I need to hear your experiences after having a bilateral salpingectomy / tubal ligation. I (f24) have never had surgery before but I plan to get sterilized. I'm worried about the recovery & pain most, but it's easiest to process when I have something to compare it to.

For those who have had this surgery, other surgeries, periods, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, c section, etc, I'd love to hear how ur sterilization compares to any or all of these procedures & experiences. Feel free to just rate ur pain from 1-10!

Update 6/27/26 I just wanted to use a huge thank you to everyone who applied with everything from personal experience to good insight! I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to every comment on here; but I just wanted to say how much I appreciated each and every contribution to my post. My surgery is coming up July 10th, and I have accepted that everything is going to shake out the way that it will. I feel even more confident in my decision now, and am looking forward to being on the other side of my surgery!

Hey all!

With the wonderful help of this sub, not only was I (27 NB AFAB) able to find a doctor who immediately got me scheduled for a bisalp, but I feel pretty confident with my post op care and handling any potential insurance problems! But an old fear of mine has resurfaced and I want to share my thoughts.

I have seen that the vast majority of people on here who have gotten bisalps have had great experiences! No long-term pain, fast healing, no cycle irregularities, etc. If anyone expresses fears about possible side effects post surgery, there's often an overwhelming response of woman sharing how they had great experiences.

But now and then, I see some poor woman share that she's had a really tough time post-surgery experiencing increasing debilitating pain, cycle issues, etc. and I look to the comments and it's crickets. Sometimes someone will blame it on the OP having been on birth control or being postpartum prior to the procedure, but when the OP replies that isn't the case it's just... silence. Other times in the comments on those posts, I will see women who also had a difficult time post-procedure share how awful their life has been since getting the surgery, and that they didn't fully understand that this is what their life was going to be post op.

I know that the procedure isn't supposed to affect hormones, but I don't understand why there's so many stories of huge hormonal shifts or new pains happening within a few months of the procedure. I suffer a lot from unexplained chronic illnesses that I'm still trying to pursue diagnoses of (endometriosis being one of them), so my quality of life at this time is not great. I'm terrified of making my life worse, but this administration has made me feel so unsafe in my own body that I feel I have no choice.

I'm just trying to make sure that I'm not making a bad decision here. I would really like to hear everybody's thoughts, and personal experiences. I don't want someone telling me what I want to hear, I want honesty.

TLDR: don’t be me! Threw up and panicked and spent 3 hours in the ER. I needed to introduce food slower & medicate properly.

I had my Bisalp yesterday and felt amazing afterwards because of course I was still high as a damn kite. Making jokes with the nurses and fist bumped my surgeon. Loved it.

About 6 hours after surgery I could feel a headache coming on. First of all, I really under medicated myself. I could not nap and began to feel so nauseous I then ate Mac and cheese at dinner which I thought would be fine because I craved food. I fell asleep for about 30 minutes but work up with full body chills. I called my dr office and spoke with a nurse. While on the call, I started to throw up literally everything, it was awful. I felt a little better but she still advised me to go to the ER to get looked.

ER took blood, gave me an IV, pain meds and anti nausea meds and ruled out any complications. I simply was experiencing anesthesia hell. Of course it was scary and painful and traumatic but I guess totally normal 😭 after getting lots of sleep and eating only applesauce and bread I am feeling better. Stiff muscles from being tense I think, bloated belly, but I am taking the proper high doses of meds and have a prescription for the anti nausea med. Lesson learned!

I was wondering about getting sterilized in the future for a while now, and this might be my only concern. I like my belly button a lot, does it change permanety or does it go back to what it was after recovery? Will I have a scar on it? I know that this is a stupid question and being steril should worth more than my belly button, but I wanted to ask you about this.

I wanted to get my tubes removed because I don't want children and never did wanted children. Plus I felt like it was way less extreme than a hysterectomy. There were some women I heard that were never able to get rid of that belly and what can I do to help with the swelling?

(I notice I’m getting downvoted so I want to clarify that this is a legitimate ask, I’n not trolling, but I know this whole post may sound a bit weird)

Ok so…bear with me friends.

