[sandyc]

Hi all!

I've noticed in other threads that several people are experiencing migraines. I hope this is not TMI (too much information) but I thought I'd share this.

I have had migraines since I was 28. They coincided with really "bad" periods. Heavy and long. On 10 days off 10 days. I am now 44 so this lasted a long time. About 2 years ago my gynocologist suggested I have what's called "ablation" (sp?) done. It's where you go in for an outpatient surgery and have the uterine wall "burned". There are several ways of doing it. My doctor uses a balloon that they fill with very, very, very hot water and it burns the wall. Now, you only want to do this if you are very sure you never want to get pregnant ever, ever again. This was not an issue for me (my boys are 17, 19 & 20 and I'm at the point where I'm looking forward to their marriages and grandchildren!). Well, ever since I had this surgery done I haven't had a single period and my migraines have mostly disappeared.

I still get them when I'm stressed. I got one 5 weeks ago when my youngest broke his femer and had to have surgery and it ruined his chances of ever progressing in hockey. I also got one yesterday. I had moved my oldest to college on Friday and then was moving the second yesterday in the Florida heat and I hate when they leave home - yes, I actually like my kids and want them to stay home. This time of year kills me.

Just thought I'd share this in case any of you are experiencing the same thing and are in a position to look into it. As an aside, my sister (49 years old) did the same surgery (only hers was with a different method so I don't know if it makes a difference) and still gets periods (normal now though) and gets "little migraines" instead of huge life stopping migraines.

Sandy

[rebeleagle1965]

Hi Sandy-
I've actually looked into this before, but never known anyone who has gone through with it to ask about their experiences.
I hope you don't mind my asking a few questions
Did your insurance cover any of it, and what did it cost?
Did they knock you out or just give you a local? What was the recovery time-were you in alot of pain afterwards?
How long do you have to wait to do things like bathe, have sex, etc?

Have you noticed any negative effects, like hormonal stuff?


I was interested in this because I have pcos-and it seriously screws up my periods and hormones. I got my tubes tied at the same time as my last c-section, and the general consensus is that there was possibly damage to one of my ovaries, which is supposedly what's causing all the crazy symptoms. I don't look for the ablation to fix the ovarian damage or existing cysts, but new cysts are formed by the process of my cycle. SO it makes sense to me that if I stop the cycle, then I can atleast lessen the problem. Especially since the worst part of it all is a whacked out, heavy, wildly erratic cycle.
I NEVER had even the slightest inkling of pms before I had my tubes tied, and now I get nearly homicidal Okay, maybe not THAT bad, but y'all get the picture. All my life my period used to come and go barely noticed. Light, predictable bleeding and no weight gain or irritable feelings. I had no idea how lucky I was! Because now, it's a nightmare.

On that note- anyone considering getting their tubes tied should research it through and through. It's not the easy fix it's cracked up to be. THe American Medical Association recognizes a syndrome called "Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome", and it's associated with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Both can be debilitating and drive ya crazy. They have tried to pass legislation for years requiring a warning of these risks to all prospective patients, but so far that hasn't happened. My doctor made it sound like heaven, and the only thing he warned me about was that there would be the possibility that the surgery wouldn't take-1 in 300 women get pregnant again after a tubal ligation.

I got my tubes tied because I didn't want the worry of taking birth control every day..I have 3 kids and that's enough, lol. The funny thing is, the doctor still wants me to take birth control indefinitely to help regulate hormones. So I didn't even get out of that one, and now I have insulin resistance, problems with hair growth, and this condition puts me at a much higher risk for diabetes and heart disease. Other symptoms are fatigue, headaches, weight gain, acne, and difficulty with memory. They tell me that eventually to fix this problem I will likely need a full hysterectomy-having your tubes tied increases your chances of having one by 50 percent.

[kimberpc]

I've read that having tubal ligation reduces your chances of developing ovarian cancer... so that's a good reason to get a tubal. lol

On the thing with it increasing the need for hysterectomy.... this is the only thing that I could find on that....

Copied and pasted: "Two studies have shown a higher rate of hysterectomy in the years following tubal ligation. One study found it was confined to younger women (under age 30) and another study found it in all ages both at risk ratios of 3-4 times. On the other hand it is hazardous to conclude that this is due to cause and effect. This is because women who chose tubal ligation as a sterilization procedure may be inheritantly different than women who do not have any sterilization procedure and women whose husbands have vasectomy. From a physician's experience point of view, women who are afraid of surgery are much less likely to undergo any surgery and are more likely to "put up" with menstrual difficulties or seek non surgical therapies for them. Fear of surgery affects a significant number of women. There is also a significant population of women who are without partners and thus do not need a sterilization procedure. Since pelvic pain is a common reson for hysterectomy it is probable that women having sexual relations are much more likley to have their pain aggravated and thereby seek hysterectomy as treatment. These are just a few of the examples that can explain hysterectomy differences."

