1 year (almost) that I have been able to skip over the isles with tampons in them.

 In about a week, it will be one year since I had my surgery. A year! Already!
I thought it was really funny (not funny haha but just... weird) that I happened to watch the Dr.Oz show today and they were discussing various forms of pelvic prolapse. For some reason I stopped watching that show a while back when I discovered that I didn't like Dr.Oz without Oprah. Oprah and Dr.Oz were like peanut butter and jelly to me. They went perfectly together. Or in what Dr.Oz would prefer me to say, whole wheat pasta and sugar-free tomato sauce.
I dunno....
So, this afternoon I watched the whole portion of this show that discussed pelvic prolapse and it really opened up my eyes to my previous conditions but kind of frustrated me at the same time. Here is what I loved about it: a talk show actually discussed pelvic prolapse! Serious kudos for that. First time ever I've heard about this on television. It made me realize how lucky I was to be diagnosed at stage 3 uterine prolapse instead of at the 4th, which is the last stage of uterine prolapse which also means that your uterus makes a run for it. Not cool. But then they discuss the new medical advances for uterine prolapse and this is when I started to make my "wtf" face. They actually say that getting a hysterectomy is not adamant for even stage 4 prolapse. Without getting too gross and into too much detail ...okay I will...they have advancements.. advancements with things you can ..uhm..insert...SHIVER.. to hold things up. Kind of looks like a diaphragm made of swiss cheese. Need to go barf now? I totally understand.
But they also have a surgery now where they can dislocate the uterus and then reattach with the ligaments shortened to keep your "stuff" from prolapse. Problem with this is that no one talks about being able to have a pregnancy after this type of surgery.
The issue that I had was that I had stage 3 prolapse PLUS pelvic congestive syndrome. I started feeling like I had an unnecessary hysterectomy. Truth is, I didn't. I know I didn't. You can live with even stage 4 prolapse and never have a hysterectomy if it isn't all that bothersome to you (but how can it not? good god). I guess some women just get used to it. But the pelvic congestive syndrome was becoming painful for me and adding more weight to my problem and literally, to my uterus. It really did feel like a heavy weight resting on my internal organs.
Am I happy to have had the surgery? you betcha.
Am I sad that I had to have the surgery? yeah.. a little bit. The hubby calls my sadness a touch of "buyer's remorse".
Would there have been any reason to not get the surgery and live with the conditions? Nope, not for me. It bothers me once in a while that I have no ability to have children ever again but the thought of still living with that pain and feeling so uncomfortable is way worse of a thought. If I had avoided surgery I was advised to pretty much not have any more children anyway. I also don't ever have to worry about cervical or uterine cancer. I also haven't had a period in a year which is worth celebrating every month that I go without having to buy f'in tampons. Hallelujah.
I think my only real big frustration still comes from never knowing that this could happen from having children. I wish I had known. But there are other factors that contributed.. my weight was a HUGE factor. I also have only had jobs where I stood on my feet all day and most of those jobs consisted of me carrying heavy items. Sometimes daily. I honestly think that I had at least the PCS before I ever conceived James.
I think this episode I watched today gave a little bit of false hope. I just don't understand how detaching and reattaching your uterus could be worthwhile. What does that mean for women who still dream of becoming pregnant again?