As most of you already know, I was recently involved in a Mirena train wreck right here inside my own body last year. I am still recovering…uncovering the mystery of what may have gone wrong and how to get back to better health. This Mirena jewel is the gift that just won’t stop giving….
My physical state improved almost immediately after the Mirena was removed December 7, 2011. Despite the total lack of any post-procedure instructions, I felt better the very next day. My stomach didn’t ache, I didn’t feel perpetually PMS’y, bloated and unable to move without pain in my mid-section. After the horrendous period that arrived 2 days later, I felt less achy in my arms and legs. Gradually, I’ve seen improvement in my muscle and joint pain. But I’m still not ‘right’. My right forearm and elbow joint hurt constantly. Although it’s not the hot, radiating, excruciating pain it was a month ago, it’s there every day. And my poor heels…those puppies hurt, but only when I’m standing or walking! There’s exactly one pair of shoes in my closet that feel good on my heels and feet…God bless a pair of Merrell’s !! Looks like I’ll be walking the Monument Avenue 10K in brown suede Merrell’s wearing a Mirena Survivor Team T-Shirt…..do you think I’ll get sued for that……?
My conventional practitioners haven’t exactly made the grade in helping me deal with the complex issues I continue to experience. So, while talking with my dear friend Kim Lepe of Basic Kneads Massage Therapy back in December, she recommended I talk with one of the Naturopathic Doctors at Monarch Natural Medicine. Their practice is amazing!! There, my complete story was listened to with kindness and concern. Blood tests were ordered…results are anxiously awaited. Meanwhile, a detoxifying eating plan was recommended….a week before Christmas. Ouch!!! My historically horrible time of year for eating healthy or in moderation! I love pie and stuffing as much as the next girl, but this new plan has brought me to a gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and cow free menu. I though it would be much harder, but like anything else, it simply takes time and effort.
I have found a wealth of support from friends, friends of friends and online. These days, almost everyone knows someone who has a gluten or dairy sensitivity or allergy. There are so many choices and the doctors at Monarch gave me some great recommendations before I even walked out the door!! I suspect that they have learned if you tell someone they can no longer prepare and eat food the way they have for 20 years, but you don’t give them any support or suggestions, they’ll likely either starve or give up! I’ve managed to find some amazing recipes and loose a few pounds, too! WIN! WIN! Look for my Foodie Page soon to see recipes and links for mother-tested and kid-approved GF, DF, WF, cow-free yummy food!
My treatment with Monarch gets into full swing later this week. I will get better inside and out. I am hopeful that I won’t just feel better, but BE better. I wonder what that will be like?
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. – Buddha
-Beckey
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Sometimes, when you’re just rolling along, doing the best you can with what you’ve got, you get side-swiped.
Most of the time, when you hear the screech of the brakes, you’ve already blinked and the glass has shattered while the metal bends…..
The best I’ve got is pretty good….blessedly good. My health issues are not nothing to me, but they would be compared to some things my friends are coping with right now. Our own stuff we’re going through seems pretty difficult – down right terrible – until we hear that a college friend has breast cancer, a high school friend has just buried his Dad, a neighbor has had a life-altering stroke or dear friend’s husband is in the fight of his life against cancer. What? What do you mean? They are my age, these are my friends and neighbors…this cannot be happening!
But it did and it has. And it likely will again.
How do we go on? Moreover, how do we help them go on? Love and humanity do not require great gongs and bands and pomp and circumstance. They require you and your time teamed with the desire to do good in the world and bring comfort to others. The suffering and pain of others cannot be taken away, but we can certainly bring a bowl of warm soup or some sandwiches to nourish their tired souls. We can offer to watch their children (or parents), bring a book or magazine, drive them to an appointment, hold their hand while they work through things, hold their heads while they cry or hold their hearts when they seemingly cannot go on….even if just to ease their burden for a little while.
Sometimes, we just need to sit and just BE for them. Be in the moment, be available, be strong, be vigilant, be prayerful, be ready.
