Saturday, January 22, 2011

Just some venting....

I honestly try to remain as positive as possible about this whole thing, and most of the time, I think I do a pretty good job at it.  Sometimes, though, I have to vent a bit....  Here are some of my thoughts right now on a day when I think back to my experience, and my heart hurts for all of us.

*  I'm glad to see that there are some class action lawsuits out there that some lawyers are trying to do for women who are suffering from the Mirena.  That's fantastic.  I have noticed, though, that all of them are geared towards the women who have had the IUD perforate the uterus, get PID, etc.  Again, I am so happy for those of you who will find legal help if that happened to you.  I'm blessed to say that my Mirena didn't perforate my uterus, so I can only imagine what that is like.  Go get 'em, ladies!

*  That being said, I'm anxious to see when the makers of the Mirena and/or some lawfirms are going to also deal with the HUGE amount of the rest of us who, even if we didn't have the physical perforation, had actual autoimmune/neurological/autonic/endocrine disease symptoms and worse due to the Mirena.  Look around, you guys....look at how many of us actually got to the point of testing for Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, etc., because our right side went numb, or our hands stopped working, or our legs are too weak to walk.....  I sure didn't see anything about all of that in your little brochure.  What about the ladies who thought they were losing their minds?  The ladies who had to have spinal taps to test for MS?  Do you have any idea what it is like to be a woman in her twenties or thirties, be typing at your keyboard or holding a glass, and suddenly be completely unable to use your hands?  I sure do.  It's absolutely terrifying.  It's also just about the worst feeling in the world to be pacing downstairs in sobs while trying to figure out how you are going to start a conversation with your husband that explains how he might need to figure out what to do with the children for a while because you think you might need to admit yourself to a hospital....because you no longer have the strength to continue to fall apart.  I know that feeling, too.  I know what it feels like to be a multi-tasking, extroverted, and life-embracing mother working on a master's degree--a woman who not only enjoyed doing everything, but even excelled in that "pressure cooker" environment....who suddenly becomes an empty shell of a woman whose body was broken, whose mind and emotions were completely overwhelmed, and whose ability to simply leave the house was GONE--with no explanation nor strength to beat it.  These are not unintelligent or unstable women that you are dealing with here, Bayer.  We are strong and smart and hardworking....it's your little device that made us all so sick.   I know what it feels like to feel like you are trapped in your own body and mind and not be able to make it WORK.  I know what it feels like to be stuck in a nightmare even when you are wide awake.  Where is all of that in your pamphlet or on your commercials?

If I could speak to the makers of the Mirena, I would say this.....

Look, I understand that I don't mean anything to you.  I'm just some random woman out there who has suffered immensely at the hand of your product--a product that I used because it was lauded as a safer form of birth control for a nursing mother.  But you know what?  If the same thing that happened to me happened to YOUR sister, YOUR mother, or YOUR daughter....I have a feeling that you would fight with everything you had to make her better--because it would KILL you to see someone you love suffer so badly and so constantly.  I may not mean anything to you, but I do mean something to someone.  I AM someone's mother, someone's sister AND someone's daughter.  I MEAN SOMETHING.  I deserve a happy and healthy life just as much as the women in your life whom you love.  I only have one life down here, too.  I think that should matter to you if you are going to be in an industry that makes things like this.  Put your mother's face on that woman who is fighting desperately to get her life back.  If it was HER tear-soaked eyes that stared back at you, would YOU fight harder to make sure that change is made to help her?  Shame on you if you ignore us because dollars are more important.  I'm right here....and I had to fight with everything I had just so that I could be the wife, the daughter, the sister, and the MOTHER whom those I love deserve to have...and a woman that I DESERVE to be in the only life that I get.  There are so many of us out there, and that is the point of this blog.  If you won't try to help them....then I will...at least as much as I can.  Somebody has to try to help.  I pray that your heart changes.  You still have time to make this better, and it is time to be someone of whom you can be proud.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

My doctor is willing to help you...

I've spoken with "Dr. J" (my doc who did my detox), and he gave me the okay to give his information out to women if they are unable to obtain the detox supplements any other way. 

He knows that many ladies are finding the supplements on various websites, and said that he is squeamish about ordering the supplements from places like Amazon.com, etc. because of not only the expiration date, but because there is no way that Standard Process themselves can be legally putting them on Amazon (since they have to be ordered by a physician).  So....who is putting them on there?  Are they really Standard Process supplements?

Basically, he just wants to make sure that none of you get taken for a ride and not get the "real" supplements, etc.

Anyway, I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do at all.  I just wanted to let you know that if you want to do the detox, and you can't find a physician to order them for you, please privately email me (lifeaftermirena@yahoo.com), and I will give you my doc's contact information.  He'd be happy to help you if he can.  He can just talk to you over the phone.

I asked him this evening to try to give me an exact price for the whole three weeks.  I'll let you know when I hear back.

Keep recovering, ladies!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Silicone blood test diagnosis code

For those of you who are still having a difficult time finding a doctor who will run the silicone test (or those who says the test doesn't exist!), I called my doctor to ask what the code was for the test that I ran.  For my silicone test, the diagnosis code was 728.87 under "Muscle Weakness".

Hope that helps!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Stay tuned, ladies....more help is coming!

I just wanted to let you all know that I have been corresponding with a health care lawyer who has been personally involved with what Mirena is doing to women.  He has asked to remain anonymous, so I can't give any more information than that.  What I can say is that he is fired up to help women who have been affected by Mirena with some legal advice....and I trust him COMPLETELY.

