I am heavily considering getting sterilized. If I do it, I would probably use the Essure method. I was wondering if any of you here have had that done?
I was always under the impression that if you under like 35 and have never had kids, you would never find a doctor that would perform it for you because they are so sure you'll change your mind. I'm 26, married, and haven't wanted kids since the beginning. My husband is pretty much the same.
Have any of you tried to have it done and been turned away for a similar reason?
I'd just say, you never know until you try. I was 31 and my doctor asked only one question... "No kids for you?" and I said, "No." And we scheduled it. That goes against conventional wisdom, since I didn't have kids already and was still of childbearing age. But the doc was cool and trusted me.
I've had Essure for nearly 4 years now. No problems at all. It's been great.
I had it done 3.5 years ago when I was 35. My doctor was fine about it, the only thing he said to me was, "I help a lot of people who can't have kids who want them. Not wanting them and not being able to have them are two different things." Then he let it go.
The procedure is VERY easy. I missed one day of work and was at the gym the very next day. The worst part was the anestesia which made me sick to my stomach.
Go to
http://www.essure.com and find the doctor(s) in your area who will perform it. Then start making appointments. See how far you get.
BTW, my insurance covered all but $20 for the initial doctor visit!
About 6 months or so after the procedure some jerk asked me if I had any regrets. I said, yes, and that was that I didn't have it done sooner!
Thanks for all the great info!
I'll look into it more!
I didn't have Essure because I wasn't a candidate for it, but I did have a tubal ligation (with clips) at 28.
I've been married since I was 22 and living with him since I was 20 and had "female problems" since then after a bad reaction to BCP's and a hormonal imbalance among other things. When I went in I was suffering so badly from endometriosis the Dr. said she would have tried to talk me out of getting pregnant to have the ablation because I needed it done.
My Dr. is primarily an Ob/Gyn who gets people pregnant and delivers babies but had no problem with my not having kids. When she asked I told her my many reasons but my primary reasons 1. Genetic carrier for a condition I do not want to pass on. 2. My previous and current (at the time) gynecological problems would make it difficult, if not impossible and I take that as a sign I'm not meant to pass on my genes and 3. There are far too many children in this world that don't have parents - if I wanted to parent I couldn't fathom the idea of choosing my genes over theirs. It's incredibly selfish of me to believe that MY baby would be better because it's mine and that very idea disgusts me.
She told me I'd clearly thought more about NOT having children than most people think about HAVING them and signed me up for my ablation + tubal.
So I can't comment on the Essure thing but I can tell you it IS possible to have it done. You might have to make several phone calls and do some online research but eventually you'll find a Dr. who will do the procedure. I called 2 Drs. The nurse for the first one said he's never do that, and the nurse for the second one said she wasn't sure, but if I was really sure I didn't want kids and had all those problems she didn't see why not.. it is up to the Dr. to decide unfortunately... but I lucked out and that Dr. did the procedure.
It takes some patience and some perseverance but it's so worth it!
Don't let age stop you. I'm single, and got my tubes tied at 28. Both doctors asked me specifically if I was sure, but considering that elective surgery has risks then I think that this is a fair question no matter what!