Fibroids can range in size from tiny pea sized to as large as a grapefruit (and bigger, I’m sure). Surgery options for different sizes all come with a risk or a certainty of being subsequently unable to become pregnant or carry a baby to term.
This article at Women’s Health gives some clear but basic info on possible surgeries for uterine fibroids.
Bad timing and the risks involved in even minor womb surgery make me reluctant to undergo an operation right now.
I’m 37 and have not yet had any kids. I know I’m ‘leaving it late’ in some people’s opinions but that’s just how it is. Sure, I could have had kids in previous relationships. The fact that I’m not still in either of those relationships makes me glad I didn’t. However, a few years ago I started a new relationship with one of my best friends 
and so far, so good. (The fibroids, at that point, had not yet moved from monthly to daily havoc and so there was nothing in the contract about how he would soon find himself as the male lead in an epic and bloody technicolor battle. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s still here)
So we’re in limbo right now, giving our relationship enough time to develop before we make the kids/no kids decision and trying not to be rushed into it by health related deadlines. Even so, I’ve pencilled in a cut-off point: If, by the time I’m 40, we’re either no closer to making a decision, have decided yes but it hasn’t happened despite trying, or the fibroids have made life so difficult that I can no longer function in any fruitful way, then I will start to consider the surgery options. On a bad day, having half my innards removed seems almost appealing.
But beyond that faintly drawn line in the sand, do I want a hysterectomy at 40? Which type you have all depends on the position of the fibroids. Best case scenarios suggest that, with the removal of ‘just’ the womb and with ovaries remaining intact, 5 years is the maximum I’d get before the menopause kicks in (which at around age 45, probably isn’t that far off anyway but do I want to hasten it at all?). With ovaries removed, however, the menopause hits hard, fast and immediately.
My chap is 8 years younger than me. If I suddenly become old before my time, due to the onset of menopause as a side effect of a hysterectomy, how will that affect us? Vanity does come into it but it’s not so much the visible but the physical and emotional aspects of ageing that I’m concerned about.
And what about the other ramifications? Again, depending on the position of the fibroid(s), more than the womb may need to be removed including the cervix and possibly some of the vaginal canal. Now, I’m pretty short as it is, in all aspects. Any shorter and my frisky mate’s going to discover that what once fit like a glove, now fits like a thimble. And I can’t imagine that’s going to be fun for either of us.
There’s a whole host of other considerations too, some of which I’m only just finding out about. Some studies suggest as many as 90% of hysterectomies are unnecessary.
90%!
Limbo it is then, for now.
