After a year of monthly Zoladex shots to shut down my ovaries’ Estrogen production, I decided to have my ovaries surgically removed. The name of the surgery is a mouthful: Oophorectomy.  It started with a referral from my oncologist to an Obstetrician who specializes in gynecologic care for women with breast cancer. During my first meeting with her we discussed the pros and cons of having the ovaries removed and whether it’s a good move for me.

My breast cancer is ER+ so there will never be a time in my life where I want to have my ovaries producing Estrogen. Until I actually hit menopause, I can either continue to have the monthly shots or I could remove the ovaries. I decided that one less monthly shot is a good thing.

She will be removing my ovaries and the Fallopian tubes. We discussed the idea of removing my uterus as well, but that’s a bigger surgery with longer recovery, and since my current drugs are already protecting me from uterine cancers, there really isn’t a strong case to be made to remove it.

The doctor went over all the risks and said that for my recovery, if I could work from home for a few days after the surgery, that would be a good thing since I may be a little sore.

I had a vaginal ultrasound to ensure there would be no surprises for when she does the surgery. Since Ibrance weakens my immune system, my oncologist had me stop taking Ibrance 10 days before the surgery. I’ve also been trying to increase my intake of leafy greens to augment my immune system.

I had a phone consultation with Anesthesiology to talk about my medical history, current health, and discuss which drugs to take on day of the surgery. On the day or night before the surgery, she wants me t use Dial antibacterial or chlorhexidine soap (Hibiclens) to reduce bacteria and help keep the surgical area clean.

I think everything is locked and loaded. I’l update this post after the surgery.

Day of Surgery

My surgery started around 9:30am and was done a couple hours later. I hung out in recovery until some of the anesthesia wore off. My husband drove me home and I spent the majority of the day sleeping since I felt so groggy. I had 600mg ibuprofen and oxy for pain. I did have some pain on that first day but the meds managed it quite well. My doctor gave me photos of my insides! Guess our Christmas card is covered this year! LOL

Day after Surgery

I worked from home and, from a pain perspective, felt pretty managed. I did feel constipated so I started taking Senna plus to help push things along.

2nd Day after Surgery

Pain was pretty minimal. I did have a bowel movement so that was relieving 🙂 My belly is quite bloated looking. I worked from home again with little issue.

3rd Day after Surgery

I returned to work. Did not need any pain meds and wore loose fitting pants to keep the pressure on my incisions to a minimum. My oncologist told me I can start back on Ibrance tomorrow.

Overall, I’m feeling pretty good. I still need to take it easy for a week or so more (no heavy lifting, no biking, try to minimize stress on my core)