Tubal ligation has been used by millions of women in the US alone, and millions more worldwide, as a method to stop conception. A possible result of this surgical method to control conception is the so-called Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome that causes quite horrible experiences in women who suffer from it. Just do an internet search to get to many of these stories.
For those women who suffer from Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome, also called PTLS, there is a long list of possible symptoms that they may have. When researching this topic, one can find a popular list (seen on various websites) of 35 possible symptoms. Within personal histories, most women seem to suffer from terrible mood swings, longer and/or heavy bleeding during periods, weight gain or inability to lose weight, terrible PMS, trouble sleeping, low sex drive or null, migraines and very severe pain, even paralyzing abdominal pain. Cramps are too weak a word for what some of these women are reporting.
Perhaps what is even worse for these women are the responses of their doctors and surgeons when these symptoms come to light. They range from a “it’s okay and you’ll just have to learn to live with it” attitude to directly telling these women that it’s all in their heads and they need professional advice. A doctor has been quoted as saying that PTLS is a “medical myth” on Medicinenet.
Many women are told that they must take birth control pills or even have other surgery to “fix” whatever is wrong, including a hysterectomy. If you need to take birth control pills, what good was having your tubes tied in the first place? However, you will find in the medical literature that many doctors believe that problems encountered after surgery are actually caused by women coming off birth control pills and other age-related factors.
This is why our quoted mythological doctor suggests that women who are going to undergo tubal ligation surgery should stop birth control pills several months before the procedure. I guess the supposed age related factors are something you have to live with. However, I’m not sure that these suggestions are very helpful for women who were pregnant and had their tubes tied while having their child. Obviously, birth control pills were not used before the surgery. “Age-related factors” also doesn’t seem to have any application for those women who are still in their 20s and experience these problems.
Another way to help with these effects and syndromes would be better notification of potential complications prior to surgery. Even the government’s FDA website only lists the following as possible “rare” complications of surgery: infection, ectopic pregnancy, bleeding, and problems related to the use of general anesthesia. There is no mention of the effects that so many women suffer from PTLS. Perhaps a more informative consent form would prevent some women from having the surgery. At least they would be better informed with a consent form that included PTLS, which is what the “Coalition for Postubaric Women” is trying to achieve.
However, for women who have already had tubal surgery, other steps must be taken. These may include, as mentioned above, taking birth control pills, having a hysterectomy, or undergoing tubal ligation reversal surgery. By getting a tubal reversal, PTL symptoms seem to be reduced in about 90% of patients. Those are the results of a study cited by Dr. Berger of the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center.
Further review of the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal site reveals a forum where many threads addressing PTLS issues can be found. It seems that women are asking if tubal reversal is the best way to treat symptoms. In every case I read, other women respond in the affirmative, describing how much their lives have improved in every way, including the possibility of having another child. Even those who haven’t gotten pregnant rejoice just in the relief they get from post-tubal ligation syndrome, myth or not.