← Back to SIS

My Essure Story

Why I Built SIS

I decided my family was complete and attended an appointment at the ERI with a female Dr, to discuss sterilisation. She was very enthusiastic about the new Essure implants and the simplicity of them — in and out in 20 minutes, no surgery, no time off work, just a simple safe procedure.

I was asked to fill in a medical consent form and add any allergies, to which I added nickel allergy. She noted this and said there would be no issues as the implants were fully encased and the procedure was booked.

The procedure was very painful. The left Essure was painful, but the right Essure was so painful going in I thought I was going to be sick and pass out.

My husband was with me and took me home and I went to bed to sleep it off with some ibuprofen. The pain lasted several days and up until my check up, the Dr advised that it would take time to embed and just keep taking painkillers.

I did not realise the implications or side effects these little implants could cause and was not educated enough on the subject to realise that the following 7 years would be so difficult.

I started to notice severe bloating that was very uncomfortable leaving me feeling fatigued and full. I began having sharp stabbing pains in my abdomen that would come and go, but sometimes so severe I was nauseous.

The area varied from low down close to my pelvis and as high as my rib cage. I also had a dull ache in my pelvis, which would get worse with physical exertion. At the time I trained up to 4 times a week in martial arts and exercise classes. I also owned and regularly rode horses.

I attended the Dr who had a feel around my abdomen. The examination was painful and they suggested it could be bowel issues as I also mentioned I could have either constipation or loose bowels, they varied for no reason that I could see.

The Dr referred me to gastroenterologist department; I was on this waiting list for approx. 16 months and called the hospital for updates. I was eventually referred to Spire due to the length of time I was waiting.

During my visit to Spire I received an ultrasound. The radiologist asked if I had implants and I said I had Essure. He advised that he could only see the left-hand side one. At the time I did not think anything of this as I was not aware this could be linked.

I received a colonoscopy and nothing was found other than a few polyps which were removed.

I visited the Dr again as I was having pain during sex and at times bleeding after sex. I also advised that I was still having the stomach and pelvic pains and was advised to look at my diet.

He carried out an internal examination and advised that he could see nothing to worry about and it was probably my age and hormone related.

I made a further appointment as I started to get dizzy spells and felt faint especially after standing up. The Dr said my blood pressure was low, but explained it's better to be low than high and advised that I change my meals to smaller and more frequent and stand up slower.

I explained that was difficult to do as I was a firefighter. He laughed and said yes I can imagine, just try to get up slower.

All these symptoms continued and I was made to feel they were all in my head or trivial.

I started experiencing acute joint pain, specifically in my wrists, elbows, hips, feet, ankles and shooting pains up my legs. I also had severe headaches that started in my neck and went up around my temples like a band.

I made a further appointment to discuss the new pains. The Dr suspected autoimmune disorder and tested accordingly and referred me to rheumatology.

I was prescribed many different NSAIDS for the pain during the time I was waiting for an appointment and none of them removed the pain, only reduced the severity.

The medication included naproxen, diclofenac, etoricoxib and dihydrocodeine.

I was sent for bloods at rheumatology and nothing showed up. I received a scan in my neck and wrists and nothing showed up.

I was scared and confused that nothing was showing up, no diagnosis, so I started looking into all the symptoms and that's when I discovered the link to Essure and the thousands of women experiencing the same and worse.

I was shocked.

I called my Dr to discuss the results, and he suggested my pains were my body decaying due to age. He also advised that he hadn't heard of Essure and knew nothing about it.

I asked to be referred, and he agreed to refer me to gynaecology.

This was in March 2021. I hadn’t heard anything in around 8 months, so I called the appointment line and was told they are working through appointments and I was “not priority”.

I then decided to book a private appointment at Spire Edinburgh on 6/1/22.

I spent about 45 minutes being told that he does not believe Essure is causing these problems and finds it very strange that all of a sudden all these women are having issues after the mesh scandal.

I advised I didn't find it strange as women were now educating themselves and we had found support groups on social media because the Dr's were not listening and we were living with daily pain.

I also said there were gynaecologists in America and England supporting us and if I had to, I would travel and pay for this procedure to get my life back.

He advised that these Dr's were out to make money and to ask them for proof of success before going ahead.

He also advised that he had seen my scan from 2017 at the colonoscopy appointment and that I only had one functioning kidney, so I should think carefully about getting a hysterectomy as that in itself is a risk with one kidney.

I did not know anything about having only one kidney. He said the scan showed my right kidney had shrivelled and the left enlarged to compensate. He also said my right ovary was missing.

