In March 2013 I went in for a routine pap smear and discussed options of sterilization with my dr. My husband refused to get a vasectomy and due to other issues stemming from an IUD and taking oral birth control wasn’t an option, I was over 30 we have 3 kids we were definitely done having children. I asked about tubal ligation but my dr assured me that Essure was a better way to go, less time under anesthesia, less recovery time, and the best part – insurance covers Essure 100% as opposed to 70% of the tubal ligation. It seemed a no brainer, I went ahead and made the appointment for the procedure. I did some research on the product didn’t find anything alarming so I was confident in my decision. I went ahead with the procedure, went in and had the post procedure ultra sound and was told everything looked good. Less then a year later I started with night sweats, didn’t think much of it, happens to most women and my mom and aunt went through early menopause, I was 35 almost 36 it seemed normal, they proceeded to get worse happening more frequently. My periods started to get really light – I think BONUS – the cramps were bad but some Advil and I was fine. Now I just turned 37 (almost 2 years after insertion) and I sweat almost every night, I have hot flashes that cause sweating and my face to be flushed, its like a switch goes off and I need to stand in the Arctic Ocean to cool down. Its embarrassing. Until reading a recent article about the product I was sure this was normal. I am realizing now it is not! I am alarmed to find out that many women end up having hysterectomy and taking hormone pills to help! And yet it is still on the market and Bayer isn’t going to do anything for these women.