First, my friends who have had hysterectomies have said they have a pretty intense year with symptoms, so hold on, it's not over. If you have a doctor who is on top of things, and watching your hormone levels, then don't be afraid to use replacement hormone therapy. New studies show it has benefits. My gyn recommend Remifen, an over the counter pill that helps alleviate symptoms I have not tried it yet. I am not coping well at the moment, but have a doc appt on Monday. Wishing you the best.

Oh yes, symptoms after hysterectomy can be horrendous! Since you said you had a "full" one I assume your ovaries were removed (technically oophorectomy)? I'm in the same boat and everything about me changed. The mood changes were severe - suicidal depression, anxiety, extreme irritability, feeling overwhelmed by everything no matter how small. I couldn't think or remember anything, couldn't sleep for more than 2 to 3 hours at a time. I used to be so happy and fairly outgoing and turned into a recluse...couldn't handle being around people and didn't want them to see me either because I aged so dramatically. It was all I could do to make it through the work day with no physical or mental energy or desire to do anything else. And sex...that became a pleasure of the past! :(

Estrogen has helped most of my symptoms but it took over a year to get settled on something that suited me. I resisted anti-depressants too (as well as other drugs) because I knew it had to be from the loss of ovarian hormones.

Numerous studies show that the removal of ovaries (part of the endocrine system) is associated with many increased health risks. Some of them are heart disease, osteoporosis, lung cancer, Parkinson's, dementia, mood disorders, sleep disorders. This website has a link to studies proving these harms - http://www.overy.org/. This website focuses on the harms of ovary removal but there are also some adverse effects of uterus removal (hysterectomy). It's a travesty that gynecologists are so cavalier about removing organs. Only 10% of hysterectomies are necessary and in the majority of cases ovaries are removed too despite ovarian cancer being rare.

Estrogen has been shown to mitigate some of the risks of ovary removal. Also, contrary to what we're told, the ovaries do not shut down at menopause. They merely shift their role from reproductive to endocrine and are shown to produce hormones for decades after menopause especially testosterone that can be converted into estrogen as needed.

Hope this helps in deciding how to proceed.

It's a tough call but as my doctor told me you have to consider the quality of life and it sounds like it isn't too good. Believe me, I didn't want the estrogen either but failed all the new fangled remedies out there so I opted for estrogen. It does help, not a miracle but you have to have some quality of life. What's the sense of being here? To suffer? Not!
Also, I'm with you on depression pills. Don't take them. But how about a mild tranquilizer? I did that and it does help with anxiety and sleep. Ask your doctor about Xanax or Klonopin. It really helped me.