getting my "tubes tied"

[MizTink]

my youngest baby is almost 12, and i'm 39......i'm considering having a tubal. i only know 1 person that had it done, and it was done when she had a c-section. i'm wondering about the surgery, scars, recovery, etc......

just the fact that i'm considering it makes me kinda sad. i always wanted 4 kids, have 3. which really is fine with me. pregnancy, as much as i loved it, just did not agree with me. i KNOW i need to have the tubal....sigh

 

[LisaNJ25]

awee it is a sad feeling when you realize you arent goign to have anymore.

Is your hubby having a vasectomony an option? Its so much easier that you going in at this point.

If I would of had mine done I would of done it during my last c-section, instead dh has his vasectomy while I was pregnant.

 

[my3sonsagn]

If there's any way your SO would consider having a vasectomy, they are FAR safer because a vasectomy is just a surface cut, but a ligation involves opening up the peritoneal space which, though it normally doesn't cause any problems, does carry the risk of peritonitis. I'll step off my soap box now, though, b/c no one actually asked my opinion (it's never stopped me from giving one, though lol).

I had a tubal b/c DH and I agreed that if I needed a repeat c-section, I'd have it done, and if I could VBAC, he'd be the one to get snipped. I don't know how much the ligation had to do with it, but that c-section was a much more painful and longer recovery than my previous one. OTOH, I know several women who had no problems at all - they were up and around the next day. They'd probably do it outpatient via laparoscopy, so just a tiny scar under the belly button.

Good luck whatever your decision

 

[MizTink]

awee it is a sad feeling when you realize you arent goign to have anymore.

Is your hubby having a vasectomony an option? Its so much easier that you going in at this point.

If I would of had mine done I would of done it during my last c-section, instead dh has his vasectomy while I was pregnant.

haha! nope, he's scared to do it!!

 

[*JoGo*]

i'm also considering one.
i'm 28 and my 'baby' is 8yrs old. my oldest will be 11 next month.

i ADORE babies. i always wanted 3 sons. my 2nd son is... difficult... and we kept putting it off either waiting for him to "grow out of it" or waiting for a better financial situation. i also found out about 3 yrs ago that i have a clotting disorder which makes pregnancy very risky for me (basically, VERY lucky to have gotten pregnant and carried my sons to term). AND pregnancy is awful. i throw up 24/7 for 9 months.

also, b/c of my clotting disorder, i cannot use any form of birth control.

anyway... all that to say.... while i'd love another, i don't know if i can handle the age difference. and i KNOW i can't handle my husband's constant "you're too young for a tubal..... but i don't know if i'll ever want another baby". that little glimmer of hope tears me up. so. rather than the rollercoaster ride of emotions, i just want to take the option off the table completely.

would like to hear others' experience w/ the surgery and also emotionally.

 

[LisaNJ25]

haha! nope, he's scared to do it!!

See I wouldnt put up with that I had one natural birth and 3 c-sections. Thats more than enough pain and dh went and did his part.

Tell hubby his man hood is not in jepordy. My husband was out on his motorcycle the next day.

 

[MizTink]

he also doesn't have insurance, i do...(we're not married)

 

[Hillbeans]

I had the surgery done in '09. It was a same day surgery, checked in at 7, surgery at 9, I think I woke up and was out of there by 12 noon. I only had one 1-inch incision to the right of my bb and another larger incision in my bb which I couldn't see. The recovery time was quick and I was back to work after the weekend. I had to take some pain medicine the first night and the gas from when they inflate your abdomen hurts in your shoulders that evening, but it was really not too bad.

It's funny - when they rolled me into the OR, there were two medical school interns there to observe my surgery - I was so drugged up I don't remember much but thought it was funny. I don't think it's as common as an elective surgery than after a C-Section.

Good luck!

 

[Darcy03231]

I had one done. Pain and recovery really weren't bad. First day or two I was uncomfortable, but didn't need the pain medication that was prescribed (I hate taking it anyway). I have a small (about 2" scar) right above the pubic line and its in a crease so definitely not noticeable (not that anyone other than DH would be able to see it anyway).