He has agreed to correspond with me soon about some legal advice/tips/etc. that we all should consider that may help.  He wants to help us fight back. 

As soon as I get some information from him, I will post it immediately.  Keep checking in, okay?

Big hugs, and keep fighting for your health.  You're doing GREAT!

THE SILICONE IS GONE!!!

I am in tears as I write this!

I just got a phone call from my doctor's office with the results of my 2nd silicone blood test.  As you know, I had elevated silicone levels that showed in my first blood test, and that is why I did the detox that I posted earlier.

Here are the EXACT words on my machine:

"I'm calling with the results of your silicone test.  The test shows that it was not detected in your blood.  There was ZERO detected in there."

It worked, everyone.

And this was after I was told that you can't remove silicone from the blood because it is a permanent synthetic.

It WORKED!

I can't believe it!  That is more than I ever hoped for.  I was hoping that it would at least be in the "normal" range.  IT IS GONE COMPLETELY.

IT WORKED! 

Thursday, January 13, 2011

One comment makes all the difference.....

I'm amazed at how much one comment can make you smile for an hour straight.

Last night, my husband was sitting on the couch and simply said to my parents (they were here visiting from out-of-state) the following comment:

"I can attest....it's like I have my wife back."

Thank you, Lord.  I am so grateful.

My supplements, etc.

When I said that you would have multiple jars of supplements to take, I wasn't kidding!  Here are mine!

These can be ordered, as I said before, from http://www.standardprocess.com/
These can only be ordered by a physician, so talk to your doctor/Naturopath.

In case you would like a closer look at the lemon oil, here it is:

You do not need a physician to order than for you if you chose to do this.

I also take all-natural herbal energy pills called "Power Ups".   These are NOT part of the detox or maintenance program from my doctor.  I take these on my own to help with my energy. They were pills that I took before, and I have great success with them as far as help with daily energy. If you need help in that area, what they look like is shown below.  I take four a day as intructed on the bottle:  two before breakfast, and two before lunch.  Again, these don't have anything to do with the detox, so it isn't a big deal if you take those or not.  This is just something that I have personally added because lack of daily energy was a big problem for me, and I'm trying to cover everything for all of you.   Since I have used them for so long and I order each month, I got a "distributor ID" so that I could buy them at a wholesale price.  Again, you don't need these for the detox, but if you want them for the energy--don't order them online--you'll have to pay full price.  Just let me know, and I'll get them to for the price I would have to pay.  I order them anyway.  Making money off of a bottle of pills is not important to me where this is concerned.  I believe they are $56/bottle online.  I can get them for $45 (including shipping) if you want them.  I'M NOT TRYING TO SELL ANYTHING HERE TO YOU...PROMISE.  You do NOT need these to detox!  You will heal just as much without these!  I just take them on my own for energy...that's it.  You will get just as well without them.  This is just me telling you what I'm taking...and being thorough about it like I said I would.  I would just give you out my distributor ID for the website, but my credit card information is saved in there. 
If you are interested in those for energy and don't want to contact me (you don't have to at all!), you can order them retail at http://www.drinkact.com/


And here is one day's worth of supplements for me.  As you can see, I take them in three doses throughout the day...and yes, I use one of my children's dinner plates to separate the doses...hee hee.  Whatever works, right?


And before you even ask......YES YES YES....It is soooooooo worth it.  I have my LIFE BACK!

Some interesting articles....Connection to MS-type symptoms?

This post was found on curezone by a fellow post-Mirena sufferer.  VERY interesting to think about....

Obviously, our hormones are completely messed up. . .these studies seem to say we need progesterone to keep our nerve myelin healthy. The myelin is what surrounds the brain and keeps it healthy.  As most of you also know, many of us went through testing for Multiple Sclerosis only to receive negative results...even though our symptoms sometimes mirror MS.  Most of the women after the Mirena find that their progesterone level is INCREDIBLY low, and I think Mirena made us stop making our own natural progesterone. So when Mirena was removed, we didn't have any at all--natural or fake. So would this cause nerves to be unprotected...therefore causing the numbness etc....therefore causing the MS-type symptoms?  Interesting to think about.

This one is quite technical, but it links progesterone to myelin--
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/268/5216/1500.abstract

This says it's not all in our heads...!http://www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/progesteronebrainresearch.html


See the green boxes
http://www.projectaware.org/Managing/Hrt/progesterone_FAQ.shtml

We know the side, but the part about them looking into progesterone as a treatment for MS is interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progesterone

What are all of your thoughts?

The post-detox "Maintenance Program"

Okay....here is the "Maintenance Program" of supplements that I take daily now.  I started this immediately after my three-week detox was completed, and I'm probably going to stay on it for awhile. 

I'm still feeling great!

