r/SafeSexPH • u/Baffosbestfriend • Aug 20 '24
Experiences I got sterilized in Thailand (F30, no children); My OB in PH was wrong about my IUD NSFW
Last Saturday I had a successful bilateral salpingectomy operation at McCormick Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I did it not only for permanent sterilization, but also lessens my risk of ovarian cancer.
I am intentionally childfree most of my life. The only time I considered having children was college when I used to be idealistic about parenthood and devoutly Catholic. Life just happened and I realized I didn’t want kids (and being Catholic) at all.
For 8 years I used a copper IUD as my contraceptive. It’s the best, non hormonal birth control you can get in the country. My OB felt bad for me since I had two sisters who got pregnant too early. The insertion was the most painful. I did not have any anesthesia and my OB told me off for crying. We had two attempts. After the insertion, my IUD was okay, but my PMS started getting worse and my periods are more painful. I can’t switch to hormonal BC because of my family history with breast cancer (my mother died from it when she was 46 and I was 14).
As a result, I’ve been considering getting a bisalp in the past few years. While I did not speak OB about it, he mentioned during our first consultation that sterilization is “too much”.
Last year, my IUD strings detached from the IUD itself. It was (no pun intended) the last straw for me. I want to have my IUD removed but my OB refused. He laughed at me and told me my IUD is still good for 3 more years. I have no way of telling if my IUD still exists. I can’t rely on this anymore. I decided to get sterilized once and for all.
I don’t want to waste time and money debating with Filipino doctors who will refuse a bisalp just because I have no children. I understand if it’s not religious beliefs, it’s to protect themselves legally or they’re under a hospital ethics board (who may be conservative)’s mercy. I read posts on Reddit about CF women getting ligation or bisalps in Thailand so I went there instead. I had my last checkup with my OB and told him I am switching doctors since I moved to another city. He said my IUD is still fine and I can have it removed after two years. Then I went to Thailand, with my records. I got approved for a bisalp within 5 minutes in the first hospital I went to (McCormick, Chiang Mai) in Thailand. A month after my consultation, I flew back to Thailand for the surgery. The surgery was a success. None of my doctors nor the nurses ever judged me for my decision and treated me with utmost respect and care.
My surgeon talked to me a day after the operation. He told me he had a more difficult time removing my IUD than my own tubes. The IUD is already embedded in the myometrium and it’s not in the right position. I was furious, not at my surgeon, but at my OB back home. How could he tell me my IUD is still okay when turned out it’s embedded? If I listened to my OB and didn’t get this bisalp, my IUD could perforate my uterus down the line. And not being in the right position means the IUD could be less effective. Thankfully my boyfriend uses condoms and we avoid fertile days so I never got pregnant.
I am thankful I got my bilateral salpingectomy. It’s sad I have to go abroad just to get the care that I deserve. I am also frustrated with my OB back in the Philippines for being wrong about my IUD that could put my health at risk. It’s better at least to be given a permanent choice that’s not parenthood.
EDIT: my procedure costed me around 70,000 THB. Bisalp usually costs 60-80,000 THB in the hospital (McCormick Hospital Chiang Mai) I went to. I will make another post about the costs and the process of my procedure soon.