Warning: I'm going to talk about IUDs

This face says it all.

 Ok, so this entry comes with a warning about the content.  I'm going to be talking about grown-up issues.  Wait for the next entry if you don't think you can handle it.  Unfortunately, I don't keep this blog just to entertain you, but rather to inform and, as you well know, vent.

In two weeks, I've finished a Kerouac novel, 2 Welty novels, one painting of St. Sebastian being pierced with arrows while tied to a tree, and one painting of a parakeet hanging from a hydrangea, all to take my mind off the following: 

So after hearing some rave reviews from peers and mulling it over for a few months, I decided I wanted to try out an IUD, specifically the Mirena, to see if it might be a good birth control option for me.  (Look it up and save me the work of explaining the mechanics of the "T".  You should probably know what it is, anyway.)  I had never really thought about it until doing some health talks and having to explain it as a form of birth control that I didn't really know much about.  After some "initial discomfort" the advantages are super light or NO periods, easily able to be removed and up to 5 years of potential protection from pregnancy.  Sounds great, right? Sign me up.  It was super easy 2 weeks ago, while I was in the city working, to visit the office ask for an appointment and have it put in.  Done.

What I wasn't prepared for was the pain and mental anguish I've had since then.  Cramping and headaches that painkillers weren't even touching, moodiness, "spotting", the works.  Supposedly with the Mirena this is normal and can last anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months, but longer in some.  On top of that I had some distressing events in site- drunks at the house at night, drunks beating my dog during the day, mean people at meetings, etc.  I couldn't handle it.  I broke.  Although during a check-up appointment the doctor told me everything was fine and it was correctly placed I had it removed yesterday, after only 2 weeks, and I feel like I got my life back.  Really, like coming out of a cloudy nightmare.  Maybe this form of birth control is great for some, but the "mild side effects" were just too much for me, especially during an already acknowledgedly stressful time in my life.  Why on earth I didn't get a little more counseling on what might be expected beforehand, I don't know.  I guess the doctors had assumed I had done my research fully before asking for it (the information on the web just led me to believe that every body reacts differently to it, but most go smoothly) while I assumed doctors might be able to tell me all the potentials involved with the procedure. 

Anyway, I would highly suggest that you rethink getting an IUD if you are a natural, "hormone-free" 27 year old girl living in the jungle completing Peace Corps service.  If you need more convincing, the post before this one on my trip to the mall after the doctor's visit might give you just a taste of the locura I've been living (even if mostly in my mind) for the last 2 weeks.

Merry Christmas.  I'm heading back to site to, hopefully, start enjoying the holiday season a bit.