Female troubles
Dec. 4th, 2009 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
truepennyCAVEATS--PLEASE READ
1. This is going to be TMI for a lot of people, of both the XX and the XY persuasion. If you don't want to read about menstruation, DO NOT CLICK.
2. THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL. My birth control decisions are none of your business, unless you are![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mirrorthaw. If you are, you already know more about this issue than you want to; if you aren't, rest assured that I have made careful, responsible, and informed decisions about same, none of which are (a.) under discussion in this post or (b.) up for discussion with the internet at any time.
3. My situation is complicated by a number of chronic health problems and consequent medications, which are also not under discussion in this post. So if you're about to comment with, "Why don't you do [X]?" please consider the possibility that I have good reasons.
4. I understand the urge to give advice. I succumb to it myself from time to time. However, I am not at this time asking for advice, and unless you are a medical professional familiar with my medical history, I am very unlikely to take your advice should you offer it. I may not be particularly gracious about it, either.
I am making this post because, well, it's the internet. Venting is what it's for. And also for the purpose of, you know, talking about this stuff. Because I still think it's STUPID that anything as painful and annoying as menstrual cramps should be considered normal and just something women have to deal with.
Okay? Okay.
So, I have had bad menstrual cramps since the age of thirteen or so, ranging from ow to OW to Fuck am I DYING here? There is no cure for menstrual cramps (although I am assured that having a baby will most likely get rid of them, that's really the most rotten reason for having a kid I can think of), nor any particularly precise understanding of how they work; the best gynecologists can do is offer a variety of birth control medications, with or without a prescription for ibuprofen, in the hope that one of them will be the magic key to fit your particular lock.
In my twenties, I was on a couple different birth control prescriptions, one of which caused really exciting mood swings (I'm suremirrorthaw remembers the crying jags as vividly and unfondly as I do), and the other of which, while it did not have those side effects, didn't actually do more than make the cramps manageable. (By which I mean, with ibuprofen and a heating pad, I was pretty much okay--not pain-free, but okay.)
Ergo, my gynecologist and I agreed when I hit my thirties that it was worth the experiment of going off the birth control entirely. The nature of my cramps changed, in that they were worse, but--at first, at least--ibuprofen vanquished them entirely. But over time, the amount of ibuprofen required began to creep up, until I decided actual medical intervention was necessary for my quality of life.
I went on Camila, which is a low dose progesterone-only pill. It did fabulous work on my cramps--low to non-existent cramps, and an ordinary dose of ibuprofen took care of the rest--but it made me seriously irregular. Three weeks, three and a half weeks, two weeks . . . after a year, it was clear this was not going to even out, and I decided it was time to try something else.
I voted for Mirena. Again with the low dose and the progesterone-only, and the complete lack of any need for maintenance, whether by pill or by shot, and I admit, I was deeply attracted by the possibility of ceasing to menstruate entirely after four to six months, as menopause is something I have been looking forward to eagerly since I hit menarche at the age of eleven. (I know there are a whole host of new problems with menopause, but dude. I already have hot flashes.) So I went in and had the Mirena IUD installed on the twelfth of November.
Point 1: The Mirena is harder to install for women who have not had children--I gather because the cervix isn't as prepared to have objects passed through it--where by "harder," they mean both more difficult for the installer and more painful for the installee.
Point 2: For me, the installation was one of the top two most painful experiences in my life (the other being the Fuck am I DYING here? cramps I had in college). My cervix said NO, and it said so loudly, with tactical nukes and land mines. The immediate experience was agonizing, and it took more than an hour and four ibuprofen before I was close enough to okay that the nurse practitioner would let me leave.
(Caveat to Point 2: The nurse practitioner told me that this is one of those things that vary widely from woman to woman; some women don't feel any pain at all, others can't even bear it long enough to get the thing in.)
(Tangent to Point 2: My reaction was so extreme that the nurse practitioner decided we'd better do an ultrasound to be sure the Mirena hadn't perforated my uterus. Which is how I learned (a.) that ultrasound technology has advanced dramatically since I was ultrasounded in 1994 or '95 to see about my gall bladder, (b.) that they can do a vaginal ultrasound, (c.) that when they do one of those, they suit the wand up in a condom.)
Point 3: In the three weeks since then, my uterus has not stopped dripping. (I apologize for the verb.) Every four or five days, I get another wave of cramps and my body squeezes out more blood. Admittedly, the cramps only last about, oh an hour or so (as opposed to the twenty-four to thirty-six hours I'm accustomed to), and they're not all that bad, comparatively speaking, but still. Near constant menstruation is really not the answer I'm looking for.
I'm going back in on the eleventh so the nurse practitioner can be sure the damn thing hasn't wandered, and I will in fact consult her about whether I have much hope of getting back even to a normal cycle here. (I expect to be told I need to give it another couple months at least.)
