Today's objective: Pamper myself

[soc_puppet]

Just had an IUD put in today! (Hormonal type, not copper.) We'll see if it's any improvement on the pills. I mean, it's definitely an improvement over having to take another pill every day, but other than that. I can go back to the pill if I need to, though; it was a bit annoying, but the "no cramps" made up for things pretty well.

Meanwhile, brand new IUD means I'm experiencing cramps for the first time in over half a year 😂 Time to make use of the heat packs the hospital generously gave me...

Comments

[soc_puppet]

Oof; yeah, my cramps weren't usually that bad, but they still sucked, and I also was getting some intermenstrual spotting, so I went on the pill last year. It's been a bit of a journey! (First pill took away my cramps but made me bleed two days out of three (even if it was just spots most of the time); doctor agreed that was bullshit and sent me for an ultrasound, diagnosed me with adenomyosis (basically off-brand endometreosis, if you haven't heard of it), switched me to a different pill; new pill did better, but I still had a bit more irregular dripping than I'd like, and then in October I had a period that lasted two weeks and was like, "Fuck this,"; my doctor agreed with me again and suggested we get more brains working on the project, which eventually led to today's adventure.)

I'm guessing the pill has been working out for you? I sure hope so!

The heating pads are making my life so much better right now, I can't even. I lurf them. Thank goodness I also have a reusable corn sack heating pad, or I'd probably be off to the store to buy some right now.

[mistressofmuses]

Ugh, spotting sucks.

I had not actually heard of adenomyosis! I'm glad you got a diagnosis, especially if it leads to something that's a more helpful long-term treatment!

The pill I'm on allows me to skip cycles, which is really what I wanted, especially with the cramping and the fact my usual periods are relatively heavy and total 9-10 days, which I just plain loathe. I did have a rather horrifying 21 days of bleeding early on when I missed taking the pill for a few days, but it evened out very well after that, ha

Hail the heating pads! Very glad they're helping!

[soc_puppet]

Yeah, so far both of the doctors I've described adenomyosis as "off-brand endo" to have loved the description 😂 Basically: It's endo, except instead of endometrium growing all around the lower torso, it's all stuck growing within the muscle tissue of the uterus. And I definitely lucked out in getting a fantastic PCP and medical team; it could be because I live in a fairly progressive city, but I'm just as okay not questioning it.

Urk! I'm really glad you've got something that's working for you now! I think my two-week period may have been related to me missing a pill once, but the fact that I'd missed pills on other occasions and didn't have such extreme results lends doubt to that hypothesis. In any case, for at least the next eight months, I won't have to worry about missing a pill again!

[mistressofmuses]

Off-brand endo sounds about right. And sounds like one of those things that I might want to get checked out for if I ever wind up with a regular OBGYN again. (Though the pill has taken care of the possible symptoms.) I'm very glad you have a good medical team! I know how hard it can be to get things like that taken seriously!

Hooray for not worrying about the daily pill!