2 doctor appointments, 2 surgeries....WHAT??????

Okay, this post is going to give you WAY more information about me than is necessary, but I gotta put it all out there, or this blog doesn't mean much, so here goes.

Last Monday, I had an appointment at a new OB/GYN.  I've wanted to get this damn IUD removed for a year now, but I wasn't able to due to my participation in the last clinical trial.  Now that the trial is done, I decided it was time.  I've just had nothing but problems with it, from the monstrous clotting episode last year while I was traveling for work, to just the day-in-day out cramping and spotting.  It's never freakin' ending, and I want it OUT.  I know...I know...it could be worse.  I just think that, in this case, my body is trying to tell me something and that is to remove it.

I also needed to get a new doctor since the last one was, well....unimpressive.  Any doctor who can't see past one of the medications I take, and is willing to blame all of my symptoms on that drug, isn't worth their weight in salt, and I'm not waiting around to see if she'll figure it all out.  I made an appointment at Clinic Sofia in Edina, as it was rated quite highly in Minnesota Monthly magazine's issue of top rated doctor's for women.  I was pretty excited for the appointment because I thought I'd finally be free of it....unfortunately, that was not the case.

I could go into a lot of details, but I'll spare you most of that.  The doctor tried to remove it in the exam room, but didn't have any luck.  Then we moved to the ultrasound room, hoping to be able to "see" a little better.  I knew there was some scar tissue issues, and I'd had a LEEP right after the insertion of the IUD, and they clipped the strings during that procedure, so I didn't figure it would be a walk in the park, but I was willing to stick through the pain in order to get it out.  I mean, imagine, a doctor, a speculum, and an ultrasound wand all visited my uterus that day, and all they left was a cramps mess. I believe there were about 20 different tools on the table that they (doctor, ultrasound technician and 3 nurses) tried to use to get it out, but to no avail.  And do you know what happens to naughty IUD's that won't come out?  Well, my friends, I'll tell you....they get removed SURGICALLY!

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????  I've never even had stitches before (unless you count childbirth, which I didn't because I couldn't personally see them :).  For the love of all that is holy....nothing can be "easy" or "normal" when it comes to my health.  The doctor thinks that the IUD might be embedded in my uterine wall, and this is pretty much the only way.

The thing that sucks about this the most is the change in the insurance this year.  We went with a higher-deductible, no co-pay plan.  I VIVIDLY recall saying (jokingly, mind you) last October when we were making our healthcare selections, "Well, I don't plan on having any surgeries in 2014".   BIG  mistake.  HUGE.  So, this is going to get expensive.  It's a same-day procedure, she only does surgeries every other Thursday morning, and there's a few days recovery.  Not awful, but not awesome either.

The other appointment I had was to see an orthopedic surgeon about my hip (it's been a very busy January, health-wise).  No matter what I did in the past week, I couldn't get the darn thing to hurt like before.  Luckily, the doctor was great about putting pressure in the right places on my hip and back during the exam, and was able to understand my issues.  The next step is to do a contrast MRI, where they inject coloring and novocaine into the hip joint and take a picture.  If there are any tears, the dye will seep in and show up during the MRI, and if there's no pain with the novocaine, then that also indicates something.  Honestly, I'm relieved.  I was anticipating my symptoms/fears being ignored, but that wasn't the case at all.

Sadly, again, an MRI is expensive.  In all of my health issues, I've never worried about costs, but I do now.  I tried to see if I can delay either one, but I really can't.  I mean, who wants to shuck out all that money at the beginning of the year?  Not I, but I will, or at least it looks like I'm going to.

I'll let you all know how these two separate issues pan out.  Fingers crossed for the best!

Another day, another infusion...

Today was infusion #4, and this one was smooth as butta (that's butter, but said like "but-ah").  Anyway, the appointment was completely uneventful and quick...I didn't even have a chance to get my iPad powered up as I was answering work emails and making calls during the infusion.   Sometimes I laugh at all of the juggling that I have to do....sometimes :)   But I'm still smiling...

I was telling my friend, Emily, that I think a key to me feeling so good right now is the discovery of the hypothyroidism.  I mean, LOOK AT MY FEET/ANKLES/LEGS!!!  (Okay, my leg looks a LITTLE bigger than normal, but that's because of the crappy angle of the photo and the fact that I'm resting my calf on the sofa)

I go back in another 2 weeks for labs to see if my thyroid is at the right level, and back to Mayo again at the end of February for infusion #5.