From Skyla to Mirena and Everything Inbetween

Hey Readers!

Sorry I've been IMA. But, as the nurse who gave me an HIV test at Planned Parenthood told me "No news is good news." Well, there was no news for my HIV test but there is news with my IUD, Skyla.

I got Skyla inserted way back in October. Everything was fine after the first 3 months. Sure, I had bad cramps and sometimes shooting pains a week before my period, but it was all managable. Plus, the cramps were getting better, my periods were light (albeit 9 days long).

Then came mid-July. I had a normal period, and the day after it was done, I had sex for the first time with it in. That night, I had horrible cramps after. Then there was something weird going on with my vagina (a weird, not normal smell). Then, two weeks later, I got ANOTHER period and this one was like Niagra Falls. Never had that heavy of a period since I had Skyla put in (hell, haven't had one that heavy since I was 15).But it stopped after 8 days and I figured I'd see how the next one would go.

20 days later, I got another period but this one was more typical. Light, lasted for 8 days. Everything seemed fine. But the not-normal-smell thing wasn't totally resolved. So, I went to Planned Parenthood to get things checked out and told them about the period problems I've been having. I'll break down what they told me in a handy list:

1. I had cervicitis
           -Cervicitis is caused by STIs, latex allergies, spermicide allergies, or puting stuff up your                      vagina like cervical caps, or like sponges or whatever.
           -I am STI free, so it is probably from a latex or spermicide allergy. Which, totally makes sense               to me because all this started after I had sex WITH a condom (and all subsequent sex with a                 condom).  And I have a lot of skin allergies.
           -They prescribed me a one dose antibiotic and it all cleared up!

2. My IUD strings were kinda on the short side, but everything still looked good.
         
Well, my next period came and it was another Niagra Falls situation! I even attempted period sex with this new guy I am seeing and that had a horrifying outcome. Luckily, the guy I am seeing is awesome and understanding, but there was more blood and clotting than I had ever seen my body produce.

I was a bit suspicious at this point of what was going on, so I emailed the doctor who put in the IUD and asked about a second opinion. She said what was happening was not normal and that I should come in. The reoccurring bleeding and the excessive clots were cause for concern. Long story short, I had to come in earlier than the original appointment I had made because of the heavy bleeding.

They checked everything out, did an ultra-sound to see the IUD and it turned out that it was a bit dislodged and my uterus was starting to push it out (expelling). Heavy bleeding can dislodge the IUD and that is probably what happened because this doctor told me that my strings were long! So, she decided to take it out and in a week, I could come back and get a new one.

Getting it taken out HURTS! But, you'll live. But it hurts. She also said it was on its way out looking at how long the strings were (remember, at Planned Parenthood, they said mine were kinda short, so it changed in the two weeks of bleeding).

An hour or so after that, the bleeding got worse, I started soaking tampons and pads every 2 hours and the CLOTS WERE INSANE! One of them was a foot long! So, after talking with a consulting nurse, I went to the ER. I got in pretty quickly, but the doctor said it was no cause for concern. He said that it was a slow bleed and basically, didn't know why it was happening. They took like 5 things of blood (just what I needed, more blood loss after heavy bleeding for 9 days straight). Ultimately, they said there was no cause for concern. They said to come back if it didn't stop but otherwise, I should follow up with my GP.

The next day, the wonderful consulting nurse called me to check up on me after seeing that I called the other consulting nurse and that I had been to the ER. I told her the bleeding hadn't let up, so she said to come in.

More long story short, my blood count is fine but my heart was feeling the blood loss. They gave me

Nortrel
         - a pill birth control pill that I had to take 4 times a day to stop the bleeding!!
Nausea medication.
           - Taking 4 pills a day causes nausea (makes sense) so these would counteract the nausea that Nortrel would cause. And boy does it cause nausea!!!! I was supposed to take one every 8 hours, but I had to take one every 3 to 4 hours to survive.

The bleeding let up a bit after just one pill and the clots weren't as horrifying, but there was still bleeding and clots.

NOW,,,,

I just came back from the hopefully final doctor visit! She told me that some women just don't respond well to IUDs, and brought up that I didn't bleed with the arm implant, so maybe I should go back to that. I told her I'd rather not since I had weight gain and paltry sex drive. She understood. She then said Mirena is for heavy bleeding, so that would be the best option for me.

I asked her repeatedly if that was going to be a good option, if it was the best option, and if it had the best likihood of stopping the hormone imbalance that was clearing happening. She said yes and was pretty confident about Mirena being the best option.

