Anyone have a tubal ligation?

[DeeDee]

I am 31 and have 3 kids.  I'm almost positive that this is the next step for me.  I've just started doing some research on it, but I wanted to see if others have been through it.  Is the procedure pretty simple?  How is the recovery?  Will I be able to lift my rather plump baby afterwards?  Have you experienced any weird side affects?

We've talked about having H snipped, but the very thought of something sharp near his junk sends him into a tizzy .  I have no problem doing it myself.  I just want to know all the info I can before I take the next step.

[gummybear]

I had a tubal during my last c/s, so I can't speak to it as a separate procedure. Any pain was masked by the c/s pain, but I was def. not in MORE pain with the c/s and tubal than I was with just the c/s. In fact, I thought my recovery the second time was easier and faster.

I have no regrets whatsoever and I love the fact that I do not have to think about birth control nor deal with any sort of hormonal issues that come with other forms of BCP.

As for things after, I notice I can feel ovulation now. It's really no big deal and it doesn't affect my life in any way but I can tell which side I am Oing on and there is a little soreness. Some people say their period is heavier but mine was always heavy so I did not notice a difference and I had an ablation about 18 months after my tubal, so now my period is nothing more than a couple days of spotting. No other issues to speak of. No weight gain, no pain, no depression/anxiety, no hormonal problems. I am still like clockwork.

[revolution]

I had one during my c/s. I have titanium clamps.

I believe they can go through your belly button now to do the procedure. I am not sure about lifting restrictions.

[revolution]

Oh, I have no major issues. My periods are heavy, but I was always on bcp so this is normal for me, I guess. I love not thinking about birth control. Love it.

[housewife]

I had one in August, errr 1/2 of one (I had my right ovary and tube removed).

It was laparoscopic in a surgery center. I think we got there around 10, surgery was scheduled for 12 and I was home by 3. I basically slept the rest of the day (Tuesday). Wednesday I was sore and really bloated but able to alternate the good drugs with OTC. I went back to work 1/2 days Thursday and Friday. I brought a heating pad, wore sweats and tried to avoid leaving my chair. It wasn't so much that I was in pain, I was just tired and felt pretty bruised up. I would say by 10 days out I felt like myself.

Periods have been wonky (late, early, heavy, light - no rhyme or reason to them) but I am blaming my ovaries on that.I had some tugging sensations also for about 8-10 weeks and that was handsdown the worst part of the whole ordeal. In the beginning I felt like I got the air knocked out of me, they slowly decreased in frequency and pain until they disappeared.

Overall, it was easy and I would do it again.

[lavender444]

I had mine done with my c/s, too. So no comments on recovery time. I felt fantastic after that c/s, though. Like I had to be reminded I just had surgery great. So it certainly didn't add to my recovery.

My periods are much heavier now. I use to have super light cycles, now they are shockingly heavy. But I don't know if that's because I had kids, or the tubal ligation, or the fact my weight changed, or I'm older....I can't really blame one specific thing m

[daisyheadmaizie]

I had mine done during my c/s with DS. My recovery was super easy even with having a. C/s. I think my periods might be a touch heavier, but nothing too crazy. I love not having to think about birth control.

[sugarbear]

I had one during my last c-section, so I can't speak to recovery. My periods are a little heavier now, but otherwise I've had no lingering negative effects. I have no regrets!

[morningmania]

I had one by itself. It was done laproscopically. I had the basic lifting limitations in the 4-6 weeks following. Nothing over 10 lbs.
Like the others my periods were really heavy, I definitely knew which side I was ovulating from. I don't know that those things were related to getting older or directly to the tubal.

[cc]

I had one done when I had a c-section, so I can't speak to the recovery.

My periods were much heavier, and lasted 10 days, after that. I am not 100% sure it was from the tubal, but my periods definitely changed after #3 was born. I ended up having the Nova Sure procedure done last year and haven't had a period since. That was the best $15 (my copay) I've ever spent. lol

[kitty63]

My husband was the same way so I had the Essure procedure done. They implant coils into your tubes and the body creates scar tissue that blocks your tubes. The cool thing is its not done surgically so the recovery is really easy. They sedate you in the drs office and insert the coils vaginally. I had some cramping and slept like a dead person that day. I was back to work the next day.
Two months later you have to have dye injected to make sure you're closed up. That was uncomfortable but no biggie. No side effects yet and I had it done almost a year ago.

[MixedBerryJam]

Mar 6, 2014 20:07:46 GMT -5 revolution said:

I had one during my c/s. I have titanium clamps.

I believe they can go through your belly button now to do the procedure. I am not sure about lifting restrictions.

I had a laparoscopic (through the navel) tubal ligation in 1998. I don't recall having any lifting restrictions, and I had a 4mo at the time, so I think I'd remember that. The process was simple -- a couple of hours in a doctor's office. Recovery took a bit longer than I expected (general soreness alsted longer than I expected), but I always attributed to having a nursing baby constantly kicking me in the stomach. I was really up and around starting day 2.

[iamali]

I had one a few years ago.

Recovery wasn't awful, there was some soreness around my incision (which is SUPER tiny), but nothing awful. You aren't supposed to lift anything heavy for a few days. IIRC I had mine done on a Thursday and was fine with going back to work on the following Monday.

