Health updates: maybe a plan

 So much is going on, yet...I am posting so little. I've been really busy! 

I have been going back and forth with my doctor about my uterine mass. We were hoping that blood flow to the mass would decrease once pregnancy hormones settled down, which would not only potentially shrink the mass, but would also make surgery safer (the area was inoperable right after birth due to risk of hemorrhage from the extensive perfusion). However, that unfortunately did not happen, and I am once again experiencing severe symptoms. 

The short story is that I need a hysterectomy. It's the safest surgical option and the most definitive. Hormonal treatments don't work because part of the symptoms are due to the location, size, and damage in the area. I'm not a candidate for a hysteroscopy or myomectomy for the same reasons, and because of the risk of bleeding due to all the blood vessels feeding the mass. However, I don't want to do a hysterectomy yet. It's a major surgery with long recovery, and it seems so...extreme! Instead, we are buying time with a uterine artery embolization. This will reduce blood supply to the area and potentially shrink the mass, which will reduce symptoms, plus make any operation we might schedule a little safer. 

None of my options here are ideal. I don't want to take hormones (which aren't actually effective anyway). I don't want major surgery. I don't want multiple minor surgeries and procedures that drag out over time. And I don't want my current symptoms! But some things in life are like that! No good options, so you just have to pick the best of the bad bunch.

I'm waiting on my insurance to approve the procedure, and then I will have the exciting prospect of scheduling this around my work and life. But I'm really, really ready to be done feeling so crappy. Even a small improvement will make me happy for now.