Update

Hello All. Im sorry I have been MIA for a while. I whole heartily wanted to update more often. But getting a job with bakers hours mean I get nothing else done! Im still struggling. I have some ok days, and tons of bad days. Over the past few months I have noticed a spike in my symptoms before I get my period. The first two months my period came like clock work, then my third came 22 days late. Im now awaiting my fourth one, which is at this time 6 days late. I can honestly say I have been scared into thinking Im pregnant! But back to those always present symptoms. Im still suffering from tingling, numbness, vibrating sensation, dry mouth, migraines, hand pain, stomach aches and bloating, sore throat, hoarse voice, painful joints, irritability, anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, feeling of detachment, fatigue, ache(which is worse before my period-all over my face, neck, chest, and arms),constant itch, visual floaters, foggy brain, twitching, insomnia, and the deep bone pain in my lower back. The last couple of days have been hard on me because of my back pain. I can hardly walk, roll over, or bend down to pick something up. Again I feel like Im 80. And having a bakers job make it really hard to get through my shift.
There are a few things I have been trying out to see if I have any progress. The first is I 100% have changed my diet to gluten free. Exciting right? Every time I eat even the smallest amount of gluten I have stomach cramps that cause me to lay in a fettle position for hours, bloating, migraine, throat that feels like I have strep, and joint pain-really bad in my right hand,. I've come to the conclusion that no amount of gluten is worth all of this. The second thing is that I am trying out those skinny wraps to help pull out the toxins in my fat cells. I have had two treatments. I haven't felt much of a difference except that Jose thinks my increase in back pain seems like it could be from the toxins on that area are brought forth. Hopefully after my third treatment I can see a difference. I know of a few ladies who have chronic pain that have used the skinny wraps made their pain and fatigue 85% better. So Im still holding on hope! The third thing Im trying is that Im trying to cure my acne by using olive oil. Yes I know that sounds crazy, but a lady in my support group has been using it and says she saw a huge difference in a week! And since Im so embarrassed by my nasty acne Im willing to give anything a try. Lol. Well Im sorry it's not a cheerful update. Im starting to feel as though I will be suffering from the effects of the mirena the rest of my life.
Im glad I finally made an update. Since Im stuck lying here in bed I figured what better to do to pass this time. Hope all you are doing better than I am. I pray for all of you sufferers constantly.

Depression

My best friend told me something the other day that I am trying to hold onto. "Taking the mirena out was an event, and healing will be a process." Days like today I feel really down. Disconnected and depressed. Every time I think Im moving forward something always seems to be thrown at me. But I need to keep telling myself that I didn't become sick overnight and it's going to take an equal amount of time to become well. I'm hopefully coming out of a "mirena crash" that comes along with having your period. This is my second one sense removal. My throat is swollen and painful, my back/hip/right hand are painful. Im having hot flashes(which is unlike me, since Im always cold.) I'm defiantly feeling depressed. Which I am usually able to fight pass...but to much stress is breaking me down. The one good thing is that my period is not as bad as I feared. It has been a light normal period. I have to tell you that after 10 years with no period I was terrified it was going to be horrible. Lol.
I got the results of my silicone test, it was inconclusive. They said it could be because they had to make a new special test for me because of my clotting. Not the answer I wanted to hear. But what can I do about that? I did come across the name of a doctor who believes the mirena causes all this crazy carp, but she is not excepting new patients. So again I feel like Im at square one. Take one step forward to only take two steps back. I know deep down in my heart that there will be a day that I feel much better, but it's kinda hard to look that far in the future.
I have been following a juicing diet to hopefully detox my system naturally and to start feeling better. I've lost about 3 pounds since starting, I still have a long way to go! I did start walking with the kids for about a week, then got to busy with life and such and haven't made it back for a few weeks. I know this update is kind of a downer, but I promised to keep everyone posted on my progress, which for now seems to be going backwards. I guess Im just all around frustrated with my health and life right now. Please keep me in your prayers, hoping to pull out of this soon so I can continue to move forward. Thank you.

Faith

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!

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.

