My name is Crystal and like many others, I would like to share my Essure story with you. I had my procedure done in 2010. Since then, I have experienced a huge number of strange, persistent symptoms. I have sought the care of numerous specialists, all of which can’t seem to make a picture out of this strange puzzle. It started with debilitating headaches. My eyes ache and burn and it feels as though my head is going to explode. The pressure is so intense that it reminds me of being unable to swallow on an airplane. Only the pressure is all over. Not just my ear drums. At it’s worst, I am disoriented and experience auditory distortions. In August of 2011, after several trips to the GP and the ER, we did a lumbar puncture only to discover I had viral meningitis.
I have constant abdominal pain and cramping. At the least, it feels as though I may have eaten something that didn’t agree with me. At most, it feels as though I have some sort of food poisoning. It is agonizing and has caused severe hemorrhoids. Along with the abdominal cramping, I have experienced severe back and hip pain, radiating down my thighs and calves. My menstrual cycle has gotten excruciating, with heavy bleeding and debilitating cramps.
I have constant muscle spasms, hypertonic reflexes, and burning muscle pain. I’ve received 6 steroid injections to my neck and upper back in an attempt to release the muscles that are now frozen. Due to the spasms, I have developed degenerative disc disease to my cervical spine and lower back. Several disks in my lumbar spine have herniated under the strain of constant hip, buttock and hamstring spasms. At times, I can barely lift our toddlers into their car seats or buckle the straps.
I have chronic fatigue, which again can be attributed to neurological irritation, poor quality of sleep, and chronic immune system response. My physical therapist described it to me like this, if your muscles are extremely tight it takes a lot more energy to get them to reach, stretch or move. Imagine a tight exercise band versus a loser one. It takes WAY more strength to get it to stretch. To my husband, we’ve actually stopped sleeping in the same bed. I am constantly tossing and turning and twitching and moaning…
I have had three serious neurological episodes involving paralysis to my left side. I’ve began developing tiny nonspecific lesions on my brain thought to be related to the severe headaches I’ve been having. I have been hospitalized twice and have made dozens of trips to the emergency room. My hair has been steadily thinning and falling out and the skin on my face is often flushed or pealing. My face, shoulders, arms, and legs often feel like ice water is being splashed on them or as if an insect is biting me. I often feel as though bugs are crawling up my extremities.
I have spent a quarter of a million dollars in hospitalizations, specialists, testing, medications and procedures to address my symptoms. The problem is that we never get to the root of what is causing this. I have a nickel allergy. I was told that these coils were safe and had an extremely low likelihood of causing adverse reactions. Interestingly enough, one of the exclusion criteria for clinical trials was any woman with a “Nickel Allergy”.
Please help us get the word out to women all over the world that this product is not being represented in an honest and safe way. The complications are just too great and the number of women suffering deserves a call to action!