I'm in this really amazing bible study group. Our lesson a few weeks ago got me thinking about my situation with the mirena. In lecture one of the things said was "what if God uses this situation to grow your faith."
I started off by thinking about the iud robbing me of my marriage, my children's childhood and myself for the past ten years. There have been times that I have believed that I was going to die. That my children were going to be left without a mother. That I would be missing out on them growing up, there first dates, graduating from high school, starting a career, starting a family of their own. There have also been times that I questioned my sanity, that I believed the doctors when they said I'm fine.
But I can say there is one thing that the mirena has not robbed from me and that is my faith. With the passing of each year I have clung tight to my God. I have spent many hours awake talking with God, praying to Him and praising Him for all my blessings. I have a hunger to be as close to God as possible, and my hunger to learn more of His word has continued to grow. To the point that I can't get enough. Throwing myself in several studies at one time. It's because of this that I know God has stood next to me, holding my hand, feeling every ounce of pain I have endured. At the worst of my illness He has physically picked me up and encouraged me to take steps forward. Even if they are small ones.
God's love has never failed me. And I know that He will continue to stand by my side during my healing. That He will use me and my story to save others from this heartache. He will help me move this mountain. To those of you who are currently experiencing what I have remember this, "The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still." Exodus 14:14. Stand firm and see the deliverance The Lord will bring, don't give into despair. You will get through this!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Pneumonia
So yesterday I woke up at 2am. It was hurting when I breathed and I started to have pain in my left shoulder. I got up to use the bathroom, which was hard to push myself out of bed. I laid back down only to wake up at 4 am, in excruciating pain in my left shoulder. I thought I must have messed up my rotator cuff somehow. I tried to get up again to use the bathroom, it was extremely hard because it shot pain in my shoulder. When I tried to lay back down it was incredibly painful. I laid in bed for about a half an hour with a heating pad pressed to my shoulder. I just couldn't get any relief from the pain so I got up(again very painful) took some Motrin and decide to lay down on the coach(in a sitting up position) and I iced my shoulder. I still kept telling myself I must have pulled muscle. At this point the pain was from the edge of my collar bone to my shoulder and it hurt to breath as well.
Around 7 I tried to get off the coach and it took me several minutes. The pain was just to bad. About 8 I again tried to get off the coach, this time I could not do it on my own. I needed help and called my oldest daughter. She pulled me off the coach. At this point the pain started to spread. It went down my left shoulder to my stomach, down my left arm and directly in my back from the pain in my shoulder. I then decided to write a post on my support group Facebook page to see if any other ladies have had this same experience(thinking at this point it's another side effect from the mirena.) I only viewed one post from a woman who said she had that type of pain but it wasn't Likely that I experienced what she had. She posted another comment but I didn't read it until much later.
At this point I was in so much more pain that I told my husband we needed to go to the er. (I began to worry about my factor 2 and this possibly being a blood clot.) When I tried to roll over in bed to get up I couldn't. Again I called my daughter to come help. This time the pain was beyond excruciating. I cried out in pain with tears streaming down my face. My daughter tried to rub my shoulder and I screamed at her don't touch me. My husband immediately asked if he should call an ambulance. I said no let's just go to the er now. My daughter helped me brush my hair. I didn't change out of my sleeping clothes, or even try to put a bra on, I couldn't move my arm without the pain shooting down my left side.
The car ride to the ER was horrible. I felt every bump and coming to a stop all onto left side of my body. It hurt like hell. Luckily the ER is just down the street from my house.
Because of my chest pain and factor 2 mutation they took me straight back( I'm sure it upset those who had been waiting to be seen, but honestly I didn't care.) The nurse immediately hooked me up to an EKG, to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack. Getting onto and off that hospital bed was very painful, I could feel tears streaming down my face, although I didn't realize I was even crying. I was in so much pain. The results were normal and they took me back to a room.
The doctor came in and said he immediately was worried about a blood clot. They wanted to do a MRI, but wanted to get results on blood test first.(make sure I wasn't pregnant) they gave me morphine(spelling?) for the pain. As long as I sat still in a sitting position I wasn't in much pain. As soon as I tried to move or take a deep breath it was still very painful.