So, the nurse prepped everything and I got Mirena in a few mintues later. For whatever reason, this insertion hurt WAY MORE! I let out a yelp (two actually), one for when she put the measuring device in and another when the IUD was put in. I jumped alittle too. But, I was also exhausted and not feeling very mentally prepped for that kind of pain so I'd like to think I was just at a bad pain threshold point.

Anyway, I'm not looking forward to the insuing cramps to come later tonight or this week, but if it stops all the god damn bleeding, then I do not give two fucks.

Basic summary:

1. My IUD got dislodged but did not puncture my uterus

2. The bleeding was from a hormonal imbalance, and the heavy bleeding probably caused the displacement.

3. The birth control pills helped correct the imbalance and stop the bleeding. If you read my blog, you know that I can't take the pill because it interferes with my seizure medication. However, I was closely watched while taking it and it's only for a short period ( 3 days).

4. I now have Mirena and I am hopeful that it won't cause problems.



Alright, sorry for the long post. Updates to come.

Period Shenanigans

Well, so far, I have enjoyed not being on birth control.

However, my period is being weird, and irregular, and more annoying than usual.

I download a period tracking app on my iPad as soon as I got Implanon removed. I figured having some idea of what my body is up to is a good idea since I am not longer controlling it with hormones or what have you. It has helped a lot, and it is how I realized just how weird my period is being.

As you might have read, I got my period like 5 days after getting the rod removed. It lasted for 5 days, then it was done. Yay.

The next one took 45 days to come along again, and it was one of the most heavy periods I have ever had - for like 2 days. Then it went away totally for a day, then it came back for another day, then it was done.

Wtf . . .

I had my last period the first week of March and it ended after 5 days, and as of yesterday, I have another one! That is a 23 day cycle. I went from a 45 day, to a 23 day! Annoying, right?

I tried looking up if other women have talked about irregular periods after having Implanon removed, but they are all about pregnancy . . . ew. So, I guess I'm just going to hope its normal and my body sorts it all out. Before all this Implanon business, I had a 30 to 33 day cycle, which I would love to go back to at any time. But for now, I'm dealing with my out of whack hormones . . . grrrrrrrr

Also, I have not made any plans to get an IUD yet.

The Implanon experience - Day 1

Alright! This is my blog about my experience with the birth control Implanon (Now called Nexaplon). If you don't know or aren't familiar with Implanon/Nexaplon, it is a small, thin, match stick like piece of plastic that is inserted into you arm. It can stay in your arm for 3 years and it is progestrin only.

To give you a brief amount of background, I am creating this blog because there was so much mixed information out there about this form of birth control. When I researched it, I found tons of negative reviews and very few good ones. I was scared and I didn't really didn't want to even try it.

However, Implanon quickly became my only choice for a variety of reasons.

First, I take a seizure medication (anti-seizure perhaps?) called Lamictal, which can lower the effectiveness of birth control AND birth control, in a pill form with estrogen, can lower my medication levels. I didn't know this and I have had a seizure from the lowered medication levels! This was upsetting for one because none of my doctors told me this and because I had to stop taking a birth control pill I hadn't been having any problems with.

This incident happened in October of 2009 and for months I researched all my options. My safest options were the following:
- Ortho Evra (the patch -- see below)

- Nuvaring ( I later found out that this is false. The ring and the patch have both progestrin and        estrogen, and no matter how it is introduced into the body, estrogen or any form of it goes through the liver. Progestrin does not, which is why it is safe to take with most seizure medications)

- Depo shot

- Implanon

I ruled out the patch because of the estrogen based hormone.

I wanted an IUD but I've had an abnormal pap, so that is no longer an option. ( And no, I do not have childern, but my OBGYN said she would do an IUD because of my situation. **Update: My how medicine has changed! Now my GYNO pushes an IUD on me like no other!).

I have heard numerous horror stories about the Depo shot and even though my OBGYN told me that I have probably only heard the negative and that most women respond very well to the shot, I still did not like the idea that it would stay in my system for 3 months!

Nuvaring was a close second, however I still live at home and Nuvaring has to be placed in the fridge on your off week because the hormones are released at body tempuature. Needless to say, I did not want to have my bc next to dinner leftovers and my Dad doesn't want to see that either.

So, I decided on Implanon, despite all the negative reviews I read, it quickly became my last option if I wanted birth control at all.

