Me and My Uterus

Just when you thought this topic was a thing of the past...

It's become an issue again. Specifically, it's been an issue (no pun intended) since Labor Day. I don't want to be too vulgar here, so suffice it to say that it's such an issue that Sunday we all had to suddenly leave church just prior to the service and Monday while I did my shopping - I wore my jacket, but it wasn't around my shoulders.

I finally called my dr. late Monday afternoon. At that point this had been going on 4 weeks and I'd had enough. As you'll recall, I had a Mirena put in last March because I was having such miserable and heavy periods. It worked immediately and I've been very pleased with it. That was until this past month. I talked to a nurse and she told me that with what I was describing, I needed to go to the ER. I hemmed and hawed about that for several hours. I didn't want to go to the ER! I finally had Paul take me up to Urgent Care - $20 co-pay vs the $150 one at the ER. They tested my hemoglobin and said I was ok. So I went home. But I had an appt. now for Friday with Dr. Morgan.

So that was today. Unfortunately, they had the notes the nurse took from our conversation Monday, but my appt. had never made it onto their schedule. But they graciously saw me anyway. Guess what - my Mirena fell out! My dr. was so bummed about that and said it's very very rare. Yeah, well, a LOT of things about my uterus are rare! It was halfway out and she pulled it the rest of the way. So apparently, my body rejected it.

So, the question of the hour was what to do next: I can't take any birth control pills because of my stroke history. The Mirena isn't going to work, obviously. Dr. Morgan finally admitted that I am a candidate for a hysterectomy. She explained how she would do it, but she wants to exhaust all possibilities and stave it off for as long as possible. Apparently, the younger you are at the time of a hysterectomy, the greater chances there are for future complications.

So, I ended up getting a progesterone shot today (Depo-Provera) which I really did not want to do. I know several women who have totally ballooned while on the shot. Our flex spending renews March 1, so at that time I'm going to have a uterine ablation done (outpatient surgery - they burn off the lining of the uterus). That's what I had planned to do in Jan. of this year, when I decided, at the last minute, to give the Mirena a try instead. The ablation is a temporary solution, but it could last for several years. So, when the effectiveness of that wears off, then I will have the hysterectomy, which, because of my abdominal surgeries and rupture, will be a major surgery.

Dr. Morgan asked me today if I've gained weight while on the Mirena. I told her, "Yes-s-s..." You all know how I've been complaining about my weight gain on this blog. Well, it's because of the Mirena! I did not know that! She said that with both the Mirena and Depo-Provera women can gain weight - not because of them, per se, but because they increase appetite. So, she really stressed the importance of "counting calories" while I'm on the shot. Hello? My middle name is definitely NOT "Self Control" so I think it will be to my advantage to be on this shot for as short a time as possible! But learning that made me feel better - I'm not getting fat - it's just hormonal plumpness (sounds like a chicken getting ready for market).

I'm also going to be doing some natural therapies. A friend of mine from Council Bluffs (she and her husband are actually coming here for supper tonight; they had to bring their kids to Des Moines for a concert) called her naturopath this week on my behalf and got some suggestions for me. It definitely can't hurt to try something natural, either. The older I get, the more I recognize the limitations of traditional medicine.

So, that's the latest scoop on this defective organ of mine. I'm grateful for that thing because it held my babies until I could, but man, it's given me nothing but trouble since it ruptured! Plus, I'm perimenopausal, which makes me sound terribly old. And that doesn't help either!