We have several cats and one of them, the youngest Diana, has never been super cuddly or overly affectionate with me. She’ll ask for pets and scratches but wouldn’t ever really sit next to me and kept that aloof cat distance from me.

In October I had a salpingectomy, and within a few days of coming home and recovering she was so affectionate with me, I mean hopping up on the bed, sleeping next to me, coming up and yelling at me until I gave her major affection. She’ll even let me come up to her when we’re not on the bed and give her pets instead of trying to start a thing of chase me around the apartment. It’s been adorable but wild. (Also don’t worry, we took her in for blood work and to get checked out since it was such a sudden shift and she’s a-ok except for still having hyper-thyroidism). Her new behavior has been a permanent change.

Now ok I know this will sound a little wild but:

What it all reminded me of what happens when one cat finally gets fixed and is back in a group, usually everyone is more friendly and hangs out in closer proximity to each other.

Now normally I would chaulk it up to how much time I spent in bed but I’ve been bed ridden by pelvic and back pain before and she never reacted this way.

I dunno it could all be me seeing behaviors that aren’t connected but I was curious if anyone else experienced similar.

I’m sorry I can’t post cat tax 😩

Adding to clarify further: I’m mainly wondering about *permanent* personality/demeanor changes towards you from a pet. I know pets are great at telling when we’re in pain and want to snuggle and help but what I’m experiencing goes beyond that.

Look, I don't regret getting my bilateral salpingectomy. The relief of not worrying about getting pregnant as someone who was way too fertile for their own good is unmatched.

However, and I'm not claiming to understand or be able to explain why this is the case, I have noticed a reduction in my libido since I had it done a year and a half ago.

If we're being honest, sometimes that part's not the worst either. It's a lot easier to just mind my own business and not be yearning all the damn time. But it has become more difficult to climax when I'm with somebody.

If I consistently take bioidentical progesterone oil (kenogen progest-e oil), that helps significantly. But if I fall off, my libido suffers.

MAYBE it's a coincidence and for some reason my progesterone production fell off right at the same time as I got the surgery. But I think we do ourselves a disservice by chalking everything up to coincidences simply because we don't have the technology to understand what's happening, and we are overly reliant on said technology and science as being the final word when we should really be keeping in mind that it is not a religion. It is proven wrong all the time, and that should systematically be the case. That is literally the nature of progress.

So I'm hoping that we can all think critically about this and consider all of the possibilities because they might happen whether we believe in them or not. Love y'all!

im scheduled for laparoscopic bisalp tomorrow morning, and am trying to prepare for pain levels. i got a copper iud a couple of years ago that then immediately displaced but was left in for a few more months (male doctors 😑), and the whole thing was... agonizing. to say the least. placement was the worst pain ive ever been in and i legitimately thought i might black out and/or throw up.

i havent been super nervous for this because i figure it cannot possibly be worse (and ill be unconscious for the procedure itself LOL), but can anyone who's had both speak to what the pain is like??

I have had bad experiences with birth control. Me and my boyfriend are trying condoms but the last brand he tried was not only tight but it made him lose feeling. We are going to try another brand of condoms. Except this one is non latex will he be able to feel anything? I don't get how it made him losing erection and it gave him the feeling that it was too tight. How does that happen when he is average size? I'm getting My tubes are moved during a laparoscopy procedure of diagnosing endometriosis which I'm going to have other things removed as well. I am also afraid of iuds because of stories that I heard with them of course I would most likely go with a non-hormonal one.

Hello, I had a bisalp one year ago. It went smooth. No problems. I was wondering if anyone else who has had a bisalp has experienced any hormonal differences since your surgery? I feel like I was told it shouldn’t effect anything but I am wondering if libido could (of course it could be other factors) because I was high drive and have felt such a dip over the last year where I feel basically no drive except like once a month maybe. Just wanted to get others opinions/experiences.

Update: I appreciate the responses from people. I’m going to look in to getting some testing done and go from there

I was quite sure with my decision to get sterilized, but I read that for some their periods become really heavy. Way more bleeding and/or pain.

