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miss_lucy21Oh so many things....
1) I got an IUD inserted yesterday. I have no immediate plans to have sex with anyone (where immediate= in the foreseeable future) but I still need some hormonal assistance if I want to have remotely regular periods, because I either have PCOS or it's really, really close unnamed cousin (I fit the profile in some ways, but not in some of the more important symptoms. That is, I'm not insulin resistant at least at this point). But I also turned 36 a couple weeks ago, which means that I'm starting to edge into the territory where estrogen based birth control becomes more risky. I don't smoke and my blood pressure is fine, but I have a strong family history of heart disease and that includes a grandfather who had significant blood clot issues. So, just staying on my 3 month pill would be fine at the moment, but increasingly less fine as I get older. My doctor suggested the Mirena IUD, which is progesterone only, which would work with the PCOS and have no cardiac side effects. I've done progesterone only pills before, and they've agreed with me, but you have to be super careful to take them at the same time every day and I'm not that organized (that's mostly for contraception, but I had spotting issues if I wasn't consistent about the timing). And, hey, one less prescription to keep track of. It was an attractive option.
Enter your cut contents here.
Insertion was not that bad. You hear things about how it's super painful if you haven't delivered a baby, but my doctor said that most of what you hear are people who've had bad experiences, because those who have good ones don't mention them. Which I believe. They gave me some pills to open things up for the night before and said to take them with 800 mg of ibuprofen. And I definitely needed 800 mg of ibuprofen. It felt just weird at first, but then settled into cramps bad enough to make me queasy (which does not ordinarily happen). That was with the ibuprofen mega dose, so I'm glad they told me to take that much, because I would not have on my own.
So, sleeping wasn't great. I was supposed to go to work for a half-day and then take off at lunch (appointment was at 2), but I was still crampy and queasy and so I called out. I'd take a half-sick day on Monday morning because I'd woken up dizzy and needed a couple hours to get that to settle down enough to drive (sinus/fluid thing. It happens), so I just took the other half on Friday. They had also told me to take 800 mg of ibuprofen about an hour before the appointment, so I did that (plus 200 mg when I woke up at 6, because I needed things to calm down enough for me to sleep for another few hours).
The actual procedure took about 15 minutes all told. Getting to the point where the doctor actually inserted the Mirena was worse than the actual insertion. They were using a standard speculum, which will fit, but not comfortably (my vagina is small. And my muscles are spasmy. The small speculum goes much easier). But she got it in there and open. And then there was the part where they measure your cervix. I have no idea what they were doing that with, but it was the most painful part of the whole thing. And just as I was assuming it was going to get worse, the doctor said "okay, it's in. All done!" I don't think I felt the actual insertion part at all. Apparently, my high pain tolerance came in handy, because I was pretty much okay through the whole thing. Lots of deep breathing and reminding myself to relax my muscles, but no tears. The doctor was impressed and said I was pretty tough.
The cramps were still very much present and the doctor said I should expect to be sore and crampy for about a week. I felt okay, otherwise, although driving through the bumpy construction zone on my way home was really, really uncomfortable. I did need a heat pack to get things to calm down enough to go to bed. I didn't want to take more ibuprofen. I didn't want to irritate my stomach lining more than absolutely necessary and I'm not supposed to take it regularly because while I've never had a reaction to it, I also shouldn't have it at all because of the aspirin and naproxen allergies. But it's the only OTC pain reliever I can take that is at all effective for this type of pain (Tylenol is completely ineffective for cramps on me. Other things, it's semi-useful). I slept okay, woke up once around 4, but I think that was more because I was hungry and needed to pee.
When I woke up for real around 10, I was slightly uncomfortable, but that was it. At the moment, it's like I'm aware of my uterus in a way I usually am not, but it's not quite to the level of actual cramps. I think my hamstrings and lower back actually hurt more than anything else (from being in the stirrups. The positioning is awkward for anyone, but since I have next to no flexibility in my legs, I usually feel it the next day).
So I'm just taking it really easy today. I have a long weekend (Monday is a federal/bank holiday), and today's high forecast was a grand total of 11F/-10C, so it's not like I was going anywhere anyway. I've been pushing the boundaries to get to work this week, and there's just that little edge that says "this far, no farther" in my breathing, so I need to really behave this weekend. Fortunately, this extra cold snap will be over by Monday and it'll be above freezing next week. I'm very hopeful this is the last bad week, temperature wise. It's mid-February, and while it'll stay in the 30s and 40s for the next several weeks and there is probably still snow/ice to come, we usually don't hit this kind of cold snap after January.
