My mom's OB-GYN was pushing her to do a hysterectomy because she has fibroids and heavy heavy bleeding. In the past she had an IUD to control the bleeding, but her body kept rejecting it. She can't take the birth control pill (she can't take estrogen) because she has had a pulmonary embolism in the past.

She sought a second-opinion, and the doctor put her on tranexamic acid. It has made her bleeding and pain much much better. She is so happy she avoided the hysterectomy. She's 50 years old, so she's decided she's going to forego surgery and just wait it out until she goes through natural menopause.

I don't want to scare anyone off of having a hysterectomy. Just wanted to say for anyone who is on the fence about getting a hysterectomy -- you can always get a second opinion. There are so many alternatives (even some alternatives that ob-gyn's can't do...like uterine artery embolization -- only interventional radiologists can do that, so your ob-gyn may not even mention it to you as a possibility), and some of the alternatives are new.

Anyway, I'm happy my mom got a second opinion, because she almost died the last time she had surgery (that's when she had her PE). I'm glad she's not having another surgery.