Finally I got taken back for the MRI. They put iodine in my iv so they could see if there was any blockage. We waited over an hour for the results. The doctor came in and said its not a blood clot. I said, good. Then he said, but we did find something else. It's pneumonia. My reaction was, what? I haven't coughed(not even once) I have no fever or any other cold/flu symptoms. Just the excruciating pain?!?! He said if we didn't do the MRI we wouldn't have seen it on a X-ray. He said we caught it right at the beginning. He treated me with antibiotics and pain Meds and sent me on my way. But not before telling me to be very careful when I have chest pain again. He said If I go to the ER with chest pains, because of my factor 2, they will always do a MRI. He is worried about my exposure to the radiation, he said he believes in the next few years he is afraid we will see the impact MRI's have on patients. And with me not being a normal one time patient(due to my clotting) I will likely be exposed to more tests. I was glad to have a doctor who cares about my long term health.
Finally when I get home I check my post on my mirena support group page. The lady who posted before I went to the ER said she had the same type of pain, but mine wasn't likely going to be the same diagnose as her, well was wrong. Her diagnose was pneumonia! She said brought on by overload of heartburn that narrowed her esophagus which caused aspiration pneumonia. Well guess what? I have been experiencing horrible heart burn. Coincidence? I don't think so. There have been about 6 more ladies who have responded that they have or had the same experience. Crazy right? That not only do I have so many neurological symptoms but caught pneumonia as well. I believe it is connected to the mirena. It really has screwed up so many woman's lives.
I decided to do research on the whole heartburn causing pneumonia and low and behold I found several articles that connect heartburn(GERD) causing walking pneumonia. Wow! I had no idea. I was racking my brain on how the heck does someone like myself that only had pain, no other symptoms end up having pneumonia?!?! Well I found my answer. I think the mirena had effected my immune system majorly. Here are a couple of links to the articles I read, I also copied and past the exact paragraph's that explain heartburn causing pneumonia.
www.medicinenet.com/.../page4
Refluxed liquid that passes the larynx can enter the lungs. The reflux of liquid into the lungs (called aspiration) often results in coughing and choking. Aspiration, however, can also occur without producing these symptoms. With or without these symptoms, aspiration may lead to infection of the lungs and result in pneumonia. This type of pneumonia is a serious problem requiring immediate treatment. When aspiration is unaccompanied by symptoms, it can result in a slow, progressive scarring of the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis) that can be seen on chest X-rays. Aspiration is more likely to occur at night because that is when the processes (mechanisms) that protect against reflux are not active and the coughing reflex that protects the lungs also is not active.
health.nytimes.com/.../complications.html
Other Respiratory and Airway Conditions. Studies indicate an association between GERD and various upper respiratory problems that occur in the sinuses, ear and nasal passages, and airways of the lung. People with GERD appear to have an above-average risk for chronic bronchitis, chronic sinusitis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis (lung scarring), and recurrent pneumonia. If a person inhales fluid from the esophagus into the lungs, serious pneumonia can occur. It is not yet known whether treating GERD would also reduce the risk for these respiratory conditions.
Around 7 I tried to get off the coach and it took me several minutes. The pain was just to bad. About 8 I again tried to get off the coach, this time I could not do it on my own. I needed help and called my oldest daughter. She pulled me off the coach. At this point the pain started to spread. It went down my left shoulder to my stomach, down my left arm and directly in my back from the pain in my shoulder. I then decided to write a post on my support group Facebook page to see if any other ladies have had this same experience(thinking at this point it's another side effect from the mirena.) I only viewed one post from a woman who said she had that type of pain but it wasn't Likely that I experienced what she had. She posted another comment but I didn't read it until much later.
At this point I was in so much more pain that I told my husband we needed to go to the er. (I began to worry about my factor 2 and this possibly being a blood clot.) When I tried to roll over in bed to get up I couldn't. Again I called my daughter to come help. This time the pain was beyond excruciating. I cried out in pain with tears streaming down my face. My daughter tried to rub my shoulder and I screamed at her don't touch me. My husband immediately asked if he should call an ambulance. I said no let's just go to the er now. My daughter helped me brush my hair. I didn't change out of my sleeping clothes, or even try to put a bra on, I couldn't move my arm without the pain shooting down my left side.
