I was going through a divorce, losing my business, and claiming bankruptcy when I found out that I was pregnant at the age of 42. I had opted to have the Essure procedure done about 9 months before I found out I was pregnant, when my doctor sang the praises of the procedures and claimed it was more effective than traditional tubal ligation. I was not in any financial position to have a child, I had a lot of negative and unfortunate circumstances in my life at the time, but my religious beliefs kept abortion from being an option. At the age of 42, with a grown 21 year old son, I was stunned and cried for days. My daughter was born without complications, and I love her with all my heart. Less than a year after her birth, I returned to taking birth control pills at the advice of my physician when my periods became extremely painful and heavy. I asked if the pregnancy had caused such a dramatic change in my life, because my periods had never given me real problems. My doctor felt it was more likely attributable to my age. I have gained 20 pounds in the past 2 years, and also attributed that to either being on birth control pills or getting to that age where my metabolism slows down. My gynecologist did express concern about the weight gain (14 pounds was in one year) and recommended I have my thyroid tested, which I did and my thyroid was fine. During this same 2-year period, I have also started having intermittent and extreme low back pain and associated spasms. To date I still haven’t had that checked by a doctor secondary to a high-deductible health plan and a limited budget. Add chronic fatigue to the list these last 2 years, and my story is more or less complete. I am so grateful that I found this community dedicated to getting th information out about Essure. I had no idea that these issues might all be related. Thankfully, in June I will have a health plan that will allow me to afford to look into these issues more thoroughly. Of note, I did not find out until I was in the hospital after the birth of my daughter that the follow up test my doctor performed at the 3-month mark was inadequate, because he did not use contrast dye.
Thank you to Erin Brockovich as well as all the incredible and strong ladies who have made these problems known to the public.