Well, sad to say, my dh isn’t much for the sex life part. My libido hasn’t changed, but it doesn’t help a whole lot. So I can’t really tell you about lubrication or anything, although I understand that it can be a problem. However, there are numerous products that make the lubrication issue irrelevant.
[quote\How bad was your endometriosis and did you have it lasered several times before deciding on the hysterectomy?[/quote]
I had stage iv endometriosis by the time it was diagnosed. Since I was 18, I had gone to various doctors telling them that when AF came, I literally could not stand up straight. They responded with such gems as, “Just take more Advil,” “It will get better after you get pregnant the first time,” and “As you get older, it will lessen.” It wasn’t until after I was married (at 27) and had gone through 10 years of infertility before a doctor finally listened to me.
We hadn’t done any infertility treatments because my husband refused to believe that we had a problem (see the libido question above). But I know for sure that I got pregnant once, within a few months of our marriage, and miscarried very early. When he finally agreed that we did have a problem and we went to a fertility specialist, one of the first tests they did was a hysterosalpingogram. Based on the time that it took the dye to flow through, my doctor suspected endometriosis (duh!). I had my first laparoscopy in March of 2000. My doctor said that he cleaned up what he could, but my ovaries were coated with adhesions. We did IVF in June/July of that year, and it failed. 
In the summer of 2001, I started trying to find an endometriosis specialist, and finally did meet an excellent doctor who was (is?) doing research on endometriosis. I had another laparoscopy in October of 2001. As it turned out, he basically got inside, saw what was there, and closed things back up. There was absolutely nothing he could do, beyond a hysterectomy.
Because I was still hoping to try IVF once more, I agreed to do a 6-month course of Lupron. That was a HUGE mistake. I went into chemical menopause, and one of the side effects of the drug was weight gain. I had lost 75 pounds over the preceding year, and gained quite a bit back while I was on the Lupron. Then he put me on a course of bc pills to try to keep the endometriosis from getting any worse, but the pills made me suicidal.
Finally in October of 2002, I decided to go ahead and get a hysterectomy. My husband was furious, because he still was so much hoping that a miracle would happen and I’d be able to get pregnant. But the pain was so bad that every day when I came home from work, I’d spend the evening lying on the couch. I went through so many painkillers trying to live with it.
The hysterectomy was done on Dec. 9, 2002, and I have to tell you that I felt better when I woke up in my hospital room than I had in YEARS. I had a relatively rapid recovery, and there has just been no turning back.
Between the breast reduction that I had done in April of 2001 and the hysterectomy in December 2002, I feel better than I have in many, many years. I am on HRT, at least for the time being, but have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. It’s not a light matter, obviously, and it ended up being harder than I had anticipated in realizing that it really was the end of any chance I had of bearing children. It’s funny–even though I knew logically that there was no way it could happen, somehow the finality of the hysterectomy sent me through a grieving process.
It was worth it.
No endometriosis growing back, no need to spend 25 days of the month in pain, no blood, no mess, --woohoo! And hey, if I can’t have kids anyway, why not?