{Essure procedure}

First things first, what is Essure? Essure is a non-surgical permanent birth control. It is hormone free and works with your body to create a barrier to prevent pregnancy.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in August 2001 (Read more here, if you want). Since that time, I have been to multiple doctors to try to understand my "place" in the world as far as having kids goes, etc. Since getting engaged (in 2005), Jason and I have hemmed and hawed about having children. While we would love to see little Regan and Jason running around, we know that it would be more challenging for us in many ways.

In 2005, I was pretty much given the "no go" on kids. Because of my medical issues, Jason and I were told we'd have no choice than to go through fertility treatments. That began an internal tug-o-war... We could go through fertility treatments and have multiple scenarios - 1) get pregnant with 1-2 babies; 2) get pregnant with 2+ babies and possibly of subjected to "selection" (and I refused to even consider "selection"); 3) not get pregnant at all. Jason and I discussed our options, the financial aspects of it, and decided that biological kids just weren't in the cards for us. We agreed that I would continue to take birth control "just in case" until another non-hormonal option became more available to us.

In 2006, I made an appointment to speak with my WHNP about non-hormonal birth control options. I had grown increasingly tired of the shift in my mood, etc. because of birth control. We discussed the Essure procedure during the appointment. At the time, I still wasn't 100% comfortable with ending the possibility of having children.

Fast forward to 2012... The issues with PCOS, including cramping, mood swings, etc. had become increasingly hard to manage. I also was diagnosed with Celiacs disease, adding even more complications to our life together. Also, in November 2012, I had my tummy tuck. Since that time, my body has been adjusting to it's new "shell" and doing odd things. These odd things were causing more issues than they were worth...

In March 2013, I made an appointment with my WHNP to discuss my options again. I made it clear that I preferred a non-hormonal option, but wanted to understand all my options. During my appointment, we reviewed several options: 1) IUD (scared of that because of Brandy's situation); 2) Essure; 3) Tubal ligation; 4) go off birth control and just "see"

On Tuesday, April 16, I went to my ObGyn's office for the Essure procedure. It went something like this:

• Night before - Take several medications to soften/open my cervix. Enter pretty severe cramping overnight.
• Arrived at doctor's office at 10 a.m. 
• Around 10:30 a.m. - Taken back for nurse to insert IV for anesthesia (I chose to "go under" anesthesia, much like the anesthesia for a colonoscopy.)
• Drug-induced nap began around 11:15 a.m.
• Essure procedure completed
• 12 noon - Taken into room for monitoring, etc.
• Back home by 12:30 p.m.

It's been about 3 weeks since my procedure and I am glad that I did it. I still have to take my birth control for ~2 more months. Three months from the date of the procedure, I will have a HSG at Carolina Conceptions. That test will (hopefully) show that my fallopian tubes are blocked and that Essure was a success.

While our decision to permanently end my fertility may not be right for everyone, its the right thing for us. I'd recommend this procedure to anyone that's done having children as it is probably the least-envasive option possible.