birth control

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

I find it kinda strange though that drs hesitate to do tubal ligation/essure on younger women. Apparently we're old enough to decide we want children, but not old enough to decide we DONT want children?

When will they actually do them?

One of my friends is dead-set on having this procedure done. She's 25 years old and is absolutely convinced she never wants children. She has been to 4 different doctors, and none of them will do the procedure for her.

Is there a set age at which they will generally give the ok?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Is there a set age at which they will generally give the ok?

I have never known a Dr. to approve a tubal ligation on a woman who has never had kids.

I think it's a tad ridiculous, but their rationale is that you may change your mind. But aren't those procedures reversible?

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I have never known a Dr. to approve a tubal ligation on a woman who has never had kids.

I think it's a tad ridiculous, but their rationale is that you may change your mind. But aren't those procedures reversible?

From what I understand, tubal ligations can be reversible, but the success rate for such procedures might be between 30 and 60% (don’t quote me on that, though). I also understand that there are a number of women who will wish to have the tubal ligation reversed within a few years after having it done (about 5%). I understand the logic behind waiting a little while, but is there ever a point when a doctor will just do the procedure? I think it’s ridiculous to refuse to do this for every woman who has never had children. Not everyone is made to procreate!

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I have never known a Dr. to approve a tubal ligation on a woman who has never had kids.

I think it's a tad ridiculous, but their rationale is that you may change your mind. But aren't those procedures reversible?

There are doctors out there who will perform a TL / Essure on a nulliparous woman. It might take some perseverance to find one, especially if you're young, but they do exist.

Tubals are reversible, but it's invasive surgery (then again, so is the tubal), and the success rate isn't very high. Essure is not reversible.

[AGDee]

My doctor refused to refer for a tubal ligation when I was 37, and divorced with two kids. She said "Do you know how many women I've had as patients who met a new man, got married, and decided they really wanted a child with the new man?" Well, I know ME. There is no way in hell I'd get married again and there's REALLY now way in Hell I'd have more babies. She started giving me the Depo shot at that time. The new primary care doesn't want me on Depo since I'm over 40 now. Luckily I'm not dating and I can just abstain now because my cycle has become extremely unpredictable and my daughter is a result of condoms and foam together. I'm clearly pretty fertile.

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

As for why I had to assure them I was in a long term relationship, it wasn't anything more than, "what is your partnership situation like at the moment?" and I told them that I was engaged, etc etc. And they said, "Ok, if you decide to open up your relationship to outside partners, please remember to use a condom b/c this doesn't cover STDs." It was more of a "hey, this will work great in this situation, BUT if the situation changes...." counseling type of thing.

Ok, that makes sense. I was wondering if they would have turned you down for an IUD if you weren't in a long term relationship. Condoms and abstinence are the only methods that protect against STDs - and a reminder of that fact never hurts.

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

When will they actually do them?

One of my friends is dead-set on having this procedure done. She's 25 years old and is absolutely convinced she never wants children. She has been to 4 different doctors, and none of them will do the procedure for her.

Is there a set age at which they will generally give the ok?

I've seen a study (give me a minute and I'll try to dig it up) where regret rates for permanent sterilization were shown to drop off after age 30. Childfree women over 30 have the lowest regret rates. So it's a lot easier to get a TL/Essure once you're 30.

Edit: Drat, can't find the study.

[KSUViolet06]

This thread reminds me of something:

My mom worked at a hospital once, and there was a girl who was in the hospital delivering her THIRD baby at age 21. My mom came in to do her vitals and she was FIGHTING mad because she wanted her tubes tied after the birth, but the Dr. INSISTED that she was too young.

I'm sorry, but I think that's ridiculous. I wonder if the Dr. was willing to adopt any subsequent babies she had after that since he didn't think tube-tying was a good idea.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This thread reminds me of something:

My mom worked at a hospital once, and there was a girl who was in the hospital delivering her THIRD baby at age 21. My mom came in to do her vitals and she was FIGHTING mad because she wanted her tubes tied after the birth, but the Dr. INSISTED that she was too young.

I'm sorry, but I think that's ridiculous. I wonder if the Dr. was willing to adopt any subsequent babies she had after that since he didn't think tube-tying was a good idea.

My cousin is 22 and she's had two children already. She has a genetic disorder that causes miscarriages (however she's not miscarried yet so how true is that?) and had a cyst on one of her ovaries. After her first child, she had the ovary with the cyst removed. She's contemplating having the second removed, because not only does she have an infant and a toddler, but she has a pre-teen/early teenaged stepson. Personally, I think it would be hard to take care of any one of those, let alone all three at once.

Her doctors don't want to do it, either, but the fact that she's had two kids when she wasn't supposed to be able to have any may help her get her point across. Plus, not having the other removed may cause problems for her in the future as far as general health.

I don't know the technical terms of any of this, just the layman's terms they used to explain it to me. I do know that my grandmother miscarried six times between my dad and my aunt, which was why my cousins got checked out in the first place.

