Essure sterilization: “Thousands of women have had their lives ruined like mine”

After having tasted the joys of motherhood thanks to her four children, Anne-Cécile Groléas decided at the age of 41 to undergo permanent sterilization. “My husband and I have decided to close this chapter of our history and open another.”, she says. “I had received a reassuring paper brochure about Essure implants, which only had to be a ten-minute non-surgical procedure to achieve sterilization. The gynecologist introduced me to this new technology as a more “natural” and less invasive alternative to tubal ligation.”

Essure Implants: A Permanent Female Sterilization Device

The mother therefore naturally trusts her doctor and has this medical device implanted, marketed by the pharmaceutical group Bayer. “The Essure implant is composed of an expandable spring placed at the level of the fallopian tubes by a gynecologist-obstetrician by natural means (vagina and cervix)“, describe the website of the Ministry of Health.

But very soon after the installation, Anne-Cécile feels very tired, without suspecting that this could have a link with her recent sterilization. “I was elected at the time of the campaign for the municipal elections of Vénissieux, so I am living a very intense moment. In addition to my mandate, I am the head of a fashion design TPE and I give sewing lessons, not to mention my four children at home…” This very active woman therefore puts her feelings aside, telling herself that fatigue is the inevitable consequence of a “busy life”.

“I wake up in the middle of the night with stabbing sensations in the side”

But a month’s vacation does nothing. “I come out as tired as if I hadn’t left. Then come joint pain and my state of health worsens: I wake up in the middle of the night with stabbing sensations in the side, I have ear infections, musculoskeletal pain, pelvic pain, hemorrhagic periods …“Problem, successive examinations reveal nothing. “I then continue to suffer, without understanding the reasons.“Urinary tract infections, knee pain, hair loss… Many other symptoms occur, all as diverse and varied.

“I lived a great medical wandering, particularly anxiety-provoking and which, despite my fatigue, did not directly lead me to think that the Essure implants were the reason. The symptoms were so multiple that it almost seemed normal to my doctor that I was a “a little” tired woman.” The forty-year-old therefore continues somehow to ensure on a daily basis, trying to convince herself that “everything is fine”.

Medical wandering: drugs to treat symptoms

“For several years, doctors prescribed me medicine to treat, one by one, certain symptoms. Never, the link with the implants was made… And besides, nobody spoke about it.“And for good reason, the side effects were little known at the time and the female victims did not always testify to their discomfort. It was a gynecologist who ended up making the link between these implants and Anne-Cécile’s symptoms.

“He noticed that I had these implants and started to worry about the supposed “good shape” I was trying to show. He suggested that I call one of his researcher friends to whom he had confided his concerns about this mode of sterilization because he was beginning to notice similarities between the wearers of Essure implants.”

“I had a total hysterectomy and fallopian tube removal”

For her health, the forties is finally forced to go on the operating table. “I had to have the implants removed or, rather, I had a total hysterectomy and fallopian tube removal. And, unfortunately, I am not the only one to know about these organ amputations, which were healthy before implantation.“Despite this, the mother of the family is still suffering today. “The scars are still very strong. Physically, I live with extreme fatigue, suffer from regular infections and autoimmune diseases. I couldn’t get back to the lifestyle I had before.”

“What I feel today is anger: I am not the only victim, thousands of other women have seen their lives ruined like mine. All these couples, all these families, all these children… all because of the implants.“Marketed from 2002, these sterilization implants have not been marketed in France since September 18, 2017. Why? Officially for “a business reason”. Yet a drama seems to be playing out for thousands of women behind the scenes,”where corporatist denials, failures of health authorities, contested studies, even conflicts of interest are mixed”, according to journalists Delphine Bauer and Jacqueline Maurette who investigated this case. Their investigation was published in October in the book In defiance of women’s bodies, the Essure implant scandalEditions de l’Atelier.

Essure: “We must alert the other women implanted”

According to figures from the Ministry of Health, 200,000 Essure implants were placed in women between 2002 and 2017 in France. How many of them are victims of these side effects? At least 30,000 were in any case forced to have them removed in France. If in the United States, Bayer compensated “out of court” 39,000 patients for a budget of just over 1.6 billion dollars (without however recognizing its responsibilities), the legal aspect only opens in France. “With these other women victims, we have to fight. Together, we must find the truth, obtain compensation and above all, alert other implanted women.”, proclaims Anne-Cécile.

If you are a carrier of this implant and you experience side effects, you should talk to your gynecologist. However, “taking into account the risks associated with the surgical act of removal”, the ANSM does not recommend removing this device if no side effects are present. However, the agency reminds you that, like all women, you must continue an annual gynecological follow-up and always tell the doctor that you have this implant at the time of the consultation.

To find out more, you can discover the investigation carried out by investigative journalists here: Essure contraceptive implants: a long poisoned silence.