I win! Only slightly though.

Two weeks ago I got a bill from the place that had inserted my IUD. It was for $265.92. I figured they just didn't get my insurance money yet and by the time I went in last Monday for my check up, all would be okay.

Yeah... no. They made me pay the $265.92 before I could see the doctor. I questioned the bill and she tried to explain it to me, but something wasn't right and the office manager wasn't in.

So I tried to call last Monday afternoon when the office manager was supposed to be in. No luck. I left a message for her to call me. No call. Tuesday - No call.

Last Wednesday I decided to do a little more digging and called my insurance company. Hmmm... insurance company did not like what I had to tell them and wanted me to submit my receipts as it seemed as though the office was "double dipping."

I gave the office one last chance. No office manager again, but miraculously when I said I had called my insurance and they agreed something was wrong the lady promised I would have a phone call by Thursday afternoon.

Not 15 minutes after I had hung up with them (and this was on Wednesday) I got a return phone call that they had just made a silly little mistake. Yeah. Silly. Little. Mistake. To the tune of $265.92. If I would have not paid that amount to the doctor's office they would have surely sent me to collections. Awesome.

I don't know what really happened, and I hate to accuse them of anything since I don't really KNOW. BUT, it seems really crazy that I had to call multiple times to get anyone to listen to me and if I had not I would have been out the money. Think how many times you just accept a doctor's bill without questioning the amount and end up just giving them extra money.

Not cool at all.

But this time, and maybe only this time, but this time *I* win. Yay!

*hugs and kisses*

mj

NOT what I expected (another TMI one - no pictures though)

Birth control = lack of babies = yay!

Hormonal birth control = lack of babies = yay!

NON hormonal birth control = lack of babies AND lack of additional hormones in my body = yay yay!

OR so I thought.

The IUD was inserted on July 30th. This past Saturday my period began. I wasn't expecting it yet. I didn't discover it (I'm leaving that to your imagination, but sorry husband).

Not much bleeding on Sunday so I assumed success on my continued short, sweet, harmless periods.

But Monday morning rolled around AND THEN THE FREAKING FLOOD GATES OPENED. I THINK I'M SLOWLY BLEEDING TO DEATH. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I'M KIDDING.

I have NEVER had a period this long, this painful, this... plentiful. PLEASE POWERS THAT BE, MAKE.IT.STOP.

It's Thursday currently. I am in pain. I can't seem to stop bleeding, and bleeding a lot. It's also normally a darker maroon color ( I told you this one was TMI ) and right now it's bright freaking red.

I've asked some people on a message board and apparently this is quite normal for the first 3-4 months of periods on the paragard. Some suggested the Mirena (which has hormones and keeps you from getting your period while you have it in for most people), but that defeats my purpose of trying to no longer use hormones.

So only 3 ish more weeks of this (not all together, but spread out over the course of the next few month) and hopefully things will get back on track.

Remind me of this when and if this period ends, I don't die, and another period from hell begins.

All this to NOT have to go through with having a child. Maybe it is worth it.

*hugs and kisses*

mj

No Babies Part II (How to Insert an IUD TMIness)

Insertion day was kind of nerve wracking. I'd read some things that the post insertion cramps were fairly uncomfortable. Ick. I had to run to BWI airport post insertion (like immediately post) to pick up my mom and brother from the airport. I'll make a separate post about that... maybe.

So I get to the doctor's office, check in and wait.

They take me back to the room rather quickly, but then I waited in that room for what felt like FOREVER. I think it was made worse by my nerves... and the fact that I was naked from the waist down sitting on the table staring at the rather large gleaming instruments next to me I assumed were somehow going to make their way into my vagina and I just didn't feel like we had been properly introduced.

Ugh.

The doctor finally came in and introduced me to my new little friends. There was the speculum (we've been introduced many times before, but still were not friends - at all) and some of speculum's invasive friends. Included in the line up were cervix clamp (wtf??) and the uterus measuring tool. You can google those images if you want.