 

[december]

I had mine done 19 mos ago, after the birth of my dd (not a c-section). I was 36, had 3 kids, and got pregnant way too easily all 3 times. Dh wouldn't even talk about a vasectomy-if it was up to him we'd have a dozen kids. He tried to talk me about of it until they wheeled me into the operating room!

Since I was recovering from childbirth at the time, I can't help with that info. I don't remember it being that much harder than with the previous 2 kids though. I have a very tiny scar at my bellybutton, that you have to be looking for to see. I don't regret it at all.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I had it done about 15 years ago. They went in thru my belly button, so the only scar is at the bottom of my belly button. I just went looking and couldn't even feel it now. It was day surgery and I spent a couple of days recovering, burping up the gas that was used to expand my belly and get in there and get everything done.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I had mine done 10 years ago. I have one scar in my belly button. It was a day surgery - had it done in the morning and was home by mid-afternoon. I was a little sick from the anesthesia and my shoulder joints hurt like you wouldn't believe. I guess the shoulder pain has to do with nerves they mess with in your belly and the gas that is used to inflate you to do the surgery. I over did it and didn't take it easy for the 3-4 days that the doctor recommended. I went back to work on day 3 for half a day and worked day 4 but I felt like heck. I ended up taking a couple of days off after that because I was really tired and sore. I think if I had truly rested for the full 4 days I would have been fine.

I think my DH would have had the big snip if I had pushed the issue. I felt that it wasn't fair to him since I was the one that did not want more kids. He would have been happy to have 5 or 6 instead of just 2

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Always make an educated decision. The following link is graphic. Please take the time to read it. It is in reference to Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome. If you want more information or proof that this is as serious as it seems, feel free to PM. The cost associated with this will FAR exceed the OOP cost of a Vasectomy.

http://members.tripod.com/~sterilization_rights/Symtoms_PTS.html

 

[Jusacuz]

I had it done in 2000, 6 weeks after my 4th child was born. It was an outpatient procedure. I was in around 6am and out by noon or so. There was pain in my shoulders from the gas, but other than that it was a pretty easy recovery. I made sure to take whatever pain killers they gave me regularly. Mine was done through the belly button and just above where a bikini would start. I have one tiny scar. I haven't had any problems since.

 

[kirbsam]

i agree with those that say tell your friend to have the vasectomy. local anesthesia. much safer and easier.

 

[tvguy]

he also doesn't have insurance, i do...(we're not married)

I bet the vasectomy costs less than the deductable on your insurance.

And as others have pointed out, it is a minor proceedure compared to have your tubes tied.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I bet the vasectomy costs less than the deductable on your insurance.

And as others have pointed out, it is a minor proceedure compared to have your tubes tied.

Not necessarily. When I got my tubes tied it was much cheaper for me to do that because of how the local Women's Hospital worked.

Also, it was one itsy tiny incision and then my tubes were banded off with little rubber bands that looked identical to the bands that I've used to neuter baby sheep and/or dock their tails. (Never lost a sheep to that either!)

I think it might be a wee bit more intrusive, but really, it's not major surgery or very intrusive.

 

[MizTink]

i agree with those that say tell your friend to have the vasectomy. local anesthesia. much safer and easier.

that really wasn't the part i was questioning. i'm getting my tubes tied....

I bet the vasectomy costs less than the deductable on your insurance.

no, i have no out of pocket expense. and again, that's not what i was asking about!

i just want to hear other women's experiences having this done. and also share our sadness (or not!) of the finality of it. that's it.

 

[my3sonsagn]

Yeah - PTLS is an issue. 95+% of Drs out there and the medical community as a whole don't believe (or at least admit they believe) it exists. I'm very fortunate that my ob/gyn does admit it (he says that, in his 30+ years of practicing, he's had too many women with eerily similar symptoms within a couple of years of a ligation to dismiss it), so when I went in thinking I was a lunatic and/or hypochondriac he was able to reassure me that I wasn't just imagining symptoms. Whether one thinks it's *real* or not, it's worth looking into.

 

[MizTink]

ugh, that would be just my luck...