My story started in January of 2010. I was 34 years old. At the time my son was 14 and my daughter was 7. I was on the pill for birth control. I had decided that I was done having children and wanted a permanent end to child barring. I was tired of altering my body with chemicals and I want something that had no hormones. My mother had had a tubal ligation done years prior, so I asked my Gynecologist. She informed me that she would not do that and tried to persuade me to do an IUD. I refused and IUD and found another doctor.
I found the new doctor in March of 201. That is when I learned about the Essure Procedure. In went over the details with the doctor. I then went home and researched the information at home. I learned that there was some risks i.e. wrong placement or rejection. I understood that I was having a medical procedure done to my body. There are always risks with any medical procedure. I was ok with the risks.
I went to the doctor in April for an office visit. I went in and about an hour later I came out and was driven home. I was sore and moving slow, but I knew that was going to happen. I rested for a few days and when the pain stopped I went back to my regular activity. My doctor instructed me to stay on my birth control for 3 more months. By July I was off the pill. Was also not having a period at all.
Things were great for a while. Then November was another story. I started to have pain in the beginning of November. By November I started to bleed. This was the worst menstrual period I had ever had. It lasted for over 10 days. I was bleeding heaver and faster than I had ever before. The cramps that came along with it were also worse than ever. I knew that I was going to still have a period with the Essure procedure, but I never expected it to be like this. Since the bleeding stopped I did not call or see my doctor.
In December it started again. Once again I was bleeding and in a lot of pain. This time was the same as November, heavy, fast and painful. Again like November this lasted over 10 days. I went in to see my doctor. After an ultrasound it was discovered that my uterus was filled with fibroids. The doctor told me that we could do 1 of 3 things, nothing and live with it every month, cauterize me or do a hysterectomy. The pain was debilitating for the 2 months that I have experienced it. Knowing that I had several more years for menstrual cycles in my life I was unsure how I could get through it. Burning a part of my body did not seem to be the desired route for me. That left me with the hysterectomy option. I went home knowing what my options were and to think about it.
In January it all started again. I went to my doctor again. I informed her that I had to do something. I could not live the rest of my life this way. We discussed the hysterectomy option more in depth. I left the office knowing that I was going to schedule for surgery. I scheduled the surgery for February 10, 2011.
It seemed that after scheduling the surgery thing got worse. The pain was so bad that I could not sit stand or walk. I would get up in the morning and feel ok, but that would fade quickly. From the time I woke up and drove to work I had only been out of bed for an hour. The pain would start as I would drive to work. By the time I got there I was crying from the pain. At first I thought that it was the way I had to sit in my vehicle, but the pain was no better while at work. Many days I had to go home early, some days I turned around in the parking garage. I made a couple trips to the ER for the pain. I also went into my doctor. They told me that there was nothing that they could do for me and send me home.
By February 1st, 2011 I was put on bed rest. The bleeding and the pain never stopped. I was an active person. I had gone through 2 child births, several broken bones, several surgeries, pain did not bother me. This pain was a different story; it stopped me in my tracks. On February 10th 2011 I had a hysterectomy.
Since the start of all this (April 2010) I have had low to no sex drive and I am exhausted all the time. I understand that the medical profession is trying to make things better for people, but I often wonder what it would have been like if I had a tubal ligation.