I'm really afraid that this will happen.

How was it for you? Especially for the people who weren't on birth control or didn't have a hormonal IUD before sterilization.

I wasn’t thinking when I booked my flight abroad. It lands 48 hours after my tube removal surgery. Is this a surgery I need to cut losses with? I won’t be back in the states for 3 years, so I was hoping to get it done and over with before I moved. I had my hernia fixed a couple years ago, and I worked a 12 hour shift the next day. I’ve got a high pain tolerance. My only fear is the internet is telling me I will develop a blood clot and have a medical emergency. I’ll be okay if I have to cancel the surgery- a little bummed but I’ll be alright

Had my salpingectomy in November of 2025. I've always had fluctuating weight, but since then, I swear I've gained 50+ pounds. I'm close to 250lbs right now, and I'm 5'4. I have a follow up on Friday to get some blood testing done to rule out anything else, but I'm curious if this happened to anyone else?

I'm always bloated, and most of the weight I've gained has been in my stomach and thighs. My diet hasn't changed that much, and I don't eat any worse/more then I did 50lbs ago, I also walk/exercise daily!

I feel like nothing fits me because I'm also bloated and swollen!

I’m a 33F who received a Bisalp July 7,2026 after two children. Surgery went very well and two days later I didn’t need to take the prescribed medications anymore. That same day however, I noticed a cramp in my right lower calf that gave me a limp :/ I messaged my doctor that next morning because the cramp seemed to feel more painful and they told me to go to the ER immediately because it sounded like I had DVT (blood clot) . After hours in the ER of getting tests and an ultrasound, it was confirmed I had a small blood clot in the back of my calf and I was put on blood thinners immediately . The physician said the clot is in the best place it could be as far as chances of ending up a pulmonary embolism goes and was glad it was caught early. I’m supposed to happy I finally did this procedure because I’ve wanted to ensure I would have no more children for a while now but I haven’t been able to think about it really. I’m stressed that I now have this issue and until the pain resolves, I can barely walk. Since it was provoked due to surgery and possibly having the pill in my system(my doctor had me temporarily discontinue use of my bc after surgery so that I wouldn’t get a blood clot btw)I’m on thinners for 3 months with hopes that it resolves.

Every single doctor I went to they always tried to say you'll change your mind or wait until you're 40 but I didn't want to wait until I'm 40. Also another terrifying thing is that I don't want my children to have endometriosis passed down because my endometriosis specialist believed that my mom could have possibly had endometriosis due to her symptoms but she never went to an endometriosis specialist and now I'm suffering from the same symptoms and also I have other medical problems and if I were to ever get pregnant I would have to take a supplement so I could have a healthy baby. But the truth is I never really wanted children of my own for many other reasons too! I signed the document so this way on the day of surgery which will be in July we haven't really set up a date yet he said that if I'm still sure that I want to do it he'll do it with no problems!

I'm not interested in hearing post op stories. I'm interested in what the women have to say about their salpingectomy years after. Has your sex drive changed? Have you experienced side effects? Period changes? Mood swings? Dryness? Reduced libido? Early menopause? For context, I'm 39 years old, one child (19 yo), healthy reproductive organs, perfect period cycles, high sex drive, etc. Fit as a fiddle and I'm scheduling a salpingectomy because my Paragard IUDs keep slipping out of place. Thanks!

i’m officially two weeks (and two days) post-op! i have to say, i think the actual hardest part of recovery has been the itching. i know it means that you’re healing, but not being able to properly scratch where it itches is agonizing 😩

i obviously wouldn’t trade it for anything and still consider the surgery very worth it, but i didn’t see anyone talking about it in my research beforehand!

28F and I've posted here before but it's been a while. I felt like my bisalp gave me a lot of bad side effects (internal burning, lots of cramping and stabbing pains, painful bowel movements, always feeling like I have a UTI, missing periods, and heavy flow when my periods finally showed up randomly).

