Mirena question
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Yeah I don't now why they are attcking Obama on this. I saw that one state actually had a law requiring bc being covered and no one batted an eyelash at it. Re Europe: I see. Man you have a lot of experience.I thought about going into pharmaceuticals...I even had a temp job at Amgen. I spent 2 years in the biotech lab after that. After getting laid off when our site closed, I am glad to be out of the lab. Too much sitting and I was getting pipetters thumb.
Onahnie ·
I should clarify: I didn't actually mean the European/South American/Asian/etc/etc (i.e. non-North American) countries have less-stringent systems and/or are less safe... but they are very different and they do bring things to market quicker (as chemgoddess has mentioned).. I just meant I'd personally like to wait a while to know the outcomes of something before having it done/inserted/ingested, which, by the time it's marketed in North America, many years have passed and this data is available then. Also, there is a common misconception that the ONLY/MAIN way the IUD works is by preventing implantation of a fertilized embryo. While this was try of the permanent plastic IUDs in the past, it is not the main mode of action of the newer (hormonal and copper) IUDs. The hormonal one works by local hormone delivery---without getting into too much technical info, essentially like a pill/patch/injection/nuvaring system, but with a very low dose localized delivery, to avoid overly high systemic hormone levels and to essentially "fool" your body into thinking you're already pregnant and not releasing an egg in the first place. The copper IUD, on the other hand, still confuses many, but is thought to cause very localized inflammation to bring in a hoard of inflammatory cells to the region, which in turn cause a very hostile environment for other foreign materials (i.e., sperm, attacking and killing htem before they have a chance to travel up the fallopian tubes). The majority of possible pregnancies are blocked in these manners. In the event either are bypassed, then the secondary mode for both is the traditional blocking of embryo implantation, which is why the politicians go into an uproar and claiming it's abortion.
Onahnie ·
typo: should read, "while this was *true of the permanent plastic..."
What frustrates me is that the IUD essentially became my only real option. Tried the implanon and it made my arm go numb, despite it being inserted properly. I still get phantom shocks where it used to be. It also raised my blood pressure. The mini pill is just not that effective. You literally have to take it everyday (no placebo pills) and at the same time (within a 4 hour window.) It only prevents ovulation 50% of the time (not good odds IMO.) The depo shot leeches calcium from your bones. The docs say it will come back after you stop it, but I still think that's debated. You also can't get it for more than 5 years, and I need something long term. I am no longer allowed to take anything with estrogen in it since I get migraine auras...apparently that puts me at a higher risk for a stroke and the estrogen makes it more risky. I NEED a bc for cramps! I'm sick of killing my liver with pain killers!
"Man you have a lot of experience." Translation: I am old! Pharma contract lab: 7 years (went from bench QC chemist to methods transfer/auditor, basically audited QC data on new products prio to submission to the FDA for approval) Drug Discovery chemist: 3 years until they went belly up Gojo: 2 years (think Purell and antimicroboial hospital soaps....alll FDA regulated) Ceramics: hell, going on 7 years. Test for low level metallic imputities in catalyst materials used in refineries. I also run a gamut of other material characterization tests. When I put that down on paper I cannot believe it has been this long! If I talk technical it is not because I am trying to be a snob, it is because it is what I do!
I don't think your a snob. I realize you know your stuff. It's helpful!
"I don't think your a snob." You obviously did not see Santorum's talk from this past weekend. That was specifically why I chose that....
No I didn't. I don't have a TV, so I get all my debate watching from youtube...
k2weller ·
I've got a Mirena story as of... right now! How fitting that I saw this thread on SV. I went in this afternoon for my 1st time Mirena implant. Never been pregnant, never had kids. The cramps during measuring reminded me of those super icky cramps that leave me curled up in a ball on my side, but there were only a couple of them. But... I think there was a defect in the actual device, as my doctor couldn't get it to release from the applicator wand thingy. At all. She even removed it and tried to rethread the strings back down the wand. Those stubborn strings wouldn't go back down - they just curled up on themselves about halfway down. So, after all of that, I have to go back again next week to do it all over again. Ick. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that now I know exactly what to expect pain-wise! Has anyone else ever had this happen to them????
I didn't have any cramping while they measured my uterus, but that may be because I got the numbing shots?? I think Chemmie mentioned having the first doctor mess up the procedure. If I am understanding this correctly... the fact that she tried to restick the mirena back in the wand to to re-insert it is a red flag to me. Once it is out of the wand it is no longer sterile. If she touched it and then inserted it in you, she could be pushing bacteria into your uterus! She should have thrown it away right away, not tried to reinsert it! EWWWW!
k2weller ·
Yeah, I know... not the most encouraging sight, that's for sure! Her gloves and the environment were sterile, but it was kind of weird seeing the whole apparatus out and about when it was supposed to be inside and out of sight. She's sending it back as a defective model and hopefully the new one will be in and done with no problems next week. She's done lots of IUD inserts and is usually the doctor that other docs call when THEY have problems with an insert, but not in this case. I like to mess up the status quo... ! 😉
The gloves aren't fully sterile. They come out of the box and are touched by hands. In cell culturing in biotech, in order to prevent contamination, we had to spray our gloves with bleach after puting them on. In drawing blood, I was taught to never touch the site you will be drawing from (with a gloved finger) after sterilizing it because you are contaminating the site and can push that contamination into the vein upon needle insertion.
