One week post-oophorectomy - looking for others’ experiences
Hi everyone,
I’m Cookie, a 45-year-old woman from Australia and I’ve joined Reddit looking to connect with other women who have lived experience with PMDD, surgical menopause and women’s health.
A little about me: I have ADHD, (pre diagnosed) love yoga and Pilates, work as an executive leader in financial services, and I’m also a Marriage Celebrant. Like many women, I wear a lot of hats and spend a lot of time looking after everyone else.
I had a total abdominal hysterectomy 2 years ago due to Adenomyosis and balanced PMDD with SSRIs until my pre diagnosis of ADHD and now treating with a magical herbal concoction from my Natropath and one pump of Estrogel for my perimenopause.
After a recent trip to India I came back with terrible abdominal pain and discovered a cyst growing rapidly on my left ovary.
My father is also in stage 4 of his prostate cancer journey and discovered BRCA2 positive.
Last week I had surgery to remove both ovaries and be tested for BRCA2. During surgery, they also found and removed adhesions, which I wasn’t expecting.
Right now I’m recovering physically and emotionally. I’ve got the shoulder pain from the gas, pelvic discomfort, numb emotional feeling and a head cold courtesy of my daughter, and lots of questions about what comes next.
I’d love to hear from women who have:
• Had an oophorectomy for PMDD/BRCA2
• Experienced surgical menopause
• Stayed on or adjusted HRT afterwards
• Found unexpected changes (good or bad) after surgery
What surprised you most during recovery?
Thanks for having me here. Looking forward to learning from your experiences and hopefully supporting others along the way.