Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Coil nightmare, hysterectomy at 29. Feeling so down.

23 replies

BaconHead · 15/09/2018 13:27

This is long but please read, and please never have a coil inserted!
Had a copper coil put in in May under general anaesthetic (they’d tried a few times and couldn’t get it in so did it at day surgery) I wanted it because I don’t do very well with hormonal bc so thought it would be a good option for me. Anyway, had quite a lot of pain after being sent home and at first thought it was just normal but when it didn’t go away after a few weeks I went to the GP to get it checked, she couldn’t find the strings, neither could 2 other doctors so referred me for ultrasound. Couldn’t see anything on the ultrasound so sent me for X Ray. They found it on there but couldn’t tell from the x Ray wether it was in my womb or my abdomen, so had to come in for day surgery to remove it, I went in on Wednesday (12th Sept) at first they said they’d put a camera up in to my womb to see if it was there, and if not I’d have keyhole surgery through my belly button ... they did this, found the coil embedded in the wall of my womb, they could see the strings poking out so were tugging gently at the strings for hours, in the end they perforated my womb, decided they couldn’t get it out, closed me up. So I woke from my surgery Wednesday afternoon to find out that my womb had been perforated, they hadn’t retrieved the coil and I had to stay overnight to be observed because they couldn’t be sure that they hadn’t cut my bowel or bladder while they perforated my womb, was really hard having to stay in hospital when I have young dc’s at home who are not used to me being away, and I wasn’t allowed even a sip of water for 24 hours my mouth was practically glued together it was so dry.
Anyway, surgeon spoken to me and said I have two options, another operation where they cut my belly open (instead of keyhole surgery) to try retrieve the coil but if there is a lot of bleeding they would more than likely have to carry out a hysterectomy. My other option is to leave the coil where it is and not know if it’s going to move/damage other organs, and if I get pregnant there will be a high chance of miscarriage.
I’m in a lot of pain and feel so down, I’m going to have the second operation because I’ll only be worrying for the rest of my life where the coil is and what it’s doing, but now I feel like I’m recovering for nothing, recovering just to have to go in for another op and to stay in hospital away from my kids for longer and feel useless when I come home that I can’t do anything and am in agony, DC are young and don’t understand why they can’t jump on my lap etc and feel like I’m rejecting them, I feel so depressed about everything and so scared for the next operation. I did want more DC in a few years but my options have been taken away from me over a silly little coil, it’s the worst decision I’ve ever made please think about it long and hard before you get one. Yes they may be great for some people and everyone’s different, but I’ve heard of hundreds of people who have had problems with them (if only i’d read all of the stories before it was in my body 😢) I feel like it's ruined my life

OP posts:
BaconHead · 15/09/2018 13:50

Anyone else had problems with coil?

OP posts:
LongSummerDays · 15/09/2018 13:55

Oh lovey, I'm so sorry to hear this. Flowers

3luckystars · 15/09/2018 13:57

Get a second opinion. This is awful.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Racecardriver · 15/09/2018 13:58

Wow, that sounds terrible. Surely they shouldn't have put it in in the first place given that it wasn't working? Hopefully your next surgery will be a success Flowers

Missedmoments · 15/09/2018 14:00

Oh you poor thing. What an awful situation to find yourself in. Has the original doctor taken responsibility for this or is it a known complication ? Sorry, I’ve no experience of coils so don’t know the risks. I think if I was in your shoes I would choose the same option but I would be so angry about being put in the suituation in the first place!!

peony2325 · 15/09/2018 14:01

I'm so sorry to hear this, I definitely agree what 3luckystars said and get a second opinion. I've found PALS very helpful in the past when dealing with hospitals (they're not just there for complaints).

Mamabearx4 · 15/09/2018 14:05

My mum had the coil many years ago. It was lost for years, in that time she had 2 more sucessful pregnancies one in her early 40's . They eventually found the coil and it was embedded also. They chose not to remove it. I always was against having one due to this fact and only recently agreed to have one. So far no major issues but it does worry me. Im so sorry for what youve gone through. I would beputting in a formal complaint as why were theypulling for so long , that is not on. They have faced you with the prospect of being infertifle at a young age through their incompitence. Is there anyway of getting a second opinion?

foxotterhare · 15/09/2018 14:09

That's horrendous. I'm so sorry.

LeftRightCentre · 15/09/2018 14:14

I'd get a second opinion. That surgeon sounds inept, tbh.

pretendingtowork1 · 15/09/2018 14:15

It's a known COMPLICATION @Missedmoments , 1/1000 risk perforation, something complicated like this more like 1/10,0000

So sorry this has happened to you OP

Tumon · 15/09/2018 14:21

First of all I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through this. Please seek a second opinion! I work in the medical industry and can tell you the varying skill level between Gyne surgeons is SHOCKING.

HashTagLil · 15/09/2018 14:26

I'd get a second opinion. That surgeon sounds inept, tbh.