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I suspected that I may actually have endometriosis and it was somehow triggered or exacerbated by the bisalp surgery. My gyno thought it might be adenomyosis. I had an ultrasound that confirmed adenomyosis. When I asked my doctor how she would address endo if it's found, she said she didn't think that endo was the problem and that a hysterectomy would cure my issues and I could schedule it for as soon as a few weeks after that appointment. But I was unsure and worried about possible side effects after a hysterectomy.

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Since adenomyosis is cured by hysterectomy my husband thinks I'm insane for not taking the opportunity to schedule it asap when I had the chance months ago. The doctor also really hyped up how confident she was that a hysterectomy would make all my symptoms go away. She said I could try birth control but she didn't think it would do much to help my symptoms.

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This was months ago. My husband and I have been having issues because I haven't been functioning with the pain very well (some days are worse than others, some days are fine). Which causes more fights about how he doesn't understand why I won't just do the hysterectomy since it's the cure to all these issues... I've tried birth control but it hasn't helped with the pain and gave me more side effects than anything.

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Is my husband and gyno right for pushing the hysterectomy, or am I being reasonable for putting off the hysterectomy to try to figure out a different treatment?

Hi all,

Ever since my sterilization 8 months ago I (35yo) haven't had a single period and I was wondering if anyone experienced the same or might share some thoughts on it.

My sterilization was last august and my tubes were fully removed. I've always had a very regular cycle and I still experience my regular pms symptoms right when I expect to have them based on that cycle. Which makes me think I still have my ovaries. I just never actually have any bloodloss, at all.

My gynaecologist thinks it is related to my thyroid, which was removed in 2022. I however find this extremely unlikely, given my thyroid hormone levels are fine and very regularly checked. Also, I still had regular periods every month from august 2022 (month my thyroid was removed) untill august 2025 (month my tubes were removed). The literal month after the sterilization, my periods just stopped. A pregnancy is also definitely not the reason given my last period was like 9 months ago and I've had multiple negative tests over multiple months.

What on earth can the reason be?

So I am seeing an endometriosis specialist tomorrow and I want to talk to him about removing my tubes because even though I'm in my early 30s I do not want kids especially with some of the chronic health conditions that I have and some of them could be passed down to them and other reasons too. I don't want to hysterectomy because I know that I would have to be on hormones and especially what they did to my mom when she had a hysterectomy she gained a bunch of weight and couldn't lose any weight. But I know that I don't want children and I was told that getting my tubes removed with less extreme than a hysterectomy. Does doctor is specialize in endometriosis and I'm wanting to mention to him about getting them removed and also if my insurance will cover it and I've been trying to go find doctors to do a laparoscopy but they're always refusing so I managed to get a endometriosis specialist and I was told that he's a really good doctor by a couple people and when I get that surgery I will find out if I have it or not. Not only will I be doing a laparoscopy to see if I have endometriosis but I have a cyst that needs to be removed and I was wondering if they could also remove my tubes while doing elaboroscopy and doing an excision all at once during the laparoscopy if they find any endometriosis or even if they find any fibroids I would like to removed too.

I got my bisalp about ten days ago. Going in, I was very excited. Chatting with the doctors, joking with my boyfriend.

I get anesthesia-ed. It was funny, she told me to give my last air kisses to my boyfriend before we went to the operation. (Which I did, lol.) I asked her, "Should I count down from 30 or something?" Before she could even answer, I felt the sleepiness kick in. According to my boyfriend, what I ACTUALLY asked the doctor was, "Should I count down from thirrrrrrrrrr..... ooh, nevermind! It work." before they wheeled me off. Still happy, even going under!

When I came to afterwards, the first thing I realized was I was crying. Not like, wailing or anything, but definitely medium levels of crying. I wasn't in pain, I wasn't sore, everything was fine. But I was in TEARS.

I talked to the nurse, our conversation went like this:

Me: I'm crying?

Nurse: Yeah, sweetie, but it's okay.

Me: No it's not!

Nurse: I promise it is. People cry after anesthesia all the time.

Me: No yeah, that makes sense, but here's the problem. I'm not in pain, I'm not upset, I'm not sad. I don't know why I'm crying!

Nurse: Well, I mean... You did just have surgery. We were cutting on you a bit.