Here it is:

THE MAINTENCE PROGRAM:

(For hormones...I took these three supplements during the detox but at a much higher dosage)
SYMPLEX F (2 per day)
UTROPHIN PMG (2 per day)
OVEX P (2 per day)
I now also take CHASTE TREE (2 per day) to help with my hormone/progesterone levels

(I am also taking the following two supplements from my detox--but at a smaller dosage)
GASTRO-FIBER (3 per day)
CHOLACOL II (3 per day)
The SP COMPLETE shake (only one per day now)

(The new supplements that I am taking for maintance/overall support are as follows):
CRUCIFEROUS COMPLETE (This replaces the SP Cleanse from the detox--2 pills/3 x's/day = 6/day)
BETAFOOD (3 per day)
SPANISH BLACK RADISH (3 per day)
ADRENAL DESICCATED (3 per day...but you can only use this for three months and then must stop.  That is because it is to "kick start" your adrenal health again--for energy--and if you use it more than three months, you risk your body "giving up" trying to do it on its own).  I wrote the end date on the lid so that I'll remember.
DRENAMIN--This also supports adrenal health, but there is no required stop date for this (6 per day)
I also have a small bottle of lemon oil from a company called Young Living.  According to my herbalist, lemon oil is known to excrete petroleum based toxins from the blood.  I put two drops in a large glass of water and drink one or two a day.

There you go!  That is what I am taking now.  Much less than I was during the detox--which is nice...the pills last much longer.  :-)

To help, since are are multiple bottles, I write the dosage on the top of each lid.  Then, as I have to replace the bottle, I just take the lid off of the old one and put it on the new one.   I also take all of my daily pills over three doses each day....one with breakfast, one at lunch, and one at dinner.  It will make no difference if you take them with or without meals.  They never upset my stomach if I take them on an empty stomach.

Any questions?

Love to you all.

And now we are at the current date....

Okay....all of the past posts are done, and we are now at the current date:  January 13, 2011.

Here is where I am right now:

1.  I had my silicone blood test re-done, but I haven't received the results yet.  My hope is that they are lower now after the detox.  I'll let you know as soon as I hear. 

2.  I still feel great!   My detox was a HUGE success in my eyes.   I have only had two "issues" that were minor...and my own fault.  Last Thursday, I took a long weekend trip away, and I forgot to grab my supplements that I packed off the kitchen island.  So...I went four days without any of my supplements (I'm done with the detox, but I am on a "maintenance program" of a much lower number of some of the supplements that I was taking during the detox plus a couple of new supplements that deal with adrenal support (for my energy).  I just realized that I haven't posted that "post detox" supplemental program.  I will do that in the next post.   Back on what happened, I forgot my supplements for four days, and so--last Thursday--the day after I got home, I had a moment of that "panicky" feeling.  It didn't go into a panic attack, or anything, but it was the closest I've been.  In fact, up to that moment, I never even felt anxious as all since the detox.  It was at that time that I realized that I didn't take the supplements for the past few days.  I got right back on them, had one more slight anxious day on Tuesday (the day before my period), and now I'm right back to feeling great again.  I definitely won't be forgetting those supplements again, that's for sure!

I was a bit nervous about it all at first, and then I called Dr. J.  He just reminded me that it is okay, and that it didn't mean at all like everything was coming back.  He told me that he tells all of the women who see him for hormonal health supplemental help that it takes a MINIMUM of three to six months to really regulate hormones to a completely normal state....and most of those ladies haven't had NEARLY the assault on their hormone levels that I did.  All those two "blips" meant was that I'm still healing, and my body isn't strong enough on its own to be off of the supplements.  When I take them, I'm fine.  I'm completely "normal" with no problems at all.  I don't hurt, I don't have anxiety attacks at all, I don't have the foggy brain, the insomnia is gone, I feel physically, mentally and emotionally strong.  My systems were just really damaged by all of this, so I'm okay with knowing that I just need to stay on the maintenance program longer while my body heals from the inside out. 

Remember though, the great thing is that I'm on ZERO medications for all of this.  No anxiety meds, no anti-depressants, etc....all of the things that most women are depending on after what the Mirena did to them.  So....if I need to stay on a all-natural, whole foods-based supplement program for longer than I expected, SO BE IT.  It sure is better than popping Xanax like I used to have to do....and that didn't even work.  I'm even thinking about doing the detox again (but not for three months....you have to give your body three months after a detox to give your liver time to rest).  I just think it might be a good idea to make sure that the toxicity is completely gone.  Better safe than sorry, right?????   We still don't know exactly WHAT is making us so sick....hormones?  Silicone?  Could be any or all of it. 

I will do the next post on the "maintenance program" of supplements that I am on now.  It started once the turbo detox was over.  On to that post now.....

THE DETOX

Here's the post you have all been waiting for....the actual detox that I did.  I pray that, if you choose to do this detox, it helps you like it helped me.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment on this blog if you choose to do it and what you experience was.  Like I said, this worked for ME...but I am anxious to hear if it helps other women as well.  I know that many will be following this blog as they suffer through this, and they would love to be able to see multiple experiences.  Also remember, I am not trying to sound "right" or that I am the fix to your problems.  If you follow this detox COMPLETELY and it doesn't work for you, please post that as well.  The goal here is to help women.  I can't begin to tell you the change that this detox made in my life.  It gave me my life back.  I sincerely hope that it does the same for you.  Please post any questions that you  may have.  Here it is:
************
(This was posted on Dec. 24th, 2010)

Hi ladies--As promised, I typed up the three-week "turbo detox" that my doc put me on that gave me my life back. After doing this, I had ZERO anxiety attacks (I was having around four or five per week), and I came out of my brain fog, etc. I haven't re-taken my silicone test, but I'm sure the levels are down simply because of how I feel. I actually feel like the old me again! The only thing that didn't improve for me was the eyesight that I lost in my right eye. EVERYTHING else went away....and I was in BAAAAAAAAAAD shape.

