Continuing my story from here:

Usually when I get a bit of uncomfortable or unhappy news, I throw myself into some kind of busy-work–a big project like spring cleaning or reorganizing all the closets in the house (simultaneously) or cooking something very large, you know–”for the freezer.” Seventy-leven quarts of spaghetti sauce or chili. Back in my single days it was retail therapy–lots and lots of retail therapy.

This time, I wanted to do things a little differently. I decided I would just sit with this news over the weekend and then, on Monday,
I would begin to “decide” how to proceed. So I sat.

We tried to do our normal weekend things–errands and chores mostly–the routine stuff. We talked, we watched TV. We may have even gone for a walk. Yes, we talked about my upcoming surgery. We talked about the logistics: how it would affect my job search, how much time would he need to take off from work. What things I needed to have in order prior to checking into the hospital. Things like that.

On the Sunday following my doctor’s appointment, I sat down at the computer and Googled “hysterectomy.” I Googled “TAHBSO.” I read about side effects suc has loss of libido and prolapsed bladders and incontinence. Wait a damn minute here! Back up the truck! Loss of WHAT? Are you freaking kidding me? Incontinence? Scar tissue? Prolapsed bladder? Loss of LIBIDO? HOLY HORIZONTAL MAMBA, BATMAN! We’ve only been married a little more than two years! (…And I was celibate for a really, really, REALLY long time before we met so…um…can I tell you how important it is to me to NOT LOSE THE LIBIDO?)

With that mindset, I got on the phone and spoke to a couple women I know who have had hysterectomies. True, they had different diagnoses. True, one of them had her ovaries removed and one had not. (It’s the removal of the ovaries, where estrogen and progesterone are produced, that causes that pesky loss of libido.)

One woman, the one who still had her ovaries, said the libido was fine. Unfortunately, the HRT she was put on following her surgery was probably to blame for her breast cancer, but hey, that’s a different story.

The other lady had the same procedure I was facing for removal of fibroids. Her recuperation was miserable, her body would not absorb the oral versions of the synthetic hormones so after much misery she was given a transdermal patch which still only worked “a little.” Libido?

“What libido?” was her answer.

Uh-oh.

Oh yeah and MY doctor wants me to go “cold turkey.” No hormones. According to her, since I’m beyond childbearing years, I don’t need no stinking hormones.

Terrific.