Mirena details, for those curious
So I finally got my Mirena, bright and early Wednesday morning!
As I said on Facebook:
Mirena'd! Whoo-hoo! (Actually about an hour ago, but apparently my update didn't post) easy-peazy; I think my breakfast of too many dried apricots caused me more cramping!
Full write-up, for those who are curious or considering one themselves:
Wikipedia: IUD with progestogen
Mirena Website
Planned Parenthood: IUD
Lynn Pattimakiel, M.D. -- works out of Main Campus GYN at CCF. I enjoyed working with her, if that's useful info for other locals.
So, here's the process as I recall it:
I get my annual pelvic exams through my GP, who isn't experienced enough with IUDs to do insertions. So she did my exam and my STI testing (a necessary prereq for the IUD), then refered me over to Main Campus Gyn for the actual insertion.
I went in for one appt as a consult, to discuss the Mirena and determine if it was appropriate for me. That was only about 15-20 minutes, and I don't have major contraindications (no previous pregnancies is no longer a contraindication, fyi -- it used to be back in the day), so we set up for financial clearance with my insurance.
I got the call that it'd been approved by my insurance, and that I could go ahead and schedule my appt. Because I've been using the Nuvaring to skip my periods for the past few years we couldn't schedule to do the insertion during a period, which is the easiest time. Instead, I was prescribed two days of misoprostol to soften my cervix in advance of the insertion.
Wednesday morning I didn't take any ibuprofen as instructed, since I'm already on so many pain meds, and just went off the ibuprofen specifically anyway. I figured the rest of the crap in my system would probably work equally well at least. I got to the appt, we did a quick pregnancy test (Negative, Whoo-hoo!), and then we set up for the actual insertion. Informed consent was signed, and then they checked about allergies to soaps and cleansers. That worried me for a sec; I'm actually pretty prone toward contact dermatitis with a lot of lotions/cleansers/etc. When I was hospitalized in college I was allergic to the industrial strength detergent they used on my bedding; that was miserable. Luckily, they use Hibiclens to clean the cervix -- I know that one's ok for me, since I use it with piercings and to clean toys at home.
Step one was insertion of the speculum and swabbing/cleansing of the cervix. No discomfort at all.
Step two was sounding the uterus for depth and proper placement of the Mirena. This was the twingiest portion of things; it involves using it round-ended probe to gently feel through the cervix for the depth of the uterus, and as she hit the top of the fundus it was definitely a sharp twinge.
Step three was the insertion of the Mirena itself; once the sounding was done that was really quick, and only a single minor twinge when she inserted it.
That was it, maybe 15 minutes from the time I got into lithotomy position to being all done. She let me know I could lay there as long as I liked if I was having any significant cramping, and warned me that I was likely to spot for a while. I was feeling ok, so I got up and got dressed pretty immediately, and took the bus home. I felt a sort of significant steady little twinge in my uterus for the next few hours, but it wasn't miserable, just noticeable. Not enough to make walking and public transit difficult, even. I spotted for about six hours, then that cleared up completely. By mid-evening, I was feeling totally normal (except for a migraine -- more on that in a sec). I've felt the string once out of curiosity, and it's much silkier and more unobtrusive than I expected, so that's nice.
By late evening, despite having warning Chad that I was absolutely, positively sure I wouldn't be in a state to have sex on Wednesday, I was the one starting things. I certainly don't think the change has impacted my libido that fast, but I think the psychological element of being pleased and excited about it did to an extent. My doc said that she recommends waiting a couple of days on vaginal sex, just to be extra-cautious, even though risks are almost nil. So I was well-behaved about that, and we went with other options, but I didn't even feel any residual twinges during any of that. So, yay. Good experience all 'round.
As to the migraine... WTF was that about? I haven't had any since my med switchover, so I have a few suspicions. It came on Wednesday afternoon, and last through most of Thursday. Mon/Tues I was on the Misoprostol, a prostaglandin, so Wednesday that level should've been dropping in my system. Perhaps that triggered it? Also, I'd been having probs with sleep deprivation and insomnia, so when I got home from the Mirena I was determined to sleep, and took a Vicodin. I don't take those very often, and it was with my regular Robaxin that they switched me to. I woke up feeling pretty hungover, and that may have triggered it. Anyway, it meant I was home yesterday. I'm hoping it was a random fluke, and not a sign that the migraines are back to stay.
