hello!
I’m a 19 heard old trans man who’s recently had a full hysterectomy by laparotomy. I am finally resting from the bothers of a c-section but now I’ve started to actually feel the effects of menopause and I am at complete loss.
The hot flashes are horrible. I get them maybe 20 times a day and there’s no way to calm them down. they are accompanied by sharp chest pain and fast breathing, and I cannot for the life of me find anything about that. It feels like I’m having an anxiety episode, twenty times a day. I wasn’t really warned about this at all and I don’t know what else I’m missing, or what’s to come. I also suffer from a major depressive disorder, and I had been moderately good until now; I’ve had a really bad mood fall these last weeks. It’s making it hard to cope.
I’ve read that surgical menopause lasts until its normal age of decline, is that true? is there anything I can do to calm these symptoms? I’m barely managing and I have so little information, I’d love some experiences from other people.
Thank you and please have a good day!
I Don't understand your post at all! are you saying you're a woman turned man or vice versa? I'm not being rude, I just don't understand how, if you're a male turned female, you could possibly be in menapause. And I'm not sure how it works if it's the other way. I'm not judging either way, just trying to understand your post...
Why in the world would they give a VERY young woman @ 19 a total hysterectomy?
sweety was the full hysterctomy apart of your surgery? if not I'm just wondering why your doctor has made you do this. I'm assuming your already on alot of hormones mainly male. I'm very confused I do know a little about this subject as a friend of mine has had the surgery but he did not have his ovaries removed. I think you probably need to talk with your specialists and explain what going on. I hope everything works out for you. And congrats on following your heart with being you.. xoxo
Hi etgar, I had a hysterectomy too yrs ago but my ovaries were left in me so I could go thru my menopause naturally and not instantly.. But I don't think it made a difference what so ever because soon after lots and lots of symptoms started to occur I believe because as soon as the blood supply is cut off from the ovaries then the ovaries start the declining process and awful it is to say the least.. You are very very young so maybe you can try some female hormones to replace the ones you are missing now until your body adjusts.. And remember these declining hormones can cause very depressive moods and hormones are what your body is missing so my opinion one would need hormones to replace the ones they are missing to get out of all these symptoms.. I wish I could but hormones are not an option for me.. I wish you luck and good health in your journey its a tough road be strong and you will be ok take care..
I was told at 22 that I needed to have a hysterectomy. Long, long story short, I got a laparotomy to lazer endometriosis scars throughout my pelvis, in order to become pregnant. This is an extremely confusing post, if not a joke. Sorry, but I've never heard of such a thing and don't understand.
I have had lots of luck with evening primrose oil to stop the hot flashes and night sweats :)
Me too, I have had great success with evening primose in stopping hot flashes and night sweats. It also worked wonderfully for stopping breast pain.
I can't really speak to your specific circumstances. But first and for most you need to speak with your Dr about hormone issues. Because most of what you are saying sounds like you may have catapulted into menopause and your body is having a hard time adjusting. Most of us in more usual menopause (if there is such a thing) have been experiencing symptoms for years.
Hot flashes, anxiety etc are "classic" symptoms of hormones trampolining in ones body. There are a multitude of other symptoms that most of us on here want to know if it is hormones or we are dying. I personally can't decide most day.
You are young and female hormone replacement therapy might be something you should discuss with your Dr or a Dr who understands menopause. Because I personally wouldn't wish it on anyone...(Maybe my husband when I am feeling especially wicked lol)
I think I am understanding you had a hysterectomy via laparotomy (c-section) to transition to a man at 19.
I know when I was 19 hormones and menopause was not remotely on my radar. It wasn't on my radar at 40 - or I didn't know it was anything but hot flashes. I didn't realize menopause meant my body would turn on me. I am nearly 52 going on 105 most days. I am post menopause.
I would have hoped your Dr and/ or surgeon would have explained that having a hysterectomy would drastically effect your hormones. I would imagine you are taking a form of HRT with male hormones testosterone etc? You might have had the surgery but your body's biology is still female. It is responding to the drastic change in your hormones by removing your uterus and I am assuming ovaries.
I strongly encourage you to seek medical advice. Explain your symptoms, talk frankly with a Dr. Most of us have frank detailed discussions with Dr's and specialist. Because that is the only place we are going to hope to get help.
Please know with the depression that you are not alone. I struggle with it myself and menopause can amplify everything.