All I could hope for is that I would be one of the women who didn't post anything because it did not give me side effects or at least the worst ones. The side effects that have been posted and the doctor told me about are:
 - Non-stop bleeding for months
 - Spotting sporadically for months
 - Acne
 - Weight gain
 - Loss of sex drive
...much of what you hear of most bc but the non-stop bleeding and crazy spotting was the biggest thing I read about.

The next issue I ran into was finding a place that had anyone who was trained on how to insert Implanon. My OBGYN did not do the training, but she gave me a list of places that she thought might. Of the 10 names she gave me, only one place had two ladies who had the training. I'm not from a huge city but it's not small either, however Implanon is so new and not that well known, there isn't much of a demand.

Despite my struggle, I finally made an appoint for a consultation. There, I asked about the non-stop bleeding which she said was being reported as a problem recently but only one girl asked to get it taken out because of that problem.Not the feedback I was looking for but it still gave me enough hope. I also asked if the procedure was painful and she told me that it was no worse than getting blood taken. I was also told that they only considered taking it out after 6 months because it can take that long to your body to get used to it.

A month later, I had my appointment. On that day, I had to take a pregnancy test, which I was not worried about because I have not been sexually active for a year. Next, I was taken to a small room, almost exactly like a dentist set up, complete with the long chair. The nurse told me to lay down and the doctor would be in shortly. My wait wasn't too long, and I asked the doctor the same questions (this was a different doctor from the one I originally talked to). She said that only one girl wanted the implant taken out because of the non-stop bleeding and about 90% of women who have it do not have dramatic side effects and most of the side effects went away after 6 months. This gave me some hope!

Then, it was game time! My arm was placed in a semi awkward position because it is inserted in the underside of your non-dominate arm. In any event, the area was cleaned well and prepped for the local numbing shot. She told me it would sting and I was thinking "Ok, it going to sting but then it will be just like getting my blood taken".

WRONG!!

This shot not only HURT but it also STUNG very, very badly and it seemed to go on forever! I think it was put in three different places, so each time there was a renewed sting. Yet, the shot numbed the area and I could only feel displaced pressure. The doctor proceeded to show me the plastic, match stick length insert and the instrument that would be shoving it in my skin, which was not huge but big enough to be glad I was numbed.

The insertion part I could not feel, but judging from the wiggling, pressure and force that she applied, I knew that a discomforting amount of force was being put into this procedure. This part went fast, though and before I knew it, she was done.

Next, the area was cleaned again. A small round bandage covered the insert spot, then gauze and that tan binding stuff which I do not know the name of but is used for things like ankle sprains was wrapped around my arm. I was told to keep the binding on for 24 hours and if any soreness or bruising occurred, I could take Ibuprofen and ice the area.

In all the reviews I read, only some talked about bruising or soreness but not enough to keep me alarmed. Most seemed to have no problem with the area.

I however was not one of those people. The underside of my arm hurt quite a bit and it was very sore and tender. I didn't unwrap the binding until later that night to look at the area. It was not pretty. The round bandage was not big enough for the amount of bleeding I had, the area was red and two long, red marks traced over the implant. I was afraid to touch it because my entire arm ached. I iced it right away, which really helped and by the next day, it didn't hurt as much. But it still hurt enough to notice.


As I write this blog, I am on day 2 of having Implanon. So far, nothing! No side effects! Granted, it's day two. I was supposed to get my period on the 20th but I was really stressed out from school and my two jobs and stress ALWAYS messes up my period. So, no period to speak of to this day.

 Here is a picture of my arm today, day 2 of having the insert:

It doesn't look too good, I know! And it is still tender, but before this scares you, understand that I have VERY sensitive skin. I can't use many over the counter make-up, face lotions, face washes, detergents because I will break out in one form or another. Plus, the underside of your arm is very sensitive, so also keep that in mind. You can see the two red marks that run perpendicular to the insert too that I was talking about. The bruising is pretty recent and the pic doesn't give you ALL the green that is surrounding the red marks.

Overall, even with the painful procedure, the scary reviews and the bruising, I do not regret getting it. Of course, time will tell if the side effects change my mind. I wanted to write this blog to let other women know a personal, updated experience and even women who also take Lamtical and are confused about which bc option is best.

 I will get my blood taken to check my medication levels too and make sure that Implanon isn't lowering the levels, which I will also blog about.

 I hope that someone out there stumbles upon this blog and I hope it helps!