Surgery is over - what now?

sabina57
sabina57 Member Posts: 32
in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1
Hi All

I had my laproscopic total hysterectomy on 11/21. I stood at the hospital overnight and am home recuperating. The doctor said the cancer was contained and it was very early stages of uterine cancer. I won't know if I need any treatment until the pathologist report comes back but the doctor said all looked as good as he had hoped. My question is this; since I was already post meanopausal for 6 years; will I have any hot flashes. I've not had any hot flashes since surgery and am not sure what to expect. My GYN doctor said most likely I wouldn't experience any or require any HRT therapy; but I was wondering if any of you had any input.

Thank you for all of your support!

Sabina

Comments

  • Kaleena
    Kaleena Member Posts: 2,088 Member
    #2
    Hi Sabina:
    I am glad your
    Hi Sabina:

    I am glad your surgery is over and are now recuperating. With regard to treatment, that would be decided by you. Although they had removed all my cancer, I still did a preventative treatment. I was 45 at the time. I did get hot flashes about 5:30 a.m. in the morning or when I felt a little stress. I was unable to get hormone therapy as my doctor indicated that I couldn't take hormones.

    I was diagnosed with Grade 2 Stage iiia endometrial adenocarcinoma and they didn't know I had it until after my hysterectomy even though I had a laparoscopy and an internal ultrasound.

    My best to you for a quick recovery.

    Kathy
  • jazzy1
    jazzy1 Member Posts: 1,379
    #3
    Sabina
    Congrats on completing surgery and now in recovery. Be kind to yourself and get rest to heal, as most of us try to do too much and get wiped out.

    I was pre-menopause prior to hysterectomy and had NO MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS at all after surgery...lucky one I guess! I have friends who at age of 65 yrs are still having hot flashes, many years after hitting the menopause cycle. Seems like we're all so different.

    When pathology comes back it will tell you more on type and grade of cancer,which will be the truth if treatments are needed.

    HRT? As with others here, I'm HR+ so cannot have any HRT as it's loaded with hormones...last thing I need. There are many alternative supplements which will help with menopausal symptoms if you're asking...do a search on our side of site.

    Hang in there and keep us posted on your progress...
    Jan
  • Liberty123
    Liberty123 Member Posts: 8
    #4
    Post Surgery
    Glad to here it went well. I was 7 years post menopausal when I had my hysterectomy in April. I haven't had any change in the number or severity of hot flashes I had before the hysterectomy. In general I haven't felt any different and haven't taken anything for it - wasn't even suggested. My cancer was Stage 1, grade 1. I think I mentioned before that because of the way the cancer looked the review board of doctors couldn't decide if I should have radiation treatments or not. So after six doctors on the review board at The James in Columbus, a couple of doctors at MD Anderson in Houston (where my daughter-in-law) works, and the radiologist all were fifty/fifty on having the radiation I decided to do it. I had three treatments in July (I wasn't healed enough in June). I didn't really have any effects from having the radiation. The worst thing was the nerves trying to decide, which really wasn't that hard because I wanted to everything I could to keep from having it recur and the treatments for it recurring were so much more aggressive than the three recommended now.

    Continue to take it easy and try to relax.

    Kathy
  • daisy366
    daisy366 Member Posts: 1,458 Member
    #5
    Liberty123 said:

    Post Surgery
    Glad to here it went well. I was 7 years post menopausal when I had my hysterectomy in April. I haven't had any change in the number or severity of hot flashes I had before the hysterectomy. In general I haven't felt any different and haven't taken anything for it - wasn't even suggested. My cancer was Stage 1, grade 1. I think I mentioned before that because of the way the cancer looked the review board of doctors couldn't decide if I should have radiation treatments or not. So after six doctors on the review board at The James in Columbus, a couple of doctors at MD Anderson in Houston (where my daughter-in-law) works, and the radiologist all were fifty/fifty on having the radiation I decided to do it. I had three treatments in July (I wasn't healed enough in June). I didn't really have any effects from having the radiation. The worst thing was the nerves trying to decide, which really wasn't that hard because I wanted to everything I could to keep from having it recur and the treatments for it recurring were so much more aggressive than the three recommended now.

    Continue to take it easy and try to relax.

    Kathy

    Sabina
    Glad you are home and recuperating and that you have a good prognosis.

