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.