The car ride to the ER was horrible. I felt every bump and coming to a stop all onto left side of my body. It hurt like hell. Luckily the ER is just down the street from my house.
Because of my chest pain and factor 2 mutation they took me straight back( I'm sure it upset those who had been waiting to be seen, but honestly I didn't care.) The nurse immediately hooked me up to an EKG, to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack. Getting onto and off that hospital bed was very painful, I could feel tears streaming down my face, although I didn't realize I was even crying. I was in so much pain. The results were normal and they took me back to a room.
The doctor came in and said he immediately was worried about a blood clot. They wanted to do a MRI, but wanted to get results on blood test first.(make sure I wasn't pregnant) they gave me morphine(spelling?) for the pain. As long as I sat still in a sitting position I wasn't in much pain. As soon as I tried to move or take a deep breath it was still very painful.
Finally I got taken back for the MRI. They put iodine in my iv so they could see if there was any blockage. We waited over an hour for the results. The doctor came in and said its not a blood clot. I said, good. Then he said, but we did find something else. It's pneumonia. My reaction was, what? I haven't coughed(not even once) I have no fever or any other cold/flu symptoms. Just the excruciating pain?!?! He said if we didn't do the MRI we wouldn't have seen it on a X-ray. He said we caught it right at the beginning. He treated me with antibiotics and pain Meds and sent me on my way. But not before telling me to be very careful when I have chest pain again. He said If I go to the ER with chest pains, because of my factor 2, they will always do a MRI. He is worried about my exposure to the radiation, he said he believes in the next few years he is afraid we will see the impact MRI's have on patients. And with me not being a normal one time patient(due to my clotting) I will likely be exposed to more tests. I was glad to have a doctor who cares about my long term health.
Finally when I get home I check my post on my mirena support group page. The lady who posted before I went to the ER said she had the same type of pain, but mine wasn't likely going to be the same diagnose as her, well was wrong. Her diagnose was pneumonia! She said brought on by overload of heartburn that narrowed her esophagus which caused aspiration pneumonia. Well guess what? I have been experiencing horrible heart burn. Coincidence? I don't think so. There have been about 6 more ladies who have responded that they have or had the same experience. Crazy right? That not only do I have so many neurological symptoms but caught pneumonia as well. I believe it is connected to the mirena. It really has screwed up so many woman's lives.
I decided to do research on the whole heartburn causing pneumonia and low and behold I found several articles that connect heartburn(GERD) causing walking pneumonia. Wow! I had no idea. I was racking my brain on how the heck does someone like myself that only had pain, no other symptoms end up having pneumonia?!?! Well I found my answer. I think the mirena had effected my immune system majorly. Here are a couple of links to the articles I read, I also copied and past the exact paragraph's that explain heartburn causing pneumonia.
www.medicinenet.com/.../page4
Refluxed liquid that passes the larynx can enter the lungs. The reflux of liquid into the lungs (called aspiration) often results in coughing and choking. Aspiration, however, can also occur without producing these symptoms. With or without these symptoms, aspiration may lead to infection of the lungs and result in pneumonia. This type of pneumonia is a serious problem requiring immediate treatment. When aspiration is unaccompanied by symptoms, it can result in a slow, progressive scarring of the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis) that can be seen on chest X-rays. Aspiration is more likely to occur at night because that is when the processes (mechanisms) that protect against reflux are not active and the coughing reflex that protects the lungs also is not active.
health.nytimes.com/.../complications.html
Other Respiratory and Airway Conditions. Studies indicate an association between GERD and various upper respiratory problems that occur in the sinuses, ear and nasal passages, and airways of the lung. People with GERD appear to have an above-average risk for chronic bronchitis, chronic sinusitis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis (lung scarring), and recurrent pneumonia. If a person inhales fluid from the esophagus into the lungs, serious pneumonia can occur. It is not yet known whether treating GERD would also reduce the risk for these respiratory conditions.
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