Monthly Archives: May 2014

EMERGENCY: Hole-in-the-Bladder – 2012

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On Memorial weekend, 2012, I ended up in the emergency room with not-being-able-to-stand stomach pains and after two days of being sent home and readmitted, they called my OB to come in. He thought I had a twisted ovary. (I did not have them removed when I had a hysterectomy if you remember). They needed to bring me to surgery to look inside to determine the cause of my pain.

Several hours later, I woke up to Christian (my husband) telling me they had to open me up (good news: they used the same scar as my two C-Sections) because I had a hole in my bladder. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHAT HAPPENED?

Pathology tests showed endometriosis on my bladder. The doctors were stumped! They could not figure out how this could happen! They speculated it was the endometriosis but had never heard of this happening before. I had a catheter for two weeks, ended up with yet another infection and yet another round of antibiotics.

This put a big dent in our Memorial weekend plans! I recovered from the surgery but was told to go to an Endocrinologist to have my thyroid tested. I was also going to have to deal with the endometriosis. NOTE: I was not informed at the time of my hysterectomy that I also had endometriosis. However, I did research and discovered endometriosis often occurs after adenomyosis. But how could it become so severe within a year and half (after my hysterectomy) to cause a hole in my bladder? No one could answer that question but they knew I needed to take all precautions so it doesn’t happen again! No kidding!

SIDE NOTE Mental, Physical and Emotional Changes 2010

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With such a heavy decision and massive change in my life, I needed something to help me deal with the grief and loss of my decision. I would never be able to have children again and I always thought I would have 3-4 kids. Even though I am blessed with two girls, I needed to find a way to accept my loss and move on!

I started exercising (P90x) and watching my diet. I cut out alcohol during the week, cut out sugary snacks and started adding fruits and vegetables to my meals.

Within 16 months, I lost 20 lbs., dropped 4-5 pant sizes and never felt healthier in my life. Keep in mind; I was still dealing with a monstrous emotion loss. Even after the physical changes, I still wasn’t emotional 100% but was accepting my decision through diet and exercise.

Hysterectomy – 2010

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We choose to aim for three children. Two years later, after a third attempt at getting pregnant without success, I went to my OB to discuss several problems. First, I had heavy periods (week long and heavy every day); it was becoming very painful to have intercourse (felt like razor blades), cramping, low back pain and fatigue. My OB determined I likely had Adenomyosis (when the inner lining of the uterus breaks through the muscle wall of the uterus.) After much thought and consideration, many tears shed, and many dreams shattered of having a larger family, I decided to have a partial hysterectomy (left my ovaries). My hopes were to have a normal, functioning life again.

With a heavy heart, I had the surgery. My OB confirmed I had Adenomyosis. He said my uterus was “flabby” when he removed it. He also indicated I would never had gotten pregnant again! Shortly after surgery I developed a massive infection so started antibiotics. Boy did I feel better after taking some antibiotics! After week 4, I felt like a new woman! I could conquer the world!! My problems were solved.

IUD Attempts 2008, 2009

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Shortly after having our second daughter, I went in to be suited up with an IUD. It’s an inter-uterine device for birth control. My OB made several attempts but my uterus would reject it every time. He was quite shocked to say the least! The fourth attempt worked. They did an ultrasound to verify!  Honestly, I was so happy to not have to worry about taking a pill everyday! Hurray!

Shortly after I came home, I started hemorrhaging. After a few hours of heavy, consist flow, I call my OB and he met me in the emergency room. They found a slight cut in my uterus likely from the IUD. Stiches and no more IUD.

Now that was disappointing!! I waited a whole year before I went back in (yep you guessed it) to try it again! They tried three more times and to no avail! My uterus would not accept the IUD. Birth control or try for number three? That was the question!

Second Child Difficult Pregnancy – 2007

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So, remember my first pregnancy was without problems! My second pregnancy didn’t take the same smooth route as my first. At 8 weeks, I started to bleed, so in order to avoid a miscarriage, they put me on limited bed rest. I could go to work (sitting only) but that was about it! Very light activity. Basically, avoid doing anything if at all possible. I survived the limited activity. (Those who know me knew how hard it was for me to sit still! Yikes!)

