Marion, I had the same symptoms as you, but at the time I was 37. I had the surgery and he intended to leave the ovaries, but once he could visually 'see' them the cysts were larger than we thought and one had become part of an ovary. He managed to save one ovary but it was functional for only 2 years. In hindsight, I wished he had taken both as I always worried about possible cancer. My body did feel the results of no harmones for a while until it adjusted but I did try every brand and form of HRT. They all had an affect on me.....from nausea and headaches to arthritic hands. After an Aunt developed breast cancer, due to harmones, I chose not to take HRT and feel great. As others have posted, everyone is different and it's usually up to us to do lots of research and find what works. If you doubt your doctor at all, do get second opinions. My doctor was happy to see me get second opinions (I got 2). Some insurance covers second diagnosis, but at the time I had to pay out of pocket. They all confirmed what my Dr. had said. BTW, I think your Dr. is right that the number of years left for your ovaries to function are few.

i am glad that you are enjoying your break from work and love from your family. I have learned that Lady's Mantle and all natural progesterone cream can actually shrink down fibroid. Natural progesterone cream can reduce hot flashes and prevent breast cancer. You probably do not need this information anymore, but it's nice to check it out and pass it on to the others. See books by Dr. John Lee, the pioneer in the use of natural progesterone for women health. God bless all.

I had a UFE for fibroids after doing the wait and see thing for awhile until nasty symptoms became life altering. It worked great for me - though I will add that I had to have it done a second time by a more experienced IR since the first IR didn't have much experience with fibroids the size of mine. I've been reading about all kinds of fibroid treatment options and several other forums for probably five years. Everything I've read leads me to believe many gynecologists are biased against UFE and they often do not provide their patients with unbiased information about it. They are not experts on UFE - interventional radiologists are. If there's a difference of opinion on UFE, I would trust the IRs opinion. I've never heard of complications related to submucosal fibroids that would preclude the procedure. There are a couple of excellent forums on Yahoo - one for Uterine Fibroids and one for UFE called EMBO. I would highly recommend checking them out.

Hi all. The hysterectomy Monday went great. He was able to do the whole thing with no incisions -- all through the vagina! Not even any small incision for the laparascope. I don't know how he managed, but he said he just cut away at the uterus and the big fibroid and got them all out. Ovaries look great and stayed in place. I feel pretty darn wonderful. Spent one night in the hospital and came home before lunch Tuesday. I did have trouble in recovery -- apparently my blood oxygen level dropped and they couldn't give me any more pain meds for fear it would drop further, so I did hurt there for about five hours. The floor nurses gave me meds after I got up there and I felt better. Only mild nausea, and they gave me meds for that. No catheter upon waking, so I got to get up and go pee. I really think this is the way to go -- I do already feel "lighter" in the abdomen, not so squishy and heavy. My advice is ask your girlfriends and find a surgeon who's done a good job for someone you trust, and sign on with him/her. That's what I did and I'm not sorry. Then tell your surgeon your concerns, even the ones you think might be asking too much, like "I don't want a catheter when I'm awake." I did have some severe constipation, probably from the Vicodin pain pills. I took only two a day, but I suffered for it. I'm not taking any more and I don't hurt at all, just a little sore and tired. Oh, and don't try pushing the silverware drawer closed -- even that is too much of a push/pull action. They really mean it when they say NO PULLING ANYTHING. NO PUSHING ANYTHING. It will surprise you what muscles you use for that. He took my cervix, so sewed a flap at the end of it and sewed that to the muscles that used to hold up the uterus. Those muscles are attached to the back muscles. The big fibroid was fist-sized and pressing hard on my intestines. Gee, that explains the irritable bowel syndrome, eh? I swear to God, ladies, I feel so much better. Of course, I was really suffering there for about three years, and my body did me the favor of starting one last period last Friday just before the surgery. :) So yeah, bottom line, hysterectomy, regardless of how much it might have been abused in the past by the male-dominated medical profession, is sometimes exactly what a woman wants. Best wishes to all of you as you take good care of yourselves and one another, and research your options. You've been a great comfort and help to me. sincerely, Stony