5 years ago, after my 3rd child was born, I inquired about a permanent birth control method. My OBGYN immediately told me about Essure, & spoke with great confidence that it was the very best option for me. I never so much as questioned her intentions, or knowledge on the product.
Soon after, I returned to her clinic to have Essure implanted. I was given Valium & a local anesthetic for the procedure. The first coil went in with no problem, the second coil, however, got stuck halfway in. I was unaware of this, until I began to feel the most earth-shattering pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life! And, THIS opinion coming from a woman who delivered 3 children naturally (with no epidural). It was excruciatingly horrible pain! It wasn’t until I let out a scream & begun the VERY FIRST EVER anxiety attack, I had had, that the OBGYN stood up & in front of me began making phone calls to the reps of Essure. She openly admitted to ‘never having’ a problem like this before (a coil stoppig halfway into the tube) & showed obvious frustration WITH ME because I was no longer able to keep my legs spread apart in stir-ups as the pain grew unbearable & the office staff came pouring into my room…. Within minutes I was being escorted to the hospital across the street, where I was given paperwork to sign for an immediate surgery…. I was told that an Essure rep would be by my OBGYNS side as she performed my procedure. I wasn’t sure whether I’d be waking up with Essure, with a hysterectomy, or with my tubes tied at this point, but honestly…. I was just glad to hear that I would be sleepingn through the procedure & wouldn’t be feeling anymore pain. (I wish I knew the REAL TRUTH of all the pains I would later suffer due to Essure).
I awoke from my procedure, where I was informed that the Essure placement was successful. It wasn’t until I joined the ‘Essure Problems’ FB page, that I was left wondering if I had walked out that day with only 2 devil coils, or if maybe I was like many others who had failed attempts & were left sometimes with 4+coils inside of them, without their knowledge.
It didn’t take very long for my symptoms to begin & OH BOY did they sure come with a hateful vengeance! I returned to my OBGYN several times over the following 2 years, with constant complaints of unexplained abdominal pains, cramping, severe bleeding, lower back pains, leg pains, headaches, & several other davilitating symptoms that were constant (not just during my cycle). I was 26yrs of whenhese coils were implanted & had gone through 3 pregnancies & over 12 years of tolerable & predictable men’s trail cycles. I KNOW MY BODY & I knew the only thing that could have caused these severe & life-altering symptoms was ESSURE!
STILL, My ONGYN continued to attempt to convince me that Essure couldn’t possibly cause these symptoms. It wasn’t until through a tear soaked shirt & several minutes of pleading for her to understand that she suggested my symptoms were likely caused from endometriosis. For a moment I convinced myself that ANY diagnosis was better than none at all! I was offered a sort of ‘camera-type’ procedure that could check for endometriosis, but the thought of another procedure damn-near sent me into a pure panic. My OBGYN assured me that she was certain endometriosis was the cause of my symptoms, so the camera procedure was unnecessary. Instead, we began Lupron injection treatments to treat my (supposed) endometriosis. A week after my first injection, with hot/cold flashes, constant nausea, aching pains, & other symptoms added ON TOP OF my Essure symptoms, I HAD HAD ENOUGH! I gave up! Clearly, nobody was going to believe me that Essure was the cause of my life-altering, marriage-damaging, mood-changing, pain-staking, completely unbearable symptoms! So, I stopped going to my OBGYN.
seceral times following this day, I was seen at my family doctor for many related symptoms, including unexplained weight gain, depression symptoms, migraines, stiff muscles, digestive & bowel problems…… All of which had their own little diagnosis & ‘temporary fixes’, of course, because I refused to mentio. Even ONE MORE DAMN TIME about the Essure coils hand in this mess!
Since I had Essure coils placed, my life has changed drastically. ive been through the diagnosis, fight, & loss of my mother due to cancer & have also since divorced my husband of 14 years. BOTH painful & life-changing events, but both pail in comparison to the losses I’ve suffered at the hands of this evil product that Conceptus & Bayer created & continue to allow to be implanted in hundreds of thousands of helpless women. There were moments during my mother’s fight with cancer, when she would be suffering symptoms from chemo & would STILL be in better shape than I was! Recovering from a lung-tube surgery, MY CRIES from crawling out of bed in pain from Essure were heard through our home louder than hers!
ESSURE has stolen my faith & trust in doctors of any kind, my healthy shaped body, my confidence, my energy, my happiness, my comfort, my smile, my positive outlook on the world in general, & on some days it has even stolen my will to live!
And, rumor has it….. It soon will steal several thousands of dollars from my bank account, as I prepare to travel across country to pay out of pocket to have it removed, by one of only 4 clinics whom offer to remove them, without removing other organs.
YOU HAVE TAKEN ENOUGH FROM ME ALREADY ESSURE!!!! I refuse to allow you to take my tubes, uterus, cervix, or any other part of my body too!
The only thing I ever intend to ‘lose’ at the hands of Essure & the money hungry companies whom created & distributed this product is MY TIME, as I prepare to fight endlessly, until this evil product is no longer being used on unsuspecting women!!!!
Sincerely,
Another E-victim looking for escape from E-hell
Stephanie Lowrey