I also remember committing to myself that I would be someone who wouldn't forget how frustrating it was to not be able to find help... I promised that I would come back and post findings if I found something that worked. Ladies, this worked for me. I have my life back...in every way.

That being said--I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  And these supplements must be ordered by a physician, I believe. So, I hope that you can find someone who can/will help you out by ordering them.  The website where the supplements can be ordered (again, by a physician) is
www.standardprocess.com, and I believe that there is a place on that website that you can click on to find a doctor near you who uses them.  If you try and cannot find help, let me know.  I'll see what I can do to find you help.

I hope that it works for you the way that it did for me. Smile ladies... if it does, you are about to have your life back in less than a month--AND be medication free.

All my prayers and support are with you. Best wishes for your new post Mirena life.
***********

The DETOX:Okay…bear with me here. I’m going to do the best I can to explain all of the stages of the detox that helped me out of my nightmare. It’s quite a bit, so if you have any questions—or anything isn’t clear—PLEASE make a comment about it, and I’ll keep altering as necessary to make it as understandable as possible. Here we go…..

When my doctor finally did the silicone test for me, saw that I did, in fact, have the elevated levels, he basically washed his hands of me and told me that there was nothing that he could do. I was told that I needed to find a Naturopath that specialized in cleanses/detoxes, etc. Okay….fine. I found one who told me that it WAS possible to clean out my blood/body systems/etc. that were poisoned. He also told me that it was possible to do it naturally. In fact, any additional medications were only going to inhibit my body’s ability to clean itself out because this was a toxicity issue to begin with…and all medications are basically different levels of poison. He also told me that was going to have to be patient. I needed to fight against the urge to take “quick fix” meds like anti-depressants/anti-anxiety meds, etc., and understand that those meds only “numb” the underlying problem…they don’t fix it. A naturopathic detox aims at cleansing the body and healing it from the inside out…and that takes time. At this point, I was willing to ANYTHING to get my life back, so it was a promise that I could easily make.

My Naturopath, who I will call Dr. J from this point on, explained how he uses supplements from a company called STANDARD PROCESS because they are whole foods based nutrition (getting vitamins from the store that say “Natural” don’t mean anything anymore…that only means that atleast 10% of the vitamin is made from something found on earth or in space…can you believe that?). So, apparently—in his explanation—the key is that it should be WHOLE FOODS BASED supplements. Standard Process uses that. The supplements can be ordered online at
http://www.standardprocess.com,
but I believe that they must be ordered by a physician. Hopefully, you ladies will find a doctor who will be willing to help you out!

I guess before I go in to the whole detox, I should explain what Dr. J found as far as what all was “messed up” with me at my initial evaluation/appointment. The systems of my body that were “abnormal”/struggling/toxic were as follows:
--Liver
--Hormones (uterus and ovaries)
--Hypothalamus
--Adrenals
--Pancreas
--Pituitary
--Thyroid
--Small bowel
By far, the two worst issues were my liver and my hormones, so Dr. J. decided to mainly address those two first. In his words, “Much of the time, if you can find the ‘headpin’ problem, you would be amazed at how many other problems improve on their own.” He believed that the toxicity of my liver was causing a whole host of other problems. Of course the liver was the worst because this was a poisoning issue, and the liver is the “filter” that it all has to go through. In addition, my hormones were off the chart.

Dr. J explained that he was going to do a “Turbo Detox” on my since so many of my systems were messed up. This type of detox can only be three weeks long before you must let your liver rest again.

Okay…here we go.

The “TURBO DETOX”
Length: 3 weeks

(I felt like a whole new woman after this….HONESTLY! Get ready, though, it is a LOT of supplements! 52 per DAY! Trust me, though…it is worth it in the end!)

Again, these are all bottles of supplements from Standard Process:
1. SP Cleanse—7 pills, 3 times a day = 21 pills/day
2. SP Complete—This is a big bottle of powder that you mix into a shake. I did two scoops of powder per shake (with fruit and apple juice). You take THREE shakes per day
3. Gastro Fiber—3 pills/day
4. Cholacol II—10 pills/day. I did 3, 3 and then 4
The above supplements were for the main liver detox. The SP Cleanse is to detox everything out, the SP Complete puts all of the “good stuff” back in to your system, the Cholacol help the toxins bind to your poop and the Gastro Fiber is to help you poop it out. And, in case you were wondering, no your poop isn’t any more gross than usual! You may just find that you poop more…
Now—on to the supplements for my hormonal readjustment:
5. Symplex F—2 pills, 3 times per day = 6 pills
6. Utrophin PMG –2 pills, 3 times per day = 6 pills
7. Ovex P – 2 pills, 3 times per day = 6 pills

I also put two drops of lemon oil (You can get it from Young Living) in a glass of water and drank two glasses a day.  According to an herbalist I spoke with, it helps your body excrete petroleum-based toxins out of your blood....good for those of you who find that you have elevated silicone levels in your blood.

Okay! The above is what I did for three weeks. Also, just to detox as much as I could, I also did FAR-Infared saunas as much as possible (they make you sweat a TON), and Dr. J would occasionally “zap” my liver for ten minutes with a machine—that was about twice a week. Also, drink TONS of water. The more you poop, pee and sweat, the more toxins you get out.

