My Essure Nightmare
After having a high risk pregnancy & life-threatening complications during labor & delivery, I decided after the birth of our daughter in December 2012 that I would not be able to have any more children. I have a severe form of anemia–Aplastic Anemia that affects my white blood cells, red blood cells & platelet production. My doctor told me about Essure, stating it was the new easier form of a tubal ligation & that it would be a better choice because there wouldn’t be a risk for bleeding as a tubal ligation would. She never explained any risks or complications only that it was an easy procedure & some doctors even perform it in office. It sounded like the best choice considering my bleeding issues & she made it sound so much better than having a tubal. She said I would need a depo shot a week before the procedure (such a huge mistake). I decided to proceed with Essure & had it Friday, January 25, 2013. After the procedure I felt ok, only some cramping & light bleeding. By Saturday I was in severe pain & was bleeding more. I called the on-call dr since it was a weekend & she said that bleeding & cramping was normal that my body was just adjusting to having the coils put in & bleeding could be from the depo shot as well. She called in pain medication, told me to rest all weekend & to follow up on Monday with my dr. I was in severe pain all weekend so I made an appointment on Monday. My dr said the same thing that the pain & bleeding were normal & to follow up in 2 weeks. She refilled my pain medication & I left. I saw her again in February, still having pain & bleeding. Again, she said the bleeding was from the depo shot & that I may bleed until it wore off which lasted for 12 weeks. She explained that the pain was my body building scar tissue around the coils to block the tubes. She said usually the cramping should’ve gone away by now but it wasn’t uncommon, to make an appointment in April for the confirmation test & to keep taking pain meds as needed which is pretty much every day all day. I called the nurse many times to tell her that I was still experiencing bleeding & cramping also nausea & fatigue. I had blood tests done since I was still bleeding & it was making my anemia worse. I had no energy & was in pain daily. I had the Essure confirmation test on April 30, 2013. My dr called the next day to tell me that my left tube was not blocked & I would need to have a tubal ligation on that side, she would find the coil & remove it. I scheduled the surgery for June. My pain had gotten so bad by this time that my husband who works out of town for months at a time had to leave his job to come home to take care of me & our 4 children. I went in to have the surgery in June. I had a platelet transfusion the morning of the surgery but my blood count was still too low & I wasn’t able to have the tubal & coil removed. We went in that day to talk with the doctor in her office. She insisted that she didn’t believe the pain & symptoms I had were from the Essure. I told her that I never had the pain & bleeding until I had the coils put in & that the pain still hasn’t gone away & I was still bleeding even months after the depo shot was out of my system. She prescribed me birth control pills & more pain meds. She wasn’t concerned about the pain I was having & didn’t want to admit it could be from the Essure. She did not want to take credit for not informing me of any risks or complications. I feel that I was misinformed about this procedure. We left & decided to have a second opinion. We made an appointment with a new gynecologist. We went in & I told her everything that had been going on since January & she said I needed a hysterectomy to remove the coils & that was the only option to make the pain go away. She told me in the meantime she wanted me to have an endometrial ablation (which I had July 31) to make my monthly cycles go away or be really light since I have bleeding issues. She prescribed me really strong pain medications & told me that was all she could do until my blood count was high enough for me to have a hysterectomy (which I am still not able to have). During this time my anemia had gotten so bad that I had to see another hematologist. I had a bone marrow biopsy & was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. He told us that there is no cure for this type of anemia, the only treatments are blood & platelet transfusions & a bone marrow transplant. It is now September 19 & I am still in the worst pain. I have pelvic pain, headaches, fatigue, nausea, bloating, bleeding, low back pain & what I call ‘cramping attacks’ that happen all the time. I can’t do anything when this happens, I can barely walk. When I have these cramping attacks my husband has to help me to the bath, (that is the only thing that helps me relax), help me out of the bath & help me dress. I can’t even walk by myself. He has to help me to the couch or to the bed to lie down. The pains are so intense it brings me to tears & my body trembles. I constantly have pelvic pain. When these cramping attacks happen, it is so bad that I compare it to labor pains or contractions, it is the worst pain I have ever felt. I cannot even do normal day to day things. I am always having to take it easy & rest because if I do too much physical activity I cramp severely. I am missing out on so much with my husband & children, the little things that mean so much to us. Some days I cannot even walk upstairs to tuck my children into bed at night. If I would have known that having Essure could possibly lead to hysterectomy I would never have even considered it an option with the bleeding issues that I have. I would have opted for the tubal ligation to begin with. Essure has taken so much from me & my family. I regret everyday having the Essure procedure. I hope anyone considering having this procedure knows the risks & complications that come with it. I am stuck with these coils inside of me & will always be in this type of pain that I am in today for the rest of my life. I am not sure I will ever be able to have a hysterectomy.