Essure Procedure

I had the essure coils implanted about 6 or 7  years ago.  I was a smoker, and knew it was dangerous to continue taking oral birth control after that age.  So I talked to my doctor about my options, and she suggested the essure method.  I read the materials, and it sounded very low risk.  At the time, the literature I was given made it sound like the worst side effect would be pain during the procedure.

I had the procedure done.  Aside from not reacting well to the medication and dilation, things seemed to go well, and I went home with my husband, and spent the afternoon resting.  No, I was not one of those ladies touted in the pamplet who spent the afternoon shopping following the procedure.  I wasn’t troubled to much the first week.  I had a medical procedure, I expected some discomfort.  Except the pain just wouldn’t go away.  The spotting and bloating, the uncomfortable feeling all the time.  It wasn’t even unbearable pain most of the time, just a constant, nagging, there pain-and-discomfort in my abdomen, changes to my bowel habits, and chronic lower back ache which became worse during my menstrual cycle.  And then every so often, I’d move the wrong way and it felt like someone was unzipping my insides.  I couldn’t pick up anything heavy, like a laundry basket, it hurt too much.  After discussing it with my gynocologist for several months, taking muscle relaxants to stop the spasms she thought were happening in my fallopian tubes, and adopting a wait-and-see attitude, I begged her to just get them out of me.

I was one of the lucky ones.  She was able to perform a laparoscopic removal of the tubes only, and I did not have to undergo a full hysterectomy.  When I went under for my surgery, I did not know what I would be waking up to -it could have gone either way, and I may have been looking at a much longer recovery.  The lab performed an examination as to why they were causing me so much trouble, and determined my fallopian tubes were grown at almost a 90 degree angle…so I was NOT a good candidate for this procedure.  But there was no testing done ahead of time to rule anything like that out, so I underwent 4 months of pain for no real reason, other than the manufacturer wasn’t aware this could cause issues.

Also, I found that even with the removal of the coils, I still had symptoms of bloating and changes to my bowel habits for well over a year.   My once 26 inch waist was larger than my 32 inch hips for about 3 months before it finally started to subside.

I did file a report with the FDA following my removal, and I am gratified to see that they now include contraidiction on who should have this procedure done.  Had I known more about the procedure and the true story of some of the side effects before undergoing it, I believe I would have chosen a different method with my doctor.  I also noted on my last visit with her, she no longer has the essure pamplets in her waiting area.