The next post will be the supplement program that I started after three three-week turbo detox was finished. It is basically smaller doses of some of the supplements that I was already taking, plus a few more that would address my adrenal function (to help with my complete lack of energy) and my overall health. I am still currently on this program since my detox ended only a few weeks ago.

At this point, I am going to stay on my current “program” (that will be on the next post) for about three months. At that point, I will make the decision whether or not to do the main detox again. So far, though, I feel great! As I said earlier, I felt like a new person after the turbo detox was over.

I’ll start working on the next post and be back soon.
*************

My prayers are with you all.  May this work for you like it did me.....  Good luck, ladies.

Next post (December 17th, 2010)

Here was my post on Curezone right after my detox ended.  The actual detox description is in the next post:
**********

Ladies!

I just had to get on here quickly, and I apologize so much, but I can only be on a moment before I have to leave. I haven't been on in a couple of weeks because I've been traveling so much, but I had to get on quickly just to tell you all that the detox that I did WORKED!

For those who aren't familiar with my story, please feel free to go back and read it. Any posts from "Proud Momma" are from me.

Long story short, I was about 4 months post removal, and I was dealing with tons of physical issues, but the worst was absolutely DEBILITATING anxiety. I was anxious every day, and I was having full on anxiety attacks about four times a week.

I was the one that posted a bit back that I demanded a silicone blood test, and sure enough--it came back positive. My doc gave up and sent me to a Naturopath.

Okay...please don't give up--check back here in a few days for a post from me. I did a three week detox from my naturopath, and ladies--IT WORKED. It has been a month since I started it, and I have not had a SINGLE anxiety attack since.

I PROMISE with everything that I have that I will be back on here to post EXACTLY what I did so that you might find some possible help. I just have to get through my daughter's birthday party this weekend, and then I am going to sit down and type out--in detail--exactly what my detox process was and exactly what I took...dosage amounts...everything. Please just give me a couple of days, and I will be back. I promise.

I just wanted to get on here long enough to get some hope out there to you that there is something that you can do. Don't give up...don't feel hopeless. I'll be back on when the weekend is over, and I hope to give you some information that will give you your lives back. I feel like a new woman. I can't believe it. Now it is my mission to help as many women as possible now that I know that it worked.

Check back. I'll be back soon with answers. I PROMISE. I pray that you find hope in this quick email.

I'm going to do everything I can to get you better. We are still all in this together.

My love to all of you.

***************
There you go.  The detox is coming next....

3rd post (Nov. 5, 2010)--SILICONE POISONING

Here is my 3rd post on Curezone.com.  This was when it was confirmed that I had elevated silicone levels in my blood.  Here you go:
*******************

Well...just wanted to give you the update that I promised.

Remember that I demanded that my doctor do a blood test to check for silicone poisoning? Remember that he looked at me like I had three head for doing it?

Yeah...well--I got the results back. Shocker....elevated silicone levels. We are being poisoned ladies.....

And that test was run three months after my Mirena was REMOVED. I hate to even know what my levels were months ago. It just makes me sick.

I actually just had my first appointment with a naturpath today to begin a three-week detox/cleanse program for my blood and organs. Here's to hoping that a month from now I will have my life back. He's throwing everything he's got at me....infer-red saunas, tons of wholefood pills a day, and who knows what else. I don't even care. I'll stand on my head for four days straight if it will give me my life back.

I'll keep you updated--my first appointment to begin the detox is on Monday. Fingers crossed, ladies.

Get your silicone checked, girls. Don't take no for an answer.

Prayers for us all. Big hugs.

*****************

On to the next post.....

My 2nd post (Oct. 21, 2010)....

Here is another post from when I started struggling.  On curezone.com, I am under the ID of "ProudMomma".  You can also see all of my posts there.  As you can see, at the time of this post, it is about three months after I had the Mirena removed.  I'm putting all of my past posts on here so that you can all see exactly where I was....then I will catch us up to the present.  This was posted on October 21, 2010.  Here you go:
**********

Hey ladies--

I am going through exactly what you all were last year RIGHT NOW. I'm a little over three months post removal, and I had a bad crash about 2 months after, but then--over the past couple of weeks--I was feeling great. I really thought that I was finally on the other side of all of this torture. Then yesterday....WHAMMO. It was like I was on day one again. Tons of anxiety, heartrate going everywhere, feeling like adreneline was coursing through every vein in my body. I'm so upset right now because I was really feeling like I was getting better.

Can any of you ladies who posted here PLEASE respond or message me directly to let me know how you are doing now? Did you have to continue meds for the anxiety? Did you ever get better on your own? Any information would greatly be appreciated. I just need to know what to expect.

Thank you so much, ladies....I'm looking forward to hearing from you.



*******
There you go.  I'll continue to post more past posts until I catch you up.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

My Mirena story....

Here is my Mirena story—What I finally posted on forums when I was struggling to find answers.  I posted this on October 15, 2010....
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Hey ladies,

I'm finally writing all of this down because I know how desperately I've been looking for any sort of answer regarding what in the WORLD is happening to my body due to the Mirena.  I apologize in advance for the long post, but I figure it may give some woman out there some information that she is searching for.  If not, at least it is just one more post to show the world that we are not crazy here.  We are very sick...and we are desperately trying to get better.

