Unilateral Oophorectomy Recovery and symptoms?

Hi ladies, I hope you are all doing well on your journeys to pre-ops, recoveries, and pregnancies!

A little TMI is coming up. I ended up on this forum because I have an extremely light period after a right salpingo-oopherectomy as well as a left cystectomy a month ago. I was confused because my period was due within about 3 days after the operation. I bled for five days and there is no way to tell if that was bleeding due to the operation or bleeding from a period.

Nevertheless I had clear cervical mucus less than two weeks after that. So it seems maybe it was a period. Apparently they also had to take some ovarian tissue from the left ovary but they have no guesstimate about the percentage or fraction they had to take.

I now started an extremely light period three days ago. It was reassuring to see that some of you had followed up about periods returning to normal again eventually. Most of the literature I see online about post-laparoscopy menses talks about really heavy periods, but that seems to be focused on women who've had endometriosis.

I called the surgeon's office and they said the period may or may not become heavier again. So no one really has an answer.

For those of you reading and still worried about having the operation upcoming, my experience had been very little pain except for moderate shoulder pain from anesthesia. I also had a sore throat for 5 days and tender stomach muscles for about 2.5 weeks. Everyone's experience is different apparently. I have some lingering fatigue, however.

I am hoping at my older age of 44 I can still try for a child, but this really light period worries me. Just putting it out there that I hope I gain a normal period again.

My best to all of you whatever stage you are at!

hi, it's good to hear all your experiences. I had a unilateral salpingo oopherectomy three weeks ago. I had a 32 cm cyst removed with the right ovary and fallopian tube and a small cyst removed from the left ovary. the cyst was huge and burst while they were removing it as very fragile so in the surgeons word they gave me a good wash out. my incision was a midline 25cm laparotomy cut from pelvis round my belly button and up my abdomen. its reassuring to read everyone's experiences. the worst thing for me was a lazy bowel after the surgery which gave me significant pain. I can't even describe how painful it was! things are slow to get back to normal but are getting so much better all the time. three weeks in and I am walking every day... slow and not far but its much easier than it was. I can sleep on my side again which is so nice as it's my natural sleep position. getting in and out of bed is much easier. staples came out day 10 which eased some of the tightness. the scar is healing well. I can do much more and am feeling significantly less pain. although the incision is still sore, I'm more mobile and move around much better. I am yet to get my results to see if it is benign and this is nerve wracking. I've started my first period today but it seems different from usual... I guess that's inevitable. I've felt very tired and sometimes emotional. all your stories are amazing. we are a pretty strong bunch of women!

Hello everyone, I stumbled upon this forum as I had my right ovary, fallopian tube, and appendix removed due to endometriotic cyst last December. I'm 31 years old and have not been pregnant yet. Here's a brief history of my operation. I woke up one morning due to extreme abdominal pain, which I thought was just cramps as it was my 2nd day of period but the pain didn't wear off and just concentrated on the right side of my stomach. Went to ER and physical/lab tests show that it was appendicitis. Obgynes checked me as well if it was ectopic pregnancy but it came back negative. So come operation for appendix removal and lo and behold once they opened me, they discovered an 8x8 cm swollen ovary due to endometriotic cyst. I haven't been checked by an OB-GYN before this as I thought everything's fine with me (apparently not). So it really came as a surprise. Right ovary was already ruptured so it had to be removed. In 4 days I was out of the hospital and didn't experience any issues. My question is, I got my period now just as expected in my cycle (a month after operation). I still got some cramps but not as awful as when I had the cyst. Is it okay for me to have my period now or should I take pills to stop it first since the operation is recent and things inside my tummy might not be healed yet? Apologies if my question might be odd, but I'm not really sure what to expect after the operation specially regarding periods. Thank you! 😃

I'm so happy as to find this!

I had a cystic teratoma on my ovary that was 15cm. what is wild is that I did feel pressure from it but could never actually see it.

I'm already a year recovered from my unilateral oophorectomy. The cut they used was a similar to a csection.

I did get hot flashes and really bad mood swings for the first maybe 5 or so months but they seem to be doing a lot better. I do get some bad depression and anxiety now I've realized.

My doctor never told me to do light stretches, but after doing my own research it seems that could have helped me a lot in the long run. Any time I exercise now I feel like my abdomen is being pulled open.

Some things I'm experiencing is my vertigo is a lot worse as of late, which I'm assuming is because my period is so much heavier than it was. it's a lot thinner than before as well. I get horrible pains in my right hip that goes from stabbing or feels like it's been bruised. Along with cramping that spans my incision. Those come along with when my period rolls around. Also I didn't have that previously to my surgery.

But otherwise the aching, menopausal junk, and swelling haven't been an issue anymore from what I can tell.

One thing I would like to know is if any of your doctors gave you tips on how to go through recovery or what to expect? because unfortunately mine sure didn't.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, just thought i would bump this thread and add my own experience.

I had my surgery two weeks ago. Unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy on the left as I had a 12cm cyst and raised CA125.

I seem to be recovering well but there is zero follow-up so it's hard to know what's normal and what's not. so far i haven't experienced any of the hot flashes and sweats reported by some others in here.

I usually have a 21-23 day menstrual cycle and my period would normally have been due a few days ago but so far hasn't arrived. i was thinking that since my surgery took place 7 days after the start of my last period, i may not have ovulated at my usual time. Apologies for tmi but i suddenly had a lot of cervical mucous yesterday and i wondered if maybe I'm in the ovulatory phase now and can therefore expect a period in the next 10-14 days.

my appetite has been completely normal, I've had no complications, and walking 5-8,000 steps per day since day 6 post-op but the skin around the incision site is extremely sore to the touch, and also very itchy. also, I'm more bloated than i have ever been, plus additional fluid under my skin around the surgery site.

i hope my post will be useful to someone - as others have mentioned there is hardly any information out there for those with removal of only one ovary and tube.

Hello everyone. I stumbled upon this forum today while doing research for ovarian cyst removal. I have a 20cm cyst on my left ovary and a 3.8cm cyst on my right. I will most likely be having surgery in a couple of weeks. I am a complete nervous wreck. I suffer from anxiety so that doesn't help of course. The doctor said she has to go in through my belly button due to the size and where the cyst is located. Did anyone wear a belly band? If so did it help? Thank you.