BJ, I had my first hysterectomy (cervix and uterus) when I was in my early 30's and my second (oopherectomy - ovaries) when I was in my early 40's.

My doctor put me on hormones immediately after the surgery. But, less than a year later, we were taking me off because of the concerns brought about by various medical studies about cancer, etc.

When I went of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) I started taking an over the counter HRT product called Estroven. It worked pretty good, I still had some hot flashes, but it took care of most everything else, including mood swings, etc.

I took Estroven for nearly a year before I found personalized natural supplements from Lifescript. They address the hormone issues too, and now I rarely get a hot flash. I'm not telling you to use or not use HRT, just letting you know there are various options out there.

You won't grow a beard, or anything like that. That comes from testestrone, which you won't be taking replacement therapy for. However, you might find a few hairs growing on your chin, or above your lip. Nothing serious, and easily dealt with using a one of a variety of different beauty treatments from plucking to cremes.

Gaining weight isn't something that comes with HRT, but it does affect women as they get older if you're not careful about what you eat. You can't eat the same things you did when you were younger, it's just not possible. You have to be more careful about getting lots of fruits and vegetables, limiting your red meat, and drinking lots of water. Fiber is important too.

On the upside of a hysterectomy, you won't be in pain anymore, won't have to deal with periods anymore, and your mood swings or PMS will greatly diminish.

I'm not sure what else I can tell you. One of the first things I noticed after my hysterectomy, was I didn't pee as much, because the pressure was relieved from my bladder. The tumors had grown so big that they were pressing on my bladder, once those were removed, the pressure was relieved.

I hope this helps.