And I will ask whether removing the Mirena hurts as much as having it put in.
1. This is going to be TMI for a lot of people, of both the XX and the XY persuasion. If you don't want to read about menstruation, DO NOT CLICK.
2. THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL. My birth control decisions are none of your business, unless you are
mirrorthaw. If you are, you already know more about this issue than you want to; if you aren't, rest assured that I have made careful, responsible, and informed decisions about same, none of which are (a.) under discussion in this post or (b.) up for discussion with the internet at any time.3. My situation is complicated by a number of chronic health problems and consequent medications, which are also not under discussion in this post. So if you're about to comment with, "Why don't you do [X]?" please consider the possibility that I have good reasons.
4. I understand the urge to give advice. I succumb to it myself from time to time. However, I am not at this time asking for advice, and unless you are a medical professional familiar with my medical history, I am very unlikely to take your advice should you offer it. I may not be particularly gracious about it, either.
I am making this post because, well, it's the internet. Venting is what it's for. And also for the purpose of, you know, talking about this stuff. Because I still think it's STUPID that anything as painful and annoying as menstrual cramps should be considered normal and just something women have to deal with.
Okay? Okay.
So, I have had bad menstrual cramps since the age of thirteen or so, ranging from ow to OW to Fuck am I DYING here? There is no cure for menstrual cramps (although I am assured that having a baby will most likely get rid of them, that's really the most rotten reason for having a kid I can think of), nor any particularly precise understanding of how they work; the best gynecologists can do is offer a variety of birth control medications, with or without a prescription for ibuprofen, in the hope that one of them will be the magic key to fit your particular lock.
In my twenties, I was on a couple different birth control prescriptions, one of which caused really exciting mood swings (I'm sure
mirrorthaw remembers the crying jags as vividly and unfondly as I do), and the other of which, while it did not have those side effects, didn't actually do more than make the cramps manageable. (By which I mean, with ibuprofen and a heating pad, I was pretty much okay--not pain-free, but okay.)Ergo, my gynecologist and I agreed when I hit my thirties that it was worth the experiment of going off the birth control entirely. The nature of my cramps changed, in that they were worse, but--at first, at least--ibuprofen vanquished them entirely. But over time, the amount of ibuprofen required began to creep up, until I decided actual medical intervention was necessary for my quality of life.
I went on Camila, which is a low dose progesterone-only pill. It did fabulous work on my cramps--low to non-existent cramps, and an ordinary dose of ibuprofen took care of the rest--but it made me seriously irregular. Three weeks, three and a half weeks, two weeks . . . after a year, it was clear this was not going to even out, and I decided it was time to try something else.
I voted for Mirena. Again with the low dose and the progesterone-only, and the complete lack of any need for maintenance, whether by pill or by shot, and I admit, I was deeply attracted by the possibility of ceasing to menstruate entirely after four to six months, as menopause is something I have been looking forward to eagerly since I hit menarche at the age of eleven. (I know there are a whole host of new problems with menopause, but dude. I already have hot flashes.) So I went in and had the Mirena IUD installed on the twelfth of November.
Point 1: The Mirena is harder to install for women who have not had children--I gather because the cervix isn't as prepared to have objects passed through it--where by "harder," they mean both more difficult for the installer and more painful for the installee.
Point 2: For me, the installation was one of the top two most painful experiences in my life (the other being the Fuck am I DYING here? cramps I had in college). My cervix said NO, and it said so loudly, with tactical nukes and land mines. The immediate experience was agonizing, and it took more than an hour and four ibuprofen before I was close enough to okay that the nurse practitioner would let me leave.
(Caveat to Point 2: The nurse practitioner told me that this is one of those things that vary widely from woman to woman; some women don't feel any pain at all, others can't even bear it long enough to get the thing in.)
(Tangent to Point 2: My reaction was so extreme that the nurse practitioner decided we'd better do an ultrasound to be sure the Mirena hadn't perforated my uterus. Which is how I learned (a.) that ultrasound technology has advanced dramatically since I was ultrasounded in 1994 or '95 to see about my gall bladder, (b.) that they can do a vaginal ultrasound, (c.) that when they do one of those, they suit the wand up in a condom.)
Point 3: In the three weeks since then, my uterus has not stopped dripping. (I apologize for the verb.) Every four or five days, I get another wave of cramps and my body squeezes out more blood. Admittedly, the cramps only last about, oh an hour or so (as opposed to the twenty-four to thirty-six hours I'm accustomed to), and they're not all that bad, comparatively speaking, but still. Near constant menstruation is really not the answer I'm looking for.
I'm going back in on the eleventh so the nurse practitioner can be sure the damn thing hasn't wandered, and I will in fact consult her about whether I have much hope of getting back even to a normal cycle here. (I expect to be told I need to give it another couple months at least.)
