I realized the other day that I’ve now had my Mirena IUD for over a year – I don’t remember the exact date I got it, just that it was sometime in January of 2017. A lot of my friends and coworkers have an IUD or are thinking about getting one, and I thought I would talk about it on my blog since I’ve mentioned that I have endometriosis in previous posts.
IUD + Endometriosis Back Story
Let’s start out in the beginning: when I first found out that I had endometriosis I was 14 or 15 (how has it been that long?!), and my family and I had absolutely no idea what that diagnosis meant. The months following my diagnosis were filled with countless doctor visits, ultra sounds, and even surgery, and finally a treatment plan. I was on birth control pills for about five years before my new gynecologist mentioned I should get an IUD, or at least read more about them.
From my understanding, IUD’s were only for women who had already had children, especially since my own mother had gotten one just a couple of years prior. After reading up on them, I realized many women my age – I was 20 at the time – were getting them and foregoing other birth control methods. I was interested, but after years of being poked and prodded, the last thing I wanted was to have a painful IUD insertion. Honestly, I’ve been in and out of the hospital so many times as a kid, so I’m generally a trooper, but if you have endometriosis, you understand that you can be in so much pain already so the thought of adding even more can be daunting.
The whole reason my doctor wanted me to switch to an IUD was because I get blind migraines, or aura migraines as they’re sometimes called. It basically means when I get migraines, all it looks like I can see is the classic “ant screen” on old TV’s – all gray and fuzzy. The first time I got one I was terrified I was going blind, but now I can recognize the warning signs and I’m able to get myself somewhere, hopefully my bed, and just sleep off the aura part.
Apparently this puts me at higher risk for strokes when on birth control pills, so my doctor really wanted me to switch to a different birth control method, like an IUD, to reduce that risk. Of course I wanted to be safe, so after a couple of months of thinking, I decided to give the IUD a shot.
I’m not going to lie, the insertion process was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was a baby and had to have my mom in the room with me to hold my hand, and asked the doctor for anti-anxiety medicine to help me calm down. My doctor was really sweet and talked me through the whole process, and continuously checked to make sure I was okay.
Honestly, the pain afterwards once the numbing gel wore off was the worst. I unfortunately cannot take ibuprofen because of a severe allergy, so tylenol was all I could have and it definitely wasn’t strong enough. I had extreme cramps for several days afterwards, and I’m wondering if it’s because I have endometriosis that I had such a terrible experience the entire week after I got the IUD put in. My friends who have IUD’s say that they only really had pain a day or two afterwards, but for me, I had cramping much longer than that.
My parents were absolute saints and made a ton of food for me to have for leftovers at my apartment, so the “healing” process was a little bit better. Like I said earlier, it took about a week to start to feel normal again, and for about 8 months I didn’t have a regular period cycle, just spotting every now and then.
In September, right in the middle of my vacation to Disneyland, actually, I got a full blown period. It came out of nowhere, and the cramps were awful. It lasted for about two weeks, and in October and November I had a two week period for each month, again with terrible cramps. In December and earlier this month, I had more of a “regular” period that lasted about 10 days, but still with terrible cramps. My doctor said this was all normal and probably just my body getting back on a regular cycle again. I honestly don’t mind the periods since I didn’t have one for about five years while on birth control pills. I guess we’ll see how February goes!
Looking Back on the Past Year
As far as how my IUD has affected my endometriosis, it’s helped a lot. I haven’t gotten any cysts that didn’t resolve themselves, they’ve all gone away with time. While I have had horrible cramps again (I had forgotten how bad mine are!), I’m used to it and my cycle seems to be getting more regular. It’s nice to not have to remember to take a pill at the same time everyday, something that I was terrible at before.
I am a bit of a paranoid person, so I went into my doctor’s office to get my IUD checked out when I started getting my period again. They did an ultrasound to make sure it was in place, and they found no problems with it. I check the strings every month, something I was initially scared to do, (I don’t know why) and it’s nice to have that reassurance that it’s still in place.
My IUD has been great in regulating my endometriosis, and I’m glad to have found a method that doesn’t put me at a higher risk for stroke, as many people I’m sure would be! If you have endometriosis, or just want a different birth control method, I highly recommend getting an IUD. While it sucks at first, and is really painful to get, the benefits far outweigh that part. I definitely do have a love hate relationship with it since I get pretty bad cramps again, but that also just comes with having endometriosis and is something I’m used to.
Mental health is a hot topic among college students – mainly because so many struggle with keeping up with it. College is a super exciting time, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed when it starts to get busy. In order to avoid all of that, here are…
….five tips to get the year started right and stay on top of your mental health!
1. Make sure you have a planner or organizational system that works for you
2. Get enough sleep!
3. Have a relaxing outlet
4. Spend time with people who make you happy
5. Get outside
Stress, anxiety, and depression affect so many people, and it’s extremely prevalent in college students. I’m sure if you’re a college student, or have been before, you completely understand why. Between classes, homework, studying, and trying to have fun, it’s easy to not make your mental health a priority. Going into college, I definitely underestimated how much stress I would be under and how it would affect me. I’ve always been a pretty anxious person, but college definitely made it a lot harder to deal with.
Through all of this, though, I learned how to become stronger, and how to calm myself down when it all gets to be a little too much. I also learned how important it is to make sure you are not only physically healthy, but mentally healthy. Mental health is something that more and more people are talking about, but there’s still stigma surrounding it, especially when many college students want to appear as if they are just fine at balancing everything in their lives. It’s also really important to talk about right now with the popularity of 13 Reasons Why!
In my new series, How to Succeed in College, I knew I wanted to do a post all about mental health, so here it is! I’ll be giving you my tips on how to make sure your mental health isn’t suffering, and how to not let the stress of college get to you too much.
You can also watch my video about it here!
As I’m sure you know, I am a junior in college, and lately it feels like it’s flying by. This year I have felt a definite shift in how busy I am and the work load I have for classes; things are starting to get serious, and while it’s very scary, it’s also pretty exciting. I’m starting to figure out what I want in life, and I feel like I’m finally getting a feel for balancing my life with everything that is in it – classes, work, clubs, and a social life. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to do a whole series about it on my blog, especially since there are a lot of people starting to think about their first year in college in September!
For the first post I’ll be talking about how to balance your schedule, especially if you have a part-time job and want to have time for studying and having fun. It can be difficult, but it can definitely be done. Here’s a couple of tips on how to get done, and what I do to keep my schedule balanced!
1. Get a planner and write in it religiously.
I’m sure you’ve seen those people in your classes who whip out their planners anytime the professor mentions any sort of date, but let me tell you, those people are ahead of the game. During my junior year of high school I started using my planner more, and once I got to college I made it a point to write everything down in it, because it helped me figure out the times I would be working, studying, going to class, or hanging out with friends. It can be difficult to remember to write everything down in your planner, but once it becomes a habit, you won’t think twice about writing all your important dates down in it. I also like to sit down on Sunday or Monday and write down my work schedule and any other time commitments in my planner so I already have those dates in my head and I don’t forget anything. This also makes it a lot easier to figure out the free time I have to have fun!
2. Additionally, make a to-do list for the week in your planner, or another notebook.
Whether those involve homework goals, errands you have needed to run for weeks now, or groceries you need to buy, this is super helpful for getting things done. It can be so easy to forget to get tasks done in college because you’re extremely busy, but I find doing this helps to make sure I don’t accidentally miss a due date for a class, or get swamped in random things I’ve needed to get done for weeks. This is also great to write down anything you need to get done for work, or anything you can do in advance to help clear up your schedule later.
3. Dedicate a certain amount of time to each part of your life.
Blocking off time for things like studying, doing homework, or having fun can be extremely helpful for balancing all areas of your life. This helps break your life up into a routine that will get more and more natural over time, so you’re able to do all of the things that you want to do, while still getting the things you need to do, done. For me, I make sure I spend the time I have between classes doing homework, and if I don’t have any to do, I will usually call my parents to make sure they know I am alive and well. I also usually have a lot of time during work to study (it’s a campus job, so it’s more geared towards students, which is really nice!), so I know that I’ll get a lot of that done during my shifts throughout the week. After work I give myself some de-stressing time, and will usually watch something like Friends or Parks and Rec – something that doesn’t need a lot of attention. It’s so important to give yourself these structured times to get things done, that way you know you’ll have time to give yourself a break both mentally and physically.
4. If you’re looking to get a job, try and find a campus job.
Getting a campus job is super helpful for students, because oftentimes your boss understands that sometimes you’ll have to have a shift covered due to class conflicts, midterms, or just needing more time for studying. My boss gives us all dead week off in order to have ample time to study, and so we don’t have to worry about devoting too much time to work rather than doing homework and such. This really helps alleviate stress during a usually high-stress time, and it’s great to be surrounded by other students who also understand, and can cover a shift when you need it. Also with campus jobs, usually you have lots of time to do homework and study during the shifts, because they’re usually desk jobs, secretary work, or front desk/welcoming positions. This makes it easy to get two things done at once – you’re able to work and earn money while also getting work done for classes.
