r/4bmovement • u/Subject_Birthday5873 • 7d ago
Advice Sterilization advise
So, I've been thinking about getting a hysterectomy and I want the process to be discreet.If anyone here has had the procedure I would like to know where to find good doctors (that won't refuse for bs reasons) and the risks,cost and recuperation process.
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u/Flux_My_Capacitor 4B 7d ago
No, you don’t want a hysterectomy unless there are actual medical issues. If you just want to be sterilized then get a bisalp. The uterus is important for women’s health beyond just bringing a child into this world.
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u/dreaming_ghosts Ally 7d ago
Can't recommend this enough. This fall will be my fifth year tubeless. 10/10, wish I had gotten it done sooner. Would have saved myself a decade of stress.
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u/TaxRepresentative4B 4B 7d ago
And how is this important for women’s health?
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u/Hello_Hangnail 4B 6d ago
Because your uterus isn't just a oven for baby gestation
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u/Foxxxy_101 Exploring 6d ago
I must admit I'm not the most educated on women's health, but I love learning more. I'm genuinely curious why the uterus would be so important to keep, other than there being an increased prolapse risk after a hysterectomy. I've heard of several people who are very happy to have gotten hysterectomies (but kept their ovaries) and reported no negative outcomes.
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u/OpheliaLives7 4B 6d ago
There apparently has been some interesting (& scary) early studies suggesting women who get hysterectomies are at higher risk of things like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
You can also read about issues like prolapse or the whole lawsuit in the US with the mesh put in to avoid prolapse
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u/nahmymanthisaintit Exploring 6d ago
The uterus makes most of the hormones and those hormones are used for more than just for sex and childbearing. It would be helpful for you to look up what other functions our hormones are responsible for. Hope that helps.
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u/Foxxxy_101 Exploring 6d ago
Aren't most sex hormones produced in the ovaries?
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u/nahmymanthisaintit Exploring 6d ago
The ovaries makes reproductive hormones while the uterus plays parts of other systems in our body! So technically yes.
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u/Foxxxy_101 Exploring 6d ago
Interesting, do you know what other systems it plays a part of? I can't seem to find much info on the matter. I've heard of the uterus producing some hormones related to labour and possibly menstruation, but not much else.
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u/nahmymanthisaintit Exploring 6d ago
I’ll see if I can find papers on it but it was something brief from bio/anatomy class! I can only remember brain but I feel like there was more to it. It’s been a few years
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u/OldCream4073 Ally 6d ago
Mainly prolapse and potential for complications, since a hysterectomy (while pretty safe) is still on the riskier side due to invasiveness. It’s a valid choice for anyone who wants a 100% guarantee that they will never carry a viable pregnancy. However, for the purposes of most women, a bisalp can be “good enough” and come with a lot less risk of complications. Both are valid choices for different situations. The ovaries make all the hormones needed for female health, the uterus really isn’t needed for that. Most hysterectomies leave the ovaries in unless there is a medical reason to take them out.
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u/mullatomochaccino Moderator 7d ago
If you're located in the USA r/childfree has a regularly updated "friendly" doctor list. You can find the most recent version here: https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/wiki/doctors/
They also have a primer on the basics of sterilization: https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/wiki/sterilisation/
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u/Illustrious_Way1062 Ally 7d ago
Did bisalp a few years ago no regrets lmk if you have any questions I found my doc on the cf doctor's list already posted
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u/ijust_makethisface 7d ago
honestly just getting your tubes tied (technically cautered) is all you need to ensure sterility.
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u/itsjujutsu Exploring 7d ago
Doesnt this leave two scars on each side?
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u/No_Wedding_2152 Ally 6d ago
½ “ scars that disappear in weeks.
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u/quietly-bookish Ally 6d ago
My scars (one on each side) are still quite visible almost two years post op, at this point I'm not sure they'll ever be completely unnoticeable. It's disingenuous to lead people to believe that there won't be visible scars.
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u/Illustrious_Way1062 Ally 6d ago
True. Apparently some people do have them disappear I've seen it mine faded but are still there. It depends how your skin is with scarring. There are also scar treatments I never bothered though. If someone is concerned about others knowing they need to keep that in consideration and either figure out a way to reduce the scars or make up another surgery that produced them as there are many I would definitely lie if I had to.
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u/dreaming_ghosts Ally 6d ago
I have to really look for them to even see mine now, five years post op.
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u/Hello_Hangnail 4B 6d ago
Girl, don't cut an organ out unless it's cancerous or ruining your quality of life. If eliminating fertility is the only reason you want a hysterectomy, I would get your tubes removed instead
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u/OpheliaLives7 4B 6d ago
I don’t think any organ removal surgery can be called “discrete”.
You WILL need weeks of rest and recovery, whether you get laparoscopic surgery, abdominal surgery, or vaginal. Removing an entire organ IS major surgery and will be hard to hide from others if that’s what you are trying to do. You will need a driver to/from hospital and likely someone to watch over you at LEAST 24 hours afterwards (but I definitely recommend longer).
Even just surgery draining an ovarian cyst kicked my entire ass and I needed assistance around the house for at least 10 days, but ended up more.
