Posted on 07/12/2024 8:34:42 PM PDT by Morgana
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the guest author.
Editor’s Note: Featured image shows the author during Prednisone (left), which caused her to gain 45 pounds, and after stopping the medication (right).
When I entered my first relationship in high school, I was 16. I was extremely naive about anything having to do with sex. My mom, along with my boyfriend at the time, wanted me on birth control; I was indifferent and went along with it. Because of her negative experiences with many other contraceptives, my mom believed the IUD was best for me.
One day while I was still 16, she took me to a Planned Parenthood, where one of her doctor friends worked. I had no idea what to expect, and before I knew it my legs were in stirrups, and my cervix was being dilated, with on heavy pain meds administered to be able to insert the IUD. I had not had any sexual experiences before this. This left me traumatized, in pain, and confused about what sex even was.
Adverse effects and misdiagnoses
From the beginning, I had serious issues with the Mirena IUD, including headaches and prolonged periods which often lasted 14 days. Planned Parenthood doctors told me to take 800 mg of ibuprofen every four hours until the bleeding stopped. I did not realize how bad that was for you, and it didn’t stop the bleeding.
About a year and a half later in the last month of my senior year at 17, I began to get rashes. This quickly intensified with rashes covering my entire body, debilitating joint pain, and 104-degree fevers. This went on for three months while I underwent countless blood tests, doctor appointments, and a 10-day hospitalization. I feared I was going to die.
I was eventually diagnosed with an autoimmune disease (systemic vasculitis, later changed to junior rheumatoid arthritis — a misdiagnosis I could write a whole other story about). I was treated for this with seven different medications for five years. In those five years I relapsed three times and had other urgent care visits and medications added.
During this time of visiting multiple doctors, not once was it ever suggested that my birth control could be the cause of my illness — and some even discouraged me from removing it.
Fast forward five years: I am off of most of my medications, all of which gave me horrible side effects, and it is time to replace my IUD. I relied on my IUD and thought if I did not replace it and I got pregnant, my life would be over. That is the narrative: getting pregnant = life is over.
I decided to go with an IUD that is supposed to be more fit for people who have not had children. I got the Liletta IUD — and the replacement procedure was an exceedingly painful experience.
From the beginning, I knew it was a mistake.
I ended up in urgent care and was admitted to the hospital. This second hospitalization was another traumatizing experience where I was misdiagnosed again, given an antibiotic treatment that did nothing because I had no infection, and was discharged without any of my symptoms improving. And yet, I was continually encouraged to keep my IUD in.
I now know that I was experiencing the rupture of multiple (at least five) ovarian cysts. When I had suggested this diagnosis to doctors, I was dismissed; instead, they suggested my boyfriend had given me an STD — despite the fact that my STD panel was completely negative, and despite an ultrasound scan that confirmed the presence of visible cysts.
About a month later, the IUD embedded in my uterus. The pain was so excruciating, I fainted in my boyfriend’s (now fiancé’s) arms on the floor of my bathroom.
Terrified to go back to the ER, I scheduled an appointment with my primary care doctor because it was the soonest available. At that point, I had no idea the IUD was embedded — and my doctors were unable to remove it. I was referred to a gynecologist, who said I needed to have it surgically removed. This process took about two weeks during 2020, when all “non-essential” procedures were on hold.
I had an IUD embedded in my uterus for two weeks before I could have it removed. I was unable to do anything, including work.
Unfortunately, my journey did not end there.
I was then put on the pill, despite telling doctors I was a smoker, which poses a huge risk of blood clots; again, I was not warned of this risk at the time. After a year of falling deeper and deeper into depression and eventually becoming suicidal, my now-fiancé suggested that I stop birth control altogether. I fought this for a few weeks, refusing to accept that this could be making me feel so terrible. Eventually, I could not take it anymore and I was willing to try anything — so I finally stopped.
A dramatic change
Since stopping birth control in 2021, my life has changed dramatically. My cycle has finally regulated, I get “normal” periods now, I am ovulating again, and I feel so much better mentally and physically.
Looking back, I can see things more clearly. Rather than having birth control shoved into me, I wish I was taught that sex is a big deal and my body is valuable. I wish it were not normalized as something teenagers just do because, honestly, I had no desire to do it. It’s almost as if getting birth control made me feel as though I should be having sex.
Secondly, I was never, not once, informed of the potential negative consequences and adverse reactions I could be subject to, nor was it ever suggested to me that my birth control could be causing my medical issues. I understand that I cannot prove that this is the cause, however, since removing it my autoimmune issues have subsided without relapse, and the only issues I have are my hormones regulating after stopping (again, I could write a whole other story about coming off of birth control and the time it took for my hormones to resume to normal levels). I had no idea of the significance of hormone health, nor did I realize how deeply it affects both the body and mind.
I wish somebody had told me.
***pictures on link****
The birth-control-as-candy model of healthcare has set womens healthcare back generations. Billions and billions in profits yet barely a dent in funding and research for conditions like Endometriosis.
IUD sounds like a weapon of war. We are at war with our bodies rather than healing them…
Her mother took her for birth control at age 16? This woman made a lot of stupid choices. But her idiot mother made probably made the worst one ever.
And the poorest choice this woman made was to be sexually promiscuous before marriage.
Sadly.
Feminists and leftists don’t care what birth control does to women.
That’s because they only see women as political pawns ♟.
We can only assume this is true. She says in the article she had not had any sexual experiences before the birth control.
They often encourage women to go on birth control for, “health reasons.” Or, they use it as a treatment for endometriosis, but I’ve heard gynecologists say that is just a band aid, and it’s not a good treatment for patients with endometriosis.
I was wondering about the veracity of the article myself. The statement about the doctor recommending “ibuprofen until the bleeding stops” either means the doctor was an incompetent hack who doesn’t know ibuprofen is a blood thinner or the story was made up. The former is certainly possible.
Anything but marriage! Better to be a hoe than an honest women in today’s “woke” society.
My mom only took me for contraceptives when I told her I planned to start having sex. I had a steady for all of high school, and we were together for seven and a half years before he ended it. I didn’t see it coming.
I was only on contraceptives for three years and wound up having a tubal. I have a lot of underlying health issues from birth that almost made this and my eventual partial hysterectomy a requirement.
Marriage is a losing deal in almost every state for men. Why would a man risk financial ruin and loss of half at the minimum of his wealth and assets to marry someone who has from day one the legal upper hand. Remove birth control and this becomes a suicide pact on his part he is not only on the hook for half assets but at least 25% of his gross pretax income for now upwards of 25 years in some.states. Who in their right mind would do that for sexual activity. At least with birth control it levels the playing field some. What is needed is male birth control, there is already two forms of injectable male birth control why is it not legal in the USA. Professional athletes... It’s injectable testosterone and it’s identical to performance enhancing anabolics. So if it was legal every athlete could claim oh I popped hot for testosterone injections because I’m on birth control yes it’s that bad here for freedom. There is a temporary injectable vasectomy procedure that puts gel into the male tubes to block them until the gel is dissolved but it’s not near as effective as the testosterone shots. Of course a permanent vasectomy is always an alternative and lots of men take that route with frozen sperm as a back up for a change of mind. It’s bad enough for the far right to attack abortion but going after birth control is some crazy Catholic church BS and political suicide.
This girl was used very badly. Her mother and her boyfriend? This is very sick. Some women here should help her.
Wouldn’t classify Ibuprofen as a blood thinner...but it may prolong bleeding time...but if the doc recommended it, ....that would not have been very wise on the docs part.
The man in these pregnancy cases may often escape all responsibility for the care of the woman he impregnates, as well ás the nurture of the child. He simply was a one night stand. I would bet there are plenty of situations that the pregnant female has so many anonymous sex partners she wouldn’t even know who the father was or where he is.
You just described Maury....”YOU ARE NOT THE FATHER!”
A steady boyfriend or husband certainly would be on the hook. This is why it’s stacked against men who even try to do the right thing. Male birth control solves all of those issues and if both are on birth control then it’s 97% plus 97% effective for hormonal types virtually impossible to have a pregnancy if both are on BC everyone wins then. What the younger generations want is a back up plan should birth control fail which it does on a fairly regular basis. No abstinence is not going to work. There is a great commercial of a old white guy standing in the corner of the bedroom of two college age people while they are in bed this is exactly how the younger generations see it and it fires them up. So having a 12 to 15 weeks window is where most people I know at least want as a plan B. These are professional high income net tax payers with master’s degrees who are ardently fiscally conservative and America first you lose them on abortion if it’s restricted before 12 wks or so. I don’t know anyone who is late term for any reason other than to save the mother and at that point just deliver or c section the fetus and send it to CPS no question asked if that doesn’t kill the mother in the process. There are some very rare cases where delivery would kill the mother and c section is not an option but those are so rare just having life of the mother in there covers all of those.
Such a wonderful mom.
“Feminists and leftists don’t care what birth control does to women”
Feminist women ... AND men. Probably the men moreso than women. Easier sex without having to take responsibility.
“Wouldn’t classify Ibuprofen as a blood thinner”
All of my doctors do. I’m on Eliquis and can’t take any NSAIDs because they thin the blood even more — to a dangerous level.
Before Eliquis, just taking Ibuprofen for pain, when I had a blood draw I’d hear the comment, “You must be on Ibuprofen or aspirin because your blood is so thin.”
An ob-gyn who recommends a blood thinner for “lady issues” is, as you said, “not very wise”. Dangerous.
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