He was not keen for me to proceed with a hysterectomy and told me to seek a second opinion.

I sat in the car and cried, I just felt so dismissed and didn't know where to turn to.

I called and made another telephone appointment with my new Dr due to changing address. I told her about my appointment and my concerns over not being listened to, also that I had apparently only one working kidney.

She looked back through my notes and said the letter they received in 2017 said I had a smaller kidney but did not mention it did not function and that I had kidney function tests previously and they were satisfactory. She booked me in for yearly kidney checks.

I then booked my second opinion with a Dr who was recommended on the Essure UK ladies support group and started a support group for ladies in Scotland, and we collectively told our stories so that we had a louder voice.

We were trying to prevent this from happening to anyone else.

I had my Zoom call with Dr Edmund Edi-Osagie from Manchester Aurora Healthcare on the 25/1/22, and he immediately recognised the symptoms as Essure and Nickel allergy related.

He suggested a scan in Manchester to confirm that Tubal removal would be an option for me and explained the procedure.

I attended the HCA Wilmslow on Friday the 4/3/22 for an ultrasound and X-Ray.

Following the internal ultrasound Dr Edi-Osagie advised that due to what looked like severe endometriosis he recommended a full hysterectomy. I was booked into the Alexandra Hospital Cheadle for 7/3/22 for surgery.

Dr Edi-Osagie visited me when I recovered from the anaesthetic and explained that the surgery went well however there were a few complications due to the level of scarring.

He explained that whilst I did have a mild case of endometriosis, the scar tissue he saw on the scan was due to the Essure device as it is designed to create an inflammatory response in the body to close the fallopian tubes.

This however does not stop, and the inflammatory response continued to fuse all my internal organs together.

As a result, it turned into a very complicated process of removing my womb and fallopian tubes from surrounding tissue and organs prior to being able to remove them.

He supplied pictures of this for me to take to the government as I was petitioning for women to be heard, and he also offered his expertise on the subject.

I had an appointment set for 3/5/22 at the ERI, and I kept this appointment to use as a follow up to my surgery to save a trip back to Manchester.

At the meeting I advised that I was experiencing bleeding after intercourse. He replied “this is normal” and “I won’t bother with an examination, if it continues get in touch.”

I called his receptionist on the 6/6/22 as the bleeding continued and was now every day. She advised the Dr would call me, I waited a further few weeks and no reply.

I then contacted Dr Edi-Osagie for advice and he wanted me scanned as soon as possible.

He suggested I try Spire locally to prevent the trip and ask them to send him the report. Unfortunately, without a GP referral they could not help.

So I again travelled to Manchester on 30/6/22 for an early appointment on the 1/7/22.

Dr Edi-Osagie explained that due to the level of inflammation my body was taking longer than normal to recover and that I was also showing signs of infection.

He prescribed 2 weeks of strong antibiotics, tramadol, ibuprofen and complete rest for a further 4 weeks.

I then received a letter in the post from the Dr in Edinburgh advising he had no concerns and suggested if I was concerned to “go back to my surgeon in Manchester”, which thankfully I already had.

I am thankful I am one of the lucky ones who had the ability to go private and can honestly say I have my life back.

Looking back at pictures taken over the years I can clearly see my deterioration. Even now I still occasionally experience mild symptoms, but that just reminds me of what I have lived through.

I tried the government and NHS to make a difference. I managed to get a page added to the NHS Inform website, but it didn’t even scratch the surface of what these women are still living through.

When sharing this story, I came across many others — autoimmune disorders, cluster headaches, strokes, Lymphedema, cancer misdiagnosis — and the general feeling was not having a say or being in control when we knew something was wrong.

This is where SIS came from.

I’m lucky enough to have 3 big sisters who I could talk to — not everyone does.

I want to empower women to take control of their own health journeys, and I believe SIS is a step in the right direction.

— T

For the record, these were my symptoms that I lived with for 7 years before I got my life back

  • Severe bloating from flat stomach to 5 months pregnant
  • Severe headaches and neck and jaw pain
  • Joint pain all over
  • Shooting pains from feet up legs
  • Leg and feet swelling
  • Sharp stabbing pains in abdomen varying in length and position
  • Dull persistent ache in pelvis
  • Frequent need to urinate
  • Uncomfortable full feeling
  • Dizzy episodes with white flickers
  • Forgetfulness
  • Fatigue
  • Tiredness even after a night’s sleep
  • Unable to maintain a standing position for long periods