2 studies aren't enough to make me think again..... I'd have my tubes tied over and over again.... 3 kids is plenty for me. Not to mention docs don't do hysterectomies like they used to.... sooooo many more women got them back in the day.... my Mama gave birth to my brother at 18 and myself at 20 and then had a partial hysterectomy the day after I was born and then a full hysterectomy a year later.... they did those surgeries all the time back then. My Mama didn't have but 2 friends back then who hadn't had one done... now I don't have 1 single friend who had had a hysterectomy.... so times have changed alot and I just don't think they do it as much now as they did back then... they used to think it was the only way to fix female issues.

[kimberpc]

Yeah we were going to do the vasectomy too but we were on the waiting list for it when I got pregnant with Katelin.... so I had my tubal done while I was in the hospital with her... it was a nightmare... they had trouble finding both of my tubes because my uterus had already shrunk down to pre-pregnancy size within the time after she was born to the surgery (around 18-20 hours if memory serves correct)..... but they got tied and we have 3 kids still... so that means it's working well. lol I totally agree with 2nd and 3rd opinions before such a huge decision like a hysterectomy!!

[kimberpc]

I've told every female that I know about my tubal because no nurse or doc ever told me this... when you have a baby and get your tubes tied right then... it's like recovering from a c-section.. because they pull all your stuff around inside your tummy.... I could not hardly get up out of bed.... it literally took me 15 minutes to get up out of bed every time! I'd wait till the 6 week mark after childbirth to have it done if I could do it over.

[sandyc]

Well, I guess I'll weigh in (teehee!!) on this subject again.

Rebeleagle: answers to your questions

- insurance covered everything with no co-pay at all (Aetna HMO)
- I went under a general anesthetic and was in bed for about 3 days with pain
- sorry - can't remember how long until sex or batheing
- no negative side effects. In fact just the opposite. My periods are non-existant, my pms has settled down so that I don't want to kill everyone - just wound, now LOL!! And my monthly migraines have disappeared - now I just get them when I'm stressed. My sex life has picked up measurably - well, not during the summer when my college boys are here but now that they're gone I'll be much happier!! (TMI??) No really, before I had a period for 10 days and then 10 days later it would appear again. Well, I gotta tell you that after having a period for 10 days having sex is not that interesting and a little painful so that really is true, college kids or not.

Now for some comments. I had my tubes tied while giving birth to my third son. I had my first two within 15 months (on purpose) and then got pregnant with the third accidentally (found out thyroid wasn't working, begged doc to put me on birth control, she said I wouldn't ovulate while thyroid not working and come back in 6 weeks, came back in 6 weeks and, tada! preggers!!) and, thus, had 3 c-sections in 33 months. My womb was so damaged by this that the doctor could actually see through the wall to the baby before he cut it and decided, then and there, that I would die if I had another baby and cut and burned my tubes. That's when the horrible periods started so it makes me wonder if tieing tubes and bad periods go hand in hand.

I, too, then had to take birth control pills so that I would have more controlled periods (was having them every 20 days for 10 days - yuck!!). When I mentioned hysterectomy to my doctor 5 years ago (his name was Dr. Cherry! ROFL) he mentioned ablation. It was new so he said to watch it for a few years and see how it goes. When I moved to Florida I found a doctor here who does them with great results. The results are: 30% of women get no periods thereafter, 40% have more reasonable periods and 20% see no changes. I don't know what the heck happens to the other 10%!!

Hope that helped.

Sandy

[kimberpc]

Ok Sandy..... I did have horrible periods for about 5 years after my tubal.... then with the weight loss I got better periods.. I dunno if it lightened up because I lightened up or because it had been 5 years since my tubal....I've had a few friends that also have had tubals and they said their period was heavy for about 5-6 years then got better. So strange the human body!

[sandyc]

That's great that your periods have lightened up. Mine just never did and at one point for about 5 years I was at a good weight and still they were bad enough to have to be on the pill. What really sucked about that was that I had my tubes tied so that was the near-perfect birth control but had to be on the pill (expensive) just for the darn periods. I also wonder if these period problems are genetic because my sister had horrible periods and she never had a tubal. hmmm.