29 September 2000
Well, here we are...we have decided to pursue having another baby. Sounds simple enough, maybe even fun, but there's a twist. I had my tubes tied after Jacob was born 2 years ago. We regretted making that decision the morning after the surgery. We thought we were making the right decision for everyone involved, thought it was the best thing to do. The doctor had told me during the c-section that there was too much scar tissue to tie my tubes. So, I woke up thinking she hadn't been able to tie them, only for her to tell me the following morning that she had been successful. It was funny, I felt remorse instantly, but having a brand new baby was what my mind was focused on at that moment and I managed to push the thought out of my head. Ever since then, off and on, I have wished I could turn back the hands of time and decide not to have the operation.
Like I said, for a long time it was on my mind. I didn't know whether or not a tubal ligation was reversible, or what the details would be. Finally one day I decided the heck with it, I am just going to look it up on the Internet and see what the options are. No harm done, right? I looked...and I found...hey, it IS possible! I searched and searched, gathered all my information, sent for brochures, e-mailed doctors around the country. Then it got confusing. I started by e-mailing some of the doctors that I had found, and this led to sending them copies of my operative records. I have talked to one doctor from the Internet so far - Dr. Lundblad from Colorado called me this morning after reviewing my records. According to him, I am a prime candidate for a tubal reversal. His only concern is the scar tissue I mentioned before, but he also said that my records state that Dr. Jones cut a great deal of it out during the c-section/tubal ligation.
I think what started me really taking this whole thing seriously was my period, or lack thereof. I was 3 weeks late this month, and I was convinced I had a tubal pregnancy. Scared nearly to death, I went to see Dr. Arnold last Friday. She checked me out really well, no tubal pregnancy, no pregnancy at all. Which, given the choice of being pregnant now or after the tubal reversal, I was relieved. I was so paranoid that if I did have a tubal pregnancy I would end up losing one of my tubes. Dr. Arnold said, "So, you're ready to have your tubes done, huh?" like it was no big deal. I told her I had been thinking about it for a long time, but didn't know how to go about getting serious about it. She said no problem, she would set us up with Dr. Constantine, who does them all the time and is in Mesquite. I was so excited!
All of the doctors we have found on the Internet are all over the country. Dr. Constantine is in Mesquite - how wonderful it would be to be able to have this done close to home! I called and made an appointment for next Friday, the 6th of October, to discuss my chances of success with him, as well as the cost. The one doctor I am really leaning towards using right now is Dr. Levin from Louisville, Kentucky. His price is $6,500.00 and that even includes the hotel stay afterwards. Plus, his office offers several different financing options, which would mean we may be able to get it done sooner than 2 years. I was very impressed by the brochure he sent, as well as his success rates. Then I got the call from Dr. Lundbald this morning, and when I asked him if he did the microsurgery similar to what Dr. Levin does, he told me that microsurgery has a 20% lower success rate than the kind he does. So, of course, now I am WAY too confused! I am planning on taking all of the brochures with me when I see Dr. Constantine next Friday and hope he can help me out. |
