You’ll have to excuse that last post (fgnrhjryuthgjnyhyl <–Thank you Steve! Like he’s two or something. )

ANYWAY, that last post.  Yes, please excuse me if I sound, well, doped up.  Because I was.  Looking back on yesterday evening, I was halfway to the moon and I didn’t even realize it then.  As a matter of fact, I was rather coherent and moving and functioning.  But in my mind, oh lord, I was dizzy and sleepy and just overall not there.

It all started when they scheduled me back in February for a Paragard IUD insertion.  I chose the Paragard pretty much because it’s the only other birth control option besides condoms that does not contain hormones.  Aside from the obvious blood clot issue, the hormones, I discovered, were really messing with my overall well-being – physically, emotionally, mentally, libido-y, and I did not want to go back on them by any means.

My doctor had also recommended this route so he gave me the ins and outs of it, told me we would need to schedule the insertion during my menstrual cycle, particularly because I haven’t had any children and that would make it easier and less painful.  And he also said he’d prescribe me some Valium to help ease the anxiety and pain.  Because, as he made it clear, it could hurt a bit.

The appointment was set for March 31st.  But as things are wont to happen, my cycle started a little early.  I wanted Steve to be there both to be able to ask his questions and also to hold my hand, because I’m a big fat baby AND because I have girlfriends coming into town on Friday, I was kind of pushing to get this done sooner than later so I could bypass any side effects.

Yesterday morning, I called the doctor and explained my situation, hoping she could get me in by Wednesday, which would give me a day to recover before the girls came in.  I was fully prepared to push it back a month if I had to but she surprised me by saying they had an appointment open at 4pm and as long as they had the Paragard in, we were good to go, but they wouldn’t know that until about 2pm.

So I texted Steve to be ready to go and texted my mom just to keep her in the loop.  At 2pm, they called and said we were good for 4pm and that they had called the Valium into my pharmacy but not to take it until I got to the office.  I knew I was meeting Steve at home and then we were riding over together so I went ahead and left work, growing a bit more nervous the closer we got.

The overall procedure wasn’t nearly as bad as I had imagined.  I asked the doctor right off the bat whether it was going to hurt and he looked right at me and asked if I had taken the medicine.  I said yes, but it hadn’t kicked in and I didn’t think he gave me enough anyway (4mg).  Steve sat at my head and held my hand and the doctor explained everything he was doing.  Most of it was just uncomfortable, some painful pinches here and there that eventually just spread into painful cramps but it lasted a matter of ten minutes and then we were done.

All in all, I was actually able to walk out painfree.

Until I sat down in the car and then I started to cramp up.  By the time I got home, my whole abdominal area just throbbed internally around to my back and in the tops of my legs.  The medicine had kicked in and I was a bit loopy but decided to sit in the tub for a little while to help the cramps.  I ate dinner.  I laid on the couch to watch How I Met Your Mother and must have fallen asleep because at some point, I felt Steve touch my face.  Then I wandered into the bed around the time Heroes came on and must have been drifting in and out because I remember muttering things to Steve about going to bed and watching the show.  It’s amazing how fast and heavy I drifted into the meds and how coherent I thought I was at that moment, until I woke up this morning and thought about how out of it I really was and how much of an idiot I must have sounded like that.

Rather embarrassing!

Today was much better.  I was still crampy and still hurting a bit, particularly when sitting down.  It kind of helped that I told work I was going to be out because sitting constantly made me cramp.  So I just walked around the house picking things up.  I did finally sit down and do some things this afternoon after the cramps had subsided a bit.  It doesn’t help that my cycle is still there so it’s hard to distinguish whether the cramps are IUD related or menstrual related.

But overall, it was not a bad experience.  Definitely not a walk in the park and would I would volunteer for again unless I needed to do it again.  I just need to keep a careful eye on the IUD and make sure it doesn’t come out but other than that, I am safe and protected and hormone free for at least ten years.  That alone makes me feel awesome!

I’m so happy that there are many choices out there for family planning.  I used to wonder why men didn’t have to deal with the same thing that we do but hey, they don’t make the babies either so I guess if you don’t want something made, stop it at the source, right?

Now that I’ve completely bored or grossed you all out, sorry!  I just wanted to tell you that I was not doing Valium for fun, that the IUD was not as terrible as maybe fifty-percent of the people have said and that this will probably be something else I talk about every once in awhile as I embark on a new experience in my life (since the limit of my other experience was the pill).

I believe in full disclosure if it can help others with information and personal experience.

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So, how is your week so far?

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Note: Looking back on yesterday’s post, I think I’m actually impressed with myself.  Because I’m pretty sure I made that from the Blackberry sprawled horizontally across my bed wearing a towel turban, one of my favorite t-shirts and underwear with my knees pulled into my chest and my arm flopping around as I was trying not to pass out.  There might have been some drool too.

Steve won’t confirm or deny this but his word doesn’t matter since I’m pretty sure I was already snuggled under the covers on my side of the bed by the time he got in here.