Sterilisation consultation tomorrow - can anyone tell me what to expect?

[QueenStromba]

I'm having my first appointment after being referred by my GP tomorrow and they've not told me anything other than what time to turn up. Will it be with the actual surgeon? Is it just going to be a chat or are they going to examine me too?

I went for a similar consultation a few years ago and got talked into the Mirena coil, which I wasn't expecting. Probably cheaper! However it's been okay - I like having no periods...

Might be worth thinking about what you would say/do if they try to get you to go down that route

Thanks for the quick reply bluejeans. My GP warned me that they'd try and push the mirena on me but I'm not willing to try it because I had a terrible experience with the implant that I really don't want to risk repeating. I've also got a long vagina so there would be no hope of me being able to check the strings so I'd be constantly worried that it wasn't in place.

I'm back from my appointment now and the consultant did try to push the mirena on me but I held my ground. She told me to lose 2 stone (i.e. the weight I've put on since I've been on the pill) and come back to her. She'll do the op for me then if a colleague agrees with it too. I did find out though that my GP can refer me to a specific doctor which doesn't have to be in my PCT so I'm going to go back to her with a list of doctors who do Essure on the NHS and ask her to refer me to one of them. Essure is the procedure I wanted anyway but I didn't think I'd be able to get it because nobody in my PCT does it. My weight will probably help my case for getting Essure done because it is the only sterilisation procedure you can have if you're a few stone overweight.

Hi QueenStromba

Interesting! I've put on a bit of weight with the Mirena (wasn't exactly slim when I started on it!)so Essure is something I might consider in future, I didn't realise being overweight might mean they weren't keen to sterilise. Let me know how you get on at your next appointment.

My BMI is 38 at the moment and they want me to get it down to 32. I think it's a combination of an increased risk with the general anesthetic and the fact that the surgery would be a lot more difficult with all the fat in the way, neither of which is a problem with Essure. I'll definitely keep this thread updated, I've found lots of accounts from people in the US etc trying to get sterilised but I've not found any from women in the UK so my experience could be useful for other people. I'll come back in the next couple of days and give more details about today and how I managed to get my referral from my GP.

I just thought I'd pop back with an update. I went back to my GP a few days later and it was news to her that she could refer me to anyone she wanted but she took my list of doctors who do Essure. About a month later only about half of the doctors had got back to her to confirm that they do it so we picked one for her to send the referral letter to. I guess that either the doctor said no or the PCT wouldn't fund it because I got an appointment letter yesterday for one of the other doctors who do it. I really must send my GP some flowers to say thank you for all the effort she's put in to this for me :)