Mother's Day

Mother's Day we went out to eat and had a wonderful day! I love these three! 

Someone got glasses

4th Grade Field Trip to Mountains

Braedyn got to go with his dad on this field trip and they had a fun and memorable time and it happened to be on Charlie's birthday! 

Hawks 10U First Place

Footprints

Sitting on the front porch 

watching the world go by

wondering where the time went 

and how it seemed to fly

seems like only yesterday

I was singing a lullaby 

and now I'm loading up the car

and waving goodbye

You're starting a new life

and you'll spread your 

wings and fly

You've left footprints on my heart

you've left footprints on my soul

There's footprints all along these traveled roads

They'll always lead you back home. 

Kids all grow up

and move away

our parents hair turns a shade of gray

I won't ever be far

behind you

you took a piece of my heart 

even though your miles away

looking at the same stars

You can look and know 

I'm really not that far.

May your dreams come true 

your sky stay blue

its all within your reach

what you need to believe 

be your own hero

because it's never to late for tomorrow!

Essure and My Story

I never thought I would be become an advocate for women's health but after my recent experience I can attest to the problem with a device that gynecologists are pushing on patients without knowing fully the risks and damages it may do to your body! My reason for putting this out there is to hopefully prevent someone else from going through what I have went through. If you have read this blog you would know that I had the Essure device placed during my last surgical procedure in February. It is a device implanted in your Fallopian tubes which then creates scar tissue to form around it which then blocks the tubes preventing pregnancy. It is supposed to be an alternative to having a normal tubal ligation which requires going in through your belly with an incision or laprascopically.  

I did all the research I could do on the procedure. I had originally wanted a regular tubal ligation but my Dr. talked me out of it and told me this would be a much better option for me. When you google the device you find good things and bad things just like the Mirena for example. It wasn't until I was having some crazy things going on with my body that I started to come to the conclusion that it had to be related to the Essure. That is when I found the Facebook group for the women such as myself who are having adverse side effects. The things I found out were quite shocking the more and more I dug for information. My side effects were continuing to get worse. I visited my Dr. twice told him what was going on and both times he denied that it would be from Essure and that my body was still healing from my other surgery. I continued to have problems and researched more and reached out to other women in the private Facebook group. They have been the best support through this ordeal! I would ask question of other women if they were having similar problems. Before Essure I was very healthy and not even training for a half marathon or running as much as I had ~ I never had bursitis! I had to get a cortisone shot in my hip. Women stick together especially when wronged by their gynecologist. Women trust there Dr. I don't trust them anymore. The next time I went in I had my husband go with me and be my advocate because I would break down crying in the office. It took my husband and myself pleading with the Dr. that I wanted to be normal again to have him realize I needed to have this device removed.  

The only way to have the device removed is through a hysterectomy with a bilateral salpingectomy. On June 26th I will once again be having a major surgery and have a summer of recuperating. So they will be taking my uterus and my tubes to make sure they remove the whole device. Although I am not happy about the whole ordeal and what I have been through I am just happy to be having it taken out so I can feel normal again. It is sad to remove my lady parts but I am done having children so my uterus served its purpose in life. They will leave my ovaries so I don't have to go on hormone replacement. I have good days and bad days with the emotional aspect of it... Especially this year since my son is starting Kindergarten!

The side effects that I had from the device were: 

constant pelvic pain

irregular bleeding which was very heavy which led me to be anemic-which he knew I had a problem with and this device would make it worse

bursitis in my hip and joint pain-Which I had to have a cortisone shot for and go to PT

heart palpitations-Had to see a cardiologist

eye problems (I could not wear my contacts anymore)-been to my optometrist 6-7 times

bloating and swelling in my abdominal area

fatigue

rashes on my elbows...see picture-which could be from the high level of metal toxicity in my blood

an autoimmune response which led me to feel like there were bugs crawling on my skin which made me take benedryl and unisom to sleep at night

GI problems

Luckily these are all side effects that can go away and not have a lasting impact on my life hopefully. The women who have had them removed do not suffer from the side effects anymore. Some women haven't been so lucky. A lot of them women in the group have gotten pregnant. That would be a shock when you are done having children! They have either had healthy babies, most miscarry, or have a baby with health issues.  This was supposed to be a sterilization device...looks like it is not! Others have gotten cancer, fibroids, and endometriosis. I am hoping when they cut me open they do not find any evidence of this since I have only had them in since February. I hope mine are in the spot where they are supposed to be.

The device is made of nickel and other metals and PET fibers. It has coils that when places expand into your tubes creating the scar tissue to form around it. It actually looks like the spring that is inside of a ballpoint pen. The problems are coming from the nickel and other metals which people are allergic to and the fibers. The FDA approved this device and also said they could remove the nickel allergy warning label because it only had a little bit of nickel in it...well as far as I know it only takes a little bit of peanut butter to kill a child if they are allergic! Those who are not allergic start to develop an allergic reaction as the nickel seeps out into their body. The device has also been shown to move or puncture other organs as it did in my friend.

Unfortunately, the stuff I found after they were placed were very shocking and scary and I wanted them removed immediately! It was stated that it was only studied for a period of 5 years long term effects were not studies but yet they put it on the market. Most women get sterilized after child bearing years which would be average around 30 so that mean it would be in their bodies for a long time past 5 years! That is scary to know! 

There have been many news reports and Erin Brockovich is on a movement to get it removed from the market! One day hopefully it will. I do not want anymore women to suffer like I have and many others because they took their advice from the Dr. and trusted what he/she said. 

Some women have taken to NPR and other media outlets speaking out against Essure and the big pharmaceutical company which owns the device. We are hoping that they hear them and understand what is going on and take the concerns seriously. 

I feel violated, lied to, and a test subject as do many other women out there who have had difficulties with the procedure... 

This was just one side effect I could take a picture to show what's happening... Everything else is on the inside of my body...

Been MIA

Will be posting again soon but have been going through some things and with a story to tell soon.