Everything was going better until 32 weeks; I developed Cholestasis (liver condition where bile starts to build up and is secreted back into the system.) This side effects of this is major itching and vomiting.   Now understand when I say itching, its not like a little scratch. It’s a full, head on, all over body itch that does not go away! My neck, my feet, my arms, my neck, my stomach… you name it – I had to itch it! (Oh, and do I have another story to tell you about Christian…. remind me later)

Now, I learned the only way to get rid of this condition is to deliver the baby so it’s a risk/reward. The longer I can tolerate it, the better off for the baby! I tolerated it until about 38 weeks. At that time, I went to my OB in tears and showed him how raw my skin had become from itching. They checked my blood and decided to schedule an emergency C-section the next day.

Brityn Alexis Paul, 8lbs 8 oz, 21 inches long was born!

We were now blessed with two beautiful girls! No matter how hard the pregnancy or the delivery was…. I wouldn’t trade them for the world!

Infertility – Second Child 2007

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My journey had only begun… when we started trying for our second child; I had what they called “Second Child Infertility”. Basically, the cysts were destroying the eggs before they could be released or when they were released. We tried for about 15 months before I started Clomid (infertility medicine), and then moved on to taking the shots (oh, BTW – those were in the stomach) to get my ovaries working. Listen to this…. Exactly 12 hours after the shot, we were to have intercourse in order to hit the “perfect” time for fertilization. Now, let me tell you, getting a shot in the stomach and having to have intercourse 12 hours after the shot made trying for a baby a lot less exciting!! And Yes, Christian would agree!

As an additional route, I also had a hysterosalpingogram, which sends dye through your ovaries and fallopian tubes. This allows the OB to see any problem areas and cleans out the systems.

After a few months of this unromantic process, we decided to take a break from trying to get pregnant! In lieu of infertility treatments, we choose to finish our basement! We designed it, signed the contract and paid for it!  Well, to our wondrous surprise, within a month, we were pregnant!! I come to determine we needed to let a higher power decide when we should be blessed with our second child.

Infertility – First Child 2004

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My life was going amazingly! I got married in 2001, graduated from law school in 2002, had a job, active lifestyle and was happy! In 2003 I was diagnosed with cysts and fibroids. We didn’t do anything about them until my husband (Christian) and I started thinking about having a family. We tried for about a year before we went into my OB/GYN to discuss options. We did ultrasounds to verify if/when the cysts/fibroids would rupture, then would track my menstrual cycle to find the opportune time to become pregnant. We ended up meeting with the doctor and decided to have Christian tested to see if he was maybe the cause of our inability to become pregnant!

Well Guess What? After he completed his test (That’s a whole different and humorous story…don’t forget to remind me to tell it), we ended up getting pregnant!!

My pregnancy went amazingly! The delivery on the other hand was a bit challenging. Well actually, it was long and it hurt!   52 hours after being admitted to the hospital, two epidurals (second one didn’t take), 5 hours of pushing, I ended up with an emergency C-Section.

Ella McKenzie Paul, 9lbs 1 oz, 21 inches long was born! Whoo – she was big!

Allergy and Asthma – Introduced to Flonase 1999

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Fast-forward about 10 years! I was now living in the Twin Cities to attend law school. I continued allergy shots until I was about 22 years old when a started seeing an Allergist and she prescribed Flonase! This was a game changer! I didn’t have to go to a clinic once a week to get shots and then wait for up to 45 minutes to see if I had a reaction! WOW – this is amazing – my world had changed and for the better!

Childhood Asthma and Allergies (A long time ago)

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Around the age of 7, I was diagnosed with asthma. I also had a scratch test completed and found I was allergic to basically everything under the sun except those things in water and I’m guessing if we pulled them out of the water, I would be allergic to those things as well. I was allergic to mold, all grasses, trees, pollen, house dust, cats, dogs, horses to name a few. I also had a reaction to chocolate, milk and wheat.

My doctor, at the time, started me on allergy shots once a week, one in each arm. He did not remove the food from my diet saying it wasn’t substantial.

Having asthma and allergies, I found I was often (annually) hospitalized with pneumonia throughout my childhood. This was always treated with penicillin shots (in the butt and boy that hurt) or another form of antibiotics to cure it. The annual hospitalization continued until I was about 13.

PowerUp2 Health

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I am a mom, wife, daughter, sister and a lawyer.

I have been battling with Endometriosis, Interstitial Cystitis, Central Hypothyroidism, Graves’ Disease, Hashimoto, Liver Dysfunction, Low Stomach Acid, and possibly kidney and intestinal infection.

After 10+ doctors and 30+ drugs, procedures and supplements, I have made the decision to take my health into my own hands.

As I begin this journey, I will post my history (coming soon) and will post my journey as I find solutions, alternatives and remedies so I can go from Sick and Tired to Happy and Healthy!