Peace comes in many forms – comfort is but one of them.
-Beckey
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Food should taste good…gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and cow free food should not be synonymous with flavor free!!
Last night, it was c-c-cold. I wanted comfort food. Badly. Being the new kid on the block here in the GF world, I wasn’t sure I was ready to make such ‘comfort’ food in conformance with my new eating plans. I was really unsure about all that pressure coupled with the question, “Will my family like this?” (Family= slightly finicky hubby who prefers good ole’ fashioned food + fairly adventurous boy who will try anything)
Little did they know, I’ve been bookmarking tabs for recipes like crazy since the first day I went GF. My first requirement for any site I bookmarked was that it mention words like ‘yummy, ‘kid-approved’ and ‘easy’. Next, I didn’t want to spend $500 on new kitchen gadgets and ingredients for one or two meals. Did I mention that I’d also like for these recipes to be ready in a flash…just in case I forgot about basketball practice? (oops!)
I’ve had a bunch of apples sitting around waiting for a warm and wintery dish. This sweet and tangy Apple Cider Chicken was just the thing and super easy. I think it would be easy to make the apple fixins ahead of time on a Sunday and bag them up in the fridge with a bit of cider over them to keep them from turning. The chicken can sit in the fridge and defrost until Tuesday or Wednesday. Voila!! A warm, yummy meal that was hubby and kid approved!
And then to figure out a warm and filling side dish…. Enter Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows. Her site is amazing and her recipe for Butternut Squash Mac N’ Cheese tasted so good, I was late to my meeting because I was enjoying it so much! I have said numerous times since going dairy free, “Gee, I miss cheddar cheese.” I’m learning to love goat, buffalo and sheep’s cheeses. But cheddar….ahhhh – the bite a good sharp cheddar just can’t be beat. I had a bag of Tinkyada brown rice elbow pasta on hand anticipating that I’d like to eat pasta again, but I never imagined I would have mac n’ cheese ever again. I will have THAT again! And again. And again. The possibilities are endless for mix-ins and dress-ups. Hubby didn’t love it (mostly because he doesn’t have to) but kiddo LOVED it. A healthy, protein-packed side dish that was delicious….and my 10 year old loved it. : )
The best part….there are left-overs for tonight!
~Beckey
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Happy New Year!! I hope you’re all off to a goal-crushing start to this new year! I personally, am not. Yet. To give you an idea, the black eyed peas and stewed tomatoes are still in their cans in the cupboard…from 2010!! Yes friends, that’s right! They may be petrified-in-can by now….. By telling you that I’m going to prepare them this week and share a recipe, I’m accountable.
You might notice my blog looks different. Better, I think. LOTS Better. Down right FAN-TAB-U-LOUS!!! Many thanks to Tisha McCuiston, wonder-mom-blogger-photographer-neighbor-friend from On Bramble Hill for helping to get it up and running.
I’ve been noodling what to post in this New Year. Perhaps if I were the uber-organized time manager I am inside my own, slightly distorted ( translated -unrealistic) world, I’d already have tons of posts up here making you all ooh, aah, laugh, cry, cook and craft. But alas, I have not. I’m not a goal-crusher at all. In fact, I’ve decided to stop parading around as one once and for all (not really, not yet!).
I don’t know about you, but I’m a real work-in-progress. We all are. Our fears and imperfections, talents and desires…these things make us who we are… a beautifully imperfect package of humanity. I’ve never liked imperfection or thought of it as beautiful. As a matter of fact, I’ve always been deeply seeking perfect-perfection everywhere. That’s a tall order, unless you’re Jesus – and I am not. I have dog-hair dust bunnies, weeds in my garden, too much junk in my house and a pink ring in my toilet.