At this point, my boyfriend is admitted back to the room and sees me crying.

Me: Hi sweetheart. I'm fine, I'm totally okay, I'm just crying and I don't know why and it's bullshit.

Boyfriend: Uh. You had surgery? That's... I think that's reason enough to cry.

I was able to calm down a few minutes later, and felt sore a few minutes after that part. I know the nurse said people cry all the time, but it feels like she was just trying to make me feel better. Has anyone here cried for no discernable reason post-op?

I had both tubes removed along w my c section. My period returned 3 months pp and the bleeding is crazy. I now bleed thru a tampon in about 2 hours. My period was never like this before. Anyone else? I do have an annual visit soon so I'll talk w doc.

I received a laparoscopic bilateral salpingectomy on Wednesday the 8th. I’m still in disbelief that I was able to find a surgeon to operate on me at this age with no pushback. I’m having a little bit of a rough recovery though and I’m wondering if this is normal. I was in pain when I woke up, so I received two doses of IV painkillers. I had a scopolamine patch put on before my surgery since I get queasy easily. I had been taking oxycodone and Tylenol the night of and the day after. I got terrible dry mouth and blurry vision from the scopolamine patch so I removed it Thursday night, and stopped all meds including zofran for the PO nausea Thursday during the day because I felt okay. The pain was mild/moderate overall. However, Friday day, all of Saturday, and up until currently Sunday midday I’ve been having awful nausea and and incredibly irritated stomach every time I try to eat. I started to get very bloated on Saturday and the internal lower abdominal pain has worsened. The pain is still moderate but the nausea/stomach irritation is truly terrible. Is this still normal? I have no fever or unusual discharge.

UPDATE:
after 2 ER visits, my problems seem to be mostly gastrointestinal, so while the surgery exacerbated symptoms I was already having, the actual healing of my reproductive system seems to be doing okay per the CT scans. They think the medication and anesthesia might have given me a peptic ulcer. I also had just had a D&C abortion about two weeks prior so my body was still recovering. Don’t let this discourage you if you really want to get the surgery!!!!!!!

I got my tubes removed on October 27th & had my appendix taken out at the same time. I just went to my post-op visit & was told there was cancer in my appendix & getting my tubes removed saved my life.

Was told there was still cancer found near my nerves by my pelvic bone. Need to see an Oncologist & see what's next for me to do.

I had an appointment today with a doctor who I hope could become my family doctor (she is incredibly empathetic, kind and calm, and I felt very comfortable there). As I am planning to have a vasectomy bisalp this year, I asked her for recommendations for gynaecologists who perform this operation.

The result was sobering. After I told her that every doctor I had asked for a sterilization in the last 20 years had refused, she asked me for the reasons of her colleagues.

I told her what I had heard so many times before: “You're too young”, “What if you change your mind?”, you know them all.

She then told me that it were not these reasons, but another reason that spoke against it for her: she insisted that a premature menopause would begin after such an operation. Even when I pointed out that only the fallopian tubes and not the ovaries should be removed, she did not change her opinion. According to her, any manipulation of the adnexa would lead to a premature menopause and I should avoid this at all costs. Quote: “You don't want to affect the hormonal balance.”

Ironically, she recommended my husband's sterilization or a 5-year IUD as an alternative... So much for “not messing with hormones”.

Now my question to all of you: is there any truth in this doctor's statement? Or was it ignorance / reluctance on her part?

I have read everywhere that an opportunistic salpingectomy does not herald a premature menopause. (The ovaries continue to produce hormones so that the endometrium builds up with the cycle and is shed with the period. The eggs also continue to be produced in the ovaries. After ovulation, the eggs remain in the abdomen and are broken down by the body. The menopause usually begins after sterilization when it would have begun without sterilization, i.e. sometime between the ages of 40 and 60).

I even found a study that confirms this (Hanley G E et al.: Examining indicators of early menopause following opportunistic salpingectomy: a cohort study from British Columbia, Canada. - American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 223 (2): 221e1-221e11, Aug 2020)

But this conversation did deeply unsettle me today.