My Sterilisation Story

Written by Cass Tuesday, 23 June 2009 08:42

“Tubal ligations are covered by Medicare, so there is no cost to you, and the operation can be done in two to three months' time.” With those words, the surgeon pulled a hospital admissions form out of his desk drawer and started filling it in. How did I come to be sitting opposite a surgeon who, without flinching, agreed to sterilise me?

After I made my decision to pursue a life without children, my thoughts inevitably wandered to contraception. After all, I'm young and healthy, and as far as I know, fertile. For me, sterilisation is the next logical step. I know and can say with all certainty that I do not want to be a mother, and I am determined to do everything in my power to prevent pregnancy. That might sound radical to some. Why not just keep using hormonal contraceptives? Or switch to barriers? Why not get an IUD in case you change your mind? Having used oestrogen-progestin mixes and progestin-only birth control since I was eighteen years old, I know their side effects well, and am happy to dispense with them at this stage in my life. While the use of barriers is most definitely useful (not to mention sensible), barriers aren't permanent enough for my liking. As for IUDs, let's just say I'm squeamish and leave it at that.

I spoke to my gynaecologist about sterilisation with more than a little apprehension. I was prepared for the worst – flat-out rejection on the basis that I'm too young (twenty-nine) and that no surgeon would want to sterilise a young woman without at least one child. This is where I encountered the first of two pleasant surprises on my road to sterilisation. My gynaecologist listened to me, suggested an IUD as a possible alternative (which I rejected), and wrote me a referral to a surgeon who does Essure sterilisations.

In the lag time between my gynaecologist and surgeon appointments, I did some more research on Essure, and was disappointed to read that the implants contain nickel. Like many, I am allergic to nickel. I was hoping to have Essure done, as I did not want invasive surgery with general anesthetic and incisions. The thought of having surgery isn't appealing, but my wish to never, ever have to worry about contraception again is stronger.

On the day of my appointment with the surgeon, I was nervous. I'd come this far, but the decision ultimately rested with him. When the surgeon called me into his office, he had read the referral letter, and started to explain how tubal ligation works, that it is fully covered by Medicare, that he's happy to perform the surgery, and that it can be done in two to three months. I probably looked absolutely agog when he said this, and I asked for the hospital admission form so I could fill in the patient's section. I told him I was very surprised at the ease with which things had progressed, that I expected to be stonewalled, if not by my gynaecologist, then by the surgeon, and that I'd fully expected to have to shop around for surgeons. The surgeon looked at me and said, “You're twenty-nine. You're not a little kid, and you've obviously thought about this a lot. Who am I to tell you 'no'?”

I'm currently wait-listed, and expect to have the surgery later in the year.

 

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