I'm a woman now

The other day I went to see my OB/Gyn. A common visit for women however this visit wasn't so common. I've been diagnosed with uterine fibroid tumors. (1 in 5 women have them and the cause is unknown. They are more common in black women) After my exam the Dr told me that my uterus is the size of a woman's 26 weeks pregnant and because of the size of the fibroids, if I want to stop the pain and heavy bleeding, a hysterectomy is my best option. He did give me other options but with me being 41 he offered in his professional opinion the best option and I respect that. I meet women on a daily basis that have had fibroid tumor surgery (there are several options when they aren't as large as mine) as well as women that have had full and partial hysterectomies and I've noticed it's kind of taboo. Most women talk about it in a whisper. Well, I'm not. I'm yelling about it. We need to talk about this topic. Let me start by saying that I don't have children and have no desire to have them (which some people can't fathom; totally different blog....lol) so a hysterectomy isn't devastating news for me but I could imagine for some women it could be. When I got the news, I sat in the parking lot and cried but I'm not quite sure why. Maybe because I felt bad about not giving my mom grand kids, maybe because my choice to have kids was no longer my choice, maybe because the thought of being incapacitated for weeks is crazy to me or maybe because the thought of surgery petrifies me. Either way, those tears didn't last long. I see this as a sort of freedom now. I've suffered from painful periods since I was 15. To have that pain gone will be a wonderful thing. No more planning vacations around "that time of the month" and I'll have a flatter stomach? Win/win for me. I definitely don't want to make light of the situation because I know this can be a horrible thing for most women but I have to come to terms with this the best way I know how and this is my solution. I also battled with natural alternatives and honestly, if I knew some of those alternatives years ago, I don't think I would have this issue now. The bottom line is that this is going to be a life changing event and as scared as I am, I'm also excited about it. Experienced a similar situation? I'd love to hear about it. Sharing is caring. :)