Got my date ... now I'm having doubts

It's perfectly normal to have doubts--Lord knows I had my doubts, too. I guess over time my periods just got heavier and clottier and didn't seem too bad. But when my DH scheduled our vacation around my period, I knew I had made the right decision. Even though DH and I are done having kids (he had a vasectomy in Jan '02) I still mourned the loss of my uterus. Sounds silly, but I even told it good-bye the night before surgery. Then it had the gall to start a period the day of surgery! Fickle thing!

I don't want to influence your decision in any way but will only tell you what I know. A friend of mine had an ablation for heavy bleeding due to fibroids, and while she no longer has the heavy bleeding she still gets bad cramps.

Many 'es will tell you that the waiting is the hardest part and they are right. This board was (and is) a lifesaver for me--such a wealth of information and support.

Good luck to you!

I found some interesting information about fibroids when I had my ultrasound. The tech. said that you can have lots of them and they wont bother you much, but if you have one right in the middle of your uterus, then it will bleed, bleed, bleed. Unfortunately, mine were in the prime place and I paid big time for having them there.
If you are not suffering like some of us do/or did, then maybe trying another option is an alternative. You arent a wimp. Maybe the balloon therapy will work for you. If you dont feel 100% right about having a hysterectomy, I might would put it off a little longer until all your other choices have been ruled out.
I had awful periods. Its hard to even describe how bad it was. I knew having this surgery was my only option (even though it took me two years and becoming anemic to make my decision).
Now with all that behind me, I know I made the right choice and I feel better than I did 20 years ago! I now have to suffer through it with my 18 year old.... so while I dont have this mess anymore myself, she sure does and when "she aint happy, aint no body happy"
I hope you will be alright and will make the decision that is right for you. We are all different that's for sure! Take care and best of luck to you!

Thank you all so much for your caring replies. I knew I wouldn't be alone in feeling that way. It might be kind of a roller coaster the next 3 weeks or so! Now ... on to conquer my anesthesia fears!

Others have already said it, but just wanted to add my agreement that what you are feeling is perfectly natural. I went through the whole second-guessing bit myself. I've had a cold the last few days and even wondered if this was nature's way of letting me know not to have the surgery. Now the cold is clearing up, the fever is gone and I'm set to go for tomorrow on schedule.

You're not a wimp at all!