    Re: hot flashes and HRT. I agree with Jan. We are all different. You may have some flashes but please don't expect them to be bad. I still get some minor flashes and they are not problematic. I don't take anything.

    I definitely would not recommend HRT to anyone, especially someone with hormone sensitive cancer like you and me. And the medical community is not so quick to recommend HRT these days. There are alternative treatments out there if needed.

    My best to you always. Mary Ann
  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #6
    daisy366 said:

    Sabina
    Glad you are home and recuperating and that you have a good prognosis.

    Re: hot flashes and HRT. I agree with Jan. We are all different. You may have some flashes but please don't expect them to be bad. I still get some minor flashes and they are not problematic. I don't take anything.

    I definitely would not recommend HRT to anyone, especially someone with hormone sensitive cancer like you and me. And the medical community is not so quick to recommend HRT these days. There are alternative treatments out there if needed.

    My best to you always. Mary Ann

    Sounds good, Sabina
    Glad to hear the surgery is behind you and you're on the mend. Particularly happy to hear early stage, low grade cancer. Hope the final pathology report remains unchanged.

    I'm 64 and was already post menopausal andhave had no hot flashes since my surgery 16 months ago. To further reduce any estrogen, I'm on Arimidex because my breast cancer was estrogen receptor positive. Still no hot flashes. Whew. I had only minimal flashes when going through menopause, too.

    Suzanne
  • sabina57
    sabina57 Member Posts: 32
    #7
    Liberty123 said:

    Post Surgery
    Glad to here it went well. I was 7 years post menopausal when I had my hysterectomy in April. I haven't had any change in the number or severity of hot flashes I had before the hysterectomy. In general I haven't felt any different and haven't taken anything for it - wasn't even suggested. My cancer was Stage 1, grade 1. I think I mentioned before that because of the way the cancer looked the review board of doctors couldn't decide if I should have radiation treatments or not. So after six doctors on the review board at The James in Columbus, a couple of doctors at MD Anderson in Houston (where my daughter-in-law) works, and the radiologist all were fifty/fifty on having the radiation I decided to do it. I had three treatments in July (I wasn't healed enough in June). I didn't really have any effects from having the radiation. The worst thing was the nerves trying to decide, which really wasn't that hard because I wanted to everything I could to keep from having it recur and the treatments for it recurring were so much more aggressive than the three recommended now.

    Continue to take it easy and try to relax.

    Kathy

    Post Surgery
    Thanks everyone! I'm relieved to hear that those of you who were already post menopausal prior to surgery, experienced no manjor changes in regards to hot flashes; I already had mine under control with a supplement that you buy in the drugstore. I'm just so happy it's behind me. I'm hoping that the pathology report will be consistently good but if I have to take a few radiation treatments as a precaution; I'll do what I have to do. I'm just grateful that this was caught early. I'll go slow as hard as it will be for me. I want to make sure my body heals. The doctor said to give it 6 weeks; that means no work "yay".

    This site is wonderful and God Bless all of you and I wish everyone the best of luck on their journey.

    Sabina
  • TiggersDoBounce
    TiggersDoBounce Member Posts: 408
    #8
    Sabina
    So glad the surgery is over for you!

    I was possibly pre-menopausal (still getting my periods) when dx and after surgery and since then have had no symptoms of hot flashes...I am sure I am more irritable since then...LOL

    Everyone is different..keep us posted on your progress...

    Laurie
  • JoAnnDK
    JoAnnDK Member Posts: 275
    #9
    TiggersDoBounce said:

    Sabina
    So glad the surgery is over for you!

    I was possibly pre-menopausal (still getting my periods) when dx and after surgery and since then have had no symptoms of hot flashes...I am sure I am more irritable since then...LOL

    Everyone is different..keep us posted on your progress...

    Laurie

    Arimidex
    Suzanne, I am also taking Arimidex BUT I have lots of hot flashes. Short ones, usually, but they occur several times a day.

    When I was going through menopause (I started having hot flashes before 40), I went to a herbal store which concocted tinctures for various ailments. One was hot flashes. I bought a tincture that I dropped under my tongue. It worked so well. Unfortunately, that store is long gone and I have not found any others. Too bad!
  • HellieC
    HellieC Member Posts: 524 Member
    #10
    sabina57 said:

    Post Surgery
    Thanks everyone! I'm relieved to hear that those of you who were already post menopausal prior to surgery, experienced no manjor changes in regards to hot flashes; I already had mine under control with a supplement that you buy in the drugstore. I'm just so happy it's behind me. I'm hoping that the pathology report will be consistently good but if I have to take a few radiation treatments as a precaution; I'll do what I have to do. I'm just grateful that this was caught early. I'll go slow as hard as it will be for me. I want to make sure my body heals. The doctor said to give it 6 weeks; that means no work "yay".

