Adiana procedure

I'm still trying to get off as much medication as possible. Last year we talked about birth control. I'm still using a contraceptive pill. The hormones in it have influence on my body and the other medication, so I'd like to stop taking them.
The best option is sterilization and the easiest way would be for Ron to do it. But that never felt good for me. If anything happens to me, he can still have kids for the rest of his life while my biological clock has almost run out. Of course we don't presume anything happening, but the consideration stands nevertheless. On the other hand sterilisation for me meant surgery, not very appealing either.

In a women's magazine I read something about the Adiana procedure, a safe and minimally invasive procedure for permanent contraception. I made an appointment with a gynaecologist that specializes in Adiana and Essure (another, similar method). He advised me to stop with the pill for some months to see whether my menstrual bleeding pattern would return and be regular. That turned out to be the case, so the appointment could be made for the procedure. Unfortunately that had to be rescheduled several times, but tomorrow afternoon it will be done.

There are four simple steps to the Adiana procedure:

Step 1: A slender, flexible instrument (delivery catheter) is passed through the body's natural openings (i.e., through the vagina and cervix and into the uterus) to deliver a low level of radiofrequency energy (i.e., energy that generates heat to create a superficial lesion) to a small section of each fallopian tube.

Step 2: A tiny, soft insert - about the size of a grain of rice - is placed in each of your fallopian tubes, right where the energy was applied.

Step 3: You must use another form of birth control over the next 3 months, while new tissue grows in and around the Adiana inserts, eventually blocking your fallopian tubes.

Step 4: At 3 months, a special test is performed (hysterosalpingogram or HSG) to confirm that your tubes are fully blocked. This test will ensure that the procedure has been successful.

Or you can watch an animation of the procedure here.

All text, images and the animation are property of Adiana / Hologic Inc.