Tube Tying

Have you considered have the norplant done. It works for five years and is done right in the Dr.'s office. Tubals are permanent and very costly to have reversed later. Look at some other options if you think you may want more children later.

I talked to my midwife about birth control and she told me that she doesn't recommend tubals because she has had more babies as a result of a failed tubal than a failed IUD. She recommended the IUD to me, I have not done it yet, but I think I am going to. My neighbor just had one placed and she loves it.
Especially if you are even there is the slightest chance you may want another baby, I would not go for the tubal.

there is i thought a shot you can get every 3 months.

pill can come in a form that you take 1 every single day if that would help.

Hi L.,

Tube tying I don't think is the way to go for you if you want to have more children. Have you looked into Minera (sp?) Its an IUC (similiar to an IUD)it lasts for 5 years and if at any time you want to start trying again you can have it removed. I believe it is in the $500/$600 price range and it can be done in your doctors office.

Best of luck to you!

If you are not sure if you are done having kids, don't get your tubes tied. When I had it done, they not only cut and tied the tubes, they also burned the ends of the tubes. This makes it permanent.

Larissa,
Since you are not sure if you want to have more children, I would recommend that you not have your tubes tied. My girlfriend had the procedure done in her twenties and later regretted it.

I had my tubes tied at 42 years of age. Personally I would not do it unless you are 100% sure you do not want to have any more kids. While it can be reversed it is not 100% successful.

The recovery for having your tubes tied is not bad. It is an out-patient procedure. You will be sore for 3 or 4 days and need to wear loose fitting clothing ( as your abdomen area is swollen). There is no lifting allowed for 2 weeks.

Hi L.,

I had my tubes tied 5 weeks ago at the U of Penn. I had to go under general anethstesia, and 2 weeks later (right on time!) I got my period. I have had no complications or symptoms, as of yet... I have 4 children (11 yr old son, 9 yr old boy twins, 6 yr old girl), and am pretty young to be "sterilized" according to my OB, (I'm 34), but we knew were ready to be done having babies. I will ALWAYS want another baby, I am a baby-loving freak! :) I get really sad when I think that I will never nurse another infant...! Anyway, GL w/ your decision. I have heard from other women that symptoms vary for everyone.

Meg
PS- My OB said she can still "get me pregnant" in the future if I change my mind, through invitro fertilization. You still make eggs, and your uterus is normal, its just the process of the egg naturally travelling down the fallopian tube to the uterus that is interupted after a tubal ligation. The doctor can "harvest" your eggs and do the whole "test tube" thing if you ever change your mind, and have the $$ do to it.

I had my tubes tied the day after my second daughter was born. I knew that I did not want to have more children, because of my age and other difficulties. They go through the belly button and there is not a lot of pain with it. I did have two pain shots afterward, but I also had just had my second daughter the day before after 29 hours of labor. I went home the following day and had some discomfort for a few days, but it wasn't real bad.

However, if you are wanting to have more children, I wouldn't suggest having this procedure done. I don't know that your insurance would pay to have it reversed and it doesn't always work. So you should be sure that you do not want to have more children before taking that step. I was 41 when I had my second daughter and I had difficulties during the pregnancy and even though I would kinda like to have a boy, I did not want to have more than two children.

Just make sure that you are sure you want this done before you go through with it, so that you don't regret it later in life.

Personally, I would never get my tubes tied. Plus, if you are young, your chances of pregnancy actually increase later on (most women never find this out because they go through menopause, but a young woman could get pregnant). The one thing no one has said is that if your husband so badly does not want children, have him get a vasectomy. You shouldn't be the only one who has to worry about birth control. Plus, if you choose to have children again someday, his reversal is much easier and safer than yours if you got a tubal. Good luck!

Dear Larissa,
If you are at all thinking of having any more children, you don't want to have your tubes tied. It is not easy or guaranteed to have the procedure reversed. You should ask your doctor about an IUD (intrauterine device)...it is a small plastic device that your doctor inserts into your uterus that delivers hormones to prevent pregnancy over a long period of time...I think they last up to 5 years, and can be removed at any time if you wish to have more children.
J. W

Hi Larissa my name is K. and I am a nurse. I had my tubes tied when I was 27yrs old, it was my first surgery except for tubes and tonsills when I was 5. Tubal Ligation is a major surgery where your abdominal muscles are cut and recovery is pretty fast. They went in thru my belly button and you can hardly see the scar and you go home the same day. My only concern for you is that every time one has surgery there is the risk for adhesions (scar tissue) and for some people this poses a problem further on down the line. Not everyone has problems with adhesions but there is a chance. Fortunately I haven't but my mom has had alot of abdominal surgeries and did have a problem with adhesions. They grow like octupus legs and sometimes attach to other organs. Like in my mom's case they rapped around her bowel and she had a bowel obstruction. I have had patients who have had problems with scar tissue and they can do a procedure called lysis of adhesions where they go in (another surgery) and cut them out. I only responded because if you get your tubes tied and then reversed that equals 2 surgeries and may acquire other complications trying to get pregnant later. This is my opinion, just wanted to give you something to think about. Surgery should always be a last resort, other risks involved such as infections, complications etc. K. C.

