IUD Day

Wow. I r hurting.

Warning: This post may be too much information - it deals with a lot of "feminine" issues.
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Okay so I've warned you all, and so hi! if you're still here.

The reason I'm in lots of pain this fine, beautiful Friday afternoon is that I had an IUD inserted today. Let me start from the beginning though.

Up until about six months ago, the first I had ever heard about IUDs was that they were dangerous and caused infections. But at about that time, a good friend of mine had talked with her gyno and decided she was going to go off of birth control and get on the IUD.

I was intrigued, so I looked into it.

And I became even more intrigued. Did you know that the IUD is the most commonly used form of birth control in the world? And in places like China, people use it almost exclusively.

Back in the 70's it apparently got a very bad rap here in the States, and even though the technology has improved quite a bit, people still either just don't know about, or are afraid to use it. Or else maybe I've just been living under a rock? I dunno.

I've been on birth control since I was 16 years old (I know, way too young). I'm 27 now and the thought of pumping all of those hormones into my body for more than 11 years now sort of freaks me out. Not to mention the annoyance of having to take a pill every day and the annoyance of paying 30 bucks a month for said pill.

So I asked my doctor about the IUD at my last annual exam and we decided together that I was a good candidate for Mirena. It lasts for 5 years, and while it does have hormones, its a very minimal amount that goes directly into your uterus, rather than flowing all over your body like the hormones in the pill.

Not having ever had a baby however, means my uterus is a little tiny baby uterus. And to get that IUD up there was a process today. It didn't take very long, but damn did it hurt. I had to sit and drink an apple juice box like a little kid until I was recovered enough to walk to the car.

And now, I'm sitting on my couch, feeling really lazy and guilty for not being outside on this beautiful day, enduring waves of intense cramping. The nurse told me the cramps should be mostly gone by tomorrow night, so I'm hopeful I'll feel better soon.

Anyway, so that's my IUD experience. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm looking forward to no more birth control, and no more hormones and no more cramping. According to the literature I could have spotting for up to six months, but I'm excited because many women lose their periods entirely. Now wouldn't that be nice?

The boy is going to get us dinner, so I'm trying to think of a healthy choice that's easy for him too. Then, I'm going to get a good night's sleep, run if I'm feeling okay in the morning, and hit the Highland Street Fair, which is an awesome fair in our neighborhood that runs all day tomorrow.

Thanks for sticking in to hear all the deets on my lady parts, and have a great weekend! I'll leave you with a pic of us in Austin!