I was actually one of those women who had the Mirena put in after the birth of my first child and had no problems.  I told everyone I knew how wonderful and convenient this form of birth control was.  I used it, it worked, we decided to have another baby, I took it out, got pregnant the next cycle....everything seemed flawless.  After the birth of my son, I had it inserted again at my 6 week post partum appointment.  Within two months of insertion, my body started falling apart.  Unfortunately, since I didn't have issues the first time, I didn't have it removed because I never made the connection to the Mirena until it was in for 17 months.  That was when I started seeing thousands of posts of women who were suffering just like me...and reading their symptoms made me feel like I was reading my own journal.  I literally cried when it hit me that the Mirena was the cause.  Yes, I cried because I was angry--but I also cried because I finally felt like I had a real answer...a reason WHY I was falling apart.  I finally knew that I wasn't just going crazy. 

Here are my symptoms:
ANXIETY ATTACKS (I NEVER dealt with anxiety before, and suddenly I was dealing with them constantly--horrible ones that would literally take me to the ground)
LOWER BACK/HIP PAIN (I was going to the chiropractor twice a week and it didn't help at all)
BLURRY VISION (I have had it confirmed by my Optometrist that I have lost over 60% of my vision in my right eye in the past 12 months)
OVERALL "FOGGINESS" OF THE BRAIN--All the time.  Feels like I'm half out of it and have to concentrate so hard on everything.
ABDOMINAL PAIN (I went in to my OB, and they found pockets of blood in my abdomen--they have since reabsorbed)
WEIRD "PATCHY" GOOSEBUMPS--This is a weird effect that I deal with multiple times per day.  I get these weird patches of goose bumps...like in patterns on one arm, or only my right leg will be covered and not my left, etc.  Only lasts for a few seconds, but happens constantly.
HEARTBEAT ISSUES--I've had to go have testing run because my heart rate starts jumping all over the place
FEELING LIKE I'M NOT GETTING IN ENOUGH OXYGEN WHEN I BREATHE--Sounds weird, but that is the only way that I can explain.  I sometimes "huff" a lot to pull in more air.
WEAK HANDS--Out of nowhere, everything from my elbows down to my fingertips get so weak that I have to concentrate with everything I have to simply hold a glass or type a word correctly.
AWFUL MOOD SWINGS--I went from the most relaxed person who enjoyed being out at the park with my kids to a woman who was too overwhelmed to do ANYTHING.  Doing laundry was too overwhelming.  Taking my kids outside was too overwhelming. Taking a SHOWER--for goodness sakes--was sometimes too overwhelming.  So, I became this "shell" of a woman who felt so sick and counted down the hours until I could just go to bed.  I would yell at my daughter for stupid things.  I knew it was me going overboard with my reaction, and yet I could do NOTHING to stop it. 
EXTREME AND CONSTANT FATIGUE--I'm talking so tired all the time that daily life seemed almost impossible.
INSOMNIA--That's a strange one because, like I said, I had such awful fatigue that you would think that I would fall asleep at a moment's notice.  Nope.  Can't even tell you the last time I slept through the night without problems.

I went months not knowing what was wrong. I started off finding other "reasons": 

"I have two kids three and under, and I'm just tired."

"My baby was born with a medical condition that we didn't know much about; he's in a lot of therapy...I'm just really stressed out."

"I'm getting my Master's degree now on top of everything.  It's just a lot to handle." 

Does this sound familiar, ladies? 

BUT....as time went on, my side effects got worse and worse...and it seemed like one body system at a time was just shutting down....and I was POWERLESS to stop it.  My body was shutting down...my mind was shutting down....my emotions were shutting down.....  I felt it happening, and I was terrified because I had no idea why.  Like most of you, I kept quiet about it for the first several months because I was EMBARRASSED.  Who wants to admit out loud to your loved one--every day--that you are too overwhelmed to load the dishwasher, or you yelled at your three year old because she dropped her sippy cup on the floor, or you put your kids in front of the television for an hour so that you could go to the other room and cry for no apparent reason? 

Or...even worse...who wants to have to say out loud that you are afraid that you are losing your mind?  Yep....that was me.  I sincerely thought that I was slowly going crazy, and I couldn't do anything about it.  But, in true "woman of the household" fashion, I kept it in because to verbalize it made it true...and made me sound weak.  THAT was unacceptable--and far too scary to do. 

I was in a horrible place.  I'm sure I sounded like a hypochondriac, I KNOW I had to seem like the world's laziest woman when my husband would come home and I had done hardly ANYTHING regarding the home.  I KNEW how it looked.... I KNEW that I wanted to be better and do all of these things....but I also knew that I simply COULDN'T--and worse, I had no idea why.

Here is where I'm at now--I am almost three months post removal, and I've been to the doctor most recently to address the panic attacks and the weakness in my hands.  He, of course, has referred me to a neurologist to rule out MS, ALS, etc....  After reading all of the other posts, I'm sure all tests will come back as normal (just as all my blood work has), but I haven't been to the neurologist yet.  I'll let you know.  He also gave me a bottle of 10 Xanax pills so that I can take one if I start having an attack.  He thinks this could all be anxiety.  I know differently.  Not only have I never dealt with anxiety before this (and now it is almost debilitating at times), but my last attack hit me WHEN I WAS ASLEEP.  That's right, I woke out of a dead sleep and couldn't breathe.  Something is PHYSICALLY doing it to my body.

Just yesterday, I was at the doctor to demand that he check the silicone levels in my blood.  I have seen far too many posts from women who are suffering from silicone poisoning because of the Mirena.  When I requested the test, my doctor looked at me like I had three heads.  "I've been a doctor for many years, and I've NEVER run a silicon test.  This test is pointless."  My response, "Well, now you have--and it isn't pointless to me." 

