Michigan mother’s birth control implant went missing

A young mother’s birth control implant went missing inside her arm for five months – leaving doctors to ‘dig around’ in her flesh before finally finding it under her armpit.

Kelly King, 23, from Greenville, Michigan, decided to get the implant removed just a year after it was placed in her arm due to the severe side effects she endured.

It made her feel ‘crazy’, becoming ‘instantly irritated with just being awake’ and so angry that she scared herself, she said.

But when the doctors went to remove it, Miss King claims she was forced to watch doctors open up her arm as they struggled to locate the device.

In the two-hour operation to find the implant, the bungling medics even pulled out a pea-sized ball of ‘fat’ to see better – but they still couldn’t find it. 

Instead, they allegedly sent the waitress home to avoid ‘torturing’ her anymore – but left her with five injury scars and required stitches.

The implant remained lost inside her until February this year, when an ultrasound revealed the device had moved up towards her armpit. It was then removed.

Kelly King, 23, from Greenville, Michigan, decided to get the implant removed just a year after it was placed in her arm due to the severe side effects she endured

Miss King, speaking about her ordeal for the first time since she was given the implant in September 2015, said: ‘It was quite traumatic.

She said: ‘I was in shock at first. I was worried when they said they couldn’t find it. I got more irritated the longer I was sitting there.

‘They started pulling on my tendons and pulled a pea-sized ball of fat out of my arm, thinking they would be able to see it better but that didn’t work.

‘I was going pale because I was awake this whole time. I was watching them open my arm. They said, they weren’t going to torture me anymore and told me to make a follow-up appointment.

‘It shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes but they were looking for almost two hours. I’m quite self-conscious about my scars.’ 

Miss King claims that within a year after the implant was inserted it travelled down near her armpit and became hidden in bodily tissue.

A warning to other women 

She also suffered from severe mood swings which led to her becoming very irritated and angry and is now warning other women to not choose this form of birth control.

Miss King added: ‘I felt so down I didn’t want to get out of bed. It was hard to get up and go to work and take care of my son.

But when the doctors went to remove it, Miss King claims she was forced to watch doctors open up her arm as they struggle to locate the device

But when the doctors went to remove it, Miss King claims she was forced to watch doctors open up her arm as they struggle to locate the device

In the two-hour operation to find the implant, the bungling medics even pulled out a pea-sized ball of 'fat' to see better - but they still couldn't find it

In the two-hour operation to find the implant, the bungling medics even pulled out a pea-sized ball of ‘fat’ to see better – but they still couldn’t find it

IMPLANTS: THE FACTS

The contraceptive implant is a small flexible tube about 40mm long that’s inserted under the skin of your upper arm. 

It’s inserted by a trained professional, such as a doctor, and lasts for three years.

The implant stops the release of an egg from the ovary by slowly releasing progestogen into your body. 

Progestogen also thickens the cervical mucus and thins the womb lining. 

This makes it harder for sperm to move through your cervix, and less likely for your womb to accept a fertilised egg.

If implanted correctly, it’s more than 99 per cent effective. Fewer than one woman in 1,000 who have the implant as contraception for three years will get pregnant.

If you have side effects, the implant can be taken out. You can have the implant removed at any time, and your natural fertility will return very quickly.

The trained medic will feel the woman’s arm to locate the implant before pulling it out. It usually only takes a few minutes to remove it.

Sometimes, doctors can find it difficult to find it – often meaning patients have to undergo an ultrasound to find it. 

Source: NHS Choices 

‘As soon as I would wake up I was instantly irritated with just being awake.. I would get angry all the time. I’m not that type of person. It scared me.

‘I didn’t know what to do. I knew that something wasn’t right with me but I couldn’t pin point where it was coming from. I felt like I wasn’t in control of how I felt anymore.

‘I’m trying to warn girls that this can happen. I didn’t know how severe the symptoms could be. It did the same thing to my colleague. She literally went crazy.

‘I’ve had so many messages from girls who have said they felt the same and their relationships have been on the line because they had been lashing out at partners for no reason.’

The first attempt

The initial attempt to remove the implant in September 2016 was so traumatic that it put Miss King off seeking medical advice again.

She only plucked up the courage to book for the ultrasound to find it in February 2017 – leaving it missing inside her for five months.

Miss King claims the only medication she received was a numbing agent applied to the surface of her skin and she remained awake throughout the gruelling ordeal.

She said: ‘I didn’t want to go back but it was my only choice. I thought it was better to take the chance then to sit here and be crazy.

‘She felt around where the last doctor had made the incision, she was digging around in there and she couldn’t find it and ended up cutting around an inch from my armpit.

Instead, they allegedly sent the waitress home to avoid 'torturing' her anymore - but left her with five injury scars and required stitches.

Instead, they allegedly sent the waitress home to avoid ‘torturing’ her anymore – but left her with five injury scars and required stitches.

The implant remained lost inside her until February this year, when an ultrasound revealed the device had moved up towards her armpit. It was then removed

The implant remained lost inside her until February this year, when an ultrasound revealed the device had moved up towards her armpit. It was then removed

‘It took her at least half an hour. She ended up twisting the bar in half.

‘My arm was extra sore for a week and a half after. I worked in a gas station and I had to get up on the step ladder to reach for things. It was really painful.’

‘I didn’t want to go back but it was my only choice. I thought it was better to take the chance then to sit here and be crazy.’ 

I was in shock at first. I was worried when they said they couldn’t find it. I got more irritated the longer I was sitting there 

Some side effects 

Some of the symptoms that women can experience with the birth control implant includes nausea, headaches, mood swings, loss of sex drive and acne.

Miss King, mother to Emmit, three, said: ‘I’m trying to raise awareness. 

‘I want others to know they aren’t the only people who are feeling like this and that they aren’t going crazy.

‘I think if you have a past of PTSD, depression or anxiety you should not have the implant. Someone could become suicidal because of this.

‘I’m not telling people that they can’t get it. It does work out for some people. I just feel like people need to be made more aware of the extreme side effects.

‘The majority of girls who have messaged me have said the same thing happened to them and it also got lost in their arm.

‘I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’m not trying to scare them.. It can possibly migrate and move. It happens a lot.’

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