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How common are horrendous symptoms (hot flash, night sweat, libido) following hyst/ooph?
serenitymine posted:
I'm facing a hyst/ooph in two weeks because of "very abnormal" uterus and a history of breast cancer (2008). But...reading on the internet, one could assume that every woman who ever had this surgery ended up tortured by horrendous (intolerable) hot flashes, night sweats, etc.

1. Are there any testimonies of women who have undergone the procedure and come through it well??

I'm 43 and live in fear of developing new cancers after having had 2 diagnosed the year I turned 40. So it feels like a good choice to remove these two organs that are obvious targets. Two more questions:

2. Is a woman who had breast cancer more likely (statistically) to develop ovarian cancer?

3. I'm planning on starting to take Menoquil this week in the hope that the advance start will help with immediate post-surgical menopausal symptoms in two weeks. Good plan or terrible plan?

4. I know Menoquil has *some* plant estrogens, but some research indicates these aren't harmful in small doses. Certainly less harmful than HRT. True?

So grateful for this site and for the expertise of the MDs on duty!
Mary Jane Minkin, MD responded:
Dear Serenity,
Best of luck with your surgery. Menoquil seems to contain signficant phytoestrogens; I always ask my patients to check in with their oncologists before taking soy and other phytoestrogens; they are controversial. On the other hand, pure black cohosh is not a plant estrogen, and in Germany, they use Remifemin in breast cancer clinics for relief of hot flashes. If the Remi isn't enough for relief, you can talk with your gynecologist about trying something like Effexor (an SNRI) which in low doses can help hot flashes.
If you are BRCA positive, it is definitely a good idea to take out the ovaries. Ovarian cancer rates are somewhat higher in women with breast cancer, even if they are BRCA negative, but not dramatically so.
Best of luck with the procedures,
Mary Jane