I just curled up into a ball again. My first insertion was a breeze. It was my second that was horrible. She was so skittish in the first place and I think she had issues herself. She basically misfired mine. She tried getting it in 3 different times and then once she pushed the plunger thingy she did not have it placed properly or it did not come out or something. All I know is that they had to order me a new IUD and I had to go back. They prescribed me a pill to insert that would dilate me (oh, that was another issue because this pill is used in other countries for abortion purposes) and the cramping from that alone was horrible. I refused to let the original doctor try to place the second one. I was in tears both visits.
Holy crap, NO WAY would I let it be inserted after she poked and prodded it! :| Definitely not aspetic at all! Good luck to you for next week, though..maybe rethink your doctor? Hah.
Hi, I have been thinking about getting a mirena recently but have read some horror stories online. Then I remembered about this thread so I though I would ask, I'm sorry if these seem a little bit personal. Basically I have read that during sex it can be extremely painful for you and if your partner is on the larger side the little strings can stab him too. 😲 Is that true?
The little strings soften with time, but at first they are a little pokey. My husband would only feel mine in certain positions. If your man is a "cervix bumper" you may have issues.
Yeah, my strings softened by the 1 month mark. They are curled up now and I have a hard time finding them cuz my fingers are too short! When I do find one, I can't tell if it's shorter or longer cuz it's way up there.
Thanks chemgoddess1 and sensualscimitar, I feel better about the whole thing now. The reviews I was reading online were terrifying there were hardly any positive ones. But I figure if it wasn't successful for most people they would stop making it. I hope it doesn't hurt too much having it put in, I am always on painkillers so I hope they will help. The benefits of the pills will no longer apply when we move in together in a few months. But I will have to see what he thinks about potentially being stabbed for a few months.
If you can take a muscle relaxer beforehand, I would suggest it. I did that and got the cervical block (a shot in the cervix to numb the area) and I think that's why I didn't even feel it when she measured my uterus depth. I only felt the cervical clamp after it was on there for a while and then the cramp from the insertion. Most of the reviews I saw said the girls cramped for 1-3 days. I cramped for a week, but I always got really bad period cramps, so that might be partly why. If you are cramping, I suggest a really good heating pad. The one I have gets really hot and it helped A LOT. It is expensive, but it is the only one I have found they gets this hot. http://www.amazon.com/Thermophore-Arthritis-Heating-Standard-Auto-Switch/dp/B000ZHJS0G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330822242&sr=8-1 I also found relief laying on my side with my legs out straight. I cramped worse on my back (gravity probably) and in the fetal position (probably copressing my already cramping uterus.) My nurse said to take ibuprofen as it can decrease menstrual bleeding as well. She gave me prescription naproxen, but it made my stomach hurt (all NSAIDS can destroy your stomach.) If you get tummy aches or acid relux from the NSAID, take a pepcid when you take the pain killer. That helps me. I got acid relux so bad once that when I called my doc, they thought I might have been having a heart attack. My chest hurt to breathe. My voice sounded like kermit the frog though...😕
amazon.comAmazonAmazonI'm already on naproxen and have been for 2 years so I know it doesn't bother my stomach. I also have tramadol that I take every now and then so hopefully that will stop the pain. Though I might wait until the easter holidays so I can stay in bed all day without worrying about missing lectures. After the initial week of cramping has there been anymore pain?
When I got my first Mirena every month during what would have been that time I got cramps kind of like I was stopped up (not at all like my period cramps), and I would also get back aches. It would only be a day or so and it took me a while to realize it was related to when I normally would have had my period. That subsided in about 3 months. Every once in a blue moon I will still get the back/hip pain when I should have my period.
You have made me want my mirena now instead of in a few months. The fact you rarely get pains is amazing, I wish I was told about this when I first started using birth control. (Though I was young, I doubt I could deal with the pain back then) Thanks so much for the advice 😀
I get some mild cramping during my period (I still get a really light one.) Every once in a whle I will get a little random cramping, but nothing major, and it's really temporary.
gina77 ·
Funny blog.. I JUST got this Mirena 3 days ago.. worst pain ever. I have one child by c-section. Labor was induced and i never dilated, which i feel, added to my pain. My cervix is shy! The day after i got Mirena, I believe that I "passed" something. Gross, I know. Also scary. I wonder when the initial cramping will end. I also wonder if I have made a terrible mistake getting this semipermanent thing in my body.
Gina - My doc said it can take up to two weeks to stop cramping. It took me a week, but that seems to be unusual. Most girls I've seen cramped from 1-3 days. Just put a heating pad on your tummy and lay on your side with your legs out straight (a pillow bewttn your legs light help to.) Take some ibuprofen as well. Like I said earlier, the fetal position made the cramping worse and so did lying on my back. I didn't pass anything initially, but my periods have had some brown clots, which Chem said is just blood that has been chilling and has oxidized. Weird, but no big deal. Give it a few months for your body to adjust. If you end up really unhappy with it, all they have to do is pull it out.
