http://www.Athena-Inst.com/oophorectomy.html 

Oophorectomy At Hysterectomy After Age 40? A Practice That Does Not Withstand Scrutiny 

Author: P.E. Schwartz, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA 
" Boike et al. have estimated that in the year 2005 approximately 854,000 hysterectomies will be performed in the United States.[15] Approximately 4,000 of the women who undergo removal of both ovaries at the time of hysterectomy will avoid the ravages of ovarian cancer. The routine castration of all women who undergo hysterectomy at age 40 is laudable in its attempt to avoid ovarian cancer in the future, but it remains a highly inefficient approach to reduce the risks of developing the disease. Removing 1.7 million ovaries to avoid 2,200 malignancies is highly inefficient, as 99.75% of the castrated women are unlikely to develop ovarian cancer." 

For asm rant against this, visit the Soapbox post  Butchering Women

If a woman is 48, has been on hormone replacement therapy over a year,  is not interested in the fertility aspect, and has a large fibroid  causing problems, WHY NOT take out the ovaries along with the uterus?

Let me just say, however, that leaving the ovaries, while appearing to allow the woman to function normally toward menopause, doesn't always do that.  In some women because of the way everything is hooked up in there, forgive my crudeness, it is not always possible to leave the ovaries unaffected, restricted blood supply, etc.  For some it works, for some not.  No one answer.  Only bad part is you don't know until it too late.  I would have to say, if the hysterectomy itself is not absolutely necessary, 
DO NOT DO IT. 

One woman's opinion. 

Thanks for the enquiry. :-)   This must have been your winter, my summer (sorry, just trying to get the dateline right  as I have posted infrequently over the past year or so, and as I do my own ERT regimen here, I at times forget what I was trying at any particular point in time). 

This must have been this oestrogel implant that you're referring to.. yes ok I get it now.  It worked real well actually.. I settled down just fine on it after a few weeks of see-sawing.  Then I got back to the island and woe... it's not a recognised form of therapy for the community here (it's not even available, let alone a familiar procedure) so I had to abandon that method. 

I was at a loss.  What to do now.. I then thought ok, I'll do the natural progesterone route - bought book and  cream over the web, and waited for the magic! ;)  It never did materialise. In fact, there I felt worse than I ever have - I was constantly tired, drowsy and kinda ''spaced out' .. it was eerie, and after about 6 weeks, I gave that up as well.  Back in the quagmire again - so went back on to Premarin.  (not out of my own desire.. its just that it seemed like I had exhausted all other options). 

Went uphill again for a few months - and then recently started feeling**totally** bum once more, this time with some kind of metabolic reaction. I was really confused.. .. how could it be that I felt so decidedly odd after eating?? I immediately thought 'Premarin'  - but wasn't sure. So I came here and asked asm... posted this a few days ago - was it a few days ago?? <g> seems like a few weeks, months even - under the thread Insulin at Meno.. and received really pertinent advice from a few of the regulars who have some knowledge and views on the subject  - thank you once again :) .. acted on the input received here, and I  discovered that I had/ have some kind of insulin-resistant problem, possibly because of a reaction to Premarin.  Did blood tests etc, which all came back with a wildly see-sawing blood sugar count.  I was a little dismayed at this (to say the least, but well.. I long ago accepted that I will be besieged by problems one way or another for a long time to come, so accepted it as yet another hurdle to be overcome in my seemingly-endless quest to attain the wisest ERT solution) .. but it did explain all my symptoms.  Went off Premarin completely - and hey.. I feel good again! No headache, no sore aching eyes, no dizziness or fatigue, no bloat... and literally no brain fog.. is this possible?? Or is it all in my mind <g> I  still sit with a reaction after eating, particularly carbohydrates, though, so obviously there is something real out of whack with my pancreatic function... However, there I once again sat hormone-less. 

So now the situation up to date:  Decided to try this Estraderm once more as from yesterday. My last woe with this one was that it doesn't stick in this climate... I believe Climara is real good with that, but once again.. its not available here.  Wonder if there is some way I can get this over the net.... doubt it, what with international pharmaceutical laws etc.  If this Estraderm patch really doesn't work - then I really sit with a problem... will have to jump on a plane just to get my hormone?? lol.. sounds ludicrous, but its what I may have to resort to in the long run.  At present I have to get this blood sugar story sorted out.... never stops, right :)  Could it even be stress-related, I wonder? I have read that stress can be a contributing factor in  adult-onset diabetes... nothing really surprises me anymore when it comes to the complex working of the human body.  Particularly when you fiddle with the endocrine system.  Which is what oophorectomy does - badly, right? 

So we'll see :) 
Karen M.d'U