Surgical menopause

Hi Claire. Hopefully some of the ladies here will be along to offer their experiences, especially the ones who had early menopause following surgery. I myself sailed through the menopause suffering nothing except hot flushes. I didn't take HRT, nor evening primrose. I often wonder if it was because I'd never had children my menopause was easy.

Sending hugs, Barb x

Hi 444,

I had a natural menopause, didn't have HRT. I can remember 'Flooding' when I stood up, but that won't affect you. Other than that I had hot flashes. My menopause lasted 5 years. My daughter was like you and had an induced menopause at age 37. She used to fling open windows while the rest of us froze!! I think she only had hot flashes for about 1 year, and was less troubled than I was! I think she also slept with a fan on.  xxxx 

Hi , i was in exactly the same boat as you as i had my hysterectomy at 38 and i must admit being hit with the surgical menopause felt like being hit by a freight train suddenly. I have to admit that it hasn’t been as bad as I expected by i still now and i had my surgery in 2017 I still struggle with temperature regulation. I found those that wearing as much natural materials as possible helped, I find I have to have some kitchen towel handy to swipe the sweat away and i try to have some gentle body spray that isn’t too strong but enough to make you feel more comfortable. The hot flushes can be controlled by having windows open and fans on, ironically its surprising how much I have the windows open even when its cool out just to try and make it more comfortable for me. The thing with the menopause is that it seems to last different lengths of time and people can be effected more then others, what i try to do is relax about the hot flushes rather then getting worked up and embarrassed as I found this made it worse because of the emotional issues we go though too. My CNS did recommend joining menopause groups to help learn but also cope with the effects. The emotions will be stronger you may get more upset over something you probably would of just brushed away. The important thing is to know and be kind to yourself and remember too that your recovering from surgery which will have some effects too. Take one day at a time, you will get though this and the onething is you know others totally get it what your going through.

Sending gentle bear hugs  

I was the same and my symptoms kicked in about 8 weeks after surgery. I had a lot of hot flushes mostly on the evening and in the night, but not really bad sweats.

I also am advised not to have HRT as my cancer was an oestrogen driven adenocarcinoma.

After a discussion with GP I started fluoxetine 20mg capsules, which have really helped reduce the frequency of hot flushes. Some days I don't have any. I've been really surprised how well it's worked.

Lifestyle wise, I've reduced alcohol and am doing lots of walking and weight training initially with resistance bands and now kettle bells to reduce risk of osteoporosis (I started the weight training with bands after 3 months and small weight kettle bells after 6 months, both under supervision of a personal trainer certified for cancer patients) 

I hope you find what works for you xx

And an old fashioned fan (Japanese paper from Amazon for a few £) has been a life saver 

Thank you ladies for all your replies, I’m with you on the temperature regulation issues and night sweats!! Xx

Hi there. I had a huge pseudo surgical menopause after my hysterectomy. (I was 58 and had been on Combined HRT for years )  so unlike ladies who had gone through their menopause naturally I went from full of hormones to nothing in 24 hrs ! 

I've always told myself that the flushes and symptoms were worth it to be alive and I'm grateful that my treatment was successful and  has allowed me an active and continuingly happy life 

That doesn't mean to say that the symptoms aren't horribly unpleasant at times . I've tried just about all the suggestions in the book...even put a magnet down my pants for a few months lol!!    

The summer is the worst , especially the warm nights...duvet on ...duvet off! 

I have bought several cheap and cheerful desk fans and remote  control sockets . These can be strategically placed at homeand clicked on quickly at the touch of a button . This is brilliant at my bedside. My long suffering hubby has got used to the fan and just tucks under his covers to avoid the breeze. I always have an old fashioned  Spanish stylehand fan in my handbag too and make no apologies for using it.

I find alcohol, especially wine triggers a bad night of flushes, as does stress and anxiety. 

Being outdoors and lots of  exercise also helps me reduce flushes.

I cut the caffeine at one point but I honestly can't say that made much difference.

Sometimes on occasion  I've resorted to drowsy type antihistamines to get a good night's sleep . Phergan or Piriton does it for me. 

I'm currently  just about to trial an antidepressant "Sertraline " for a few months to see if that helps. I'm not depressed but It's been found to help reduce flushes in a proportion of users.

As for the other effects of vaginal dryness there are a variety of good  vaginal moisturisers and lubricants on the market that are helpful you should be able to get them on prescription.

Everyone experiences the hormone withdrawal differently on many levels, physical and emotional. I hope yours settles down soon and becomes more tolerable. Xx Nan

Thanks Nan

i hope the sertraline works for you, my oncologist did mention this to me if things are too problematic too ! The night sweats are kicking in big time now 5 weeks post op, I’ll try some of the things you have mentioned, but maybe not the magnet ! My husband too is getting used to the night fan going on and off throughout the night. As you say it is better to have these things and be well . Thanks for the tips and I hope things are good for you. Xx