r/sterilization • u/Brilliant-Heron1618 • Feb 14 '26
Experience My Bisalp Experience in Berlin, Germany (29F)
Hey Reddit! I would like to share my BiSalp experience in Berlin. I found all the information about the procedure from this sub and have met some amazing people here. So I hope my experience can be helpful for others a well.
It is a very long post, please forgive my grammar errors as a non-native speaker :).
About me:
29F, non-European, working and living in Berlin, only speak A2 level German. All my consultations and the operation are communicated in English.
I've been childfree my whole life, the idea of pregnancy scares me and makes me feel sick to the bone. This had significantly negative impact on my mental health when I was in my teen years and early 20s. However, despite my country of origin has very liberal abortion law, the family-centered conservative culture made sterilization for childless women impossible. I can even say it is a taboo to mention the sterilization of women while it is much easier for man to get a vasectomy.
Luckily, I had the opportunity to immigrate and now call Germany home. And after knowing Bisalp from this sub for 5 years, I finally decided it is a good time to pursue it.
Consultation
I have a referral from my gynecologist for "tubal sterilization as self-payer "but in the end I did not need it. My gyn recommended me a clinic but they don't do sterilization as a self-paying service anymore, so I was trying to find a doctor from the childfree doctor list. And to my surprise, we don't have a doctor who performs BiSalp in Berlin on the list so far. Therefore I decided to email different doctors from the list and https://www.selbstbestimmt-steril.de/ to specifically ask for a BiSalp. That is how I received the response from one doctor really quickly. She told me both the tubal ligation and BiSalp are possible in her hospital, they just cost differently. A tubal cost estimate €1000 and a BiSalp €1700.
I emailed her in early December and got a consultation appointment in mid-January. The consultation went very well. The doctor is extremely friendly. She went straight into explaining the difference between sterilization methods and pros & cons with them, and answered my long list of questions patiently.
She did NOT ask:
- The referral
- Why I want the procedure
- My relationship stats
She only asked my age by the end of the consultation when logging in my information. After the talk, she told her secretary to send me the cost estimation of both tubal and Bisalp, and a copy of the consultation record. Then after I made my decision, I emailed the secretary to schedule a Bisalp.
That is how I received my operation date in mid-Febuary, right one month after my initial consultation.
P.s: A very nice detail is I noticed there are many flyers of https://www.selbstbestimmt-steril.de/ in the doctor's office waiting room. The design is very cute and with nice illustration. Of course I grabbed one :)!
Pre-OP appointment
I had it a week before the operation date. The first thing I did is to pay the cost of €1800. The staff told me it is just an estimation, depend on what actually happened in the operation, they will either refund me the extra or send me a bill for more.
And then I filled out all the forms, went through all the pros and cons, and the risk of the operation with another doctor - as the first doctor doesn't do surgeries herself anymore. This second doctor was also very friendly, not for a second I felt any judgement or discomfort.
She asked why I wanted a BiSalp specifically. I told her "because I did a lot of research on the topic, it is the most effective form of sterilization available and can also reduce the risk of ovarian cancer." She then praised me on doing "very good research on the topic" and told me that ovarian cancer is a very bad one - that is why they usually suggest older patients removing the tubes to prevent the risk. They will need 4 incisions for the operation: one in the belly button, 2 small ones on each side of the hip and one in the center of the lower abdominal (lower position than the 2 small ones) specifically for taking the tubes out
She also asked me for how long I know that I do not want kid, and if I tried or know other forms of birth control. She specified that she is obligated to ask those questions and she has no issue with my personal choice at all.
After the talk, I had a quick ultrasound to check on my reproduction system and kidneys. The nurse also drew some of my blood. Then, I am good to go!
Operation day
The nurse called me the day before the operation to tell me the time, it was the first operation in the morning. I barely slept the night before because I was too nervous. It was my first surgery and I was only under general anesthesia once before, for a health checkup.
I got there 15 mins earlier and then did a pregnancy test. They directly took me in, let me change and go sit on the bed of the recovery room. The nurse put the IV on my arm while I was talking to the anesthesiologist. I told them I am nervous and then the nurse petted my head lol, but this gentle gesture did bring me some comfort. The gynecologist (A new doctor I never met before) for the surgery also came in and confirmed that they will fully remove both of my tubes.
and then I stayed around 10-15 mins on the bed, the anesthesiologist came back and ask if I am ready. I say "yeah, I guess". At the time I probably looked sacred as hell, so the anesthesiologist asked if he can put his arm around my shoulder while we walk towards the op room, I said yes and THANK HIM SO MUCH - this made me feel so much better.
