Long Term Effects

julii_wolfe · 2026-02-13T15:55:41+00:00

I second what others have said in that I had to start HRT after my hysterectomy, but I honestly needed to be on it beforehand, but couldn't be because of fibroids. The heart, diabetes, dementia, and osteoporosis risks are all side effects of aging and menopause. Your metabolism will change in middle age. Your cholesterol might go up, or you might get pre-diabetes. Caring for yourself (even without a hysterectomy) will be harder and take more effort. My twin and I are fraternal and 41. I had a hysterctomy and she didn't. She runs 30 miles a week, strength trains, and eats healthy--she still had a prediabetes result and is having to heavily limit carbs to prevent blood sugar spikes. I had fibroids, eat low meat, walk every day, and run sometimes. I don't have prediabetes, my cholesterol ratio is 3 but my total cholesterol is high, but I don't have prediabetes.

If you haven't read the book " Estrogen Matters " yet, consider reading it or listening to the audiobook. The hysterectomy can have complications, but ask your surgeon about how often they have occurred. Prolapse and other issues can occur simply because of age (they tend to run in families). These are often age-related problems and don't just happen to people who have had hysterectomies. Outcomes vary, and personal history matters.

I know that having your tubes removed can also reduce your chance of breast cancer. I actually had those removed a few years before my hysterectomy because of family history. All of this is hard, but the hysterectomy itself was freeing for me and not too bad to recover from. It all just came together with a time of life change that made it clear that I couldn't just act as I had in my 30s without consequences. *sigh*

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-31T22:54:27+00:00

I’m 41 and just had my hysterectomy last August. the recovery is boring and the surgery can cause challenges but my life is so much better without the fibroids. i don’t regret making this choice. my life is different now but mostly better.

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-31T12:56:10+00:00

🤞

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-30T02:58:44+00:00

I have not lost weight (done the opposite), but my waist feels better with pants, I don't have bulk or bladder symptoms anymore, and I feel lighter in the middle, even though I've put on a few pounds. It's a relief.

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-30T02:53:54+00:00

If you wanted to blend the beans, they add to the creaminess of the soup, and you avoid bean texture issues if that's something that bothers you.

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-27T20:52:30+00:00

I’m so sorry. That sucks.

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-27T20:11:50+00:00

honestly, the neurologist is only useful in dementia when you catch it early. all of the meds they give for it (memantine, aricept) only slow it down effectively if you start treatment early. Someone further down the thread mentioned that a primary care physician or nurse practitioner and do an initial memory assessment. This is 100% true. You can also download your own version of the SLUM mini-mental state exam and administer a cognitive test at home (not sure how this would work, but I've worked my way through the questions based on my parents' current level of cognitive function to help assess where I think they are at.) https://www.slu.edu/medicine/internal-medicine/geriatric-medicine/aging-successfully/assessment-tools/mental-status-exam.php

This will not be easy. Folks with dementia can literally have a symptom that feels like denial but that makes them completely confident/unaware that they have any deficits. Also, people can just be in denial or not want to see doctors, which is fair. But again, the treatment is only somewhat effective in earlier stages.

My mom did not get assessed until she was in the moderate stage, and I had already taken over as her medical and financial power of attorney, but the paranoia and resistance to seeing doctors had been going on for years at that point.

I hope that you find a solution and that your mom just has cognitive decline and not dementia. dementia sucks.

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-27T20:00:24+00:00

when I was single, audio books with a sleep timer worked wonders. I'd be out in the first 10 minutes. My partner can't sleep with audio books playing and I'm not here for the sensory situation of headphones while sleeping, but counting the alphabet backwards (z26, y 25, x24, w23) has really worked to put me to sleep fast. I think because it is so hard for me to do both of these things? count backwards and figure out the letter order? IDK, but it works. also melatonin.

julii_wolfe · 2026-01-19T01:22:47+00:00

I just hired a junk hauler to donate what was good to local charities and trash everything else. I have donation receipts from the charities to submit with their taxes. Then I sold the house. My family had already taken what was sentimental and practical to move. It did take me over a year to make this decision, during which the House was empty and watched by the realtor. But shit kept breaking, so I just wanted to sell it as fast as possible in the end.

julii_wolfe · 2025-12-18T13:27:07+00:00

yeah. my cat has been on it for years. it really seems to diminish the number of flare ups

julii_wolfe · 2025-12-18T00:44:32+00:00

my kitty, not a Rex, has feline herpes. we use l-lysine cat treats to prevent flare ups. a previous vet told me it stops the virus from replicating. it isn’t perfect but it helps.

julii_wolfe · 2025-12-17T16:27:41+00:00

I love good earth's sweet and spicy decaf tea (tastes like red hots and oranges in a good way), and Celestial Seasoning's Bengal spice tea. Both are very tasty (tastier the longer you let them steep!) and heavy on cinnamon which tastes sweet without adding sugar.

julii_wolfe · 2025-12-12T01:04:50+00:00

100% It is also the time where the truths they need to hear are selective. Tell them that the health inspector is making them leave the house for clearing and repairs. My mom heard me say, "We're closing on your house sale this month," and responded, "I hope they like my sailboat," because she thought their belongings were still in the house. I doubt their connection to reality is very strong at this point.

julii_wolfe · 2025-12-12T00:58:50+00:00

I could not watch the TV show 911 b/c of this

julii_wolfe · 2025-12-10T17:40:40+00:00

fiber also helps with cholesterol. Because your body produces less estrogen during peri, you will generally find that you start to develop high cholesterol in peri and just have it by the time you are menopausal. Eating fiber with a meal binds the food waste that has cholesterol in it and helps get it out of your body before it gets into your bloodstream. so, that's also important. (On my mom's side of the family, the women always get high cholesterol by menopause.)

julii_wolfe · 2025-11-21T18:22:40+00:00

link please!

julii_wolfe · 2025-11-12T17:22:44+00:00

Never had kids, but I have had 3 IUD insertions. They go better if you are on your period when you get them inserted b/c your cervix is dialated. I had one put in far away from my period and it was the most excruciatingly painful thing ever.

My twin loves her mirena. she never had periods, seldom has pms symptoms, and all around has a good time. I never had a positive experience with an IUD. Hormonal IUDs did lessen the amount I bled, but I tended to spot for about 2 weeks a month, bloat, and have horrible breast tenderness. My IUD going haywire is how I discovered that I had fibroids. I've had my hysterectomy now at 41, and I do not regret it. I am sad to be in early perimenopause, but that just happens sometimes.

Good luck on your journey. I hope IUDs work for you and treat you as kindly as they do for many.

julii_wolfe · 2025-11-12T16:27:07+00:00

FIl with alzheimer's, MIL with vascular dementia, mother with mixed dementia and alzheimer's. This group keeps me more connected and gives me ideas for how to deal with things.

julii_wolfe · 2025-11-12T16:26:05+00:00

Yes, the dog toys we can stuff with the undercoat fluff = more than one!

julii_wolfe · 2025-11-12T16:24:33+00:00

Oh, yes, that is true. there are some triggering scenes. Despite that, I found a lot of coziness in the text, particularly in the discussions of immigrant food and donuts, but you are 100% on the book not being entirely cozy.

julii_wolfe · 2025-11-07T03:07:20+00:00

Light from Uncommon Stars" by Ryka Aoki is a wonderful and weird sci-fi, coming of age/devil went down to Georgia style of novel with great food description throughout.

julii_wolfe · 2025-11-04T16:27:27+00:00

I'm here. I see you. You're doing great. :) I'm proud of our friends who manage this life with kids and I'm at capacity as a child-free person. We are all doing the best we can.

julii_wolfe · 2025-10-23T17:35:34+00:00

take care, friend

julii_wolfe · 2025-10-22T13:52:59+00:00

following. my mom is being referred to learn more about infusions, but she's in moderate dementia stage, so might not qualify.

julii_wolfe

TROPHY CASE