Outta here, Uterus
*disclaimer: I don't blame anyone in this post for how things have gone with my reproductive health. Our systems are to blame, but I believe they are getting better* I have wanted a hysterectomy since I was a teenager. My periods were so painful - fevers, throwing up, crippling pain for days - that I could not fathom why anyone should have to go through this monthly torture. The only thing that made me hold on was my mom's assurances that the cramps would become less after I had a baby - that's what happened for her and she was sure that's what would happen for me too. Since I always knew I wanted to be a mom, I thought, well, this is just what it is. Neither mom or I knew about endometriosis, or that periods should not be so painful; some people just got the painful 'luck of the draw' with periods. I figured out coping mechanisms. In high school I stayed home a lot. I sometimes had to get my aunt to pick me up and take me home from school. I took a lot of advi