Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...
I am 43 years old and had been using Demulin 1/35 for 20 years and had zero problems or side effects and had very regular, short (2-4 days)periods. Even if I was on vacation, I didn't care that I had my period, that's how low-key it was. Then, earlier this year, I noticed some subtle changes with my period....it started lasting a little longer, I began to get painful cramps and the bleeding became a bit heavier for me. After many visits to my gyno, she sent me to get an ultrasound which revealed a small fibroid. I then scheduled a hysteroscopy and myomectomy plus a D&C in July, all to rule out any cancers and to remove the fibroid. When my doc went "in", she didn't see any evidence of the fibroid so she just did the D&C, no abnormal tissue or cells were determined. I started back on my Demulin but I began to spot and breakthrough bleed. My doc switched my BC pill to a quadraphasic pill, Natazia. The first two weeks on this pill was fine but after 14 days, I would spot and then get crampy, eventually bleeding again. I tried this Rx for three months to give it a chance but it just didn't work. Last week, I saw my gyn and she said that hormone therapy would be the route to go and put me on LoLoestrin FE to try. I started bleeding after day 4. Needless to say, this is more than frustrating! After 20 years of NO problems at all, I'm suddenly flashing back to high school and irregular, heavy bleeding...the reason I went on BC in the first place. Any thoughts on the pill choices or dosages? I haven't had any children or pregnancies nor do I plan to have any children. I'm willing to try different ones but I don't LOVE the idea of juggling hormones every few months.
ReplyDeleteOften wone ask questions that cannot be sorted on a blog post, but we always mention that we are happy to see new patients at Women's Health Practice for consultation regarding the work up options that will most likely reveal a strategy that will work. A woman writes that she is having bleeding on multiple birth control pills. There are multiple reasons women bleed on their birth control and the uterine fibroids she was suspected of having is a common cause. If a woman has been told she has fibroids, but they weren't "seen" on a D and C as she describes, she may need further testing to first determine if there are fibroids that exist in the wall of the uterus or not. Uterine fibroids cannot always be managed by birth control switching, but rather strategies that directly address fibroids, or more agressively eliminate bleeding the way an ablation can.
ReplyDelete