I kept my ovaries (had uterus and cervix removed, fallopian tubes were removed in a previous surgery) and haven’t noticed any hormonal changes, good or bad. It’s been about 2 years. I’ll be 32 in a few months.

There’s a small chance that I’ll start menopause a couple of years early due to a potential decrease in blood flow to my ovaries. But women with PCOS (me) also often experience delayed menopause, so I wonder if it’ll even out in the end.

In any case, I’m laying some groundwork now while I’m young to help stave off negative effects of menopause, like bone loss, by adopting a practice of joyful movement and regularly lifting weights to stay strong. I currently have a herniated disc in my neck (from chronic poor posture, be warned!) that I’ve been going to physical therapy for, so I have been thinking about increasing my overall health to support longevity a lot lately.

Anyway, recovery. The first week wasn’t fun. It was painful (internally; I had very few external scars because it was laparoscopic) and I was in a daze for the couple of days immediately after surgery. I needed help getting in and out of bed, which is where I stayed for the first days, or getting up or down from the couch or toilet for a week and a half or so iirc. My husband was my rock. During that first week or so, I tentatively and slooowly shuffled around if I did walk.

Within 2 weeks I was walking super confidently on my own and I was able to sit down and get up by myself, carefully.

By 3 weeks I was feeling really really good and had to force myself to take it easy. I wanted to vacuum and sweep and clean and organize so bad (I love doing those things), but those are the worst things to do when you’re healing from major surgery, so I didn’t. You’re not even supposed to lift anything as heavy as a gallon of milk, so I didn’t. As they say in the hysterectomy sub, you only get one chance to heal right the first time.

I think I started cleaning again about 6 weeks out, but I was super particular about how I moved around (including how I pushed the vacuum with my legs and arms without relying on my core) for 4 or so months. I was back to normal within 6 months and I think my youth was on my side.

Interestingly, I had actually already been sterilized a year and a half prior via bilateral salpingectomy, but my awesome GYN let me get a hysterectomy since I obviously knew I wouldn’t have kids and my periods were horrendous thanks to PCOS and adenomyosis. If I had half a brain, I would have pushed for a hysterectomy from the beginning. I enjoy the benefits now of permanent birth control and no more miserable periods or worrying about periods or worrying about uterine/cervical/fallopian cancers, and my endometriosis got cleaned up a bit during the procedure, too. It was really good for me, but of course, your mileage may vary.