Blessings

Over the last few days I have been reminded on how blessed I am to be married to my husband. He takes care of me and allows me to take my time. If I need to spend a day or two in bed like a zombie, he never makes me feel guilty or that I'm a bother to him. I woke up yesterday not being able to turn my head from the pain in my neck. Then today with the pain shooting from my back down my legs. I quit often feel like this, even more so when the weather is very cold. Woke up to snow in our yards(not a lot by any place but NM standards). But the cold is more than enough to cause me to ache. I often wonder how much more pain can one person take? I'm then reminded that God works all things for our good, for His purpose. Romans 8:28. You might ask me why would God allow one of his daughters to endure the amount of pain and suffering I have the past ten years, and I can only answer you with I don't know? What I do know is that God is going to use me and my pain and the hell I have been through in order to save millions of other woman from this heart ache. I will be very active on getting my story out there. Letting other woman know that they aren't crazy, and to hopefully get the mirena off the market. So although I have been down the last few days, I choose to see the positives/blessings in my situation instead of focusing on all the negative/bad. I may not be able to get out of bed, but I know that God is right here with me, holding me through the pain and tears and helping me to strive forward. And for that I am forever grateful. As I am for my husband. I was asked from another mirena suffer how have I been able to handle all the crap I have for 10 years and not loose it. For me it's my husband, who Jesus put into my life specifically to love me, protect me, and take care of me in sickness and health. I have put him through so much over the past ten years , that it amazes me that he had stood by me. Ive read of other woman who had their relationships become damaged beyond repair. I'm truly lucky I haven't completely experienced that. Not that I haven't had my share of people not believing me, cause I have. What I have had is support from my husband, my kids, my church, my friends and most of my family. And my faith, I have never been closet to The Lord, and feeling the hunger of his word and teachings. Hopefully this year will have much needed healing for me. Please pray for the right treatments/detoxes to make myself healthy again.

Waking in pain

I guess you know it's going to be a bad day of pain when you are dreaming, and in that dream you are not able to get out of bed. You pull yourself up with tons of effort. Climb out of bed and find you can hardly walk, you need crotches to help you take even a few steps. Then I wake up to find my dream isn't just a dream, it reality. I can't tell you how many times I have had this happen to me. So many I have lost count. What I can tell you is that it doesn't get easier. Each time it's still the same effort. The same amount of pain. Im lying on my back and I can feel the pain in my hip and lower back, even before I'm awake. I sleep on the very edge of my bed. I can barley reach my arm over to the side of the mattress. I have to use both arms to pull my self over to my right side. It then takes ALL of my energy and mind power to swing my legs over the side of my bed and then onto the ground. This has been only a small part of the nightmare I have been living the past ten years. My biggest fear is that I will never have my life completely back. I'm afraid that the poison has taken on a life of its own. I pray that the mirena will be taken of the market soon. No one should have to live this way. For those of you woman who are going through the same thing, and reading my blog for the very first time, know this....you are not alone, and no matter what anyone tells you it's not in your head. You are not going crazy. You and ONLY you know how your body should feel. And this is not normal. Keep fighting, keep faith and don't give up. And if your browsing sites and just happened to end up here on my blog, and you have the mirena, get that thing out know. That is the first step towards our healing. And if you have any questions I will help in the best way I can.

Blood test clotted

Well, my blood test I did last week clotted before it made it all the way to Pennsylvania for testing. So that means I have to do the test again. The good thing is that they are making a special test tube specifically for me(since I have factor 2/blood clotting disorder), the bad thing is it will take a week or two before it gets here. Then another week and half before it gets to them and tested. I'm so frustrated at myself. I should have mentioned my disorder to begin with. But I've taken a million blood tests over the past ten years and never had this happen before. But then again my tests have been done here in New Mexico. Since I had my mirena taken out last Thursday it will be out about two weeks when I do the test again. I have no doubt I will still have silicone in my system, but not as high with it in. I really wanted to have that information recorded for legal reasons. Praying that things will work out in my favor. Also worried about the cost, I was told it could be more since they have to make something special for me. Paying out of pocket is a little hard right now, but I know how important the test will be. I'll keep you updated when I have new information.
To top it all off I have been stuck in bed the last several hours. My stomach hurts so badly, and I'm so bloated I look at least seven months pregnant! My lower back and down my right leg is very achy today. I hope for a day when I can say all these things are behind me, but for now I continue to suffer in silence . Late last I also suffered a panic attack. I think I heard my husband come home(he gets home about midnight) and I woke up very frightened, my heart felt as though it would jump out my chest. Took my several minutes to realize where I was. I have had this happen before, waking up in a panic is terrifying. I'm looking forward to doing my detox, but have to hold off until the test is run!