[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

My cousin is 22 and she's had two children already. She has a genetic disorder that causes miscarriages (however she's not miscarried yet so how true is that?) and had a cyst on one of her ovaries. After her first child, she had the ovary with the cyst removed. She's contemplating having the second removed, because not only does she have an infant and a toddler, but she has a pre-teen/early teenaged stepson. Personally, I think it would be hard to take care of any one of those, let alone all three at once.

Her doctors don't want to do it, either, but the fact that she's had two kids when she wasn't supposed to be able to have any may help her get her point across. Plus, not having the other removed may cause problems for her in the future as far as general health.

I don't know the technical terms of any of this, just the layman's terms they used to explain it to me. I do know that my grandmother miscarried six times between my dad and my aunt, which was why my cousins got checked out in the first place.

Interesting. There are a number of issues it could be: clotting disorder, autoimmune issue, etc.. While those disorders can increase the chance of miscarriage, it doesn't mean it will happen every time. It sounds like she was fortunate to be able to carry her two pregnancies to term.

Obviously, you only know what you've been told, but I'm curious as to what kind of cyst required complete removal of her ovary. Most ovarian cysts are benign and resolve on their own (though they can be a bitch if they burst). Those that don't resolve can easily be removed without danger to the ovary. I know you don't know and you don't have to answer, it's more of a rhetorical question than anything...

[libramunoz]

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

Interesting. There are a number of issues it could be: clotting disorder, autoimmune issue, etc.. While those disorders can increase the chance of miscarriage, it doesn't mean it will happen every time. It sounds like she was fortunate to be able to carry her two pregnancies to term.

Obviously, you only know what you've been told, but I'm curious as to what kind of cyst required complete removal of her ovary. Most ovarian cysts are benign and resolve on their own (though they can be a bitch if they burst). Those that don't resolve can easily be removed without danger to the ovary. I know you don't know and you don't have to answer, it's more of a rhetorical question than anything...

The ovaries end up getting cancerous and the cancer for some reason, quickly seems to spread to the entire cervix. This is generally done where there is a family hx of fibroid tumors or cervical cancer.
The cysts can and cannot be benign, and the problem is that one cysts becomes another, and another, ect until the woman has PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome).
The real problem is when those cysts burst, it is very horrendous for the woman because they can quickly and easily cause the woman to become anemic.
A lot depends on the doctor if they feel that the woman needs to have such an invasive procedure or not. The reason why they don't want her to do this is because they go into your uterus through either under your stomach or the area above your pelvic bone. Either way, the stitches remain there for 6 weeks and you may/may not continue to bleed and it's a constant thing of making sure that the area is clean, yadda, yadda, yadda. Not to mention the pain and the inability to bend down, over, around, you know, no swinging from chandliers (?) or vacuuming or picking up children, etc. It does pretty much slow you down.

[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by libramunoz

The ovaries end up getting cancerous and the cancer for some reason, quickly seems to spread to the entire cervix. This is generally done where there is a family hx of fibroid tumors or cervical cancer.
The cysts can and cannot be benign, and the problem is that one cysts becomes another, and another, ect until the woman has PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome).
The real problem is when those cysts burst, it is very horrendous for the woman because they can quickly and easily cause the woman to become anemic.
A lot depends on the doctor if they feel that the woman needs to have such an invasive procedure or not. The reason why they don't want her to do this is because they go into your uterus through either under your stomach or the area above your pelvic bone. Either way, the stitches remain there for 6 weeks and you may/may not continue to bleed and it's a constant thing of making sure that the area is clean, yadda, yadda, yadda. Not to mention the pain and the inability to bend down, over, around, you know, no swinging from chandliers (?) or vacuuming or picking up children, etc. It does pretty much slow you down.

I know what PCOS is and have had ovarian cysts with both pregnancies. I believe the dermiod cyst that was diagnosed during my last pregnancy is still there. It didn't seem to be an issue with my OB and I can only kind of feel it every once in a while. I was under the impression that if my OB felt it needed to be removed, it would be done laparascopically with no lasting effects to me or my ovary. My question was more of a rhetorical, thinking out loud thing...

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

It kind of seems like we can't be trusted to make good decisions on our own.

The doctor knows better. Knows we'll change our minds within a year or two, because EVERY woman wants children, right?

Although to be fair, I've heard the surgery is pretty serious stuff. It's not just like a guy getting a vasectomy. So maybe it's more about the fact that it's invasive elective surgery than the doctor making a value judgement.

[joliebelle]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Is there a set age at which they will generally give the ok?

I know your question has already been answered, but I find it interesting that any 20 yr. old male can walk into a doctor's office and have a vasectomy done and won't be asked "are you sure you don't want children in the future?"


I've been on ortho tri-cyclen for 2.5 years and I love it. It was the first pill I tried, and I had/have no side effects. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones