A Side of Shayracha

In high school I was ashamed of myself, my body. If you knew me in high school that might sound weird- seeing I hid it behind bitchy bravado. But it was there. Especially in the earlier years. I've always been fat. There's a lot of reasons behind it but how I got to be fat doesn't matter- how I was treated and learned to treat myself because of it does. Kids are jerks to each other- being the fattest kid in my grade made me quite literally, an easy target. It didn't help that my older brother helped all the other kids come up with ways to torment me. There was a time "Shaysquatch" was popular and kids would pretend (or sometimes use actual spray deodorant) to "Shay spray" me.. so I wouldn't eat them. Kids would wave and then start screaming- pretending I bit off some of their fingers. Basically- it went beyond your basic name calling. I had done nothing mean to any of these people. I just existed, in my fat body. I stayed strong in school bu

Day of insertion. I took 800mg Ibuprofen before insertion and it wasn't too painful for me. More of an uncomfortable cramping feeling, but not a sharp pain like I was expecting. After getting the strings trimmed I can't feel it at all. Cramps continued but not severely- didn't take more ibuprofen at all the first day. (Insertion was around 4pm, went to bed around 11pm.) There was mild spotting- my doctor warned me about this ahead of time. It's normal for the first few weeks and even up to 6 months.                              Day 1- Woke up and felt fine- didn't take any ibuprofen at all because I was being optimistic. My spotting was pretty much nonexistent but I left my pad on just in case. (No tampons! Doctor warned about the strings not softening for the first week and that could be a very bad combination.) I was fine until around noon- then the bad cramps started. Lamaze breathing technique cramps. Thankfully I had put ibuprofen in my purse- took 800mg an

Oh hey there, it's me again. Finally back from my IUD insertion appointment. This is probably the post most people want to know about, or maybe I just assume that because in my extensive research (okay, googling) before my IUD decision- I wanted to know all about the pain. My appointment started normally, more paperwork. This time it was a lot of consent forms and about 15 things I had to initial to show I read and understood the risks, aftercare, and everything in between. After that I was taken back to talk to the doctor more about the IUD and go over everything I just signed. Honestly? My doctor was so awesome and thorough I felt completely at ease in her hands. The main points are I may have irregular bleeding/spotting for 3-6 months after insertion, there is a small risk of perforation of the uterus (extremely rare), infection, or expulsion of the IUD. Expulsion is most common in the first few weeks and usually occurs to women who haven't had kids. (I'm one of thos

Yesterday was the day of the initial exam- it was the first of three times my feet will be in stirrups in the next 6 weeks. This doctor and I are going to be very well acquainted by the end of this- one of us should have probably bought the other dinner before all this. ANYWHO- What does the first exam consist of? Paperwork. Lots of paperwork. Well, normal amount of paperwork- family history, consent forms, general forms. Lots of signing and when your name is as long as mine- you're thankful for squiggly lines.   What it felt like.   The next step was peeing in a cup- just to make really, really sure I'm not pregnant. Now, that sounds simple enough but the clinic I go to doesn't have regular specimen cups- they use plastic little 3oz generic Dixie bath cups. So aiming into that without making a mess while squatted over a toilet was fun. My (male) fiance didn't get the challenge until I looked at him and pointed out we don't have the same set of aiming equipme

Mirena , ParaGard , Kyleena , Liletta , Skyla- with so many IUD options out there now, how did I decide on Mirena? Well, let's talk about the differences between the IUDs!  And through this entire thing, please keep in mind that the option that is best for me might not be best for you- contraception is highly personalized. IUD- Intrauterine Device IUDs are in two main categories: hormonal and non-hormonal. Mirena, Kyleena, Liletta, and Skyla all work by releasing a hormone into the uterus. ParaGard on the other hand, is a nonhormonal IUD made of copper. Because I have PCOS and issues with heavy bleeding- I knew I wanted a hormonal IUD, but let's explore ParaGard before diving into those! ParaGard's working component is the copper coil- because it doesn't contain hormones it's a great option for those wanting to avoid hormones, those who HAVE to avoid hormones, or those who have normal periods to begin with. The copper IUD works by being hostile to sper

Hello there! For those that don't know me- I'm Shay and I share way too many details about my life with everyone. Including my choice of contraception. After trying to educate myself online and prepare for my own IUD experience- I decided to share my own with the world. So, maybe you found this in some random googling- I hope it helps you. (And to save everyone time, this post is about WHY I chose the IUD- more updates after insertion to come.) A little background information on my decision to switch to an IUD. I am one of the millions of uninsured Americans- I fell through the cracks of the ACA and my state didn't expand Medicaid- so my choice of healthcare is very limited. I get all of my women's healthcare through a Title X clinic  - it's a sliding scale clinic where I can still get my yearly exams and yes, birth control. Clinics like these are crucial to women like me- but they do come with some drawbacks. For instance, I'm currently on my.. third or f