Eventually doctors discovered that the coils had somehow lodged in her uterus and had broken apart. She has had several operations, including a hysterectomy, to remove the fragments.

In 2011, Mrs. Firmalino created a Facebook page to warn friends and family about the device. The page now has nearly 17,000 members.

“If I had any idea of the possible consequences of Essure, I would never have chosen it,” said Mrs. Firmalino, who still takes ibuprofen daily to manage her pain.

In 2000, Kim Hudak was a 28-year-old mother with a 7-year-old son when she volunteered to participate in an early trial of the device. But as soon as she received the implant, she said, she developed a sharp pain in her right hip that did not go away. Her menstrual periods became very painful, and she developed a slew of symptoms including fatigue, migraines and joint pain that often kept her from working full time.

“It felt like I had a really severe case of the flu, and those were the good days,” said Ms. Hudak, now 43, who works in sales in Cleveland. “I had years and years of doctors telling me I was crazy.”

Ms. Hudak has filed a $1 million claim against Bayer seeking reimbursement for injuries and lost wages.

Yet many women do well with Essure and recommend it.

“I had it done during my lunch hour, and I ran a half-marathon shortly afterward,” said Cindy Dossett, 54, of Newburgh, Ind.