I got the Essure Birth Control when I was 27 years old after my 3rd child. My doctor assured me it was a painless procedure that was safer, and easier than the traditional tubal ligation. Well, the procedure itself was in fact painless, however, in the years to follow I would come to realize that it would cause more pain then I could ever imagine. About a year and a half after having my Essure inserted I ended up in the ER with severe abdominal pain. After having an ultrasound done they figured the pain was from a hernia, but what they also found during my ultrasound was sure to be the scariest time of my life. The doctor came in and told me they had found a tumor the size of his head inside my uterus attached to my right ovary / fallopian tube, and that I needed surgery to remove this tumor extremely soon. They had no way of knowing if it was malignant or benign before going in to remove it, If they thought it to be malignant in the smallest way after opening me up to look at it, they were just going to go ahead and do a full hysterectomy. However I wouldn’t know exactly what they took out of my body until I woke up. Scary right? (it turned out to be benign) It was a rapid growing tumor as I had had a physical just a few months prior to this discovery, where everything had checked out okay. when I asked the doctors if it could be connected to my Essure, of course they said we have no idea what caused it. I had the surgery about a week later to remove what was told to me to be between a six and seven pound tumor. In order to remove a tumor of that size, they have to make a large incision. The incision started above my belly button and extended all the way down to my pubic bone I had 53 staples in my stomach. When I went back to the doctor to get my staples removed my stomach ended up falling open on the table. For the next 9 months I would have to go to wound care every other day to get my wound d breeded and repacked so that it could heal from the inside out. I would also end up spending a week in the hospital on IV antibiotics to fight this infection that was in there. While I was in the hospital, I would also Develop kidney stones presumably from all the medication they were pumping into my body, and then have to have tubes shoved up my nose and down into my stomach while I was awake because no amount of anti nausea medication could stop me from throwing up. They eventually ended up putting a wound vac on my stomach which created the biggest scar I have ever seen. My stomach is botched, and will never look the same. now while a week in the hospital doesn’t seem like a very long time I had three small children at home and a husband who worked full time. I’m not even really sure who actually took care of my kids while I was so sick. I was never told that the Essure was made of nickel and I certainly was never tested for a nickel allergy. After the Essure was inserted I noticed that my hair began to fall out in handfuls. I used to have thick beautiful naturally blonde hair and now I’m stuck with thin, stringy blonde hair. Sometimes I have unexplained shooting pains in my abdomen. My monthly menstrual cycle is debilitating. Now, I’m getting ready to have another surgery, to repair another hernia, a very large hernia that was caused from my previous surgery, and that my intestines are starting to come out of. when I was going through my tumor surgery and healing process, I thought that maybe there could have been a connection between my health problems and the Essure. However I just kind of swept it to the back of my mind. But now I’m starting to see more and more women come forward and talk about the health risks and things they’ve connected to their Essure procedures, and I’m finding that I have a lot in common with these women. I’m finding that I was never told that I could develop a tumor, or abdominal pain, or lose my hair. I was never told that my menstrual cycle would become unbearable. I was never told that they were made of nickel, and that I should have had a nickel allergy test done before the Essure was inserted. but most importantly, I was never told that the Essure would change my life and my health in a negative way forever. my battle with the Essure, is far from over. it will not be over until the Essure is completely out of my body. This means a complete hysterectomy. Basically I will have to strip the very thing that makes me a woman, the very thing that God gave me as my special tool to grow and create human life, because a doctor didn’t educate me. He made me believe that what I was doing was the safest option out there. Oddly enough, I don’t blame my doctor he was an amazing doctor who saves lives every day including my own. I do however blame the big pharmaceutical companies who come and sell their products to our doctors, but don’t fully educate our doctors on their product. They don’t let our doctors know of all of the risks associated with their product, because they are too focused in on selling it and making thier money. when money comes before someone’s safety and well being, that’s when I have a problem.