Mother claims to have battled depression from the Essure coil

‘The coil has ruined my life’: Mother-of-three, 41, claims to have battled weight gain, incontinence and severe pain after sex after being fitted with controversial Essure implant

• Nadi Nour had the sterilisation device implanted in 2010
• In the eight years since, she has gained 66lbs despite not changing her lifestyle
• Ms Nour has also endured migraines, chronic fatigue, cramps and low libido
• She is desperate to have it removed but there is a nine-month waiting list
• The implant causes scar tissue in the fallopian tubes, which blocks sperm

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A mother-of-three claims the controversial contraceptive implant Essure has ruined her life.

Nadi Nour, 41, a sales consultant from Adelaide, Australia, says her life has turned into a ‘living hell’ ever since she had the sterilisation device implanted into her fallopian tubes in 2010.

In the eight years since, Ms Nour has gained 66lbs (30kg), as well as battling monthly bladder infections, incontinence, depression, migraines, chronic fatigue, cramps, a reduced libido and severe pain after sex.

Ms Nour, who has joined hundreds of women in Australia in taking legal action against Essure’s manufacturer Bayer, said: ‘It has ruined my life completely and I really regret ever having it done. 

‘Each day has becoming a living hell because of these horrible side effects.’ 

Essure is a coil implant that triggers inflammation in the fallopian tubes, which results in a build-up of scar tissue that blocks both sperm from reaching an egg and eggs implanting in the uterus wall. 

The implant has caused controversy globally, with Essure being pulled from the US, UK, Canada and South Africa, as well as throughout Europe and South America.

It has recently come under fire in Australia after hundreds of women complained of experiencing side effects since having the implant fitted. Bayer claims it discontinued the device in the country in July last year due to declining demand.

Mother-of-three Nadi Nour claims her contraceptive implant has ruined her life. Since having the coil fitted, Ms Nour has experienced ‘horrible side effects’, including incontinence, migraines and chronic fatigue, which she puts down to the sterilisation device 

Ms Nour decided to have the implant fitted after the birth of her youngest daughter. She opted for the device over having a hysterectomy due to its supposedly faster recovery time. Pictured left to right are Ms Nour’s daughters Aiesha, 21, Yasmeen, 22, and Aaliyah 13

Ms Nour once enjoyed a healthy sex life with her husband Chris (pictured), 34, however, since having Essure fitted, she has been left with a low libido and severe pain after intercourse

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‘It sounded perfect’   

Speaking of her decision to have the implant fitted, Ms Nour said: ‘At the time, it seemed like the best option for me. I already had three beautiful girls and I didn’t want anymore.

‘I talked to a friend who had the implant too and she recommended it to me.

‘I decided to talk to my doctor. It seemed better than a hysterectomy because there was little to no recovery period.

‘It sounded perfect. They just said it was a titanium rod that would stop me from ever getting pregnant.’

 Ms Nour claims to be in pain every day, adding that the coil affects every aspect of her life

She adds that she is desperate to ‘get her life back’ and want to ‘just go back to normal’

WHAT IS THE ESSURE DEVICE THAT HAS CAUSED CONTROVERSY AROUND THE WORLD?

Essure is a permanent birth control procedure that involves inserting a tube into a woman’s fallopian tubes.

It is non-hormonal and causes the build-up of scar tissue that prevents sperm from reaching eggs and eggs from implanting into the walls of the uterus.

According to Essure.com, the device is 99.3 percent effective when used as the sole method of contraception. 

Women who have had the device fitted claim it has left them in agonising pain, with some even being driven to the brink of suicide.

Essure launched onto the global market in 2002, with more than 34,000 women across the world complaining of side effects in the years since.

In July this year, it was announced that Essure will be discontinued in the US amid reports of thousands of women suffering excruciating pain, bleeding and allergic reactions.

Allergic reactions are thought to occur due to the device containing nickel and polyester. 

The US Food and Drug Administration previously placed multiple restrictions on the device following patient reports of adverse events.

Such events included the device ‘migrating’ and even perforating organs.

In May, the FDA said doctors must show women a checklist of the device’s risks before implanting it, which caused demand for the implant to plummet. 

Essure was first marketed in the UK in 2009. In August 2017, Bayer instructed hospitals to stop using it. 

