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Because people don't understand that tubal ligation is not a complete hysterectomy (including oophorectomy). I've had this very conversation before, with people who just can't understand why someone would want to do something so "extreme" and health-risking and blah blah. They tend to become very emphatic and almost seem angry and affronted at the choice a complete stranger makes for her own body and life.
Oh. I certainly had people say "It's so extreme/final" but that was more about the finality of being sterilized, not about health risks, as far as I know. I called it "the lack of desire made flesh."
I had a tubal ligation in 2007 at age 30. I have tested its efficacy hundreds of times and believe me, it works I'm very glad I had it done. I never had kids.
I see that you are in Europe, so this may not be helpful to you. But there are several new techniques out here to block fallopian tubes via transcervical insertion of meds, etc. There's a silicone insert available too (might be more attractive than the coil). My coworker was part of an initial study where they put some kind of dissolvable thing in each tube that eventually irritates the tissues, ultimately causing a blockage that is all made from your own cells, no foreign bodies or other chemicals, no surgery.
Maybe google different tubal occlusion options available where you are.
Good question, back in those days I didn't question doctors, so the doc made extra money on me, now that you mention it.
Did you have a total hysterectomy? No ovaries, no uterus, no cervix? I guess I could understand a tubal ligation if maybe you still had a uterus and an ovary...maybe. I guess. Otherwise, I think you're remembering your history wrong.
If someone who has normal fallopian tubes (no curly queues) does not want to have children, and has successfully avoided having children until the age of 35, then I think no intervention is the best option. It's a bit weird to panic about pregnancy for the first time 20 years after the start of fertility.
There are many ways to avoid pregnancy. Tubal ligation means interference with the normal monthly hormonal cycle. The cycle is broken.
If the goal is to not interrupt libido, then carry on without medical intervention. As you approach menopause you'll be dropping multiple eggs as once - watch out for twins!
According to WebMD, tubal ligation doesn't effect hormones at all, nor does it interrupt your periods.
OP might well not be panicking but very sure she doesn't want to become pregnant, or sometimes it can be important to be clear with oneself or others that there won't be a "I changed my mind."
I had a boyfriend when I was 34 who knew I had a tubal and wanted to get married and said that I could work while he did his artwork and "took care of the kids." I reminded him that I'd had a TL and he said, "Well, we could always adopt." Not clear on the concept!
I had a tubal ligation procedure at age 36, four years ago. I felt weak and fragile for about the first day, I got it done on a Friday and took it fairly easy that weekend, and I was back to work Monday with no problems at all. There was no pain, swelling, or other problems. They do use that gas that others mentioned to inflate your abdomen so that they can do what they need to do, and I began to have a little achy discomfort from that, and a friend of mine, a massage therapist, gave me a massage and that made it instantly better with no further issue. So anyone planning a TL, I recommend you line up a massage for the next day, it really helps!
My scars vanished and I can no longer see them, but I do have minor stretch marking in that area anyways, as I'm a mother of two already. My periods are completely regular and don't give me any more grief than they ever did. My libido is still going strong as ever, maybe a little more so since I don't worry about getting pregnant. I haven't had any weight changes or other issues. And I feel no regret whatsoever.
Which brings me to a couple of cautions...
1. Be prepared for the possibility that doctors might give you a hard time about getting this procedure, especially if you've never had kids. I don't know if it's this way in Europe, but in the States, the doctors often refuse to do it, or try really hard to talk women out of it. My own doctor, a woman, argued with me about 5 or 6 times, even though she was willing to perform the procedure if she couldn't talk me out of it first, and even though I was 36 with two kids! She kept saying, "The most common side effect of tubal ligation...is REGRET." The day of the procedure I was on the gurney with an IV in my wrist and she says, "Are you sure? But what if you meet a man...?" I laughed. I was dating not one, but three men (and a woman) at that very moment in time. I replied, "Oh, but I've met so many..." Well, that's me. The man I ended up settling in with and now plan to marry, doesn't want kids either. Regret? Not a chance. Honestly I sometimes wonder if it's a by-product of the American healthcare system that we get so much hassle about this. I bet that women who get TL don't go to the gynecologist as often, as those who have to rely on the pill or some other method, where we HAVE to go get an exam every so often just to keep our birth control products going.... I mean, either that or there is a conspiracy to keep women in the breeding pens, whatever. No idea.
2. Be sure, no matter what you doctor tells you, that you wait until the period following your TL has completely happened and is over, before relying on it to prevent pregnancy. My doc said that it was immediately effective, and I could have sex as soon as I felt well enough, generally in about two weeks. I waited a couple of weeks. I was on my period. There must have been a "round in the chamber" so to speak, because I got pregnant. I was worrying and fussing about the need to possibly terminate the pregnancy, which I would have done if I'd had to...when thankfully I miscarried at 5 weeks. Doc said it likely was not ever viable anyhow, that it probably never "attached" to the uterine wall. Still though, it was stressful, and I wish my doc had told me to wait until a full cycle had passed.
Oh please don't discipline me, I was at the doctor's hands and trusted/believed him. This is not basic learning in public school. Why the surgeon did both I don't know but I trusted docs in the 80's but have had wake up calls. This is one right now. He's pushing up daisys so I can't ask...but it's done.
It is possible you had a partial hysterectomy (the uterus is removed but not the ovaries) and the doctor feared for some reason you might have an ectopic pregnancy so he tied your tubes.
Did you have a total hysterectomy? No ovaries, no uterus, no cervix? I guess I could understand a tubal ligation if maybe you still had a uterus and an ovary...maybe. I guess. Otherwise, I think you're remembering your history wrong.
Hysterectomy just means the removal of the uterus. So if that is all Jamin had, then she could still technically have had the tubal ligation. Many women just have a hysterectomy without an oophorectomy if they have problems that are related only to the uterus.
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I'm very glad I had it done. I never had kids.