But, back in September, 2011, I met this amazing group of women at Squam Arts Festival . There, I let my hair down, for real, for the first time in my life with total strangers who didn’t feel like strangers for very long at all. We stayed in a lovely little cabin called Summit by Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire. There, we talked, we laughed, we created, we ate, we cried, we healed….sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. My Summit Sisters shared so much with me and had no idea of the transformation they were allowing me to step into……
A transformation that began with facing fear….ugly, dark, deep-seeded fear, turned into something quite amazing and unexpectedly wonderful. There, I made a place where I can be real. And imperfect. And beautiful. There, I made my creative space. There, I forgave myself. There, I made self-care a necessity, not an option. There, I took photographs and promised to look at them and maybe even print a few. There, I found the courage to sit naked in the restaurant and create this blog. : )
So it begins..the New Year. The New Gypsy Peace. I like the sound of that…Gypsy Peace.
-Beckey
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Dear friends, this was the LAST topic I envisioned would be my motivator for entering the blog world!
Get a cup (pot) of tea…this is a long one.
I’m not going to give you all of the gory details, but I do want you to know there may be more to the Mirena fact sheet than the FDA is providing to women. I’m NOT saying the Mirena is good or bad, just that you should give deep and thoughtful consideration before you place anything (devices or drugs) in your body. I am not a doctor. Heck, I guess I’m not even really a good consumer since I find myself in this self-inflicted mess up to my eyeballs! This account is simply my experience thus far. There are many, many more stories just like mine, but also many stories of women who had a positive experience. I hope mine has an happy ending. Soon. Conventional medicine has minimized medical practice as routine and very one-size-fits-all. I’m here to tell you, it’s not. Read on to find out why.
I’m a pretty healthy middle-aged woman (yes, I just turned 40) who enjoys the same merry-go-round that most of you do. I am a busy mother, wife, homeschool teacher, scout leader, couponer, volunteer, shopper, cooker, reader, driver, etc,…you get the picture. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at 28 and it stays quiet most of the time. I don’t always eat right and exercise the way that I should. But I managed pretty well until 6 months in early July, 2011 when I had a Mirena IUD placed. In a word, it was awful! During the actual placement, I thought I just may die. THAT process was highly under-rated and my problems started almost immediately.
Intermittent bleeding and cramping were expected, but NOTHING like what I went through. My belly felt as though a balloon had been blown up inside me and I felt nasty. all. the. time. At my 4 week follow-up, I raised some concerns (tearfully) and my gynecologist dismissed them and told me things would be just fine and to give it 6 months for things to settle down. Settle down? SETTLE DOWN?
Strange little things started happening in addition to the never-ending period. My adult acne worsened, I started to have belly aches and I developed dandruff! I started to gain weight and was hungry all the time with intense cravings for sugar and chocolate. (Now, for those of you who know me, you know I LOVE chocolate, but I literally felt addicted!) I kept waiting to feel better..and never did. I was teary and agitated most of the time. The end of summer drew near and I could not fit into any of my clothes. I wasn’t yet fully connecting these dots but I just knew I was about to turn the corner…
And turn the corner I did. My right forearm started to ache and I haven’t taken up tennis or golf recently. I took some ibuprofen and bought a clay pack for heat/cold therapy. My knee started to ache. Then, my heels started to hurt. My whole body was aching…I felt like I was physically falling apart. I had just turned 40! My vision was blurry and I was having ‘flashes’ in my eyes for no apparent reason. Was this what the aging process would feel like for the next 20 years? If so, I was certain I’d be wheelchair-bound within a year if this continued. I saw my general practitioner and was referred (without blood work) for an orthopedic consult. I shared with both the nurse and doctor my concerns about the Mirena and my current situation. The nurse recommended that maybe I should go with my gut and have it removed. hmmmmm….maybe so? Within 2 days of that visit, I had a urinary tract infection. Minute Clinic fixed me right up. Later that week, the arm and hand x-rays showed nothing. I told the nurse and doctor that I wondered if the Mirena had anything to do with my symptoms. They didn’t seem to think so. I was diagnosed with tendonitis and prescribed a 2-week prednisone regimen and an arm brace. I was told the knee and heels were just part of aging and if they became bothersome, I should call for another appointment and they would address those issues at that time. The prednisone was also awful – AWFUL. But, my body stopped aching for about 9 days and that was heavenly…..I’m talking open up the clouds, rays of light shining down and the angels were singing- heavenly!