Take care, hugs and calming thought to you.
I can't believe they did not address this issue with you. Surgical menopause is like a drop off a cliff.Get back in there and tell them what's going on. Enough women have had this surgery they need to address this issue. Whether you are transitioning to male or just had surgery due to another problem. Are you not taking hormones as you transition? This is new to so many as its such a private matter. Sounds horrible. I wish you the best.
Its gender reassignment. What you look like on the outside may not be who you are on the inside. It happens in the womb. Nobody's fault.
Shocking that your doctors didn't prepare you for this, sorry to hear that you've been going through this without much help or preparation. For many of us going through this at middle age, it has been rough. Not something we want to hear a 19 year old having to deal with. As you peruse this forum, you will see a common thread of anxiety throughout many posts. Many of us have experienced overwhelming anxiety, often due to the onset of odd physical symptoms and feeling so off kilter. It is hard to not feel depressed when feeling so awful & battling the anxiety over how you physically feel. If you already had a predisposition to depression, then it's no surprise that you are struggling. Reach out to your doctors, trans support groups, other women who have had hysterectomies at a young age, and to this forum. Find support anywhere you can and keep putting one foot in front of the other. You are not alone & things will get better. We are out here going through some rough symptoms, so we understand & can support that part of your journey. The fact that you're so young, and are undergoing gender reassignment, brings additional challenges and you will need support from those who are coping with those factors as well. Between all of those groups, you will find some comfort and hopefully be able to cope a little better. You already have such strength to embark on becoming who you are meant to be, fully...I wish things were easier for you. Keep reaching out - we keep doing it here for support & it helps curb the fear factor. All the best to you.
Hi, thank you so much to everyone for all the responses!! I'll try to reply to them all in a second!
for starters, I'm gonna clarify! ^^' I'm a trans man. That means I was born with ovaries and a womb and all those other sexual characteristics. I was living as a girl until the age of 15 when I realized I wasn't feeling OK at all with it and I transitioned. I am currently very happy with myself and I can affirm without a shade of doubt that transitioning saved my life. Hope that clears everything up?
As for the surgery, I've been around 3 years on testosterone as part of HRT. In the long run it caused me a hyperplasia of the endometrium, I was having constant, very painful periods, and my endocrinologist considered it was just better to take everything out to get rid of the problem. Turns out my ovaries were polycystic so it ended up doing a lot of good! I do not plan on getting pregnant, ever, so this wasn't an issue for me. I was warned I would start menopause after the surgery, I was just not informed of what that would imply. "You get very hot", "You are very moody", but nothing like this, and specially not that it would last me another 35 years!!!
thank you so much for the kind messages, really. means a lot to me. I have been wary of reaching out to everyone about this because there's so little resources directed towards trans people and I didn't want to invade women-only spaces, as I know this topic is very personal. So thank you for being so loving and open minded!
I'm a man! Some trans people dislike the concept of being "born this and then turned that" because for them they were always as they are now, but for simplicity sake, I was born female and then transitioned to male :) It's just a phrase to avoid as it could make some trans people feel bad!
yes it was! I want to clarify that I needed this surgery, I did not ask for it (I originally didn't plan on getting any kind of surgery). My periods were REALLY messy and painful after a year of starting hormones, it's just something that can happen rarely and I had the bad luck of getting it. I had a lot of cysts in my ovaries too and I had been suffering from period pains since I was little so I'm very glad they got them out!!!
I'll ask my doctor about it, thank you!!! 💕
thank you so much, this means everything to me, really. I was scared of asking other people and these messages are such a relieve and so heartwarming ♥
as I explained in my last addition, HRT caused me an endometrium hyperplasia. Part of the testosterone I take converted into estrogen to balance the levels. It was very painful for me. The surgery was a medical need to improve my life quality :)
I do apologize for not understanding this post. Thank you for helping to clarify. x
I truly hope that I did not offend you. And I did NOT mean to make light of your situation at all. Just didn't understand. My husband and I have many gay/lesbian friends. We are open minded, and I feel bad for being insensitive. With the way things are in the world today, mostly communicating through mostly texts, etc., it seems things can easily be misunderstood. Menopause is a hellish nightmare that I wish on no one. It's great that you came to this site for help/support. There are a wonderful, helpful bunch here. I know I would've lost my mind otherwise. x