How so? It is a known complication. They tried to remove it and couldn't without potentially causing more damage. They can't just willy-nilly perform a hysterectomy on anyone that has not consented to one without a damned good excuse. The consent form would have said that a hysterectomy was a risk if there were complications, but as the patient and coil were stable they had to leave it and let the OP decide what to do.

Missedmoments · 15/09/2018 14:28

Wow pretending, those figures certainly put the OP’s situation into perspective. I would definitely echo what the others have said and get a second opinion before any final decision. Poor you OP...

madeoficecream · 15/09/2018 14:35

this is so awful for you Flowers Flowers

I hate coils. I didnt have anything like as bad as you had but I passed out having mine put in.... and then it managed to move sideways so the threads werent reachable. Caused me loads of discomfort and took ages and lots of pain to remove. Thankfully there was no lasting damage to me but the thought of them makes me cringe.

Have had them offered as 'better choice than hormonal contraception' after the birth of both my children..... its not.
Im no fan of hormonal contraception either but the coil was horrific!

Condoms all the way for me.

Walkingthroughawall · 15/09/2018 14:44

unfortunately coil migration/perforation is well described - it's not common, but is nevertheless is well described. In fact, pretty much any bit of metal/plastic/kit that we put in the body can migrate.

If they couldn't find the coil hysteroscopically (in your uterus), but could only see it laparoscopically (ie using the 'belly button camera') as your post seems to suggest (I may have misinterpreted though) then the coil had perforated your uterus already and not the surgeons - there's no other way it could have got there.

Hope the next procedure is more straightforward for you and you are feeling better soon.

boux · 15/09/2018 14:44

You should speak to a solicitor and sue the practitioners for this awful series of failures. This is so dreadful.

DunkandEggAgain · 15/09/2018 14:54

I'm so sorry OP.

I've had my reservations about the coil but I still was considering it. I think I will opt for something else now.

Arthuritis · 15/09/2018 15:08

Really feel for you OP but not sure suing is the answer unless you can prove negligence.

No procedure is without risk of complication. It doesn't mean that anyone acted negligently.

I had a relatively minor procedure done couple of years ago. Complication risk was explained as 1:10000 and I signed the consent form.

Sadly for me I was that 1:10000. Dr didn't do anything wrong (though he tells me that he feels responsible because he did it). If anything it's my body's fault in that we now know that it's slightly anatomically different and is why the op went wrong.

I really hope that they can sort this out for you. Is there another dr at the hospital with experience of his surgery who could give you the best chance of a good outcome?

BaconHead · 15/09/2018 16:24

Arthuritis I wasn't planning on suing anyway, just want this horrible thing put behind me that's why I feel so down and depressed about having another operation when they could've done it all at once, before going down to theatre I signed all the consent forms to say that if anything went wrong and there was need to that they could do a hysterectomy etc, (never thought it actually would go wrong mind) but they didn't do it because they thought that I should recover from this operation and have time to think about it because it's a big decision to make, which is fair enough but I would've rathered it all be done in one go than have to go back to hospital once I've recovered from this. I'm just feeling sorry for myself today Sad

OP posts:
Arthuritis · 15/09/2018 16:38

Sorry @BaconHead I didn't mean to suggest you wanted to see I was addressing the PP who was advising you too.

I think the issues of consent mean that unless they had fully discussed with you proceeding to a full laparotomy if needed and then trying to remove the coil and then doing a hysterectomy if complications arose I am assuming that they believed it to be in your best interests to give the choice to decide how to proceed?

Had they caused catastrophic bleeding during the 1st op they would have performed a hysterectomy as a last resort to save your life but this wasn't the case.

Someone in your position now might make the decision to leave the coil where it is rather than run a risk of. more complications.

I understand why you want to proceed so it's only right that the drs give you the chance to make this decision, rather than deciding for you.

None of this makes it any easier for you though and I get your upset as recovering from surgery just to have another op.
.
I wish you well and hope your recovery straight forward from now on

BaconHead · 16/09/2018 09:58

I just worry about leaving the coil where it is incase it moved and damaged something else, especially now that they've been tugging at it I worry that they may have dislodged it. Was very emotional and feeling down yesterday I'm feeling a lot better today, a lot of bruising is coming out now and I'm able to move around a bit more so in better spirits. Just a horrible decision to make and there's no nice option really, as much as I don't want to have a hysterectomy, I'd rather not be able to get pregnant at all that risk falling pregnant and having a miscarriage, I don't think I'd be able to cope with that. I forgot to mention in my OP too that the dr also said one of my Fallopian tubes had also been damaged and some of he end of it has worn away.

OP posts:
ourkidmolly · 16/09/2018 10:27

My god what an appalling tale. You need to request a second opinion urgently and contact PALs for some support. This sounds like incompetence to me.

Emmk23 · 02/10/2021 08:59

@BaconHead I see this is a really old post, but I am in a very similar situation to you right now, are you still active? Xx

New posts on this thread. Refresh page