5. Communicate your class schedule to your boss clearly and early – school comes first!
Around the time of registration, my boss asks for all of the class schedules of the student employees in order to make sure there are no time conflicts. She understands that school comes first for all of us, so she wants to help us have the time to not only have time for classes, but work and still be able to finish all of our homework. It’s really important to communicate to your boss the time that you know you will not be able to work, rather than telling him or her later on that you can’t come in for a shift. No one likes it when a person cancels suddenly, because all of your coworkers have to scramble in order to get the shift covered, and there isn’t always someone who can cover the shift. If you have any other time commitments, like club meetings, make sure to also tell your boss so you know you’ll be able to go to those.
6. Hold yourself accountable.
Don’t slack off on homework time, or sacrifice it constantly for hanging out with friends. Yes, being social is important for your mental health, but if you find yourself always having fun and slacking off on classes, you have a problem. It’s important to always put school first because you’re there to get an education, and are most likely paying a lot of money for it. If you want to spend more time with friends but still get work done, you can have study dates, go to the library with friends, hang out at a coffee shop while studying, or hang out at one another’s houses/apartments in order to do homework together. Doing this can actually motivate you to actually do homework, especially if you’re surrounded by people who are getting work done as well.
7. But also understand that sometimes you just need a break.
At the end of the day, it’s really important to check in with yourself and see how you’re doing. If you feel like you’re absolutely drowning in tasks, or are feeling extremely overwhelmed take a break. This can be hard to do when you’re super busy, but it can make you feel better mentally and physically, so in the long run it’s highly beneficial. When you feel good, you can do good. Take a nap, take a bath, read a good book, or watch some Netflix in order to de-stress; give yourself the time you need to recuperate, so that you’re able to go back and tackle homework and other tasks with full energy.
Alright, those are my tips on how to balance your work, classes, and fun! It’s important to do this to stay both happy and healthy, but it can be so hard in college. I hope these tips helped, and that you’re able to figure your schedule out!
Have you ever used a fitness tracker?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Make sure and check out the video I did on this, too!
What products have you been using lately?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
–
I have never posted anything like this on my blog before, but I think it is a super important topic that everyone should be talking about. The Kesha case is just one of many, and though it is really well-known right now because she is a celebrity, it is bringing a lot of awareness to the disparities women still face today, especially in regards to rape and sexism.
Do you stand with Kesha?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
College can be super stressful, and it’s difficult to find time to actually unwind and relax. Whenever I do find time to do nothing, I always feel guilty and like I could be doing something productive. It is a never-ending vicious cycle, and one that makes de-stressing very hard!
There’s a club at my university that is $5 for the whole quarter of yoga, so it’s basically unlimited yoga classes! It’s pretty amazing, and the classes are great because they have fantastic yoga instructors. I have done yoga here and there in the past, but never consistently, and ohmygosh does it do wonders for your body and mind! During the classes, I can feel myself relax into a place where I don’t think of anything else but what I am doing in the current moment. It’s calming as well, which is fantastic for my anxiety.
It can be really hard to be present in the current situation at hand; we are always so worried about the future, and how we handled the past, that we forget to live in the now. This is so important to do, however, because your whole life will pass you by without you even knowing it. Living in the moment is one of my goals this year, because I want to make sure I am making the most out of everyday. I am so guilty of worrying about the future to the point where I’m not even paying attention to the present. Yoga has really put that into perspective for me, because it makes you focus on the here and now.
Okay, I just had to quickly show you guys my new Nike’s as well! I got them for Christmas, and I have been loving them so much. They are so bright and cheery, but also super comfortable!
Look at those pastels, oh my gosh.
If we are talking about the logistics of yoga, I usually wear short or long yoga pants (okay, duh Kendra), with either a flowy long sleeve shirt, or a tank top of some sort.
Shirt: This was a Christmas present, so I don’t actually know where I got it. I think JCPenny’s!
Pants: Lulu Lemon
Shoes: Nike
I am so in love with these pants! The marble print is so cool, and they are really comfortable for yoga.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to make time to relax, and forget about the stress you are feeling. These last couple of weeks have been so difficult and stressful for me. I have been applying to my major, applying for study abroad programs, and I have had a multitude of tests and papers. Basically, it’s just been what every normal college student goes through by their sophomore year! As you get further into college, the stress gets more and more overwhelming, and I am trying to adjust to that. Going to yoga, though, has helped me have at least an hour a day to find time to relax and forget about all of my worries.
Even if it isn’t yoga, find something that de-stresses you, and allows you to have some relaxation time! It is invaluable to have an activity to alleviate stress, so go out and find one, and feel better. Your mental health will thank you.
How do you manage stress?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