He continued to talk to me about how it probably won't be covered by my insurance because it isn't part of his "treatment".  Okay, fine.  I'll figure it out.  Run the test. 

Then, he proceeded to say, "You know, even if you are right and it is silicone poisoning, there is nothing that you can do about it, so it seems unnecessary to do a test for something you can't change anyway.  My answer, "Maybe I can't take any medicine for it...but I'll KNOW.  I'll FINALLY have an answer to why I'm so sick.  That is worth the WORLD to me at this point.  I've been scrambling for answers for over a year, and if this blood test finally gives me the WHY that I've been searching for, it is worth it to me."  (Plus, if there ever is a lawsuit...I want that level noted in my file).

By what I've learned so far, it looks like most of the women who share my same symptoms have any or all of the following things happen to their body:

1.  Their body is thrown into Estrogen Dominance, complete loss or progesterone or some extreme hormonal imbalance.  This device provided all of our progestin for us, so our estrogen kicked up to meet it.  Then, the IUD was suddenly taken out, the estrogen is still pumping like mad, but our bodies haven't figured out how to start it's own progesterone again yet.

2.  Silicone poisoning--Apparently, part of the IUD is a silicone compound.  Yes, we were told that it couldn't enter our bloodstream.  I don't buy it.  I know a girl that had hers tested (She has even posted here I believe) whose silicone levels were three times over the abnormal limit.  THREE TIMES. 

3.  If there was a malfunction of the device...especially a malfunction enough to have the silicone "holding cell" of the Mirena break apart and enter our bloodstreams, that--according to an Internal Medicine Specialist--means that the hormones that were in that cell all came out at once.  That's right, ladies--that is FIVE YEARS worth of hormones that spilled into our bodies at one time.  Knowing that, how could we NOT be on the edge of falling apart?  Did you know that, when the Mirena is perfectly operational, that it put in our bodies the equivalent of TWO progestin pills A DAY????? (If I had known that, I never would have had it inserted in the first place) Yep, and that is when it was working CORRECTLY.  Imagine now, FIVE YEARS of it spilling into our systems at once when it doesn't. 

So, there is a possibility that, if the silicone tests come back positive, that we not only have five years worth of hormones in our system that our bodies are frantically trying to figure out how to deal with, but we also have our blood at a toxic level.  Think about it.  If something is wrong with your blood, OF COURSE your ENTIRE body will eventually be affected--your blood is pumping through all of it....your brain, your heart, your spine.... 

I am not a doctor.  I don't claim to be.  But, I've sure seen my share of them lately, and I've spent hours upon hours gaining information from other women who have gone or are going through the same suffering that we are now.  They all seem to have the above issues in common, and that is why I think it is important to put them all together and post this.  I'm trying to post something that was what I was looking for during one of my many desperate and fear-filled searches for possible answers.  I'm not trying to give a diagnosis to anyone.  I'm simply giving information for each woman to weigh against her own symptoms and decide what to do to start fighting for her life back.  Think about what tests to run and go make it happen.

It angers me to think that the only reason I even changed from the pill to the Mirena was because I was a nursing mother, and my OB told me how much "safer" the Mirena was than the pill because it is localized to the uterus, and therefore, nothing entered the bloodstream or milk supply to the baby.  What new mother wouldn't make that decision when told that it is the safer choice for her newborn?  Most of the time now, though, I try to move past as much anger as I can that dwells on the past--because I can't go back and change what has happened to me.  I am now trying to focus that energy on getting better.  I have to admit, I have my strong days and my weak days....but I'm fighting.

Now that I am three months post removal, I'll try to explain where I'm at.  The blurry vision and foggy brain are constant and consistent--even now.  The anxiety attacks, back pain, and weak hands come and go and don't seem to follow any sort of pattern.  However, I do notice a definite improvement on the amount of time I deal with a sore back.  It used to be all the time.  Now, I have good days and bad days.  I definitely notice a VAST improvement in my mood.  I'm so thankful to say that I am having some good days again--days where I find myself singing while I'm wiping the kitchen counter...days where I want to have a tea party with my kids.  In that way, I feel like I am starting to get ME back...slowly, but she is in there, and I'm going to keep trying to get her out.  One day is good...the next is bad...I never know.  I may never be 100% again as far as my physical health--I simply don't know the answer to that yet.  I do know this, though: I'm NOT going to stop fighting to get my life back. 

Here's what I'm taking now: (To current blog readers--This is NOT the detox...this is what I was trying at that time....)
--I only take a Xanax if I need it.  Anxiety is awful.
--I take a B Complex Vitamin every morning
--Evening Primrose Oil supplement daily
--One Biotin supplement daily (my hair never fell out like many of yours did, but it did get coarse and brittle...I thought it was our water softener for the longest time! :-)
--I also take a supplement (it's a powder that you mix as a tea) called "Natural Calm".  It is a Calcium/Magnesium compound that I really believe is a large reason why my back pain is feeling so much better.  It could also be helping with the anxiety according to the claims.