And I will ask whether removing the Mirena hurts as much as having it put in.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:27 pm (UTC)P.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:29 pm (UTC)I have a history with gynaecological problems. I have extensive scar tissue. I have endometriosis. I had been with great success, on Dianette birth control pills for many years to control endometriosis and pain. However, the amount of years I'd been on Dianette, my increasing age, and a family history of blood clotting issues forced me to decide to come off this before I started being a real stroke risk.
Decided to go for Mirena.
What you say in Point 1 and Point 2 above: Oh HELLS yeah. With extra added screaming.
Now for the relevant part: for a full month after I had that damn thing installed, I bled like a stuck pig. Every day. Worse than I had EVER been. Went back twice for ultrasounds to make sure it was seated properly and hadn't perforated anything. Both scans showed ok.
Since week 5 after insertion...a little bit of light spotting, and that be it.
IT WENT AWAY. Thing's functioning as advertised now. ...So in other words, there is hope.
Oh, edit to add relevant info: it has now been 5 1/2 months since the Mirena insertion.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:30 pm (UTC)I wish you an early and comfortable transition to cronehood. Crones rock.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:33 pm (UTC)...Hope you stop bleeding soon.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:38 pm (UTC)And I can empathize with the "dripping" bit -- while I had cramps, they were manageable. It was the near-constant bleeding that nearly did me in (seven to ten days of heavy flow every fifteen-to-twenty days -- for years! Augh!). Why bodies have to do that, I do not know. Alas, I was not a candidate for the pill, due to medical problems of my own, and the doctors would not let me have a hysterectomy. In the end, I had an ablation and have been very happily period-free ever since.
Actually, the reason I bring up the ablation is because I had to have a laminaria inserted before the operation itself, which was not one of the most comfortable things ever done to me, even though I have had two children (both were c-sections, though, so I think my cervix was not stretched as it would have been had I actually managed to dilate past 2 centimeters).
So I hope you find something good for your own relief, and that it comes sooner than mine did. I hated my body for years.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:39 pm (UTC)In my case, I had the Mirena installed in 2005 after having a cesarean birth. It was excruciatingly painful when my ob/gyn put it in - to be expected because I hadn't given birth that way - but the pain soon faded. I bled for a few days but no cramps. My usual periods resumed and never went away.
Fast forward to this past June. The Mirena had been in for four years, and my husband and I decided to start efforts for kid #2. I went to an ob/gyn, and she couldn't find the Mirena. I swore that it had never fallen out. I went for an ultrasound and it didn't show anything. An x-ray was next, and there it was: free-floating in my body. My doctor immediately scheduled me for laparoscopic surgery.
I came out of general anesthesia to the news that they didn't find the infernal device, and spent the next several weeks recovering. After waiting for insurance, I had a CAT scan done to find the exact location of the Mirena (would have been nice to know that before invasive surgery, ya think?). It turned out that the Mirena rests deep in a muscle by my pelvic bone. Since it's not floating where it could perforate an organ - and it's causing zero pain - my doctor is leaving it where it is. If I get pregnant, I'll have another cesarean and have the IUD removed at the same time.
Even though our experiences are very different, I really, really, feel for you. I hope that you can avoid the laparoscopic surgery and they can simply find it and remove it. I do not have fond feelings about the Mirena anymore.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:39 pm (UTC)I shall mention this to my mother; she's in desperate need of a laugh. Apparently when she was a teenager, her doctor told her that her "schoolgirl cramps" would go away when she grew out of schoolgirlness. Thirty-odd years and five kids later...
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:41 pm (UTC)(I had to have my Mirena removed because it turned me from a woman whose mild cramps are easily sent away by an early dose of ibuprofen to a woman lying around on the couch with a heating pad taking more Advil than I was comfortable with. Just my bad luck, unfortunately.)
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:49 pm (UTC)(Also, I want a time machine to go back and kick that doctor in the shins. "Schoolgirl cramps" my ass.)
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:51 pm (UTC)Best of luck with the upcoming appointment (and, of course, beyond).
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:53 pm (UTC)My experience is supposed to be very rare. My doctor had never seen the like before, and she consulted with a Mirena rep and they had never heard of it happening like that, either. Special things like this tend to happen in my family. We're just freaks. I'm still baffled by the fact I had no pain.
Yours hasn't been in long, so I'm sure they can find it easily. Mine had years to go on the Grand Tour. One of my friends joked that I have a ninja IUD.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:55 pm (UTC)I also have a friend who had her IUD inserted and bled for about six weeks straight. It seems to have gone away finally. So know that your experience is not at all unusual, if it helps.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 08:59 pm (UTC)I hope you find a good, or at least better, solution.
I swear gynecology is such a medieval affair primarily because men never have to live with its lacks.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 09:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-04 09:03 pm (UTC)