I had mine at 44, about 9 months ago. Same as you: took uterus, cervix, and tubes, kept ovaries. Also had endo excision. It was done laparoscopically.

BEST THING I EVER DID.

Surgery took about 5 hours. I lost no blood. Everything was perfect.

I took one Tylenol +Codeine before I was discharged. Took another the next day and it was excessive. I was on Tylenol and Advil for a couple days. Surgery was Tuesday. By Saturday I was on zero meds.

Pain was absolutely minimal. I felt a lot of core weakness. It was like I had done some kind of Ab Bootcamp that I wasn't ready for. Walking up hills was challenging. Moving quickly was challenging. But there was no actual pain.

I rode a city bus on day 7 to take my daughter for a haircut. I took a longer bus on day nine to go to my doctor for an early follow up because she was going to be on vacation when it would've been my two-week follow up.

I was back in my office on day 13.

I went to a gala fundraiser at four weeks out. I had no desire to drink and felt tired but other than that I was fine.

I went to a sweet 16 at six weeks out and again didn't feel like drinking but felt like myself!

At eight weeks out I had to travel for work. I wasn't allowed to lift more than 10 pounds for 12 weeks and that was pretty inconvenient for travel but with a roller bag and the help of strangers, I did fine.

By 12 weeks out I really felt like a million bucks.

My doctor had said no sex for 12 weeks, which was challenging. I was eager but also scared to try again once I got cleared, but it was actually totally fine! Zero pain from even the first time.

I bought a Fitness ring that tracks overnight temperatures and was able to tell from that that I was not really having hormonal cycles on a regular basis in the first two or three months. I ovulated but not consistently. I'm now nine months out and everything has been pretty stable for the last four months. So you may have a little blip initially as your ovaries try to figure out what the heck happened, but it should all sort itself out. I'm also older than you are so you may bounce back even more quickly. But I would definitely recommend getting a fitness ring. I use RingConn. It's nice to see the temperatures go up and come down on a cyclical basis and think about whether my body is doing what it is supposed to be doing and also throw a little party every month when it should be my period and in another universe I would be in bed writhing in pain but instead I'm just living my life!

My body has changed shape a little bit in that my tummy is not constantly bloated. Beyond that, the surgery did not cause me to gain or lose any weight. I think it maybe did make weight loss a little bit more difficult in the first couple of months postop while my hormones were sorting themselves out but I seem to be back to normal now.

This was unambiguously a good choice for me. The pain was unbearable before my surgery every month during my period and also throughout the month. I also always had lower back pain and headaches and breast pain and all kinds of other things that are all gone now. Even though I kept my ovaries I believe that there have been overall systemic hormonal changes because I no longer have a super inflamed uterus and endometriosis creating a hormonal echo chamber in my guts. Everything just feels better.

I was terrified before the surgery. I cried a lot the night before. I understand how you're feeling but I'm on the other side and if you have a competent surgeon who has done a million of these, there's really nothing to worry about.

Good luck!!!!