I'm also, depending on what the silicone test reveals, am planning on doing some sort of detox for my system.  I have also found an herbalist (actually, my mother did) who has some herbal oil supplements of some sort that are supposedly supposed to help connect with any sort of petroleum-based toxin in the blood and help you excrete it.  Worth a shot, right?  If I'm still struggling, I'm evening considering trying acupuncture--seems like a lot of women out there got some relief from it.  I'm just trying other things first since acupuncture is not covered my insurance and can tend to get expensive.  However, I'm willing to try anything at this point.  I even joked to my husband that I would wrap my head in a cow placenta for two weeks if it would give me my life back.  ;-)

I also take an all natural herbal energy supplement (four per day) to help me out with my fatigue.  It helps me out a lot.

I think that's it.  I will keep you all updated on what I find out, and know that I am praying for ALL of you.  I know, all too well, the hell that you are going through.  I'm right there with you--but I'm going to beat this thing...and so are you.

Blessings to you all.
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Well, there you go, everyone.  That's my story.  I'll be back with more of my past posts soon....

Let me just start by saying....

#1.  ....that I'm sorry. 

I'm so sorry that you are reading this right now because I know what that means.  I know that it means that--like I once was--you are searching the internet looking for help because you are sick...and you are scared....and you know deep down that the Mirena did this to you.....

#2.  ....that I'm fighting right along with you.

As you will begin reading in my post.  I have my own Mirena experience battle that I am fighting back from as well.  Through this blog, you will see my story, how I chose to fight for my life back, a detox that I chose to do as part of my fight, and my current life now. 

This is what I promise you:

#1.  I promise that I will be 100% honest about both my past and present experience.

#2.  I promise that I will not "sugar coat" anything.

#3.  I promise that I will do whatever I can to walk through this with you.  Please feel free to post comments or questions as much as you want, and we can all "talk" together if you'd like.

#4.  I promise that I'm praying for all of us to get well.

Now....here's what I'm going to have to do for these first few posts.  As I explained at the beginning of this post, I did a detox to fight for my health back.  I will get into all of that later, but I think that it is first important that you know my story.  As it first all "hit" me what was happening--I started posting on various forums to other women who were struggling with the same thing.  If you haven't found it yet, the website that I found that was a GODSEND to me was http://www.curezone.com/.  They have a Mirena Side Effects forum that is full of amazing women who are struggling with this as well, and we are all supportive of one other's journeys.  As I'm sure you are aware, NOBODY understands the torture that you are struggling though....unless they are dealing with it as well.  It's confusing, and scary, and I know that you are hurting....physically, emotionally, mentally......and my heart breaks for all of us.

My detox helped TREMENDOUSLY, but I just finished it, so I promise to be honest as to what continues to happen with me.  Even though I am feeling much better, I remember being that woman who was crying my eyes out in the middle of the night and searching for ANY answers that I could find online....looking for anyone out there who could tell me that this nightmare would stop and I could get better. 

I SWORE at that moment that, no matter what happened with me....if I got better or not, I would not forget the thousands of other women who are out there right now looking for that same thing.  I hope that maybe this blog can be that for you.  If it doesn't end up being the help  that you need, at least you can know that you are not alone. 

All that being said.....

#1.  I AM NOT A DOCTOR

I don't claim to be.  I am simply a woman who is going through this as well.  I've been fighting for my life and my health back, and I am trying to help as many other as I can....whether it be to help you with a detox that may help you like it helped me, or just to be someone who you can walk through this with.  I will post my experiences...as well as any articles, etc. that I read that I find interesting.  I'm still trying to figure all of this out, too.  We will "brainstorm" together, shall we?

Let me tell you about myself:

I'm doing this blog in somewhat of an anonymous manner, but I will tell you a bit about myself.  I'm 34 years old, and I am married with two small children.  I have a beautiful four-year-old daughter, and I am blessed with a wonderful son who will soon turn two.  I am a high school teacher, but I'm currently taking time off to be a stay-at-home mom to my children.  I will return to work when my youngest is in school.  I am also taking this time to get my master's degree.  I'm about halfway through graduate school.  As difficult as it has been to deal with all of this with a family and graduate school, I can honestly say that I am so thankful that I'm not teaching right now.  I know 100% that, at my worst, there was absolutely no way that I would have been able to be a teacher.  I would have had to go on disability during those months.  It makes me sick to even think about it all.....what this devilish tiny plastic device did to my life.

Today's date that you see in my blog is the correct date that I am writing this post.  However, over the next few, I will be posting some entries that I actually wrote months ago on forums, etc.  I'm doing this to catch you up.  I want you to see my story as my struggle began.  Then, when I am done, I will let you know when the dates of the blog posts are back up to the current date.

Got it? 

Again, if I ever post anything that is confusing to you, if you have any questions for me, or if you just need to vent, please post a comment.  If there is a question, I will do the best that I can to use various blog posts to answer those questions to the best of my ability.  If you have an extremely personal question that you are embarassed to ask on a public blog, you may email me privately at lifeaftermirena@yahoo.com.  If at all possible, though, please ask them on this blog so that other women can learn from the answers as well.  Please remember, though, that I am answering any and all questions as a fellow post-Mirena sufferer....not as a physician.  These are MY experiences--what has worked and not worked for me.  There is also a lot of my OPINION on what I think is happening, etc.  But remember, it is my opinion as I am also continuing so search for answers through journals, blogs, etc..... 

Okay, everyone.  We are all in this together.  Time to fight back.  Time to prove how strong we are. I pray that this blog may help you in your recovery.

Huge hugs to everyone.  On to my initial story in the next post.