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I remember the last baby I had in a hospital. Right after the delivery of my beautiful baby girl the Dr. asked me if I wanted a tubal ligation. I answered “No.” Then he asked me again. Again I said, “No.” Then he asked me again. I remember feeling the heat of anger rise in me. “No, I want more children.” I said.
As I think about it now it seems strange to me that such a big decision is asked of women on the spot. How many women that just went through the birth process moments before are asked if they want to have a tubal ligation? And how many like me, aren’t just asked, they are pressured? The medical professionals act like it’s no big deal and it’ll fix the nagging issue of birth control. Actually they are the ones that do the nagging now that I think of it. Post natal birth control interrogation anyone? Anyone? But are there risks to getting your tubes tied? Is it as simple as they make it out to be? Are they leaving out some side effects? And can it be reversed?
Tubal ligation is a surgery that is performed using anesthesia. It involves the severing and tying of the fallopian tubes. Fallopian tubes sometimes are sealed by burning or cauterizing, or sealed with rings or clips.
Risks:
- Damage to the bowel, bladder or major blood vessels
- Bad reaction to anesthesia
- The wound not healing and infection
- Prolonged pelvic and abdominal pain
- Ectopic pregnancy if the tubal ligation fails (ectopic pregnancy is when an egg that has been fertilized implants in a fallopian tube or some place outside of the uterus.)
- If you are a younger woman there is more of a chance that the tubal ligation will fail.
There is a higher risk for complications resulting from a tubal ligation when:
- You have had pelvic or abdominal surgery before
- You are obese
- You have diabetes or a history of it
If you google Tubal Ligation horror stories you’ll get some results that you have to sift through because there are a lot of women out there that have had bad experiences with tubal ligations. And the medical community wants you to think that these women are just silly, and not telling the truth. So there are also those who want to gloss over everything and act like you should pay no heed to the “horror stories”. Logically though, if you are considering a life altering surgery and others have gone before you and are waving red flags- you should consider them. What would they have to gain? I know what a Dr. has to gain. Tubal ligation is business for them. They make more money the more procedures they do. I found a really great blog on the subject of Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome. The author mentioned feeling the “prolonged pelvic and abdominal pain” that is mentioned as a risk. She said her Dr. admitted that all the women that had tubal ligations came in complaining of it. She also was worried that the Dr. had put metal clips in her- which they had- even after asking them not to.
Also I noticed from some of the stories and experiences of women who had had tubal ligations that they were complaining of hormone imbalances, decreased milk production, emotional imbalances. None of these things are mentioned as risks. And no one warns women that this surgery could ruin their quality of life. Constant pain along with your birth control anyone? Sure, sign me up for that Doc. Just kidding, I’d rather keep my body parts intact and functioning, along with my hormones.
It turns out that Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome is a real thing. Unless of course your Doctor doesn’t want to admit it. Then all the symptoms, pain, heavy periods, hormonal imbalances, are all in your head. And you may or may not receive recommendations to get on anti-depressants and birth control pills.
Tubal Ligation Reversals are available and have a success rate of around 70%. And the prices for those seems like they were between $2500 to $9000. I’ll include some links.
This is a blog about Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome:
http://ptlsisreal.blogspot.com
This is a link to a list of Tubal Ligation Doctors from the blogger above:
Reversing Tubal Ligation Specialists