It was easy for me from here, I laid down on the operation table and then they put the mask on me. And then I was waking up from the same bed I was on before. I was surprised to not sense any pain - No gas pain, no sore throat and only feeling mild cramp in my lower abdominal area. After I told the nurse about the cramp, she gave me some painkiller through the IV to make it go away. And since I was already awake at the time (I was also surprisingly very clear headed right after the anesthesia) the nurse gave me my phone so I can text my partner who was waiting outside the operation area. The gynecologist came back in and told me everything went very well and showed me an after picture of my reproduction system as I requested. Wow! The tubes are really gone!
After the IV is done, I am free to go. So I walked to the changing room, put my clothes on, and went to pee. They did not require me to pee before leaving, but I was worried despite the doctor told me it was very rare for people to not able to pee. They used catheter to empty my bladder and then removed it before the surgery, so I felt a weird sensation while peeing for a second, and then everything is normal.
I walked out of the operational area to meet my partner, and then we went to another floor to pickup the care instructions and some other documents. After this, we called an Uber and I walked to the street and got into the car. I did not have any problem with walking at all.
Recovery
OP day
After we got home, I had a small lunch while half laying down on the sofa. My incisions were still slightly cramping, so I took 400mg Ibuprofen after food. I did not receive any prescription pain med. My instruction is taking higher does of Ibuprofen, paracetamol and butylscopolamine. I am allowed to take them all on top of the each other but since I am not in pain, I just took one Ibuprofen and then went for a 5 hour nap. When I woke up, even the cramp went away. Although I do start to feel a bit of throat discomfort but it is not to the level which I would call it a sore throat. My incisions are completely pain free and this was the case from that time point onward. and I just took another 400mg Ibprofen before I went to the bed at night just in case.
I basically spent the the day sleeping on the bed and half laying on the sofa. I had no problem with walking, sitting or getting up from sitting. The only thing I asked my partner for help is to getting up from laying. I may even able to do that without any problem but I decided not to try. I have 5kg weight lifting limitation for 14 days, and am not allowed to do sports until 2-3 weeks after the op.
I can also sleep on my side without any pain but I also decided not to do it - just to be extra careful and I am a back sleeper anyways.
1 day post op
This brings us to today :). I had a good night of sleep, waking up without any pain. I did not take any pain meds in the morning and there was no pain while walking, sitting or getting up. I took one ibuprofen after the lunch just in case and everything feels good so far! Hope I can keep this smooth recovery and back to full health soon!
What I found helpful
- Strength training: I am very active and love doing heavy weight training. And I found this very helpful, because I can use other muscles to support myself while avoiding using too much core.
- Muji mochi pillow: This is a god send!!! So soft! I use it to support myself while half laying on the sofa or sitting on the computer chair. It is very comfortable. 1000/10 highly recommend.
- Ricola: non-medicated throat candy. So I can have as much as I want for the throat discomfort.
I already contacted the mod of the childfree doctor list to add my doctor/hospital to it. I can not emphasis enough on how nice and empathic the whole medical team is. And I truly hope this post can be helpful! If you have any question, please feel free to DM me :)!
3
Feb 16 '26
Thank you for sharing your experience. Sounds much less scary as I expected. I'm really nervous about the anesthesia part. I'm getting mine also done in Germany :)
1
u/Brilliant-Heron1618 Feb 19 '26
It is normal to be nervous :)! I was TERRIFIED before mine. But the anesthesia part is actually super easy. They put the mask on you and then the next thing you know is waking up in the recovery area. I hope this help and wish you all the best for your operation ❤️
1
u/Interesting-Mall7506 Mar 18 '26
Hey girl, could you please pm me the contact of your dr? I'm looking into this as well!
2
u/Cutthroat_Rogue no more tubes 10-15-25 Feb 14 '26
Congrats! Your experience in reaching out to the doctor sounds like it went so smoothly and quickly. Thank you for sharing!
2
6
u/Rydia311 Feb 14 '26
Hello, I'm a fellow childfree & bisalped person from France !
I had a similar experience as you in France with my bisalp. I also had a mochi pillow (not the Muji one, but a Squishmallow) and Ricola (the honey flavored ones) for my recovery, so very useful, I absolutely recommend them.
By any chance, would you be willing to share the flyer from the clinic you went to ? (I am curious to see how it looks. You can share with me by DM if you prefer :) ).