Then, when the prednisone wore off, my body started to strike back with a vengeance. The problem was obviously related to some systemic inflammation, since the massive steroids I had just finished helped me feel better – even if just for a (very) short while. I was already not sleeping and now, I could not button my own pants, drive or take a step without terrible, hot, stabbing, shooting pain in my joints and muscles. My right hand is hot and 3 of my fingers are intermittently numb. A hot wave of pain undulates back and forth in my right forearm ALL the time. I really feel foggy, sad and not inside my own skin. Typing hurt like crazy, but I persevered….I just knew things were going to change. They had to. I started to think I may have Rheumatoid Arthritis or Multiple Sclerosis…I was really scared. I’m too young to lose my quality of life or worse, die. The thoughts that my Mirena may be contributing to these problems really started to get me thinking…and Googling (as painful as it is to type)!
Well, we all know that anyone can find anything to support anything they believe (or don’t believe) on the internet. But, I really had no idea. Really. The hundreds of women who have had similar experiences (or worse) to mine. Once I figure out some of these nifty blog gadgets, I’ll post some links to other sites and blogs with waaaay more information than you ever wanted to learn about Mirena stories.
I dialed the phone as fast I could last Monday and made the appointment to have the Mirena removed. On Wednesday, December 7, 2011 (after completing my suggested 6-months of due diligence), I had the Mirena removed by my gynecologist. This time, a dear friend drove me and was at-the-ready just in case. That visit was an abysmal disappointment, but I was prepared….with information and questions. I was treated in a terse and uncaring manner. I was provided ZERO information regarding my post-procedure Mirena removal. When I asked about hormone fluctuations and silicone poisoning, she looked at me as if I were an alien. All of my concerns were met with a patronizing and dismissive response that included a reference to the fact that clearly I have “other issues” and should “seek a neurological consultation”. Really? My head isn’t the problem. My gynecologist was adamant that these symptoms cannot possibly be related to the Mirena and boy, did she get nasty when I told her I would be filing an severe/adverse reaction report with the FDA. Flying in the face of the all-knowing and infallible FDA..how dare I? Anyone ever heard of the Dalkon Shield, DES, Celebrex….that list goes on and on, too. But every one of those things was deemed safe by the FDA when they were introduced. Again, hmmmmmm?
My bloated belly was better by the next day (YAY!!). The cramps and clotting hit Friday (and when I say hit, I mean like an aluminum baseball bat pinging a home run outta the park.) I’m drinking lots of water and some herbal tea for uterine support and taking some supplements to help support my liver during this process. I’m waiting for the Mirena crash….hopefully that won’t kick my already-bedraggled butt too badly. The gynecologist insisted that these ‘localized progestins’ have little affect on anything other than the surrounding female reproductive organs directly near the Mirena site. No systemic hormonal or endocrine changes or progesterone receptor changes? Everything she said directly conflicts with so much of what I’ve read on the actual biology and chemistry of how synthetic hormones function in our bodies. IF this ‘harmless’ little IUD works without error, it’s a good thing. But if the FDA doesn’t provide us with comprehensive information, how are we to know when a related error, malfunction or side effect occurs.
I got mad. I feel duped, tricked, bamboozled. Fast forward to today and my mad is now my voice. I hope my yelling voice didn’t hurt your ears, too much and I hope that you’ll come back soon to hear my singing voice. It’ll be good stuff, for me at least..and I hope for you too. : )
“It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.”
~A Native American Proverb
What will your voice say?
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So happy to have you joining me in the blogosphere! You are going to be great at it! And heck you can help me figure out how to get Haley over to the Vegan-ish GF thing…lol!
1 comment
YAY YAY YAY!!!! i am so happy to read this
we must talk soon!