Trista Sutter, 36, was the first and most successful contestant on the Bachelorette. She married the hot poet firefighter she met on the show in a televised wedding in 2003, Ryan Sutter, 34, and they now have two children together and live in Colorado. Trista just had her second baby, a daughter called Blakesley Grace on April 3. Trista and Ryan also have son Maxwell Alston, who turns two in July. The two aren’t wasting time figuring out their plans for future birth control. Trista just announced that she’s going to get a probably heavily sponsored sterilization procedure in which she has inserts put in her fallopian tubes from a company called Essure. The company’s rep was all too willing to confirm the news to US Weekly:
The former Bachelorette star — who is also mom to Max, 20 months, with husband Ryan — has signed up for a permanent birth control procedure called Essure, the company’s rep confirms to Usmagazine.com.
“Now that we have the two healthy children we always dreamed of, Ryan and I have decided that our family is the perfect size, and we want to devote our time and energy to them,” says Sutter, who has suffered birth complications, including gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.
Essure is a minimally-invasive procedure performed in a doctor’s office in about 10 minutes, the rep explains to Us. Small, flexible micro-inserts are placed within a woman’s fallopian tubes through the cervix without incisions. Over the next three months, the body forms a natural barrier around the micro-inserts to prevent sperm from reaching the egg. The procedure — which 250,000 women have undergone — is 99.8 percent effective.
“It’s a safer, nicer way to go about a permanent birth control,” the rep says, adding that Sutter will probably have the procedure this June.
Adds Sutter: “After looking at all my options I realized that Essure is the best fit for me and my lifestyle. I like it because the procedure can be performed in my doctor’s office without general anesthesia, and the quick recovery means I can get back to my life and my family right away.”
Trista told Life & Style in October when she announced her pregnancy that this was the last one for her and that she would probably get her tubes tied afterwards. I bet that’s when this company approached her about being a spokesperson.
This story gives me pause because it definitely sounds like a paid ad. I’m also skeptical of this type of birth control because I have friends who have had problems with permanent and semi-permanent birth control shots and inserts. One of my friends gained over 30 pounds after getting the Depo-Provera shot and it really seemed like her whole personality changed. She became depressed and withdrawn and it didn’t seem like a coincidence. Another friend actually got pregnant while on Depo-Provera. And a third used the now-outlawed Norplant arm inserts and experienced permanent scarring.
This is not Depo-Provera or Norplant but I can’t help but think it carries similar risks. (Update: this is non-hormonal and different than both of those methods, see below.) Trista needs to make some cash, though, so she’s promoting this procedure, which will probably work out fine for her. A lot of people appreciate birth control you don’t have to remember to take every day and it works well for them. Does it cross a line when a reality show celebrity advertises a pharmaceutical type product in a gossip magazine? It’s as good a place as any by some estimates as they also seem to have those covert ads for luxury items and high end body care products. Hopefully this isn’t just birth control sway for Trista and she’s earning some money for promoting this.
Update: Thanks to Nony and Wendie and everyone who pointed out that Essure is non-hormonal and works like having your tubes tied by causing scar tissue to form in the fallopian tubes. I should have looked this up and am sorry for confusing it with hormonal methods of semi-permanent and permanent birth control.
Trista, Ryan and Max are shown on 4/2/08. Credit: PRPhotos
Essure is non-hormonal though, essentially just a far less invasive way of having your tubes tied. I’m happy that there are starting to appear more options for women who don’t want (more) children.
Well to be fair, Depo-Provera and Norplant are about hormones being put into your system. Essure is a coil that forms scar tissue in your fallopian tubes. Really two totally separate animals.
I agree with Wendie. And it bothers me when women blame their weight gain on Depo. Yes, your hormones change, and it makes you want to eat more. It does not decrease your metabolism or put the food in your mouth. It’s up to you to keep up a good routine of eating right/exercise.
CB – the Essure method is much like having your tubes tied, but much less invasive. It’s a wonderful option for women without the dangers of major surgery.
When will this shameless famewh*re shut up already?
Polkasox, I think you are being quite unfair. You seem to discount the extremely powerful effects that our hormones have on us.
I’ve never liked her and I didn’t even watch The Bachelor. I did see her wedding special and though I can’t recall the specific details, I did end up loathing her by the end. She will sell every event of her life to the highest bidder and that’s just wrong. And this is a prime example of that.
I’ve always wondered WHY this woman is considered relevant. Note, I didn’t ask, “Why is she relevant?” Considered is the key word here…
Yeah this is nothing like Depo Provera.
But I know two women who got Depo, one gained 30 pounds, the other went completely insane and 4 years later after her last shot she still is not back to normal. So…
Thanks for filling me in on the differences and I should have looked up more about this process as I thought there were hormones involved. I will update the post with that, thanks!
I agree with neelyo. Plus why does she wanna tell the whole world what’s going on in her fallopian tubes?
I don’t understand why people don’t like Trista! She is the ONLY person from the Bachelor/Bachelorette series to stay with the person they chose! She and Ryan seem to have a happy marriage and I wish them all the best.
Everyone else on that show has been one it for the wrong reasons — fame, ego boost, dating a bunch of partners at once.
I am surprised Essure was not offered to Octomom. She could have gotten some big $$$ for some more plastic surgery.
@barneslr – I see your point, my comment was a little harsh. But there’s a lot of people out there who don’t take responsibility for their bodies. When people say “Depo made me fat”, that’s very misleading. The drug itself doesn’t cause weight gain, it’s a side effect that it might make you more hungry. If that’s the case, you need to talk to your doctor and change meds, not continue on with it until you’ve gained 40 lbs.
