The Essure procedure, a method for permanent birth control, was marketed to women based on its convenience compared to tubal ligation.

Prior to the approval of Essure coils in November 2002 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, tubal ligation was the only choice for women seeking permanent sterilization. This process involving the tying off of the Fallopian tubes required surgery with general anesthesia and time off from work.

The Essure procedure, on the other hand, allegedly took a trained physician 15 minutes to complete. It involved using a special applicator to insert a pair of nickel coils that were two centimeters in length each into the Fallopian tubes.

After the Essure procedure, women were instructed to use back-up contraception for approximately three months while scar tissue formed around the coils and eventually occluded them.

Full occlusion was to be confirmed by a hysterosalpingogram after the three month period. This test involves the insertion of contrast dye through the cervix and into the uterus. Using X-ray, a radiologist confirms that no contrast passes through the purportedly blocked Fallopian tubes.

Despite Alleged Convenience Women Suffer

According to a CBC article, however, the promise of convenience was only delivered on the front end. Yes, the Essure procedure itself was quick and easy as reported by many women that opted for this permanent birth control method when it was presented by their physician. It was an easy choice in terms of convenience.

Nevertheless, for thousands of women in the U.S., Canada, and abroad, Essure coils have allegedly been the cause of constant pain and suffering that for some have led to the need of full hysterectomy. Others say they have seen several doctors who have claimed that the variety of symptoms they report are imaginary.

For one woman—a resident of Weyburn, Saskatchewan in Canada—pain began almost immediately after undergoing the Essure procedure in October 2014, according to CBC. Trisha T. says she experienced almost constant pain in her low back, headaches, sweating, shaking, irregular menstrual bleeding with blood clots. She claims that a blood clot fell from her while working one day and soaked the floor under her—it was the size of a baseball.

Trisha was told this was normal by medical professionals although she had had no prior history of any difficulty with her menstrual cycles. Eventually, it was determined that she needed to have her uterus removed. Examination revealed that the blood passage had not had anything to do with her cycles, but was the result of uterine perforation which had happened during the Essure procedure itself.

Trisha is not alone. In Canada and the U.S. women have banded together to share their stories on social media outlets and have filed Essure lawsuits against Bayer, the maker of Essure.

As of this past October, 18,000 U.S. women were involved in these suits. The product was removed from the Canadian market in January 2017, and will cease to be sold in the U.S. as of the end of December this year. Bayer insists that Essure is reasonably safe, but claims its decision to withdraw it from the market is based upon a decline in demand for the permanent birth control method.