Maggie - How are you doing?
3 words DONT DO IT!!!!!
The side effects are terrible and you will regret it if I had done more research on this I would have before I had mine last year now I have a spasmatic bladder terrible bac pain still having cramping symptoms like I still have the cysts and endometriosis... go all natural eat plenty of veggies and fruit along with water cut down on meat intake exercise regularly if you can
Have you considered or tried contraceptives or the non-hormonal prescription medication Lysteda to reduce bleeding? Even Rx NSAID's can significantly reduce bleeding (by 49%) according to this chart - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK56545/table/ch8.t1/?report=objectonly.
You are right to be concerned about the many long-term health issues of hysterectomy. Besides those you listed, there is an increased risk of heart disease, #1 killer of women (one study says it is 3x that of an intact woman if your uterus is removed). Hysterectomy also destroys the figure because they have to sever the uterine ligaments that are the support structures for the pelvis. And it's associated with increased risks of thyroid, renal cell (kidney) and rectal cancers.
And then you also have the risk of having an ovary or ovaries removed (regardless of what you and surgeon discussed) or a ~40% chance of the ovaries not working properly after hysterectomy. Ovary removal (and likely impaired ovarian function too) has been shown to accelerate aging and increase risk for many health problems including heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, hip fracture, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, cognitive and memory impairment, dementia, parkinsonism, vision and skin deterioration, sleep disorders, mood disorders (depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings), sexual dysfunction.
About 90% of hysterectomies are considered unnecessary so chances are it will be recommended by almost every gynecologist. It's a far too common and very lucrative surgery which is a big reason why women do not realize it's so damaging. Did you know that residents have to do at least 85 hysterectomies (recently increased from 70)? Many hysterectomies are done for fibroids (a common cause of excessive bleeding) which can be removed via myomectomy which preserves the uterus and its lifelong functions. But residents don't have to do any myomectomies.
I had a hysterectomy and am suffering the many after effects. Knowing what I have since learned and experienced, I would not allow a hysterectomy unless I had cancer that was confirmed by a biopsy. And I would be sure the consent form clearly stated what type of surgery could be done.
I hope this info helps!