Oh, wow! Yes, I can relate to ALL of this except I skipped the peri altogether. What I am going through is called surgical menopause. Don't rush things...no matter how bad you think it is now, being thrown into surgical menopause is worse
It has been 26 months since my complete hysterectomy. They took everything but my appendix. (Sometimes they do, but my Dr. wanted to leave mine).
These are all the joys I now live with:
A scar from my navel down. (this would be only if you couldn't have laprascopic or intrauterine surgery)
A terribly long recovery time. I didn't feel well for 3 months following surgery.
I still get PMS. Sure, there's no menstruating, but I still get extra crabby and crave chocolate one week a month.
I'm on the highest dose of HRT there is because of my young age.
With that HRT, there comes a side effect of high triglycerides so I have to monitor my diet carefully now.
The option for not having the high triglycerides is to not use oral HRT but use a patch. However, my skin is too sensitive for the patch and I break out from the adhesive.
My skin has always been dry but OMGWTH. It's like the Sahara now.
My hair is dryer than ever before.
My nails are brittle.
In addition to my HRT I have to take Vitamin D and calcium, because Vitamin D is actually a hormone based vitamin and my levels are ridiculously low.
Because of the low Vitamin D, I'm lethargic and depressed. Yes, depressed. For the first time in my life I'm on antidepressant that isn't related to PPD. I had PPD with 2 of my 3 kids and took an antidepressant for a few months postpartum but never have had to take an antidepressant unless I was in the few months postpartum-- until after the hysterectomy.
I crave sweets more than I ever did before, and go through spurts where I am starving and can't get full.
My sweat is stinky, where it really didn't used to be. I'm not saying I smelled like roses before but now I have to put deoderant on twice a day in the summer.
I get more migraines now.
My sleep patterns are more irregular.
I get bloated easier, retain water easier. I walked 7 miles one day last week and my ankles swelled!
I have more anxiety than I ever have had in my life. And I'm anxious about dumber things. As a friend put it, "You could worry the balls off a pool table."
My mood swings are frequent and frustrating.
My appearance...my face is aging right before my eyes. And fast. I have aged 4 years in the last 2, easily.
And the most debilitating one of them all....the hot flashes. Flash is such a misnomer because it makes it sound like it comes and goes. WELL NOT FOR ME! What I have is called "ember flashes" because they last longer. Mine usually last 2 hours or so. I have them a few times a week (sometimes daily). If it were just about being hot I could handle it. But that's not what it's like. When a hot flash washes over me I have a general feeling of malaise. It's terrible. I can't describe it unless you've really had one. Sometimes people have them during pregnancy. (I had a few)
I'm now lucky enough to also get cold flashes. Those are weird feeling.
We had to try 5 different HRT's before we found one that helped me.
And they are EXPENSIVE!
The *one* aspect that hasn't affected me (thank goodness) is libido. My libido never changed, rawr.
Anyway, as you can guess, it hasn't been pleasant. My hysterectomy wasn't because of endometriosis, though I did have mild endo. But if you have a hysterectomy due to endometriosis, most doctors won't even put you on HRT for the first 6 months. It can cause the endo to grow on your bowels and other remaining organs instead, because the hormones just feed the endo. The women on my hysterectomy board who had to endure 6 months of a hormone crash like that were even more miserable than I was/have been/am.
The fact is, my hysterectomy wasn't elective surgery, after 10 years of watching my cells be increasing degrees of abnormal, they were mutating at a faster and faster rate. My doctor said I would have had cervical cancer in 3-5 years without the hysterectomy. So I didn't have much choice. But if I DID have a choice, it's NEVER something I'd have. Our bodies are a pain but I don't think people understand how unfun and unnatural the alternative is. The periods I no longer have? Well yes, those are nice. But truth be told I'd still rather have them if I could ditch all these other symptoms. I just want to paint a picture of what menopause is REALLY like. It's not pretty.
I read the book, Sudden Menopause, and I recommend it. Other than that, I can just say that if it's a route you go down, it does get easier after the first 6-9 months, but it still sucks. Every day. A lot.
But I'm like WTH??
