Thursday, May 23, 2013

My Paragard Story

I went to a new doctor (Dr. Staudte) on Tuesday to get an exam and talk about my paragard and my options.  Jeremy went along with me and we had to bring Cullen and Eden along as well.  We got stuck on the darn Ft. Madison bridge with the slowest barge ever so we were late.  (We decided from here on out that it is actually quicker and cheaper for us to go through Keokuk to get there.)  Anywho, we got there and it took forever for us to get called in.  Then the appointment itself last for at least two hours.  Good grief.  I thought I would never get out of there.  The appointment went like this:
Dr. Staudte's nurse was awesome and I wish she was the doctor.  Dr. Staudte is annoying and talks to people like they are five year olds.  He talks in object lessons and makes you answer ridiculous questions for no good reason.  Ugh.  On the flip side he was very informative, which is great!  So, I had to answer five million questions about my past medical history and such. During all this Cullen and Eden got fed up with the whole process and the amount of time it was taking and Jeremy took them to the car.  He waited as long as he could but then he had to leave me there in FM and go back to Carthage because the kids were getting out of school and we STILL weren't done!!  They checked my vitals and my blood pressure is high again.  It has been high every time I have went to the dentist or doctor.  *side note*  The doc that I saw in Springfield when I was pregnant had told me that my high blood pressure was NOT pregnancy induced and he was worried that I would have a stroke...which runs in my family.
Finally, Dr. Staudte came in and we talked paragard and my options after that. He couldn't take it out that day because I needed a separate appointment....ya know, so they can charge me $385 TWICE instead of just the one time.  A doctor has to eat ya know!  Jeremy and I had actually looked up online how to get the paragard out on our own because it is a fairly simple procedure.....if it isn't stuck or something stupid like that. And.....so goes the story of my life because when we finally get to the exam Dr. Staudte says: "I'm sorry to tell you that your paragard is falling out and I am going to have to remove it."  Which is what I wanted but, then he tells me that we haven't been protected in while it was in the wrong spot...and it is STUCK in the side of my uterus.  Oh and my uterus is three times the size it is supposed to be and probably full of fibroid tumors. (Could ultimately be the cause of my miscarriages but idiot Dr. Kim was a worthless doctor). Joy of joys. Oh, and my uterus is off to the left side which explains the left side pain. He pulls it out finally and which flippin' hurt like crazy.  Remember the whole experience when I got it put in?!?!!?  ARgh!!  He said that I would have cut in my uterus but, that it would heal on its own he thought. They checked my vitals again (because I was in a state of shock and kinda freaking out) and my blood pressure had skyrocketed.  Perfect. 
I leave the office bleeding and cramping.  I had to walk to the cafeteria because Jeremy was still driving back from Carthage.  The doc had said that I would probably have a few days of the pain and such.  But, the paragard was out thank goodness!!  But, now what!?!? Bah!  I don't know.  Jeremy got there to pick me up and we went home.  That night I took 800mg of Motrin and tried to relax.  We were in the kitchen and all of a sudden I lost my vision.  Literally couldn't see anything. My legs wouldn't work and I fell over.  I was so disoriented I couldn't talk.  Jeremy asked if I was okay and I couldn't figure out how to speak to get an answer to him.  Instantly my body was soaking wet from sweat dripping from every single pore on my body.  I crawled to the couch when my vision came back slightly.  I was so dizzy and I couldn't focus on anything.  I could feel blood pressure bottoming out.  I have felt it many times before.  It is SCARY.  Jeremy said that my whole body turned white and my breathing was very slow.  He sat there and rubbed my head, neck, and back with a cool, wet washcloth.  I thought for sure that my blood pressure was so low that I wasn't going to recover.  This time was REALLY bad.  It all freaked us both out.  In addition to all of this my legs were throbbing, my back aching, my head pounding, extreme sweating, extreme chills, and I couldn't stop crying.  Very weird indeed.  I thought for sure I was on the verge of death because we all know when your blood pressure bottoms out, you die.  I told Jeremy not to let me die on the couch.  And he didn't let me die.  He checked on me all through the night.  He is a super duper person. 
The next day I was on a mission to find out what all these symptoms meant.  I went to webmd and typed in all my symptoms.  And the very first response for it was Acute Stress Reaction and the third thing on the list was Generalized Anxiety Disorder.  Which makes sense since I have already been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Super.  So apparently my body (and apparently my mind) freaks out when anything happens.  And I hate to admit it but, this happens more often than I want to say. 
Anywho, don't want to fuel any gossip fires so I will shut my mouth now. So, now my body is adjusting to life without paragard.  I definitely notice a difference already in how I feel and act. Also, I talked to my mom and fibroid tumors run in my family.  I knew when I went to the hospital a couple of years ago with that thing in my back that that is what it was.  Stupid, doctor.  They come and go as they please and only sometimes require surgery.  I don't care what anyone thinks.  Ugh. 

No comments: