Women Gather For Essure Protest Rally At University Of Colorado Hospital
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Dozens of women gathered to protest a permanent birth control device on Wednesday that they claim has harmed thousands of women.
They gathered outside the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora on Wednesday to protest the birth control.
"I went into it thinking it was the best thing for me and I decided I didn't want anymore children at the time and about a month after them being in my system, it went haywire and they said I was having an allergic reaction to the nickel, I believe also the fibers were causing an allergic reaction in my body, I now have fibromyalgia which I did not have before," said protester Cassandra Carr.
"It's the worst thing I've ever seen my best friend have to go through in my life," said fellow protester Donavan Johnson Jr. "It's heart wrenching to see her suffer. She was very active before and ever since this device got put in her, her quality of life has gone away."
The group is part of a growing segment of women who have gotten Essure and are upset about what they claim to be physical and psychological issues caused by the device.
In a simple office procedure a doctor implants small coils in a patient's Fallopian tubes, scar tissue forms over the coils blocking the tube and preventing pregnancy. It's advertised as easy, painless and done in the doctor's office.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Essure in 2002 and reports getting 5,093 adverse reports on Essure. That's less than 1 percent of the women with the implant. Over the years, the FDA has added warnings to the product including a concern about sensitivity to nickel in 2011, and risks of chronic pain and device migration in 2013.
The protesters said they want to get the attention of doctors and get Essure off the market.
