I went through the Essure procedure in 2008 after suffering a miscarriage. I thought long and hard about not having any more children, and spoke with my physician about options. At the time, I was using an IUD but knew this would only last for some many years. My physician spoke to me about Essure and provided me some literature. I thought this would be less costly and easier than getting my tubes tied. I heard about women suffering after going through this procedure and thought that the Essure would be better. My physician referred me to another OB/GYN that performed this procedure. I think the first sign of not going through this procedure was when the doctor has trouble removing my IUD, then trying to place the coils in. She was able to get one in but the other would not go in for some reason. I had to reschedule and come back for her to finish the procedure. I had no problems until about a year later when I began to feel pain within my uterus and pelvic area. I brought this to the attention of my doctor and she blew it off saying that it was probably me ovulating. I explained that I knew what it felt like when I was ovulating and this pain was far worse. Needless to say, my doctor did nothing and I continued to suffer. During 2010, I begin to see my old OB/GYN and explained to her the pain I had been suffering. She asked if I had any changes over the past few years and I told her about the Essure. She ordered me to undergo some test. They only checked to make sure that the Essure was still in place and if there were any growths or abnormalities. She said the test came back normal and could not explain why I was having this pain. She blew it off also and said that it was probably all in my mind. I told her that I felt the pain was probably from the Essure, because it only started after this. I began to research and found that many other women suffered just like I was and had some of the same symptoms. I knew this was not all in my mind nor was I making this up. Around May 2012, I noticed that my hands and feet were swelling up for no reason. I went to see my doctor and was told that it was probably from medication I had taken. I explained that I took the medicine once before and never experienced this problem. In July 2012, I woke up around 3AM after feeling nauseous and felt like the room was spinning. I tried getting to the bathroom and almost fell because the room was spinning out of control. Once I was able to regain my composure, I went to lay back down hoping that this would clear up. When I woke up for work, I found myself not being able to get up and the room began spinning again. I noticed that I could not hear out of my right ear clearly and the room seem tilted. This left me unable to walk straight. Eventually, I went to urgent care and was ordered to go to the emergency room because my blood pressure was too high for them to see me. I went home to get someone to take me to the ER and soon all the symptoms seem to fade and I was feeling back to normal, at least I thought so. The whole incident started all over again and my children (17 & 9) had to take me to the emergency room. This freaked them out and upset me to see them crying. The hospital ran a number of tests, much like my doctor ordered and could not find anything. They had no idea why my blood pressure was going up or why the room was spinning, tilted, or me being unable to walk straight or by myself. They summed it up to vertigo and tinnitus. I went to see several more doctors to try to figure out what was going on and neither could tell me why. All of them kept saying the same thing. No one ever checked to see if the Essure was causing all these problems. Every doctor kept giving me medicine but nothing helped. My nightstand was full of medicine bottles. It took almost a year for the tilting and dizziness to disappear. Unfortunately, I still suffer from it every now and again but not as bad. I also break out for no reason, especially in my vaginal area. Upon my research, I read that the coils are metal and could cause problems. I have sensitive skin and certain metal or jewelry will break me out. My conclusion is the Essure is causing these breakouts. I still suffer from pain in my uterus and pelvic area. The doctor told me that the precedure is not reversible, but upon research I found that it is. It will cost me around $7,000 and a trip to South Carolina.
Something must be done about this and fast. Someone will lose their life, if nothing is done. I felt like it was going to be me and no one was willing to take the necessary steps to check on the Essure.