Okay, for starters, I canceled my surgery. I found out there is a much less invasive way to achieve sterilization. It’s called Essure. It’s an in-office procedure. The doctor numbs up the cervix, puts a scope in the uterus, and pushes tiny metal springs into the Fallopian tubes–one per tube. Over a period of a few months, scar tissue grows through the springs and blocks the tubes. In clinical trials, Essure had a 0% failure rate. No other birth control (except abstinence) can claim that.
I didn’t know about Essure when I made the appointment for surgery, but I’m glad I found out before I went under the knife. I hate having surgery; I hate waking up and not having a clue where I am; I hate taking an hour to eat 4 crackers before I can leave; I hate shuffling through Rite Aid in pain because the doctors didn’t prescribe me enough pain pills. There will still be a recovery time with Essure, but it shouldn’t be any longer than 4 days at most. On the 23rd (next Thursday), I will go talk to a doctor in Lebanon about this procedure.
Three months after I have the springs implanted, I will have to go for a second procedure called a hydrosalpingogram. Hydro=water (or in this case, dye), salpingo=Fallopian tubes, gram=picture. They push dye through my tubes and see how far it goes. Hopefully it stops at the point where they connect to the uterus. If it doesn’t, I have to go back three months later for a second hydrosalpingogram. Until the dye test comes back negative, I can still get pregnant. But you know what? I’ve been waiting for 13 years, 3-6 more months of using alternative methods won’t hurt me.
The doctor who was going to do my surgery was trying to talk me out of Essure. She said that it’s two procedures (which I don’t see as being a problem), and that since I haven’t had kids, the hydrosalpingogram might be a little uncomfortable. I’d rather be a little uncomfortable (or a lot uncomfortable) than have filche clips come off and have to experience an ectopic pregnancy. Essure has been around for 9 years, and after the initial scar-forming phase, it works. Period. Tubal ligation decreases in efficacy after one year. No thank you.
The physical therapy I was trying wasn’t doing anything. The therapist just had me doing some pelvic strengthening exercises, which I don’t need. She was treating it as an incontinence case (which it’s not). This Friday I will be seeing a different physical therapist in Burlington who will hopefully be doing pelvic floor massage. That’s what I’ve heard is most effective against sex pain.
I’ve also been taking chaste tree berry extract for the past month. I hadn’t had a period since May 2011, which is apparently very dangerous. I hadn’t realized the potential for disaster. If you are not menopausal and should be having a period (as in, you aren’t on continuous birth control or have an IUD), not having a period can be worse than dealing with cramps once a month. According to MedlinePlus, “Complications depend on the cause of the condition. Amenorrhea may be harmless, or it may be associated with overgrowth of the uterine lining (endometrial hyperplasia). This can sometimes lead to uterine cancer. There may be other complications, depending on the cause of the amenorrhea.” (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001219.htm)
My naturopath tested my hormone levels, and my progesterone was low. I have since had a period, and strangely, the cramps weren’t bad until the last day. So I think it’s safe to say that low progesterone was the cause of my amenorrhea. Hopefully getting my hormones back in balance will mean that I will lose weight as well.
Endo Sucks 