She-Groks Only.......... cuz it works different for us page 95

[teach2183]

Jen,
I have heard great and horrible stories about Mirena. Are you planning to breastfeed? You may be lucky and not get your period for 1+years. I was unlucky and mine returned at 9-10 weeks both times. On the bright side, my periods are much lighter with less painful cramping (used to throw-up due to the pain). Between kids we tracked periods and used condoms. I refused to do any hormones since I was breastfeeding. After DS when we both decided we were ready, DH got a vasectomy. No more worries for either of us, YAY.
If you do get the Mirena, just watch yourself closely for mood changes.

[Jen AlcesAlces]

teach2183, yes I'm planning to breastfeed, but am not sure about relying on that to not get preggo again. Good point about avoiding hormones while still breastfeeding - that's something I'd rather not feed my kid. Perhaps I should think again about the copper one or use another method until little guy is onto full solid foods.

Thanks Sihana & halfbunny for your responses too - It seems the experience is totally different for everyone, and I may just need to wait and see how these work for me.

Geez - now if only I could get my bread-loving boyfriend to consider going primal, even a little. He loves when I cook something like spinach-stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon (with potatoes), but he prefers most of his food in sandwich or burrito form. No talking him out of it.

[RitaRose]

Sorry, I've never really heard much except positive reviews of Mirena, so am very curious about your experiences!

I've had mine for 6 1/2 years now and I absolutely love it! Keep in mind that I'm at a little bit different stage in my life, and it is very different for everyone.

I was just starting to go through menopause and, according to my doc, some women don't taper off on their menstrual flow, they get heavier. Yea for me! I'm special! It got so bad that I was going through a Super Plus tampon in 20 or 30 minutes, ****TMI WARNING**** I was getting clots the size of my thumb and my periods were lasting about a week instead of 3 or 4 days. Pretty awful.

They were considering an endometrial ablation, and the doc said they should tie my tubes at the same time because an ectopic pregnancy would be more likely and pretty dangerous. But being an HMO, there was a month wait after the mandatory uterine biopsy. During that time, I did some research and found a really good quality progesterone cream (some are just crap) and he talked to his partner whose patients that just loved Mirena, so we went with that instead.

I cramped for a couple of days, and it wasn't just a little. After that, I had very light periods for a few months (almost more like spotting) and then I haven't had a period since. Seriously, I love it!

I have heard of some people that really got sick from it. It's not for everyone. I hadn't heard anything about problems after removing it until now. I will say that the actual removal process is considerably more uncomfortable than the insertion process, which is a lot like a typical pap smear.

I have another 3 1/2 years until this one needs to be removed. I probably won't replace it unless I start to have issues again, but I would hope that I would be over it since that will be 10 years since I got the first one. It's not that I don't like it - I love it - but I just dont' think I'll have the need for it.

[Paleobird]

Indeed. Also indicating that there's a wider spectrum of responses between individual women. It's good stuff.

Yes, that was an interesting post by Mark and long overdue, IMO. I wonder if Carrie had anything to do with it.

And, yes, as is evident on this thread, just because we are all women doesn't mean we don't have differences. I would think the main ones would be age (i.e pre or post menopausal) and also body fat content. Probably activity level as well.

I may be some kind of genetic freak but I never had cramps or PMS back in the day and I never had any symptoms of menopause. I feel left out of the discussion sometimes.

About the birth control discussion, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't take the pill for 15 years like I did. I don't know if that was a factor in getting breast cancer or not, but I would err on the side of caution there if I had a time machine.

[RitaRose]

About the birth control discussion, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't take the pill for 15 years like I did. I don't know if that was a factor in getting breast cancer or not, but I would err on the side of caution there if I had a time machine.

I was on a fairly high dose (I think my doc back then was a fan of overkill and I was... stupid) and when I went off it to have my son, I was surprised to have no symptoms at all.

3 months later, I got slammed.

It's a little scary to think that stuff is still running around in your system for 3 months after you stop using it. I never had breast cancer, but I do get benign tumors (breast, shoulder and even one on my face). Biopsies suck, but at least I've been lucky so far.

[Paleobird]

I was on a fairly high dose (I think my doc back then was a fan of overkill and I was... stupid) and when I went off it to have my son, I was surprised to have no symptoms at all.

3 months later, I got slammed.

It's a little scary to think that stuff is still running around in your system for 3 months after you stop using it. I never had breast cancer, but I do get benign tumors (breast, shoulder and even one on my face). Biopsies suck, but at least I've been lucky so far.

I think most docs back then went for the higher dose and it was way more than needed. They were just starting to figure things out and we were the lab rats.

Biopsies suck big time. Have you ever watched on the screen while they stick that big ol' honkin needle in you? Yikes. But I'm glad you are staying vigilant with that.

[RitaRose]

Biopsies suck big time. Have you ever watched on the screen while they stick that big ol' honkin needle in you? Yikes. But I'm glad you are staying vigilant with that.

My boyfriend is a photographer and did a photo shoot for one of the hospitals' cancer labs. He had seen the needle they use for core biopsies and warned me ahead of time that I probably shouldn't look. I'm usually pretty cool with that stuff, but that sucker is the size of a turkey baster! I did look at the screen (I love that kind of stuff) but not the needle. I'm having a brain MRI on Friday, and the geek in me is a little excited, hoping maybe they'll let me see the pics!

[Paleobird]

My boyfriend is a photographer and did a photo shoot for one of the hospitals' cancer labs. He had seen the needle they use for core biopsies and warned me ahead of time that I probably shouldn't look. I'm usually pretty cool with that stuff, but that sucker is the size of a turkey baster! I did look at the screen (I love that kind of stuff) but not the needle. I'm having a brain MRI on Friday, and the geek in me is a little excited, hoping maybe they'll let me see the pics!

How is your bonked noggin doing? Still have the migraines under pretty good control? I was hoping the conked head wouldn't have aggravated them.

[RitaRose]

How is your bonked noggin doing? Still have the migraines under pretty good control? I was hoping the conked head wouldn't have aggravated them.

Nope, It's only aggravated my weight. I'm pretty sure I did some frontal cortex damage, and something else that messed up my thyroid and immune system (maybe my cerebellum?). Seriously, who else gets 20 pounds heavier and a crappy immune system from hitting their head???

[Zanna]

So for the ladies who have been diagnosed with fibroids . . . how are they removed?