1) I got an IUD inserted yesterday. I have no immediate plans to have sex with anyone (where immediate= in the foreseeable future) but I still need some hormonal assistance if I want to have remotely regular periods, because I either have PCOS or it's really, really close unnamed cousin (I fit the profile in some ways, but not in some of the more important symptoms. That is, I'm not insulin resistant at least at this point). But I also turned 36 a couple weeks ago, which means that I'm starting to edge into the territory where estrogen based birth control becomes more risky. I don't smoke and my blood pressure is fine, but I have a strong family history of heart disease and that includes a grandfather who had significant blood clot issues. So, just staying on my 3 month pill would be fine at the moment, but increasingly less fine as I get older. My doctor suggested the Mirena IUD, which is progesterone only, which would work with the PCOS and have no cardiac side effects. I've done progesterone only pills before, and they've agreed with me, but you have to be super careful to take them at the same time every day and I'm not that organized (that's mostly for contraception, but I had spotting issues if I wasn't consistent about the timing). And, hey, one less prescription to keep track of. It was an attractive option.
Enter your cut contents here.
Insertion was not that bad. You hear things about how it's super painful if you haven't delivered a baby, but my doctor said that most of what you hear are people who've had bad experiences, because those who have good ones don't mention them. Which I believe. They gave me some pills to open things up for the night before and said to take them with 800 mg of ibuprofen. And I definitely needed 800 mg of ibuprofen. It felt just weird at first, but then settled into cramps bad enough to make me queasy (which does not ordinarily happen). That was with the ibuprofen mega dose, so I'm glad they told me to take that much, because I would not have on my own.
So, sleeping wasn't great. I was supposed to go to work for a half-day and then take off at lunch (appointment was at 2), but I was still crampy and queasy and so I called out. I'd take a half-sick day on Monday morning because I'd woken up dizzy and needed a couple hours to get that to settle down enough to drive (sinus/fluid thing. It happens), so I just took the other half on Friday. They had also told me to take 800 mg of ibuprofen about an hour before the appointment, so I did that (plus 200 mg when I woke up at 6, because I needed things to calm down enough for me to sleep for another few hours).
The actual procedure took about 15 minutes all told. Getting to the point where the doctor actually inserted the Mirena was worse than the actual insertion. They were using a standard speculum, which will fit, but not comfortably (my vagina is small. And my muscles are spasmy. The small speculum goes much easier). But she got it in there and open. And then there was the part where they measure your cervix. I have no idea what they were doing that with, but it was the most painful part of the whole thing. And just as I was assuming it was going to get worse, the doctor said "okay, it's in. All done!" I don't think I felt the actual insertion part at all. Apparently, my high pain tolerance came in handy, because I was pretty much okay through the whole thing. Lots of deep breathing and reminding myself to relax my muscles, but no tears. The doctor was impressed and said I was pretty tough.
The cramps were still very much present and the doctor said I should expect to be sore and crampy for about a week. I felt okay, otherwise, although driving through the bumpy construction zone on my way home was really, really uncomfortable. I did need a heat pack to get things to calm down enough to go to bed. I didn't want to take more ibuprofen. I didn't want to irritate my stomach lining more than absolutely necessary and I'm not supposed to take it regularly because while I've never had a reaction to it, I also shouldn't have it at all because of the aspirin and naproxen allergies. But it's the only OTC pain reliever I can take that is at all effective for this type of pain (Tylenol is completely ineffective for cramps on me. Other things, it's semi-useful). I slept okay, woke up once around 4, but I think that was more because I was hungry and needed to pee.
When I woke up for real around 10, I was slightly uncomfortable, but that was it. At the moment, it's like I'm aware of my uterus in a way I usually am not, but it's not quite to the level of actual cramps. I think my hamstrings and lower back actually hurt more than anything else (from being in the stirrups. The positioning is awkward for anyone, but since I have next to no flexibility in my legs, I usually feel it the next day).
So I'm just taking it really easy today. I have a long weekend (Monday is a federal/bank holiday), and today's high forecast was a grand total of 11F/-10C, so it's not like I was going anywhere anyway. I've been pushing the boundaries to get to work this week, and there's just that little edge that says "this far, no farther" in my breathing, so I need to really behave this weekend. Fortunately, this extra cold snap will be over by Monday and it'll be above freezing next week. I'm very hopeful this is the last bad week, temperature wise. It's mid-February, and while it'll stay in the 30s and 40s for the next several weeks and there is probably still snow/ice to come, we usually don't hit this kind of cold snap after January.
no subject
Date: 2016-02-13 09:23 pm (UTC)Alt.: a few drops of jasmine oil in a small pot of water on a the smallest flame. It may well make you doze-y, though.
Alt.#2: lavender and peppermint oils in neutral lotion (e.g. Vaseline Intensive Care), gently massage in where painful, then apply heat.
And you're gonna hate it each time, but walking will help more than laying down. Lean on a table or a wall if you have to. It will, however, help your body sort itself out.
And stick to rice and potatos for this week's carbs. No strong flavors, either.
no subject
Date: 2016-02-14 02:47 am (UTC)Walking around hasn't been bad. Laying low today was as much for my lungs as anything else, but I have been wandering around some. And yeah, I am eating really unadventurous foods because I'm totally not in the mood to add intestinal cramping to this mix. But I feel reasonably okay. Pain level at the moment is within normal daily tolerances, so hopefully it stays that way.