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[Paisley Hedgehog]

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[Miss Peregrine]

FWIU the work because the body detects there is something there that shouldn't be and forms scar tissue around it. That is how it blocks the tubes. Scar tissue doesn't sound like a good thing.

[Melissa in Australia]

I wouldn't do anything like it. I had my tubes clamped. I have had nothing but trouble. from heavy bleeding, to having a clamp rip through my tube and get embedded in my ovary ( very painful worse than labour) having to have an operation to remove clip and ovary. and then finally getting pregnant anyway. I now think the less medical messing around with tubes, and ovary's the better off you are.

[Greta]

Thanks for sharing your story Melissa. I have heard so many horror stories about tubal ligations that I don't want anyone messing with my tubes in any way shape or form! I've messed up my body enough with years of hormonal contraceptives. I figure it's my hubby's turn to take the risk.

 

Shari, have you looked at Essure's own website? You can download a PDF there that talks about the risks. The part that worries me the most is that they simply have no data beyond 5 years out. Other than that, it seems pretty much like what you'd expect. The risk for ectopic pregnancy in the first three months (while the scar tissue is forming) is high, so you have to be on another form of contraception for that time. Then you have a test at that 3 month mark to be sure that your tubes are completely blocked by scar tissue. After that they said there is a "theoretical" risk of ectopic pregnancy. There's also risks of the tubes or the uterus being perforated, and the risk of a rare syndrome I've never heard of IF you have an endometrial ablation after the procedure. My list isn't comprehensive so I certainly encourage you to keep investigating.

[Julie in CA]

I am thinking about Essure for birth cntrl. These are inserts that block off the fallopian tubes, rendering you unable to get p.g. Is anyone familiar with this procedure? How bad is it as far as the procedure itself, recovery, and post-op? The procedure is fairly new -- within the last 5 years -- so anyone know of any problems or issues with this?

 

TIA

Hi Shari,

It looks like perhaps I'm the only one who's had this done?

I had it done several years ago, and I'm *so* glad I did.

The hardest part of the procedure was getting an i.v. line in to administer the anesthetic, the rest of it was easy. I chose to have the procedure done in a hospital setting, so that I could be sure the anesthesiologist was well-qualified. I slept through the whole thing, though theoretically I wasn't "totally knocked out". There were no problems or complications at any point. The day it was done, I felt fine and dh and I stopped off at the grocery on the way home from the hospital. I really, truly felt just fine. I think that it was the 3rd day afterwards that I felt a little backache, but that went away very quickly too.

 

You may want to read up on the test that's done as follow-up after the procedure. I opted not to do that test because when I queried friends here and irl, they rated the level of pain with that test (which they'd had done for other purposes) as *very* painful (In spite of the fact that the doc will tell you otherwise). My dh and I were done having babies in a purposeful way, which is why I had the procedure done, but at the same time it wouldn't have been a Big Deal had an "oops" baby come along, so I felt comfortable wussing out on the test. It's been several years and I haven't become pregnant. This is after having 5 babies in 7 years, so I'm pretty sure the Essure is doing it's job.

 

As far as scarring not being a good thing, I don't agree with that. Many woman have scarring in their tubes from other things, and it's not, imo, a bad thing unless there's an underlying problematic issue. The scarring itself doesn't necessarily mean it's bad for the body. On the contrary, I'm pretty sure that a bit of natural scarring produced by my own body is preferable to the artificial hormone changes induced by birth control pills, chemical changes forced on my uterus by an IUD, or most of the other methods of birth control. The level of scarring with Essure is acutally less than with a traditional tubal ligation, because there's no invasive surgery procedure.

 

As for the risks with the procedure itself, it is possible that when they're inserting the tiny devices into your tubes, they could perforate a tube. One of the things I considered with this was the statistical chance of this happening compared to the statistical chance of problems with a traditional tubal ligation. Essure still came out ahead, and my doctor had done hundreds and hundreds and never had a misplaced device or any tearing of the tube among any of his patients. I would for sure try to confirm that your doc has a lot of experience with placing the Essure. If he/she doesn't, I'd shop around until you find a doc who has.

 

Does this answer what you wanted to know?

If you have more questions, feel free to ask. I'm very happy I had it done. :001_smile:

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I read up on Essure, and was going to have them inserted. If I were going to block my tubes, I would do Essure. I like that it is done through my "natural opening", so there would be no incisions to worry about. No incisions through the abdominal wall means that healing would be easier. The scar tissue builds up inside the fallopian tubes, not in the abdominal cavity, or in the abdominal muscles, or around the abdominal organs. Less chance of adhesions this way.

 

I ended up getting an IUD. My doctor suggested that at my "advanced age", an IUD would last me well into menopause, and is much less invasive than any type of permanent alteration. I've had the IUD for almost 2 years, and it's been wonderful. I'm glad I didn't have surgery.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

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