As I said on Facebook:
Mirena'd! Whoo-hoo! (Actually about an hour ago, but apparently my update didn't post) easy-peazy; I think my breakfast of too many dried apricots caused me more cramping!
Full write-up, for those who are curious or considering one themselves:
Wikipedia: IUD with progestogen
Mirena Website
Planned Parenthood: IUD
Lynn Pattimakiel, M.D. -- works out of Main Campus GYN at CCF. I enjoyed working with her, if that's useful info for other locals.
So, here's the process as I recall it:
I get my annual pelvic exams through my GP, who isn't experienced enough with IUDs to do insertions. So she did my exam and my STI testing (a necessary prereq for the IUD), then refered me over to Main Campus Gyn for the actual insertion.
I went in for one appt as a consult, to discuss the Mirena and determine if it was appropriate for me. That was only about 15-20 minutes, and I don't have major contraindications (no previous pregnancies is no longer a contraindication, fyi -- it used to be back in the day), so we set up for financial clearance with my insurance.
I got the call that it'd been approved by my insurance, and that I could go ahead and schedule my appt. Because I've been using the Nuvaring to skip my periods for the past few years we couldn't schedule to do the insertion during a period, which is the easiest time. Instead, I was prescribed two days of misoprostol to soften my cervix in advance of the insertion.
Wednesday morning I didn't take any ibuprofen as instructed, since I'm already on so many pain meds, and just went off the ibuprofen specifically anyway. I figured the rest of the crap in my system would probably work equally well at least. I got to the appt, we did a quick pregnancy test (Negative, Whoo-hoo!), and then we set up for the actual insertion. Informed consent was signed, and then they checked about allergies to soaps and cleansers. That worried me for a sec; I'm actually pretty prone toward contact dermatitis with a lot of lotions/cleansers/etc. When I was hospitalized in college I was allergic to the industrial strength detergent they used on my bedding; that was miserable. Luckily, they use Hibiclens to clean the cervix -- I know that one's ok for me, since I use it with piercings and to clean toys at home.
Step one was insertion of the speculum and swabbing/cleansing of the cervix. No discomfort at all.
Step two was sounding the uterus for depth and proper placement of the Mirena. This was the twingiest portion of things; it involves using it round-ended probe to gently feel through the cervix for the depth of the uterus, and as she hit the top of the fundus it was definitely a sharp twinge.
Step three was the insertion of the Mirena itself; once the sounding was done that was really quick, and only a single minor twinge when she inserted it.
That was it, maybe 15 minutes from the time I got into lithotomy position to being all done. She let me know I could lay there as long as I liked if I was having any significant cramping, and warned me that I was likely to spot for a while. I was feeling ok, so I got up and got dressed pretty immediately, and took the bus home. I felt a sort of significant steady little twinge in my uterus for the next few hours, but it wasn't miserable, just noticeable. Not enough to make walking and public transit difficult, even. I spotted for about six hours, then that cleared up completely. By mid-evening, I was feeling totally normal (except for a migraine -- more on that in a sec). I've felt the string once out of curiosity, and it's much silkier and more unobtrusive than I expected, so that's nice.
By late evening, despite having warning Chad that I was absolutely, positively sure I wouldn't be in a state to have sex on Wednesday, I was the one starting things. I certainly don't think the change has impacted my libido that fast, but I think the psychological element of being pleased and excited about it did to an extent. My doc said that she recommends waiting a couple of days on vaginal sex, just to be extra-cautious, even though risks are almost nil. So I was well-behaved about that, and we went with other options, but I didn't even feel any residual twinges during any of that. So, yay. Good experience all 'round.
As to the migraine... WTF was that about? I haven't had any since my med switchover, so I have a few suspicions. It came on Wednesday afternoon, and last through most of Thursday. Mon/Tues I was on the Misoprostol, a prostaglandin, so Wednesday that level should've been dropping in my system. Perhaps that triggered it? Also, I'd been having probs with sleep deprivation and insomnia, so when I got home from the Mirena I was determined to sleep, and took a Vicodin. I don't take those very often, and it was with my regular Robaxin that they switched me to. I woke up feeling pretty hungover, and that may have triggered it. Anyway, it meant I was home yesterday. I'm hoping it was a random fluke, and not a sign that the migraines are back to stay.