There is a new procedure out and i can't remember the name of it. I am sure if you ask your Dr. he/she will know. It is for people who don't know if they want any more children. It is not surgery though.
take care
Jade

Larissa-
Tying your tubes is PERMAANENT!! If you are thinking that you may try to reverse it later, it is very, very expensive and often doesn't work. If you decide you want more children after your tubes are tied, you could try IVF, but that is much more expensive than birth control, and you could end up with another set of multiples, twins or more. Also, if you are still some what young, many doctors won't tie you tubes anyway. Think long and hard about this decision. You don't want to regret it one day.

Good luck!
J.

L.,

If you ever want to have another child even slightly not sure.. Do Not Get Your Tubes Tied... it is a permanent thing. I was told that when I had mine done 16 years ago.. schedule an appointment with your ob/gyn to talk about birth control; bring your husband if possible and a pen and paper so you can take notes and write down questions before you go so you will have a level head when you need it... there a lots and lots of different types of birth control now...

good luck,
S.

Have you considered Paragard? It is the copper IUD, no hormones, unlike Mirena, and is effective up to ten years. The best part is that it is easily removed and you can begin 'trying' again immediately, should you and your husband change your minds. Look it up and ask your doctor about it. There are some side effects like increased bleeding and cramping with your period for the first few months. I just had a baby and am going to have Paragard 'installed' as soon as I can, which is the first period after birth. I will let you know how it goes for me. I have always had heavy bleeding and cramping, so I can't imagine it getting much worse.

I too have difficulty remembering to take the pill, hence the new baby, and the patch was a mess for me. On top of that, the hormones make it difficult for me to maintain a healthy weight as well as affecting my mood. I am looking forward to a hormone-free, worry-free option. Some insurance companies don't cover Paragard, which doesn't really make sence to me since the cost is less than pills when divided per month, but check with yours and do the research.

If there is a possibility of you wanting children in the future then you should not do anything permanent (like tying your tubes) as the reversal does not always work. Talk to your OB/GYN about other options if you do not want regular birth control, or to save money try the Natural Family Planning Method.

I also know if you even mention that there is a possibility that you are not done having children then most OB's will not tie your tubes. I know when my husband got his Vasectomy we went through 2 "counseling" sessions with the urologist (my OB does this with women getting their tubes tied also).

Good luck!

Tubal litigation is pretty final .. you can get a reversal, but there are no guarantees. Make sure you don't want anymore children before you do that! The 9yo's will likely be out on their own around the time your youngest is 10 .. then it will be like having a single .. so you may want to consider one more to even things out .. or provide a sibling for the youngest .. or not .. whatever you decide.

The IUD is a great option for women in your situation. You don't have to think about it everyday like the pill, it lasts for 5 years, and it is reversible. Prior to my husband's vasectomy, I was using the ortho evra patch. It is also nice, I would stick one to my butt cheek every week and forget about it. The nice thing with the patch is that you can control your period a little.

Hello L. H

The first thing I would like to encourage is that you should pray about the decision that you are going to make. If you are thinking that in the future you would want kids you should not go head through this surgery. Secondly may I recommend NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING. It does work and it is another option for you to do. There is so many side affects when you do all the other things. Are you willing to risk your health and your life. I have learned that all we do here all comes at a price. Please search your heart and seek the Lord to guide you to the right decision. You owed to yourself and to your children.You don't want to have any regrets later on. Blessings C.

I am a 29yo female who had her tubes tied after my 3rd child. As far a birth control goes it was the best thing i did, but phyiscally it has been the worst! My cycles are now much heavier than pre-tubal... Before it lasted 4 to 5 days but was on the lighter side, now it is way heavier with much more cramping, i often need a pad and a tampon. Recently i started using the patch to control my cycle it has helped but i wish i had done this before getting my tubes tied. Although the procedure can be reversed it is rather costly and there is no promise of my cycle going back to the way it used to be.... Think twice & think hard!

Hello L.:
I returned to work the next day after a tubal (recovery time depends on the individual, but should be no longer than one week.) This is a surgical procedure and it can be difficult to reverse in addition to complications and there is know guarantee how long it may take you to get pregnant again. One of my relatives became pregnant right away while it took another a long time to become pregnant. Best wishes.

If you and your husband are having doubts I would wait until you both agree one way or the other. I had the tubal ligation the day after giving birth to my second son. I had a natural delivery and in a week I was feeling fine. During the first week what bothered me was that I felt discomfort if when I was trying to sit/stand up, laughed, or coughed. Other than that it was no big deal. Have you tried asking your doctor about other contraceptive options that may be more affordable? Good luck in your final decision!