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.

Day #2 of IUD

The cramps are lesser as of today, but they are still nagging at me a bit.

Of course, it would be lovely to be wrapped up in bed, cozy with my heating pad, cat, and some netflix but class comes first. I guess. I have noticed that putting the heating pad on my lower back helps more than on my lower stomach and that pressure helps too. Luckily, my cat loves heat, so she settled on top of the heating pad, which is how I realized that pressure helps too.

But, today is a new day and I have class and homework and a long day ahead. So, I took some aileve, which is quite possibly the best cramp cure ever, and am sucking it up because there is too much other shit going on to let some annoying, and at times quite painful, cramps get in the way. They really are no worse than bad period cramps, anyway. Which we all can manage.

I don't know where this upbeat attitude is coming from. Maybe from all the support I've gotten from friends who also have an IUD and know that its all worth it in the end?

Later that day update...

Okay, this is getting painful. Waves of mild to very painful cramps and just general discomfort in that whole area. 

I'm laying on a heating pad, took some Ibuprofen, and smoked a little pot ( it's legal in Washington, otherwise I wouldn't condone illegal drug use!). I remember when I had a bad case of food poisoning and couldn't keep anything down, pot really helped with the nausea and back pain from dry heaving so much. Bascially, I'm a little defensive about smoking because I don't want readers to think I'm a pot head! I'm not, and I only do it to help me sleep, or minor pain relief, and this is only on occasion. 

Okay, now that I've made my peace with smoking, and just gave a general update of the pain status, that is all I have to say!

IUD status

Well, after much personal debate, research, talking with my OBGYN, talking to other people, and thinking long and hard, I finally decided to get the IUD.

As I type this, I have had one for about an hour.

I ended up going with Skyla, because its smaller, (and for those who haven't had kids, its a god send) it has way less hormones than Implanon,or even Merina, and Europe has had it for years with success (although it called Merina mini there).

So, my lady doctor's office preferred to have the IUD put in while I was on my period. I actually talked to Planned Parenthood when I didn't have insurance about this, and they said it made no difference. But, this office said that is what they wanted. Okay, cool.

WELL, for the past 2 months, I've been running on a 21 day cycle as opposed to my favorable 25. Which meant i got my period a good week before the appointment. So I had to reschedule, and even then, I was on the last day of it anyway.

That aside, I was instructed to take a pregnancy test that morning, eat something, and take 4 Ibuprofen. All went without any troubles. Not pregnant, had breakfast, downed the pain meds.

Now, I was scared outta my noggin about the pain for getting this inserted. One of my friends said she cried! Then there is all that talk about it being as bad as child birth. I have no idea what my pain tolerance is, but when it comes to cramps, I'm a wimp.

So, I got through all the blood pressure stuff, told to strip from the waist down, and happily skimmed my phone while I waited.

My OBGYN came in, made sure I wanted Skyla, and even had Merina out just in case I changed my mind. But my mind was made up! Skyla all the way! 

It took no time at all before we got down to business.

First, there was our good speculum friend. While never welcomed, always familiar. Then comes that less welcomed thing, the cervix grabber (I don't know the technical term, but lets call it Satan's cervical clamp). So that hurt, but it was like a bad period cramps. I breathed steadily and awaited the awful, no good, very bad uterus measurement. This device measures your uterus so the doctor doesn't puncture anything, it's also the tube that they use to insert the IUD. 

Okay. That shit hurt.

Now, you know those cramps that hurt so bad, the top of your legs hurt? There are like shooting pains and stuff? It's those cramps. Maybe, maybe just slightly worse. But I've felt cramps like that before. So, while is does hurt a lot, all I can say is that it's manageable and it goes away rather fast. Plus, the doctor is talking you through the whole thing, telling you what's going on, and so you have an idea when the pain will end.

It the end, it was a success! I laid there for a few minutes, waited for the faint cramps to subside, then went on my way. In fact, I felt so good I just walked home instead of waiting for the bus.

I'm going to go ahead and say that this was much less painful than Implanon.

But, I've also heard that the next 24 hours can get more intense. So, we will see.

For now, there is a bit of blood, and a slight bit of pain. But all in all, I'm handling it!