell.

Has anyone here experienced what felt like full blown
menopause/hormonal shock after their TL and gone on to have a
successful reversal? (The menopausal feeling has mostly left me the
last few months, but I have still been left confused and "fuzzy
headed" and chronic fatigue and anxiety and terrible cramping and
PMS and irregular periods. I don't feel like I have ovulated in so
long, I used to be able to tell when I was ovulating.)

For those who did have severe symptoms and went on to have a
successful reversal, how much time passed between the 2 surgeries
and how much do you feel the reversal benefitted you at that point?

thanks, charlene


Posted on Oct 17, 2004, 8:38 PM

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