All iud experience requested

[praying4amiraclebaby]

My husband and I are considering for me to get paragard. I have taken the combined bc pill since June 2022 with little issue aside from large mood alteration. Not a big deal though, I'm handling that all fine. In about january, I started spotting randomly. I've n e v e r spotted, or hard irregularities to my periods. So this was very concerning to me of course. Period came and all is well, don't know what the spotting was about. Oh, and it was paired with pretty vicious nausea, so that also raised huge concerns that I may be pregnant. I have since come to the partial conclusion that when my psychiatrist increases my wellbutrin, I get nasty nausea really bad. However, I have found myself completely freaking out and constantly anxious and in panic as i wait for my period because I'm terrified I've gotten pregnant, and it's killing intimacy with my husband and myself. I always take my pill on time everyday, we use condoms. I asked my gyn and she said her best recommendation is adding a copper iud to my bc pills as extra reassurance. I've read a ton of horror stories though about how horrible many people's experiences have been, so I'm really scared about it too. I wanna know how many of you had really painful insertions, mildly painful insertions, or surprisingly pleasant insertion. Also, how awkward was it when your doctor was doing the insertion and fitting? I'm so nervous but I don't know another option. Any insight is welcomed, thanks guys

 

[christman88]

@praying4amiraclebaby I had the copper IUD in for 2 weeks and had it removed as It was too much for me. The actual insertion was painful and the cramping was extreme from the moment it went in till it came out again. No painkillers or water bottles helped it and it was overall a really bad experience. I had very heavy bleeding also.

My mam tried it also and had the same reaction (turns out she has a tilted cervix which can make it very painful. So it is possible that was what I was experiencing.

Having said this I spoke to a lot of people prior to trying it and the majority of them said they love it and its a really good long term contraception and have 0 issues with it.

Unfortunately it is one of those things where you don't know till you try it as it is different for everyone.

Hope this helps

 

[praying4amiraclebaby]

@christman88 Definitely have heard things on each side of the spectrum so thank you for your intel, I super appreciate it

 

[giget]

@praying4amiraclebaby You sound exactly like I did a few months ago. I was always testing and being careful but the stress was making my period act weird and I was always scared that I was pregnant. My fiance and I decided that we couldn't live like that anymore so I went to my gyn about a consult for an iud. They ended up doing it that day since I was on the last day of my period and I had a negative pregnancy test. I thought that the copper iud was what I wanted but my gyn recommended against it for me for a variety of reasons. The main reason is that my fiance and I would like to have a family in the future and my gyn described the copper iud as "harsh". There have been a few complications that harm women's ability to reproduce in the future after having the copper iud. It would also make my period and cramping worse/heavier.

She said if I wanted to go the iud route, I should consider the Mirena iud instead. At first I was skeptical because it knew it had hormones in it however, my gyn assured me that since the hormones in this one don't affect the ovaries, I wouldn't feel awful because of them. One of my reasons for not having birth control in the first place was my extreme body reaction to those hormones.

HOWEVER, my gyn said she would do it as QUICKLY as possible. She also did my yearly pap smear at the same time so yay. Once she had sterilized and inspected my cervix and the position of my uterus, she told me that there would be 4 pinches and then a LOT of cramping. But that she would help me through it all. Every step of the way, she told me what she was doing. It was painful, im not going to lie. (I have a pretty low pain tolerance). The pinches felt interesting since i had never been pinched by the cervix before but I only had a few tears until it was done. I didn't feel awkward at all knowing that she does these all day every day and she is also an older and experienced gyn. I also was happy that she was able to recommend to me what was best for me and helped me every step of the way.

Anyway--- all that to say. I didn't feel awkward and it was painful. The day of the insertion was the worst for pain. But my fiance fed me good food and (since it was after work on a friday), we were able to catch up on a movie or two that we wanted to watch together. I did experience random spotting and cramping a few days after but they told me that was normal because my uterus was reacting to the iud.

Overall I feel empowered to take my reproductive health into my own hands and my fiance feels better too now that I am 99.9% protected instead of just the condom. And this will protect me through our wedding in december, our honeymoon, and the rest of my medical school until we are ready to get it taken out to start a family. The mirena lasts 8 years.

Our experiences might be different since you're wanting the copper iud but if you want more details about the actual insertion, I can provide them for sure!

 

[praying4amiraclebaby]

@giget I appreciate your response and all the details. Although, I haven't heard anything about copper iuds causing any possible birth defects? Could you enlighten me a bit more on that?

 

[giget]

@praying4amiraclebaby Oh I’m sorry! I must have misspoke. Not birth defects and or harm to a future child. but my gyn told me that with the copper iud it might be harder for me to conceive once it is out and that my periods would become harsher and more painful

 

[praying4amiraclebaby]

@giget Ahh I see now where I misread what you wrote. So haven't ever had that before, but I'll definitely look into that now, thanks for some new info!