After having my fourth child I decided I was ready for a permanent form of birth control. I told my doctor right after I had my baby that I wanted to have a tubal ligation done. He informed me that I would have to sign a form and wait at least 30 days before he could perform the procedure. It was three months before he finally contacted me for my appointment. When I went for my initial appointment my doctor really pushed for Essure. I had never heard of the procedure but he told me it was quicker, safer, and painless. He told me I would be back on my feet the next day after having it done. I told him I really preferred to have a tubal because I was more familiar with it but he insisted that Essure was the best choice. I agreed to go with the Essure and gave me a Depo shot in the office and set up the appointment for my procedure. He wrote me a prescription for 5 Percocet 5’s and told me to get them filled right before I came for the procedure and told me to bring them with me to my appointment. I asked him why I would need them if the Essure was painless. He said that some people experience some mild cramping while they are placing the coils and that would help dull the cramping. Well mild cramping doesn’t even begin to describe the pain. The nurse gave me one of the Percocet’s and a Valium 30 minutes before the procedure and even with those the pain was unbearable. My knees were shaking soo bad from the pain that two nurses had to hold them still. They brought an Essure representative in with them and after the doctor placed the first coil in my right tube he allowed the Essure rep to put the second one in. They took a really long time trying to get in the one in my left tube and when she finally placed it they said that it went too far in so they had to place a a second one in. So their quick, ‘pain-free’ procedure took over an our during which I experienced horrible, horrible cramping and severe pain. When I got home the cramping didn’t stop for over a week during which I was in bed hardly able to move. The ‘mild’ bleeding my doctor told me to expect was very heavy and lasted for over 5 months. I now know exactly where my fallopian tubes are located because I feel sharp, stabbing pain where they placed the coils. I have recently been experiencing pain in my right flank and in my lower back on my right side and I’m worried that maybe one of the coils has migrated somewhere in my body. When I have called my doctor’s office about this they treat me as though I am either crazy or stupid and tell me there is no way Essure could be causing me these problems. I don’t have the money to pay to have these removed and my insurance will only pay to have them removed if the doctor says it is necessary, so now I am stuck with stabbing pains that literally bring me to my knees. My advice to anyone that asks me about Essure is DON’T DO IT! I wish I could go back in time and insist on having the tubal done in the first place.