    This site is wonderful and God Bless all of you and I wish everyone the best of luck on their journey.

    Sabina

    Glad you're through the surgery
    So pleased you are through the surgery and into the recovery period. Fingers crossed the path report will be good.
    Just one word of caution, though - please check what ingredients are in the supplement that you buy at the drugstore. Some of them contain high levels of phytoestrogens (plant based oestrogen), which is why they are so effective, as they replace the oestrogen that your body is no longer producing.
    If your pathology result indicates that the tumour was ER+ (oestrogen receptor positive - meaning that it thrives on oestrogen in the body), you may want to discuss with your surgeon or oncologist whether this is the best supplement or whether there are any others which might be preferable.
    Sorry - I'm not meaning to frighten you - just don't want you to take something which might not be well suited to your circumstances!
    Wishing you a speedy recovery
    Helen
  • sabina57
    sabina57 Member Posts: 32
    #11
    HellieC said:

    Glad you're through the surgery
    So pleased you are through the surgery and into the recovery period. Fingers crossed the path report will be good.
    Just one word of caution, though - please check what ingredients are in the supplement that you buy at the drugstore. Some of them contain high levels of phytoestrogens (plant based oestrogen), which is why they are so effective, as they replace the oestrogen that your body is no longer producing.
    If your pathology result indicates that the tumour was ER+ (oestrogen receptor positive - meaning that it thrives on oestrogen in the body), you may want to discuss with your surgeon or oncologist whether this is the best supplement or whether there are any others which might be preferable.
    Sorry - I'm not meaning to frighten you - just don't want you to take something which might not be well suited to your circumstances!
    Wishing you a speedy recovery
    Helen

    Post OP
    Thanks All!

    Helen,

    I'm actually considering not taking the supplement anymore because I've not had any hot flashes since surgery; if anything I can't seem to shake the chills. The supplement I was taking is called "New Phase"; mostly vitamins in it but you make a good point. For now, I'm going to stop taking it. Even prior to surgery my hot flashes were far and few in between and when they did occur, they were not nearly as intense as when they first started 6 years ago. Honestly I feel no change hormonely since surgery which makes me beyond pleased!

    Have a good day everyone and nothing but good wishes for all.

    Sabina
    :)
  • txtrisha55
    txtrisha55 Member Posts: 693 Member
    #12
    JoAnnDK said:

    Arimidex
    Suzanne, I am also taking Arimidex BUT I have lots of hot flashes. Short ones, usually, but they occur several times a day.

    When I was going through menopause (I started having hot flashes before 40), I went to a herbal store which concocted tinctures for various ailments. One was hot flashes. I bought a tincture that I dropped under my tongue. It worked so well. Unfortunately, that store is long gone and I have not found any others. Too bad!

    Dong quai is an aromatic
    Dong quai is an aromatic herb that grows in China, Korea, and Japan. The reputation of Dong quai is second only to Ginseng and is considered the ultimate, all-purpose woman's tonic herb. It is used for almost every gynecological complaint from regulating the menstrual cycle to treating menopausal symptoms caused by hormonal changes. It contains vitamins E, A and B12. Researchers have isolated at least six coumarin derivatives that exert antispasmodic and vasodilatory effects. Research has shown that dong quai produces a balancing effect on estrogen activity. Modern treatments prescribe the herb to combat PMS.

    This is the herb that my sister used to get her through the hot flashes, as it was recommended by the lady at the chinesse restarant we went to. It is dropped under the tongue and it did help. I personally never had hot flashes and was post menaposal by the time I was 40. Now at 55 I had the hysterectomy and found carcinosarcoma cancer in the uterus and 1 lymph node. I have gone through Chemo treatments but no radiation. Clear so far.

    If you are HR+ then this may not be a good thing to take since it states it does help to balance estrogen. Wait for the pathology report to find out the stage and grade. Hopefully they will also run the HR+ /HR - and the assay on the tumor to decide which treatment is best. They did not run that on my tumor and I did not know to ask back in April this year. trish

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