It’s unfortunate that she feels that she’s done at a young age. Personally I regretted cutting my tubes the first time. I was only 30 at the time and had a daughter with someone i was unsure about. I have a son as well.
Nine years later, I met and married a great man who adores my children and we adore him. He has no children. I reversed the procedure last year and I am expecting our baby in October. This will be my last child. I will not undergo sterilization again. I had a tough time with my periods, weight gain, and moods after my first ligation. I don’t wish to go through that again.
I hope she has made the right choice for her family.
Tubal ligation has nothing to do with hormones. All they do is tie your tubes through a tiny hole in your navel.
Also, how is this new invention much different from an IUD? People may have forgotten everybody jumping on the Dalcon Shield bandwagon, but I wouldn’t want to have some new product up in there when outpatient surgery might be safer and less prone to product liabilities.
Yeah, I glad some of these comments seem to clear up the confusion on Depo. I’ve been on this type of birth control for 3 years now. When I started I weighed 175 and now I weigh 115 (Thank you Weight Watchers!). Depo does NOT cause weight gain, merely increases appetite. Eat more=gain weight! It is not like some other pill forms that cause unavoidable water weight gain. But at the same time it is NOT FOR EVERYONE. I too had a friend who responded poorly by gaining 60 lbs in a few months. BUT–she was eating nonstop and couldn’t control her diet by willpower alone. So these cravings can be severe enough for you that this product may not be your best option but by no means does it MAKE YOU GAIN WEIGHT. You make that happen!
I love Depo. Ive been on it for 7 yrs and only gained about 30lbs. but keep in mind, I weighed 114 lbs to begin with and im 5’4. I weigh 140 now but im still thin , in fact, my man says Im more beautiful with the weight! I think it makes me look more womanly. The only downside is I got “growth scars” on my outer hips, thighs, the top part of my breasts, and my arms(i gained the lbs pretty fast).
I too had a tubal like Gigohead, similar circumstances, but right after I turned 22. Reversal at 28. Due to the way my OBGYN performed the tubal in 1981 (burned)I had a large amount of scarring on my tubes.
When I remarried and wanted a reversal, my fertility MD didn’t know if I had enough tube to reconstruct. After a diagnostic laparoscopy, I was given a 30% chance of conceiving. I also ran a higher risk of a tubal pregnancy after the surgery. I was very lucky and had two sons within 18 months of the surgery.
If this product causes the permanent scarring I am referring to, this procedure might in fact be irreversible and women should be aware of that.
what I thought when I read this was how the procedure is so “easy” and noninvasive. While I’m sure it’s a lot easier than surgically there is still something that kind of creeps me out about it.
I’m not sure why because I currently have Mirena so I’m no stranger to having something inside of me. Although I’m thinking of getting rid of it because it has given me horrible acne and my sex drive=gone.
I have tried Depo and while I didn’t gain any weight it was the worst three months of my life because I was very irrational and emotional. Also, I thought that you could only use Depo for 5 years or so because of bone loss? Something to ask the dr about perhaps?
Does the essure give you PID to cause the scaring of the tubes? I’m afraid I don’t really understand how it works. I know that an IUD can give you PID which often causes infertility. Do the inserts they put in the tubes ever come out?
I’m afraid of permanent sterilization. The thought of having my last baby just breaks my heart. Although my head says only two my heart says to pass up Michelle Duggar! JK!
I knew a girl who got pregnant TWICE while on the Depo shot. She didn’t have any major weight gain, but one of my best friends and a former co-worker both gained some weight, maybe 15-20 extra pounds. Those reasons alone are why I’ve never gone in for the shot myself. It’s been about 5 years since I’ve been on any kind of birth control, and I’d really like to keep it that way.
And honestly, the whole thought of sterilization is a little scary to me. It just seems so permanent and unnatural. Then again, maybe with a little more research, in the future there will be some sort of injectible or pill form sterilization to help with the cat population. That I might go for.
Ana – No, Essure does not work by giving you PID. It involves a very controlled formation of scar tissue, if that makes sense — the clinician performing the procedure inserts two tiny screens in the fallopian tubes, and then scar tissue builds up on/around them, preventing the passage of sperm.
If left untreated, PID can certainly lead to infertility, but only about 10% of the time (according to the CDC), and no health care professional worth her/his salt would ever deliberately give a patient PID for any reason — it can have health consequences other than infertility, like chronic pelvic pain.
it’s so hard to know what type of birt
h control to take,
i was on just reg pills orthotryclyclin and was fine them moved a few states away and went to a new doctor and they screwed up my perscription even though i insisted on the same one (i was a medical student at the time too) and I got so very ill on it. Too many artificial hormones and the body can’t take it. I haven’t taken the pill or anything since. It’s been about 6 years, (I’m 28 now) and I am kinda wondering if there is anything more mild out there hormone wise? But it seems from these stories the hormone content is pretty harsh for most women. Any suggestions?
Isn’t this woman’s 15 minutes up yet?
Thanks for clearing that up Jocelina. Giving a patient PID didn’t sound right to me but I got confused because I heard something about PID and infertility.
ab-You should have a doctor that listens to you. If you were on something that worked for you there was no reason to change it. Unless there were other risks involved of course.
I was on Orthotricyclen and I liked it. But I seem to be more calm when I’m not on a pill at all.
I have been on othrotricyclen lo. I believe that’s got less hormones in it. but don’t take my word for it! Ask your dr.
People who say Depo does not cause weight gain are uninformed. There are very clear studies showing that Depo can cause overwhelming weight gain in a percentage of women who take it, with slender, younger girls being especially susceptible. What’s more, this weight gain does not appear to be reversible and is independent of actual calories consumed. I suggest that people who are unaware google “Depo Provera” and “early gainers” for more information.