Friend of mines sister lives in Cuba.. she had total hysterectomy wondering if anyone has any ideas to help her?


They did not give her any hormone replacement.

Well, I am certainly no expert, but depending upon her age, I would think that some form of hormone replacement would be necessary.  Do you know how old she is?

If she's young, this surgery is going to throw her into instant menopause and I can't see how she's going to manage her symptoms. It's going to hit her physically and emotionally pretty hard.  If she's already past menopause, maybe she could manage with Fem Balance.  And maybe a personal
SWAMI to maximize foods with hormonal activity.  Other than that...I'm clueless..

The same thing happened to me when I was 47 years old.  No hormones were given, no nothing!!  It was awful and I crashed.  Couldn't remember five minutes later that I had had a conversation with someone, had no patience, couldn't stand being in meetings and couldn't concentrate.  I was a mess.  There was very little literature around at that time to help me but I finally came up with the idea to take high doses of vitamins and minerals, such as the B vitamins, vit. E, calcium/magnesium, vit. C, lecithin for the choline, just to name a few. Then I joined a gym to make sure I exercised four times a week.  Ultimately, I regained my health and memory and vitality so I came out of it all right.  But, it was like attending the school of hard knocks!!!!!

I had a full hysterectomy when I was 39.  My doctor put a patch on my butt cheek before I left the OR.  I did very well.  It wasn't until I was having problems with the patches to staying on my skin and I asked for something different. BIG MISTAKE!  MY body didn't do well with the HRT, taken internally and I gained a lot of weight, causing nerve damage in my back.  Everything, just unraveled for me in the course of a year.  I was a mess!  Had I stayed on the patch I would have done fine.  Wish I had known about Tagaderm then.

My suggestion would be bio-identical hormones.

She is in Cuba, really need something portable that my friend can send her in the mail.

I had my hysterectomy last year, I take 3 tbs of ground flax seeds every day. I dont add it to food just straight up then a glass of water to help wash it down, it seems to help me   I mentioned it to a co-worker that had her surgery earlier this year and she says she hardly has any symptoms at all.

Total or partial? Do you still have your ovaries?

I kept my ovaries but they were in *shock* and did'nt work the first few months after surgery, my co-worker lost her ovaries...she says she notices a difference if she misses a day of not taking flax seed, she has fewer symptoms when she does.

I will tell her to start with the flax.. she is either and O or a B.

At least, Progesterone cream because it is not produced anywhere else in the body except for the organs she had removed.     And since it's over-the-counter, no prescription is required.

And ground flax; If it's not ground, it's only going to provide fiber, but the body can't get to the inner part of the seed.
And a steady intake of Maca.  I'm currently a fan of Maca tincture by HerbPharm.

Of course, I would recommend FemBalance.  I still take it and feel benefit from it even though I'm past menopause.  It's like a soothing friend.

thanks... will send this info to her today.

Andrea,
I was 37 when I had a total hysterectomy.( I had a huge benign tumor growing on top of my uterus and my ovaries were totally fibrous) My doctor gave me mega doses of HRT before I left the hospital..by injection...then sent me home with Premarin. I was on that...smallest dose...for a few years then changed doctors. My new OBGYN, a young woman, put me on a plant based HRT "Menest".....and I am still on the lowest dose.
She keeps up with the ongoing research regarding this therapy and believes its the best for me. I don't have any menopause symptoms whatsoever on Menest. I will eventually go off but she thinks I am still too young for that.  

I agree with the progesterone. Here's one I like. http://www.iherb.com/Emerita-Pro-Gest-Cream-Value-Size-Paraben-Free-4-oz-112-g/4961?at=0

Other things that might help
DHEA (low dose 10mg) http://www.iherb.com/Country-Life-DHEA-Specialty-Supplements-10-mg-50-Veggie-Caps/1676?at=0
Pregnenolone (low dose 50mg or lower) [url] http://www.iherb.com/Life-Extension-Pregnenolone-50-mg-100-Capsules/4380?at=0[/url]
Phytoestrogen cream [url]http://www.iherb.com/Emerita-Phytoestrogen-Body-Cream-2-oz-56-g/3600?at=0[/url]
Menopause formula http://www.iherb.com/Emerita-Menopause-Plus-Formula-60-Caplets/3596?at=0

Even if you have a partial hysterectomy I've read that your ovaries stop producing hormones within a year of the surgery!

Pomegranate or its extract--I just read this article today and it peaked my interest:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/pomegranate-beyond-hormone-replacement

Thank you everyone.

A local dr.(naturally oriented) says that the fat in your body can 'hold' the hormones.  I'm sure there would be some adjustment period after the surgery.
I'm not any expert on this. My grandma never had such surgeries & my aunt who just died at 98 never did. They didn't eat perfect diets, but tried to avoid processed foods.

In the original ER4YT, Dr. D said to use the phytochemicals because they are plant based and won't interfere with whatever hormones your own body produces because they supplement them, unlike the synthetic varieties or premarin which suppress your own.  It's these suppressors that also have the cancer connection.

That part totally blew me away when I read it, and made my decision for me about when I enter menopause.

Also, I have 2 aunts (on each side of the family) who've had full hysterectomies.  One when she was in her 30s, and the other in her 40s.  The one in her who was in her 30s has had a patch ever since, don't know about the other.