Xenomorph

[clevermanka]

I just ordered my ticket (and book) to The Bloggess's March reading in KC. Excited!

Breaking Muscle posted a brief article about hormonal birth control pills and their potential for health damage. I believe that taking the pill for fifteen years, then going on Depo-Provera shots for three years was the number one cause of my current health nightmare. Luckily, I didn't experience many of the problems described in the article (heart disease, cancer, stroke, loss of libido), but I am convinced that being on synthetic hormones for so long is what killed my adrenals and forced my system into a state of continual immune response. I am angry and sad that nobody--I mean nobody--ever mentioned an IUD to me. And don't start with the IUDs are dangerous line. Yes, the ONE type commonly used in the U.S. for a BRIEF TIME had problems. So of course we threw out the whole concept as dangerous. Meanwhile, thousands of women in Europe cavorted around that side of the planet, baby- and synthetic-hormone-free. FUCK YOU, United States healthcare system.

In happier news, today's Qwertee shirt made me so happy I about peed my pants. BUYING THIS ONE.



My four-day weekend was really nice. Mostly. The time off work was fantastic. Unfortunately, on Friday night I had one of my bad stomachaches. The kind I haven't had in years. The kind that feels like someone is trying to stab their way out of my stomach. For hours. It was the exact same place (upper left side of my abdomen, very deep in the stomach), and about the same pain level (from what I remember). It kept me awake for the better part of three hours (again, par for the course--most of these happened at night). These stomachaches were never diagnosed, despite two ultrasounds and an MRI. The last doctor I saw told me that next time I had one, to go to the emergency room and ask to be 'scoped. Well, that sounds like a great idea, but when it's 1:00 a.m. and I'm not thinking clearly from the pain, and I already know that I'm going to spend a long time in the waiting room because I'm not bleeding out, and even once I get in, are they really going to try 'scoping me (not a pleasant experience on either side of the tube)...blah blah. You get the idea. Needless to say, I didn't go to the hospital.

I was pretty delicate the next day, and didn't eat much at all. My appetite was still pretty small on Sunday. Small enough that I was kind of hungry before bed, but was afraid to eat anything too heavy. So I had a banana--the first fruit I've had in over a week. I felt fine this morning. Still don't have nearly the appetite I did a couple weeks ago before I stopped eating fruit.

Hm.

I weighed myself on Friday morning (I'm going to weigh and measure myself once a month for the next several months). After one month of the AIP, I'm down four pounds and one inch around my waist. Navel and hip measurements are the same. Not too shabby.

Oh, and my left hip gave me trouble nearly all weekend, too. ARGH. Tight and painful.

Comments

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

That hormonal stuff sounds scary. *ducks head back into sand* frowny face.

Awesome news on AIP though! and I will totally steal that shirt from you.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

HOW did I not know that you read The Bloggess?!
I think this would be great fun to go!

Fuck all that IUDs are dangerous. I've had two of them, both the Cu-7 (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/07/ff_iud/?pid=6096). I think I had it first inserted after a BC pill failure when I was 23. I had no problems and no heavier bleeding. Unfortunately, my second one was inserted incorrectly by a County Health Dept office in SoCal and I suffered a pregnancy and miscarriage, at which time, I had my tubes tied at 24. How did I manage to get the IUD? I bitched about not wanting to stay on an unreliable method as the "low dose" BCP, nor change to a higher one. This was Reno, NV, so I don't know if they were just easier to get out west.

I'd cheerfully recommend them to anyone who asked, despite my failure, as it was not the IUD's fault.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

BUY YER OWN SHIRT!

But yeah...all that hormonal stuff is scary. It pisses me off that nobody ever talks about it from that angle. Oh, sure, they tell you that you're at an elevated risk for heart attack, but who the fuck cares about that when they're eighteen and just don't want to get pregnant?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I got a plus-one to her reading with my book purchase, so if you don't want your own copy of the book, we could carpool. You know, provided mckitterick doesn't want to go.

