I think I’ve seen that book. It made much of being “an intact woman.” While I can believe that there are doctors who would just as soon do a hysty as not, whether they honestly believe it’s best, or “just don’t understand,” or whatever, there is no one-size-fits-all, which is what I found annoying about the book. Comes a time when a uterus is just not worth the hassle. I mean, if it’s painful, and you aren’t planning to have a child, and you don’t feel like endless rounds of treatment, why not? Or if you are losing the ovaries because of cancer, what do you want another cancer-prone organ sitting in there for? I don’t feel any less like a woman without a uterus; I bet nobody even notices!
Yeah, the idea of not having a uterus sounds great, it’s just the after-effects that worry me.
I will go talk to my new doctor on Friday and see what happens. I’m almost sure I’ll get a hysterectomy, because I just can’t take this pain anymore. It’s debilitating.
To be perfectly honest, I was a little concerned abut the post-op sex. After all, I used to have a perfectly anchored vagina, what did I have now? A meat tube? Could it be sucked inside out from the sex? If things got really vigorous, would I have to stop and shove my vagina back in? Could it fall out without sex? What kind of mess had I gotten myself into this time?
I asked the doctor in my usual half joking way and he reassured me that he had, indeed, tacked that sucker down and it would not cause me any embarrassment long term.
I wouldn’t fear the procedure nearly as much as the life with pain.
Good Luck!
Great. Now I’m laughing like a maniac at work. Thanks. 
That’s the kind of ideas get when you have only a rudimentary knowledge of physiology.
So, how did it turn out? Is your meat tube ok?
Oh! That! Goodness, I never gave another thought since there was nothing to think about. Absolutely nothing was different with intercourse except I never had to deal with the cramps and discomfort again. Such a deal!
Ok, for the first 5 weeks of post-op, everyone told me I was going to feel like a new woman. I had issues with this because A) I wasn’t that unhappy with the woman I had been and B) it hurt like hell and did not seem like a bargain at the time. Time, healing and good meds fixed all that and in 6 weeks I was a bit tender but fine. A few weeks later we tried the first post-op sex. It was a bit scary, since I still had my doubts about the meat tube thing, but it was fine and got better and better.
I have been healthier since the procedure. I am not having as many colds, bronchitis, headaches, allergies or viral things and I tend to think it’s because I am not in near constant pain. I think my body has more energy to devote to keeping me healthy than fighting all the bad things that were in my lower abdomen including polyops, lesions, a tumor, ovarian cysts and late stage 3 endometriosis.
I would like to suggest the Hyster Sister website for support. http://www.hystersisters.com/
Abdominal w/ a verticle incision
I was off work for 8 weeks… I had a very slow recovery. My hospital stay was two days … I begged my doctor to let me go home.
The Pain? I imagine that is a bit relative to the type of surgery you have. For me, it was fairly painful, but nothing a morphine drip for a day couldn’t handle. 
I was really sore where the ligaments were tied “nice n tight”. It took a while to be able to walk upright. By the second week I was ok with just advil.
As for all the other stuff, sex - fine. HRT - none, as my doctor anticipated, this has not been an issue for me. Weight gain - nope. And FWIW, it’s nice to actually feel 100% again … and wear white pants!
I also recommend the hystersisters site. The alternatives & options section will give you a lot of solid information. Although my surgery was for recurring fibroids, if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.
BSQ