One of the most devastating news that I ever received was that I would likely never be able to get pregnant. This was way back before my second abdominal surgery - when I was 17 years old. I cried and cried and cried, and then I researched surrogacy and adoption options. Just to prepare.
Now, because of so many illnesses, so many complications, and a few other factors, having my own kids is out of the question entirely - both from a pregnancy stand point and from a surrogacy one.
Add the fact that I am on Methotrexate (which I found out used to be the drug that doctors used to abort pregnancies), as well as being on Lupron, which completely shuts down the female organs and creates a medicinal menopause, chances are virtually impossible!
Now I have found out some pretty awful news. I had a Mirena put in place in 2010. After that procedure, I changed cities and therefore almost every single one of my doctors and specialists. In 2012, I was to get the Mirena replaced because it was no longer effective.
For one reason or another, it was thought to have been previously removed, and in August of 2012, another Mirena was inserted.... Yes, you read that right. There was no outwardly visible sign of the initial Mirena, so when another one was inserted, THERE WERE TWO IUDS inside of me.
The procedure itself took 5-10 minutes, but I was in recovery for over 5 hours because they could not get the pain under control. For months afterwards, it was unbearable, so it was decided to take the Mirena out for good in February 2013 and start me on the Lupron.
At this time we all still believed that there was only one IUD in, so only one was taken out. It was only this week... A year and a half later.. After seeing an IUD on my CT scan on May 2nd, that we figured out that there is still one in there, and that from Aug 2012 to Feb 2013, I actually had two of them in there.
Want to know the kicker? When I mentioned my nausea to a doctor who knew all of my history, he insisted that I was pregnant and made me do a pregnancy test before leaving the office.
How humiliating!!!!
So.. Methotrexate, Lupron, and two IUDs... Plus the two abdominal surgeries and a Dermoid cyst removed off of one ovary... Little overboard?
I guess I am really never supposed to have children. Little bit of overkill on the signs dontcha think?
The next step is to get a pelvic ultrasound to see where the initial IUD is placed and to have it removed under general anesthesia. The bad news is that it may be a difficult procedure and a difficult recovery. The good news is that it may be the source of some of the pelvic pain that I have been experiencing. So it's possible that when it is removed - as long as it had not cause permanent damage - that some of my pain may be improved!!!! :)
Two IUDs at once.
Yowch.