Take my uterus, please!

[darkrosetiger]

I'm still sitting here trying to pick my jaw up off the floor after reading this article in the New York Times, by a doctor who was asked to perform a tubal ligation on a patient:
Earlier this year, a patient of mine in her early 20s who was expecting her third child asked to have her tubes tied. A mother of two, with a full-time job and part-time

Comments

[cedarlibrarian]

I think a lot of it has to do with the doctor. My doctor didn't bat an eye when I told him at 28 that I wanted a tubal. (I've wanted one since I was 18 but never had the health insurance resources to have it done.) Our conversation went:

Me: I want a tubal.
Him: You know they're permanent, right?
Me: So are kids.
Him: Just checking. See my nurse on the way out and we'll get you set up.

His rationale: After putting myself through grad school, choosing a career, choosing to get married, and keeping up with my bills each month, I was certainly mature enough to decide whether or not kids were for me.

Re, your appointment, would an endometrial ablation work for you? I'm no doctor, certainly, but a hysterectomy is major surgery and, well, who wants that, ever?

I think with all doctors, you have to expect the worst and hope for the best. Can you shop around for an ob-gyn you like if you don't like this one? I drive almost an hour each way to see mine, but he's so worth it.

*hugs* The pursuit of a tubal can be a bitch (I know finding a doctor who would give me one with no argument was about equal to my chances of getting hit by lightning), and I'm here to listen and offer advice if I can.

[darkrosetiger]

Re, your appointment, would an endometrial ablation work for you? I'm no doctor, certainly, but a hysterectomy is major surgery and, well, who wants that, ever?

I'm not sure--it might. Certainly a hysterectomy isn't my first choice; my mom had one when she was in her early 40's, and there were a lot of unforseen issues that came up later. I just want to do something before I rip the fucker out with my fingernails.

I think with all doctors, you have to expect the worst and hope for the best. Can you shop around for an ob-gyn you like if you don't like this one?

Sadly, no--that's one of the downsides of Kaiser.

[telesilla]

The upside of Kaiser is that while the asked my ex-husband if he understood the consequences of the surgery when he got snipped, they asked him roughly the same questions when he and the ENT lady decided that he needed surgery to correct a deviated septum.

I imagine that you'll get counseled on the various options and they'll steer you to the ablation on the idea that it's a lot less dangerous than a full hysterectomy. It's also a lot cheaper and Kaiser tends to like to go with those options first.

[cedarlibrarian]

Ugh, I have heard almost nothing but frustration with Kaiser. Sorry to hear that. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[msilverstar]

Kaiser is a huge institution with institutional problems. But it's also really into preventive health care (costs less) and a lot of great health care professionals work there because they don't have to fight with insurance companies.

I've been on Kaiser off and on since I was a kid and I'd MUCH rather be in its system than deal with for-profit insurance companies.

[txvoodoo]

I'm glad I had my hysterectomy last year, because bleeding for 3 months, and, as it turns out, having 9 lbs of fibroid? NOT FUN.

That said, I've had a lot of issues since then.

The ablation would probably work, but it's not 100% for birth control. They did that first on me, and took out the tumors initially, but didn't get them ALL and one kept growing (and growing and growing) back.

Tubal ligation would probably be your best bet, for birth control.

For the rest? I feel for you, I do. REALLY.

[nmalfoy]

I've been lucky, I guess, because I've had no issues since my hysterectomy (March 2004). I wear a patch on my butt that I change weekly and that's it.

[msilverstar]

Probably birth control is not darkrosetiger's major worry...

[msilverstar]

Yeah, you can. It may take time, but you can change OB-GYNs if you don't like the one you have. I use a Nurse Practitioner and have seen the same one since the mid-80s, but I shopped around first.