My Journey Through E-Hell
I'm done. At some point in life people get to the point of, "Hmm, I think I'm perfectly content with the number of kids I have. We're done." For some it's a stressful and nerve racking decision, for other's it is much easier when they just feel it in their gut; I'm done. This is my personal journey through Essure hell. I hope I can save at least one woman from the pain and agony I've felt.
A little back story. In 2009 I gave birth by emergency cesarean to my son at 28 weeks. I had extreme pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. Delivering him saved my life. My baby boy came into the world at 2 lb and 9 oz. He spent 2 months in Cardon Children's Medical Center's NICU here in Arizona. After that scary experience and other personal life struggles I fell somewhere in between baby blues and postpartum depression. The thought of repeating this event, which my OBGYN assured me it would be repeated for subsequent pregnancies, horrified me. So I signed up for Essure.
Essure is marketed as the non-surgical sterilization technique. Safe, fast, and easy. It was definitely fast, done in under 4 minutes. Safe and easy however couldn't have been further from the truth. I went into the office and had my OBGYN vaginally insert 2 titanium/nickel coils filled with PET fibers into my fallopian tubes to block them, and render me unable to ever conceive again. I recovered fast. No down time. Sounds amazing, right? I had 1 year of symptom free and worry free health. Then all of a sudden I wasn't so healthy.
I've spent years believing chronic urticaria (an autoimmune disorder causing intense, painful hives that appear out of no where) was ruining life. I didn't realize that this was a side effect of Essure. Heat, weather change, all activity including exercise, playing with my kids, even cleaning my house, strong emotions, the sun, and pressure on my body caused me to be covered in agonizing hives all over my body. This means I can't go outside between March and November. I can't play outside with my kids. I can't exericse. I can't even walk around the block. Nothing helps. I developed random body aches and pains especially in my pelvis. I've been hospitalized for the intense, stabbing pains with no relief. Then came the headaches, dizziness, brain fogginess, tingling in my hands and feet, nerve pain, and ovarian cysts. This is just naming a few of the terrible side effects I've been subjected to live with.
Did I mention that Essure contained nickel? I happen to have a nickel allergy. A nickel allergy. I have an allergen implanted in my body. My body is constantly trying to rid itself of this allergen by causing all these fun side effects. Testing for nickel allergies is not a common presurgical step when women are scheduled for Essure.
There are 10's of thousands of women around the world experiencing the same agony that I am. Many women were unaware of these side effects. The FDA just recently updated their site to reflect these severe side effects. Doctors are finally hearing our cries and helping to remove this devil device inside of us. I plan to remove mine in the next few months. I hope and pray I am one of the few women who are able to have it removed without losing my uterus. Most removals entail removing the fallopian tubes, uterus, and cervix. I'm only 29. I was only 24 when I chose this. I wasn't of sound mind. I wish someone had warned me. I'm here to warn you, I'm here to talk it out with you. I'm here to listen to you if you've already had this burden implanted in you.
If you are having problems with Essure please join us in this amazing Facebook group made of 18,000 other E-Sisters. If you have experienced negative side effects please make a report at MedWatch. You can find a list of all the reported side effects here. The Essure website put together by fellow E-sisters is a fantastic wealth of knowledge. Reading this site validated all of my feelings. Everytime I was told by a doctor I had nothing wrong with me, I now know they just had no idea where to look for the trigger. Hopefully this removal will be life changing.