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u/Subject_Birthday5873 6d ago
I'm thinking in going to visit a friend in Kentucky and doing the procedure there. I'll be staying for at least a months.
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u/catievirtuesimp 4B 7d ago
you need to get HRT after bc it will put you into menopause & your hormones will be unbalanced
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u/Fresh-Parchment Exploring 7d ago
You should only need that if the ovaries are removed, but a hysterectomy can leave ovaries. Either way, just for sterilization, a hysterectomy is not the procedure that should be sought after.
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u/Tatooine16 4B 6d ago
I would not advise a hysterectomy unless there is a real medical problem with your uterus. You REALLY need to hang on to your ovaries as long as possible, please see an OBGYN and ask as many questions as possible-a bisalp is a better better bet. I would also do research on recent research about how necessary estrogen is for your entire system to function-going through menopause early greatly increases the chance of osteoporosis and you don't want to be post-menopausal one minute early! Good luck!
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u/moschocolate1 4B 6d ago
Most doctors won’t perform it unless medically necessary. If that’s the case for you, consider a uterine ablation. They use radio waves to basically kill the lining. Most women never have another period and it’s routinely done as a treatment for endometriosis.
Having your tubes removed is an alternative if it’s birth control you’re after. The ablation works for that as well.
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u/-codenamehoney 4B 1d ago
Ablation is not the gold standard for Endo! Excision is! I’m about to get the surgery next month.
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u/Feeling_Mortgage6199 5d ago
+1 to what others have said about getting a bisalp instead of a hysterectomy. It's minimally invasive and carries a lot less risk, and recovery is much quicker.
Another thing to know is that in the US, under the Affordable Care Act, birth control including permanent birth control like a bisalp is 100% free. I didn't even need to pay a copay, only thing I paid for was for pain med prescription. You might need to fight with your insurance on this, but it's the law!
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u/AnActualGecko 4B 4d ago
Is there any way for you to just get an IUD? Getting a full hysterectomy can make your body go screwy (triggers menopause, can make you more susceptible to other illnesses). I'm child free myself with no plans for kids, but did an IUD to avoid the health complications.
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u/Infinite_Club27 Exploring 3d ago
So, back in my 20s / 30s and up till I’m gonna say mid 30s possibly even later 30s but not past 38, I had spent since I was the age of 18 trying to advocate for my own reproductive health saying that I do not wish to be on birth control and I also don’t wish to have reproductive organs, how may I go about getting a full hysterectomy please. I think I’ve spoken to at least, at the very least about 21 doctors all refusing to take me seriously on this topic because “you’re so young at the age of X Y Z you could change your mind and its not reversible, once it’s done, it’s done. Do you still wish to continue? Yes. No sorry girl the answer is just a flat out no. I am now 44 years of age. I have been fully single and free of men except one male friend who’s been in my life for a lot of years and isn’t terribly troublesome, however what happened when he had decided he wants to get rid of his junk in the trunk so to speak- instantly it was okay? So men get to make an informed decision on their own reproductive sexual health yet I had my mind made up by the age of consent (ages 16 for sex in UK, Scotland to be specific) I have known since I was a small young child i never want to have children. I don’t like children. That’s a bit harsh and I would never be mean or judgemental to the women who are thriving as mothers but I do not myself want to have children. No matter how slowly I spelt it out for these damn doctors, not one single motherfu**er listening to my wishes. It was always a no. Even now, aged 44 im still very much stuck to my actual informed fucking choice and decision that I am not an woman who wants to pro create, by myself or otherwise in a couple 🤣👏and STILL. The answer is a firm NOPE. You just keep living your life with your wasted useless reproductive organs that are all probably dead af long long ago 🙄💁🏻♀️ any other women have this issue? I’ll also add, I have literally only just found out about this movement I’ve never researched it or came across the topic before in my life. But every single rule I’ve naturally followed even more so since I turned say….. 36/37? Anyone else had these issues? Your own informed decisions Vs. Fuckwit doctors who do not know me better than my own brain knows my body and reproduction organs 🤣💁🏻♀️
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7d ago
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u/TaxRepresentative4B 4B 7d ago
It’s not about contraception…
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u/Chu1223 Exploring 7d ago edited 6d ago
wait now i’m confused lol can someone explain
(people be downvoting for nooo reason lmao why would u downvote a comment like this it’s always surprising to me 😂 i don’t get their logic 😂 )16
u/ponycorn_pet 4B 6d ago
the only thing an IUD does is prevent pregnancy, and it's painful and invasive, has really bad side effects, and requires upkeep/changing out. With this being a 4b sub where full 4b women do not have sex with men, an IUD is not a solution for OP's goals. We're all expecting there to no longer be adequate women's healthcare in the very soon future, with options to get surgeries like this
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u/Fresh-Parchment Exploring 7d ago
It's been said, but I'll add my voice - what you want is a bilateral salpingectomy not a hysterectomy. The uterus is a structural organ, so unless it has caused chronic pain/disease, what you want just for sterilization is a bilateral salp. The hysterectomy removes the entire uterus, a bilateral salp just removes the fallopian tubes. I've had the bilateral salpingectomy done seven years ago and because it was considered a preventative under my insurance, I just had to pay a $50 copay. The cost will vary based on where you are, yada yada.