Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Essure Victims Challenge Global Sales Numbers of Essure Reported by Bayer

For Immediate Release

Essure Victims Challenge Global Sales Numbers of Essure Reported by Bayer

By Michelle Garcia
November 11, 2013

Miami, Florida: Women injured by Essure are crying foul to the statements made by Bayer that more than 750,000 women have been implanted by Essure worldwide, and they are using the company’s own documentation to support their claims.

“The number of women implanted have been grossly overstated in what can only be perceived as a blatant attempt to minimize the suffering caused to so many women by this device,” said Angie Firmalino, a victim of Essure who is working directly with Erin Brockovich to get Essure off the market. Bayer’s own documentation seems to support this statement. Page 3 of the Essure Instructions for Use, with a copyright date of 2013, which is found on the company’s own website, http://www.essuremd.com/, states the ”number of pregnancies reported from worldwide commercial launch in 2001 through end of 2010. 497,306 Essure kits sold during this time.” If this number is correct, then Bayer sales of Essure nearly doubled in a period of approximately one year. The same document also states “the number of devices actually implanted is not known.”

Angie Firmalino is one of the leaders of a Facebook group called Essure Problems which is challenging the safety and effectiveness of Essure, as well to help the many who at times, find themselves shunned by the doctors. She also maintains a website, www.essureproblems.webs.com, which has numerous photographs of mangled coils that have been surgically removed.

There is a perception that kits sold equates to women implanted. There are many women who have documentation which states that multiple kits were used during their procedure. “A sold kit is not a patient,’ says Firmalino, who is using evidence from ladies in her own group. A number of ladies in the group, including those who lead the group with Firmalino have multiple lot numbers, including one who was implanted on two separate days as her physician was unable to successfully achieve bi-lateral placement on the first visit. It took a second visit a month later to place the second coil. These women have patient information cards and medical records from their implanting doctors confirming that multiple kits were used during implantation. These same women wonder if Bayer has any idea of how many women have actually been implanted.

For information about the women who have been harmed by Essure, including contact information to interview women from specific cities or medical experts concerned about the safety of Essure, contact Michelle Garcia via email at Essureproblems@yahoo.com.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Essure Victims Meet With Executive Committee of AALG to Raise Awareness

For Immediate Release

Essure Victims Meet With Executive Committee of AALG to Raise Awareness
By Michelle Garcia

November 9, 2013

National Harbor, Oxenhill, MD: The leaders of the Essure Problems Facebook Group came to the Nation’s Capital ready to raise awareness to the harm caused to thousands by Essure. They found themselves unable to walk down the street without being approached by Surgeons who are familiar with Essure. These doctors expressed genuine sincerity about the issues women implanted by Essure have experienced and also expressed their gratitude for the efforts of the leadership to raise awareness to the dangers and unknown side effects caused by this device.

The greatest accomplishment was a meeting with the same leadership group and the Executive Committee of the AAGL, http://www.aagl.org/. Members of the Executive Committee, including Dr. Kenneth Loffer, FACOG, Executive VP/Medical Director and Ms. Linda Michels, Executive Director, were fully engaged for the hour long discussion where concerns were presented along with supporting documentation. The leadership of the AAGL committed to assisting women harmed by Essure with finding physicians with Essure removal, as well as unbiased studies into the safety and effectiveness of the device and most important, sending a memo to the thousands of physicians in their organization about the issues being raised so that proper attention can be paid to women who may be suffering because of adverse effects caused by Essure.

The meeting was planned to coincide with Essure Awareness Day, which is November 10th. This is also the start of Global Congress on Minimally Invasive Gynecology held just outside Washington D.C. at the Gaylord Convention Center.

For information about the women who have been harmed by Essure, including contact information to interview women from specific cities or medical experts concerned about the safety of Essure, contact Michelle Garcia via email at Essureproblems@yahoo.com.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Essure Awareness Day

For Immediate Release

Women Harmed by Bayer’s Essure Permanent Birth Control Rally in Washington, DC To Demand New Safety Studies

Miami, Florida: With the support of Erin Brockovich, women representing the thousands of women harmed by Essure Permanent Birth Control are coming to Washington, DC on Sunday, Nov 10 from 9am to 6pm and Monday, Nov 11 from 9am to Noon to demand that doctors and the FDA conduct new safety studies. The women are from across the country, including Miami, Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York, Tampa and countless other cities across the country.

Essure is a permanent birth control device made by Bayer and approved by the FDA based on company studies indicating low complication rates and high effectiveness. A new investigation, http://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/Essure-Birth-Control-FDA-Pain-Studies-I-Team.html, indicates that women suffering from debilitating pain were inaccurately reported by the company as having “excellent” responses to the birth control and being “very satisfied” with the device.

Sunday, Nov 10 will be Essure Awareness Day, as the women rally at the annual conference of the Global Congress on Minimally Invasive Gynecology will be held just outside Washington D.C. at the Gaylord Convention Center. http://www.aagl.org/annual-meeting/
The women will rally to demand that the FDA require new studies to replace the biased data revealed by NBC-TV’s Investigative team, http://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/Essure-Birth-Control-FDA-Pain-Studies-I-Team.html.

For information about the women who have been harmed by Essure, including contact information to interview women from specific cities or medical experts concerned about the safety of Essure, contact Michelle Garcia via email at Essureproblems@yahoo.com.