Being a Woman

Sometimes, it kind of sucks. No way around it.

Hormones, periods, you name it, we endure it.

For years, I had abnormal pap smears, but none of my doctors could ever figure out why. At one point, the cells transformed to second stage dysplasia (that means pre-cancerous to the second degree). That meant I got to have the lovely experience of a colposcopy, which is like giving birth to 10 children all at once, in terms of pain.

The result was that I could have part of my cervix lasered off or wait and see. At the time, I thought I wanted more children, and continually lasering off part of a woman’s cervix can make it impossible to carry a child to term, so I chose the second option. The dysplasia went away and eventually, my paps started coming back negative and it’s been that way for years.

One might think that would be the end of my gynecological issues. Nope! Last year, my birth control pills turned on me. My periods started coming a week early and being heavier than they should be while I’m on the pill. So, my doctor changed my prescription I think about three times now. The problem persists.

Today, I had my yearly checkup. We discussed the bleeding issue and now I get to have blood work (yay! being stuck with a needle!) to check my thyroid and an ultrasound to make sure there’s nothing wrong with my uterus. The good news is the doctor says these tests are just a precaution and she’s pretty certain that it’s the birth control that’s the problem.

Lucky me, I get to change methods again. If my insurance covers it, I will be on the Mirena IUD for the next five years. The description sounds promising (after the first few months, no periods, and she said it’s as effective as getting one’s tubes tied). But I’m not looking forward to having it put in. I hear it’s painful.

Great.

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