Re: Asking for any positive recovery stories

Hi Eska,

If you click on my icon, you can scroll through my posts for nearly the past two years and see an extremely bad decline after removal (my first post is about 3 months after removal, regarding the onset of terrible heartburn and reflux)and a gradual arc of recovery after that. I have a couple really positive posts in the last year. I would encourage you to do so especially if you have questions regarding natural progesterone cream. I had a good experience for a few months with the cream, and then an EXTREMELY BAD experience thereafter, where all of my Mirena symptoms came back, but far worse than before. I believe I am just really sensitive to Progesterone in general -- synthetic or natural -- which is why Mirena was so bad for me.

However, it definitely helped for awhile and made me certain that my problems were hormone-related. If you take it, check for warning signs of overdose, and look at other patient experiences here:

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=9238&name=PROGESTERONE


But as to recovery :) Well, I think ProudMomma is right. There aren't very many 100% Better Success stories, but many people feel much, much better over a long period of time. It stinks when you're in the thick of it.

My success is this: Over the weekend, I felt BETTER THAN I HAVE IN FIVE YEARS! I have been going on bike rides every weekend with my boyfriend, and this weekend was one of the first where I felt "normal". 1) I had no nausea and ate whatever I liked (prior to the last couple months I have been on a special diet. Mirena gave me IBS but it is pretty much gone now) 2) I didn't even think about bringing eye medicine (Mirena-induced dry eye made it nearly impossible to spend a lot of time outside, in the sun, or do anything where I didn't have eye drops handy. I was in constant pain, and now my eyes are an afterthought) 3) My brain fog was GONE (This is my most irritating symptom now, but is getting better) 4) No UTI's (Constant UTI's related to Mirena and then progesterone cream meant I would never have thought of going bike riding because it could trigger UTI's -- same with sex, spicy foods, alcohol, and sodas. I indulged in all of these this weekend without any negative consequences)5) No insomnia (I slept like a baby all weekend, since Mirena was removed, sleep isssues have been maddening) 6) General sense of well-being (I was my old cheerful self, which has slowly been emerging out of the dark place where pain and Depression lie) 7) Tons of Energy! (Mirena and progesterone cream made me feel like my body weighed a thousand pounds. Every footfall was an effort, but I have been so energetic the past few months that I have started jogging, dancing, and biking again!)

One final note, that to me makes me really hopeful that I am on the road to feeling the best that I can: The past couple years I have been diagnosed with ovarian cysts and possible PCOS. These cysts can actually give off their own hormones, mostly progesterone, which screw up your cycle, and can lead to a lot of mirena-like symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and weight gain. My theory is that these cysts were initially caused by Mirena, but got much worse with the Progesterone Cream (cysts are a documented side effect of all progesterone supplementation). However, last week, after a REALLY painful period, I had the first ultrasound to check on these cysts since last November -- and THEY ARE GONE! I feel sure that my gradual recovery over these last months has something to do with my cysts disappearing. Also, exercise can naturally help with PCOS and cysts, and I think a positive cycle of feeling better ---> excercise --> feeling even better has played a role.

I am almost 24 months post. At 12 months post I was miserable. I only started feeling a little better around 18 months, and even then, I still have symptoms that are around my period. HOWEVER, I can do so much more than I could when I was sick and my life is unbelievably rich! I hope this helps. The bad times are so bad, but please know that many of us have been there and it DOES get better!

Prayers and hugs! Molly