No side effects that I can pinpoint. I feel like my period is heavier now, but I attribute it to getting older.

[lavender444]

Mar 7, 2014 8:53:47 GMT -5 cc said:

I had one done when I had a c-section, so I can't speak to the recovery.

My periods were much heavier, and lasted 10 days, after that. I am not 100% sure it was from the tubal, but my periods definitely changed after #3 was born. I ended up having the Nova Sure procedure done last year and haven't had a period since. That was the best $15 (my copay) I've ever spent. lol

Tell me more about this. I'm intrigued.

[revolution]

Mar 7, 2014 10:09:48 GMT -5 lavender444 said:

Mar 7, 2014 8:53:47 GMT -5 cc said:

I had one done when I had a c-section, so I can't speak to the recovery.

My periods were much heavier, and lasted 10 days, after that. I am not 100% sure it was from the tubal, but my periods definitely changed after #3 was born. I ended up having the Nova Sure procedure done last year and haven't had a period since. That was the best $15 (my copay) I've ever spent. lol

Tell me more about this. I'm intrigued.

My dr offered this procedure for me. I am so signing up for it when I see her again.

[screwedup]

Another vote for the Essure procedure. It's an in-office procedure and no recovery at all. While the procedure wasn't painfree for me (I have no kids though), it was worth it!

[DeeDee]

Thank you all for the replies! It has been very helpful. I was mostly worried about side affects, but there doesn't seem to be any major ones.

[cc]

Mar 7, 2014 10:09:48 GMT -5 lavender444 said:

Mar 7, 2014 8:53:47 GMT -5 cc said:

I had one done when I had a c-section, so I can't speak to the recovery.

My periods were much heavier, and lasted 10 days, after that. I am not 100% sure it was from the tubal, but my periods definitely changed after #3 was born. I ended up having the Nova Sure procedure done last year and haven't had a period since. That was the best $15 (my copay) I've ever spent. lol

Tell me more about this. I'm intrigued.

You can have it done in office or same day surgery where they put you under. I chose in office because the actual procedure lasts 90 seconds and my copay was much cheaper. It also depends on pain tolerance because those 90 seconds were quite painful.

They gave me cervidil the night before the procedure to open my cervix. I experience intense cramping through the night. They also gave me some strong Ibroproferin the night before. I got a prescription for stronger pain meds and Xanax, but I was instructed to bring them to the office with me where the doctor would give me them.

DH came with me as support and I was told to bring a comfy blanket while I laid in the room waiting for the pain meds to kick in. I had painful cramps that morning, which felt like very heavy period cramps.

They called me back and I was put into a nice room with one of those tables with stirrups. The nurse took my vitals, gave me my medicine, and then dimmed the lights to help me relax until it was time to begin.

When it was time, they had DH wait outside. The doctor went in with a camera to check things out and take a biopsy from my uterus, which is standard. When he saw that everything looked fine, he inserted the Nova Sure thing, which measures the thickness of your lining and then cauterizes it.

I won't lie and say it wasn't painful because it was. I gripped onto the handle of the bed. It felt like my uterus was being suctioned by a vacuum. The good thing was that it only lasted 90 seconds and then it was done. I was given a prescription of pain meds and sent home once I felt like I was OK to get up. They wheeled me to my car.

I missed two days of work. It was done on a Thursday and I took Friday off to recover. I went back the following Monday, feeling fine. There were intermittent cramps throughout the weekend, but nothing too bad. I had clear discharge for about 3 weeks and then that's it.

I haven't had a period and no ill side effects. I still go through the hormonal changes of having a period and I still experience bloating, etc. But, no actual bleeding.

[ijack]

I had one with an ablation last year - they went in though my belly button and a very small area just above my pubic bone. Recovery wasn't bad - I took thursday off (surgery was on wednesday afternoon) and worked from home on Friday and took it fairly easy on the weekend.
I am one of the very unlucky ones that didn't have her period stopped by having an ablation, though it's much less than it used to be. Also you might want to do some research on tubals and what it does to hormones, it wasn't something I knew about until after the fact.

[penelope]

Mar 6, 2014 20:04:29 GMT -5 gummybear said:

I had a tubal during my last c/s, so I can't speak to it as a separate procedure. Any pain was masked by the c/s pain, but I was def. not in MORE pain with the c/s and tubal than I was with just the c/s. In fact, I thought my recovery the second time was easier and faster.

I have no regrets whatsoever and I love the fact that I do not have to think about birth control nor deal with any sort of hormonal issues that come with other forms of BCP.

As for things after, I notice I can feel ovulation now. It's really no big deal and it doesn't affect my life in any way but I can tell which side I am Oing on and there is a little soreness. Some people say their period is heavier but mine was always heavy so I did not notice a difference and I had an ablation about 18 months after my tubal, so now my period is nothing more than a couple days of spotting. No other issues to speak of. No weight gain, no pain, no depression/anxiety, no hormonal problems. I am still like clockwork.

I can too!  I thought I was crazy but as I started to track that couple of days with slight cramping every month I did figure it out, and that's what it is. 

I am afraid I have nothing else to add that anyone else hasn't already said.  I had mine done with a c-section so I can't speak for the procedure on its own.