And for your own curiosity, my uterus tilts the correct way and is 7. I don't know what 7 means, but apparently that's fine. At some point I did apologize to the doctor for bleeding all over him, but he just laughed and said "I deliver babies for a living. You don't want to know what disgusting bodily fluids I deal with." Good answer guy with his hands in my vagina.

Okay, let's get serious. First the speculum went in. Then my cervix was clamped. He said this may pinch, but I never felt anything. When he measured my uterus he told me it would cause cramping for a second. Oh, yep. I also felt the little tool touching the top of my uterus. That was WEIRD. I've never had something IN my uterus before, so that was one of those slightly odd feelings. As soon as it was out though, the cramping went away.

Dr. Mark then prepped the IUD and went about getting it in place.

Yep. I included pictures.

So once it's all in place this is what it will look like.

The threads were trimmed and I was sent on my way. I have a check up in a month and I need it removed before August of 2019. Lol.

So the cramps thing? They weren't kidding. Holy super pain although, I've had cramps much worse than this. I took some Tylenol, had heat on my lower back and I was fine for the most part.

I will admit, either from the cramping or the nerves I slept ALL that afternoon (after my two hour car ride and then a late lunch with Mom and Ian)/evening/and night.

So it's now Saturday which is two days post insertion and I feel fine. I went to work yesterday and out shopping last evening. All is well!!

If I remember I'll do a little one month update to let you all know how my new little implant is working out. For now my vagina, uterus and I thank you for reading.

*hugs and kisses*

mj

No Babies!! (includes some TMI) Part I

I like babies. And sometimes toddlers. Almost always kids. Occasionally teenagers.

They can be interesting, fun, enlightening and wonderful.

They are also moody, bratty, needy, life changing, money pits. Lol.

I enjoy them in small doses. I enjoy them more when I can give them back.

All this is not only true of myself, but the husband is also on this same wavelength. We like this wavelength and would like to continue riding this out for another couple of years.

I've done the hormonal birth control thing for YEARS. YEARS AND YEARS. Ugh. I started taking hormonal birth control in middle school. Not because I was sexually active, but to control my horribly bad periods/cramps/mood swings. After a while it was due to sexual activity and after that it was just because it was what I did. About three years ago I switched to the Nuvaring because it seemed so much easier to remember to pop a ring in my vagina once a month and then take it out once a month.

But after telling everyone about the great advantages of this handy little ring (which turned a few friends onto this circle of fun) I had grown tired of it. It still works fantastic and was oh so reliable. I had no complications or issues. Well besides my own issue of... after not having it in for surgeries I kept FORGETTING to put the stupid thing back in. So one month of "oops, I forgot honey. We have to be careful this month!" wasn't too bad. Month two of "oops, forgot again!" was annoying. Month three I was like "OMG I FREAKIN FORGOT AGAIN! DAMMIT!!"

So I saw my trusted fantastic health professional for my yearly pap and mentioned my dingbattedness and what we could do to resolve it. I ashamedly asked about an IUD because Sharon really sold me on the Ring and I do still love it, but I needed to move on. Kids aren't in any near future and I needed a more permanent birth control and possibly something without hormones.

She was receptive and sent me off to find on OB/Gyn in the area that did IUD insertions on women who had never been pregnant/had babies. White Rose OB/GYN on Market Street in York was that place for me.

I was convinced I wanted to do the non-hormonal Paragard vs. the hormonal Mirena. Why? I have plenty enough hormones for EVERYONE. Lol. And these past few hormone less and birth control less months have proven to me I am okay without it. My periods are still disgustingly regular and SHORT (two days - MAX).

So after extra hormones for about 15 years, it was time for a break.

I went in for my initial consultation after a lot of research and consideration on my own. The doctor asked some basic questions (smoker, drinker, multiple partners, etc), did a culture for gonorrhea and chlamydia (these infections can lead to the IUD causing scarring and eventual sterility), said it would be ordered, and told me to call them the first day of my next period.

Why? They do the insertions on non-baby producers during their period so that the cervix is more open for the insertion. Maybe they do it on baby producers, but that was what he told me.

I'll do the insertion discussion tomorrow. I'm exhausted from today. Bet you can't wait for THOSE details huh?

*hugs and kisses*

mj