Although there had been a growing number of complaints against the device, Bayer insisted the product was is withdrawn worldwide for ‘commercial reasons’, with women preferring permanent methods of sterilisation. 

‘I want to have my life back’  

Although the implantation of the device went to plan, Ms Nour began experiencing symptoms in the following months.

She said: ‘I began gaining loads of weight. My diet and activity level hadn’t changed, so I was really baffled.

‘In just three months I’d gained 22lbs (10kg), which went up to 66lbs in the 18 months following the procedure.

‘I was doing everything right and there was no reason for me to be piling on the weight. It was so depressing.

‘I’ve also become severely incontinent following the implant. Even after three kids, I never had problems with bladder control.’

Since having the implant fitted, Ms Nour has experienced leaking every time she laughs or sneezes. Her sex life has also been severely affected. 

She said: ‘Sex has become a nightmare. I’ve lost my libido and it’s so painful for me now after sex. I was someone who used to really enjoy that aspect of my life. But now I feel like it’s been ruined for me.

‘I’m so fatigued all the time and get these debilitating migraines.

‘I wish I knew about this before getting it implanted inside of me. Now all I want is for it to be out.

‘I’m in pain every day and it’s affected every aspect of my life. I just want to get back to normal. I want to have my life back.’

Ms Nour thought Essure seemed ‘perfect’ after deciding her three ‘beautiful’ girls were enough. A friend recommended the coil, with doctors saying it would stop her ever conceiving

Ms Nour now describes sex as a ‘nightmare’, adding the coil has ‘totally ruined’ intercourse

Ms Nour is desperate to have her coil removed but faces a nine-month minimum waiting list

Bayer claims patient safety is the ‘utmost importance’

The Essure implant came under fire in recent months after the Australian law firm Slater and Gordon announced a proposed class action against Bayer in August, which follows similar lawsuits in the US, Canada and Scotland.

The action comes following an onslaught of complaints from hundreds of Australian women who say they have experienced adverse side effects since having the implant fitted. 

A spokesperson for the pharma giant said: ‘Patient safety is of the utmost importance to Bayer and we are always saddened to hear of anyone experiencing an adverse event with any medical device.

‘Essure was developed by Conceptus Inc. and placed on the Australian market in compliance with the Therapeutic Goods Administration requirements.

‘While it was on the market Essure was maintained and updated in accordance with all Health Authority requirements to ensure the label reflected all current safety information and that information was distributed to healthcare professionals in a timely manner.

‘Bayer discontinued the distribution of Essure in Australia in August 2017 due to a low and declining trend in patient preference for this choice of permanent contraception.

The spokesperson added: ‘Essure is supported by an extensive body of research, including more than 40 published studies involving more than 200,000 patients worldwide over the past 20 years. 

‘The company will continue to offer a range of long-acting reversible contraceptives and short-acting oral contraceptives in Australia.’

HOW BAD IS THE PAIN CAUSED BY THE ESSURE BIRTH CONTROL DEVICE? TWO WOMEN REVEAL THEIR AGONY AFTER PROCEDURE

Laura Linkson, who was fitted with the controversial Essure device in 2013, said last August that the pain left her suicidal and feeling like a burden on her family.

Speaking on the BBC’s flagship Victoria Derbyshire programme, she said: ‘I went from being a mum who was doing everything with her children, to a mum that was stuck in bed unable to move without pain, at some points being suicidal.’ 

Laura Linkson was fitted in 2013 and said the pain left her suicidal and a burden on her family

Another patient, Victoria Dethier, who was implanted with Essure in 2012, suffered pain for three years before having a hysterectomy to remove the device in 2015.

She said: ‘It felt like I was dying, like something was killing me from the inside.’ 

After the devices’ removal, Ms Dethier says she instantly felt better, with the horrible taste in her mouth easing and her previously lost hair growing back within just 12 months.

Victoria Dethier had the implant in 2012 and suffered pain for years before her hysterectomy

Essure is a permanent birth control procedure that involves inserting a tube into women’s fallopian tubes.

The device went onto the market in 2002, but more than 34,000 women across the world have complained of side effects in the years since. 

In the US, around 15,000 women have reported complications to the FDA, including pain, allergic reactions and ‘migration of device’. 

 

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