Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Some might find what I am about to write about to be TMI, but I want to share my experience with the hope that it will help someone else. If you are not at all interested in reading about the female reproductive system, then you should stop here. You have been warned.

I had the Mirena IUD inserted three months after Hudson was born. I was skeptical, but my doctor raved about it, it is safe for breastfeeding and I was not interested in any other hormonal forms of birth control because of negative experiences in the past. 

Mirena is very expensive and it was a three week process to get approval from our insurance company. During that three weeks, I became apprehensive and even tried to cancel the appointment to have it inserted, but I was told all the "right" things and reminded about the cumbersome process to get it approved in the first place. Being the non-confrontational person that I am, I tried to just put my worries aside and went to the appointment.

Let me just say that it was not a pleasant experience. I have a very high pain tolerance and to say it hurt would be an understatement. Maybe that should have been my first indication that something was wrong. It not only hurt at the time of insertion, but I have felt like razorblades were in my uterus for the past two and a half months. I have also experienced numerous other side effects.

I went for my follow-up appointment on July 19, only the nice lady at the front desk tells me my appointment wasn't until July 29 and my doctor was at her other location that day. She did squeeze me in to see the nurse practitioner. This was supposed to just be a routine appointment to check the placement, but that would not be the case. The nurse practitioner could not locate the strings and I was sent for an ultrasound that afternoon. I checked my appointment card and it clearly said July 19. Insert God here.

The sweet sonographer looked for 30 minutes and was not able to confirm that there was an IUD in the uterus. I was scheduled to have a pelvic x-ray the next day. The x-ray confirmed that there is an IUD in the general vicinity, but x-rays do not show soft tissue so my doctor is not sure exactly where it is.

I went last Monday for Dr. H to attempt to remove it. I told her I didn't care how bad it hurt. I just wanted it OUT. After 40 minutes of torturous attempts to remove it with every instrument in the office, she was unsuccessful.

I went back today for a last ditch effort to remove it with an IUD hook. Dr. H prescribed Valium and Vicodin for this procedure. That is never a good sign, right? I do not like to take medication while pregnant or breastfeeding, not only because I don't want to pass it on to Hudson, but also because medication has a strong effect on me and I didn't want to be completely out of it. So, I just took one of the Vicodin instead of two before the procedure and skipped the Valium. Garrett went with me and he can attest to the fact that it was not fun. At least with childbirth their was a prize at the end. This, not so much. Unfortunately, she was not able to remove it today either and felt she had done all she could without causing any further damage. 

So,where does that leave me? I am scheduled to have it surgically removed on Monday. Yes, I have to have this stupid thing surgically removed. Not exactly how I was hoping things would work out. She feels certain that it is still in the uterine cavity and hasn't perforated into my abdominal cavity, but that is still a possibility. There is also the possibility that it is embedded in the uterine wall and that creates a host of other issues.

I am scheduled for a hysteroscopy, but I have to give consent for a laparoscopy or a laparotomy in the event that it can't be removed through the hysteroscope. There are numerous complications that can occur, but I am not going to dwell on those things. Instead, I am going to stand on Romans 12:12 and rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation and be constant in prayer.

 

I know that you can't believe everything you read on the internet and everyone responds differently to different medications and devices. I am one of the unlucky ones, but I want to share my experience to let others know what can happen. I am a real person and this is really happening to me. I am so very thankful that I have two children because the risk factors for infertility and pregnancy complications as a result of this are extremely high.

Please pray that all goes well on Monday, it can be easily removed and I can move on.

Hope your week is going better than mine. :)