Have you been sterilized?

[danisty]

I'm curious to hear about sterilization. Personally, I haven't been able to find a doctor who will do it. Everyone I know who's ever had a tubal ligation had it done right after having a baby, so it's not really comparable to what I would be going through with the procedure. I'm curious what sterilization is like for the child-free. Is the procedure more difficult? Is it harder or easier to recover from? What are the complications? Are there any health restrictions on getting it done?

[happy2bchildfree]

I had the tubal at the age of 33. For me, it was very easy to go through and I had no side effects or complications of any kind other than slight occasional pain for one day due to the gas they have to inflate you with. It was one very tiny incision just below my belly button. The biggest deal was having to be put under for the procedure. I had it done on a Friday, was back to normal activities the next day, and back on my physically demanding job on Monday. I missed one day of work. It's not a big deal at all.

[preraph]

Danisty, you should call the nearest Planned Parenthood and ask them for a referral.

[danisty]

Will that work with Tricare insurance though?

[preraph]

Have no idea, but the thing with Planned Parenthood is they tend to support whatever choice a woman makes, so they may know the cooperative doctors in your area, and then it will just depend on each doctor and what contracts they have. PP isn't going to have any idea about the insurance aspect.

[danisty]

Jul 28, 2009 22:33:53 GMT -5 preraph said:

Have no idea, but the thing with Planned Parenthood is they tend to support whatever choice a woman makes, so they may know the cooperative doctors in your area, and then it will just depend on each doctor and what contracts they have. PP isn't going to have any idea about the insurance aspect.

Hmm...well I supposed I could contact PP to find out which local doctors are cooperative and then ask my PMC to refer me to that specific doctor. It could work and is worth a try at least. Of course (and I don't know if this is just an Army thing or not), in order to get this done, I'll probably still have to have my husband sign off on it for it to be covered. That isn't a big deal since he doesn't want kids either, but it sure is annoying.

[preraph]

I don't even know if they ever cover sterilization, but I wouldn't think he would have to sign off on it, unless it is an Army thing.

[danisty]

I don't know if they cover it if you don't have kids. Several military wives I know have definitely confirmed I have to have my husband sign for it though.

[nokidsplease87]

Tricare covers it. I was on Tricare when I got my tubal done last year. I only had to pay about $800 all together. I was 20 when I got mine done and the doctor had my mom sign something stating I was of sound mind before he would consent to it (which i actually wasn't too offended by; He just wanted to be sure that I wasn't making a snap decision and wanted someone who actually knows me to verify that I had seriously thought about it. Wish they would do that with people who are having kids!). As for the surgery itself, for mine they made an incision through my belly button, so I have no visible scars from it. I was a little bit achy the next few days but nothing so severe that I couldn't go back to work or anything. The doctor told me to take the next day or two easy but beyond that I was perfectly fine.

[preraph]

OMG, to me having a 20-year-old have to have a parent's consent on this is just heinous. I understand the doctors' hesitation, but is making a mistake and opting to have sterilization so you definitely won't get pregnant WORSE than making a mistake and getting pregnant and then finding out you wish you hadn't? That, to me, is the crux of it. To me, it's better to err on the side of NOT having an unwanted child, because there are many more of those born every day and having to suffer the consequences for it than there are people who regret they got sterilized. It should not be up the doctor or anyone except the woman or man doing it. Now, I do agree that perhaps 20-year-olds are not all mature enough to make this decision -- but then if they're not, are they mature enough to handle an accidental baby? But no one seems to care about that.

[danisty]

I think it's horrible that any adult would have to get consent from someone else regardless of their age. Still, getting my husband to sign will be easy. I'm more worried about how many hoops they'll make us jump through. I've heard stories of people in the military fighting for years for sterilization. I've heard of having to go through counseling for it, as if not wanting kids was a psychological problem that needs fixing.

[preraph]

Sadly, there is still a large contingent of people who think they have the right to choose what is best for other people but that each woman doesn't have the right to choose what is right for themselves. It's a battle us old-timers thought was fought and won in the sixties and seventies, but the opposition is strong enough that things have backslid since then. Stand up to your doctors. Tell them if they won't allow you to make your own choices, you need them to recommend someone who will right now.

[hockeygrl6]

I have also been thinking of getting my tubes tied but haven't tried looking for a doctor who will perform it yet. I completely agree with everything you've said here, preraph. I can't believe the difficulty a woman has to find a doctor who's willing to sterilize her (and most likely who has thought long and hard about this decision), but yet nobody questions ANYBODY who pops out children one after another. It seems to me that women think harder about why they shouldn't have children than why they should. It's the women who should that need their decisions more scrutinized.