Good to know another friend had positive experiences with an IUD. I want to make sure all my friends with teenage (or about to be teenage) daughters know about the possibility.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Heck, dat'd be fun! I can always order my own copy it seems.

The only downside to the IUD for young women is the lack of protection from STDs, but it's sure an nice addition to a condom and a much better option than risk-taking with our current climate for Plan B and abortion.

[anomali.livejournal.com]

I was on the pill for 10 years and depo for 5 years. I had mild morning sickness every day for the ten years of bcpills. I actually had a pretty tin of saltines next to my bedside the entire time!

I loved the depo because I avoided the Red Menace completely after the first spotty month. Unfortunately, I started to lose bone mass after a few years (I was also a smoker, which I tend to think contributed to the problem). I only discovered this after I had already gone off depo after James' snip. At 30, I was young enough to restore my bone mass, but it is a very real danger of which women need to be aware.

I would not have chosen the IUD because of the amount of pain I experience just from PAP smears (damned hypersensitive cervix) but my gyno has told me that many women who have not given birth has little to no problem with cervical entry.

I thought you'd find this interesting:

http://contraception.about.com/od/iud/a/Iud-Use-In-Nulliparous-Women.htm

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Most of the people I know who have (or have had) IUDs have never had children. Most of them have never even been pregnant.

[anomali.livejournal.com]

Isn't it ridiculous that these protocols have been in place for so long?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

Ouch on the tummy pain :( I hope you can someday find out what's causing it.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

It murdered my libido for almost a decade. I actually went on testosterone for a while to jumpstart it.

[nottygypsy.livejournal.com]

I am learning stuff about my depo that is scaring me.

[akemi42.livejournal.com]

Six months ago, I went off birth control after 15 years of it (1 round of Depo, 9 years of the bill, and 6 years of Nuva Ring). I have not noticed anything really different, but I do think it has messed with me over time.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

At this point, I'd be happy if it just mysteriously disappeared for another five years. I'm worried they're going to start happening again. =(

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hate to say it, but if I were you (and I'm not) I'd stop using it.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

It took me um...probably three or four (ish?) years after stopping all HBC before I started noticing major (key word = noticing) problems. It's like it took my body that long to go What The Fuck Just Happened?

I really really really hope you simply dodged a bullet. That would be fantastic! I wouldn't wish this crap on anyone. Well, maybe I might wish it on Dick Cheney. Along with a punch in the face.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

YIKES.

My god, you poor thing.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

It's been back for almost ten years, now. Phew. But yeah, birth control pills messed me up pretty badly, with the lost libido, terrible nerves, nervous eye twitch, emotional roller coaster, and sudden boob growth. I'm glad to be through with them. The lost libido was the only side effect that lasted. Everything else stopped when I quit the pill.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Birth control pills are fine for most people, but I still think getting a Paragard IUD in 2006 was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. I CAN'T FUCK IT UP.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Good for you!

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

As a side note, though; IUD's are not without their problems. Getting it inserted was mega painful, and for the first few months I had cramps off and on that would leave me shaky and nauseated from pain and I spotted when I was ovulating. The first eight months, my PMS cramps were so bad I would have to go home from work. And for the first year my periods were SUPER heavy.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Sex sure has a lot of problematic elements no matter how you slice it. UNFAIR.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

AGREED.

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

That hormonal stuff sounds scary. *ducks head back into sand* frowny face.

Awesome news on AIP though! and I will totally steal that shirt from you.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

HOW did I not know that you read The Bloggess?!
I think this would be great fun to go!

Fuck all that IUDs are dangerous. I've had two of them, both the Cu-7 (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/07/ff_iud/?pid=6096). I think I had it first inserted after a BC pill failure when I was 23. I had no problems and no heavier bleeding. Unfortunately, my second one was inserted incorrectly by a County Health Dept office in SoCal and I suffered a pregnancy and miscarriage, at which time, I had my tubes tied at 24. How did I manage to get the IUD? I bitched about not wanting to stay on an unreliable method as the "low dose" BCP, nor change to a higher one. This was Reno, NV, so I don't know if they were just easier to get out west.

