Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome - What Can Be Done
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Among the methods of stopping conception available to women is the method of having their tubes tied. Along with the normal surgical risks a woman undergoing this procedure has to be aware of, there is the addition of Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome. Looking around the Internet will provide you with story after story of the painful and embarrassing experiences of the women who suffer it.
Want to know what the symptoms of Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome, or ptls, are? Well, a search will bring up a list of about 35 possibilities. Some say these are problems you can have with any type of surgery and that may well be true of some of them. However, the ones most commonly found in the stories of the sufferers are very heavy bleeding and/or longer periods, stronger pms symptoms, migraines, weight gain or inability to lose weight, terrible cramping to the point of being bed ridden for some and little to no libido. Some women even complain of thinning hair and terrible mood swings that have caused relationship problems.
These symptoms are bad enough for the women and their families suffering through them. But this is not all they face. In trying to find out what is wrong with them, they endure many tests from doctors leading to various different diagnoses even for the same woman from the different specialist she may visit. When none of their “fixes” bring any relief, the women have to face being told either to learn to live with it or be prescribed antidepressants as the symptoms are all in their heads. We even have one doctor calling ptls a “medical myth” on MedicineNet so, of course, these women are not actually suffering from anything “real”.
One possible treatment these poor women will receive is to be put back onto birth control pills. Considering they went through the tubal ligation surgery instead of using birth control pills, they don’t seem to be coming out ahead. But there are some doctors, and given how many times this seems to be the treatment given most doctors, are of the opinion that what these women are suffering is due to going off birth control pills or to age. Sometimes the women are told they will just need to get a total hysterectomy. Has anyone wondered what that implies?
Our doctor quoted above, the “medical myth”, says women should be removed from birth control pills several months in advance of the actual tubal ligation surgery. This will given them a chance to see what their periods and pms are really like without the hormones of the birth control pills. If the problems stem from age, I suppose you are just going to have “to learn to live with it.” But this advice does not seem to be pertinent to the women who were pregnant and get the tubal done at delivery or shortly thereafter. Nor does the age cause seem to relate to women who are in their 20’s.
One thing that could be done is a preventive measure, namely more information within the surgical consent form and better counseling prior to the surgery. Many women complained they had no idea and were never told of the possible outcome of ptls after the surgery. The FDA website itself only gives infection, ectopic pregnancy, hemorrhage and problems related to using general anesthesia as possible “rare” complications. With the exception of the ectopic pregnancy, these are the normal “rare” complications for any surgery using general anesthesia. It probably wouldn’t stop most women but would give them reason to do some research into the subject and make an informed decision.
However, for women who have already undergone tubal surgery, there has to be other action taken. These can include, as mentioned above, going onto birth control pills, having a hysterectomy or having a tubal ligation reversal surgery performed. By getting a tubal reversal ptls symptoms seem to be reduced for about 90% of patients. That’s the results of a study Dr. Berger of the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center cites at http://press.tubal-reversal.net/2008/post-tubal-ligation-syndrome.html
The women on the message board at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center and in stories you will find there will tell you how they have felt better and had a return to their old lives by having a tubal reversal surgery. No more suffering from post tubal ligation syndrome at best for the vast majority of the ones who have suffered from it. Perhaps, given the particular circumstances of any woman of course, a tubal ligation reversal is the best answer for someone suffering from ptls. Talk to your doctor, or better yet, discuss this with Dr. Berger’s staff.