I'd cheerfully recommend them to anyone who asked, despite my failure, as it was not the IUD's fault.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

BUY YER OWN SHIRT!

But yeah...all that hormonal stuff is scary. It pisses me off that nobody ever talks about it from that angle. Oh, sure, they tell you that you're at an elevated risk for heart attack, but who the fuck cares about that when they're eighteen and just don't want to get pregnant?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I got a plus-one to her reading with my book purchase, so if you don't want your own copy of the book, we could carpool. You know, provided mckitterick doesn't want to go.

Good to know another friend had positive experiences with an IUD. I want to make sure all my friends with teenage (or about to be teenage) daughters know about the possibility.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Heck, dat'd be fun! I can always order my own copy it seems.

The only downside to the IUD for young women is the lack of protection from STDs, but it's sure an nice addition to a condom and a much better option than risk-taking with our current climate for Plan B and abortion.

[anomali.livejournal.com]

I was on the pill for 10 years and depo for 5 years. I had mild morning sickness every day for the ten years of bcpills. I actually had a pretty tin of saltines next to my bedside the entire time!

I loved the depo because I avoided the Red Menace completely after the first spotty month. Unfortunately, I started to lose bone mass after a few years (I was also a smoker, which I tend to think contributed to the problem). I only discovered this after I had already gone off depo after James' snip. At 30, I was young enough to restore my bone mass, but it is a very real danger of which women need to be aware.

I would not have chosen the IUD because of the amount of pain I experience just from PAP smears (damned hypersensitive cervix) but my gyno has told me that many women who have not given birth has little to no problem with cervical entry.

I thought you'd find this interesting:

http://contraception.about.com/od/iud/a/Iud-Use-In-Nulliparous-Women.htm

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Most of the people I know who have (or have had) IUDs have never had children. Most of them have never even been pregnant.

[anomali.livejournal.com]

Isn't it ridiculous that these protocols have been in place for so long?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

Ouch on the tummy pain :( I hope you can someday find out what's causing it.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

It murdered my libido for almost a decade. I actually went on testosterone for a while to jumpstart it.

[nottygypsy.livejournal.com]

I am learning stuff about my depo that is scaring me.

[akemi42.livejournal.com]

Six months ago, I went off birth control after 15 years of it (1 round of Depo, 9 years of the bill, and 6 years of Nuva Ring). I have not noticed anything really different, but I do think it has messed with me over time.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

At this point, I'd be happy if it just mysteriously disappeared for another five years. I'm worried they're going to start happening again. =(

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hate to say it, but if I were you (and I'm not) I'd stop using it.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

It took me um...probably three or four (ish?) years after stopping all HBC before I started noticing major (key word = noticing) problems. It's like it took my body that long to go What The Fuck Just Happened?

I really really really hope you simply dodged a bullet. That would be fantastic! I wouldn't wish this crap on anyone. Well, maybe I might wish it on Dick Cheney. Along with a punch in the face.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

YIKES.

My god, you poor thing.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

It's been back for almost ten years, now. Phew. But yeah, birth control pills messed me up pretty badly, with the lost libido, terrible nerves, nervous eye twitch, emotional roller coaster, and sudden boob growth. I'm glad to be through with them. The lost libido was the only side effect that lasted. Everything else stopped when I quit the pill.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Birth control pills are fine for most people, but I still think getting a Paragard IUD in 2006 was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. I CAN'T FUCK IT UP.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Good for you!

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

As a side note, though; IUD's are not without their problems. Getting it inserted was mega painful, and for the first few months I had cramps off and on that would leave me shaky and nauseated from pain and I spotted when I was ovulating. The first eight months, my PMS cramps were so bad I would have to go home from work. And for the first year my periods were SUPER heavy.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Sex sure has a lot of problematic elements no matter how you slice it. UNFAIR.

[aprilstarchild.livejournal.com]

AGREED.