I do not believe you have to have your cervix dialiated to have an IUD inserted- the two OBGYN's I consulted with before having mine inserted said that having it inserted while I was on my period meant that my cervix would be dialated enough to insert it.
I LOVE my IUD!!! I cannot stress enough how FABULOUS of a decision it was. I am at such peace with my body now- when I was on hormones I was a total nutjob. The amount of sexual freedom that Martel and I have is enormous- I don't have to worry about getting pregnant at all, I don't have to remember to take a pill/ put my ring in (or take it out before we have sex)/ put a patch on or take it off.
My physical expierences with it ran about like one would expect- the most pain I expierenced was when they sounded my uterus (slid a slim rod inside it to see how deep it was, so they'd know how deep to put the IUD in). That was like a *very* sharp, sudden cramp- I think part of why it hurt was I wasn't totally prepared for it. The insertion took about two seconds and didn't hurt nearly as much as the sounding- like another sudden cramp. I felt pretty crampy for about four hours after that; I went home and streched out on the couch with a heating pad and eventually got to feeling better. I would definitely suggest that you schedule the insertion on a day you don't have to do anything else- no going to work or driving around doing errands, at least for half the day. I felt more crampy than normal for the rest of that period.
After that, the only real discomfort I felt was during the first two months, when Martel and I had sex and he penetrated rather deeply- like doggystyle. I think my uterus was just reacting in a crampy way to anything that was like it being sounded- but that sensation stopped after about a month and a half. The first three periods were heavier than usual- and I think my periods have been a wee bit heavier than they were when I was on the pill, but that's normal. The only complaint from Martel is that every now and then he gets poked by the string when we're having sex- but that is very infrequent.
The only thing I would consider, Lurkette, is your sexual lifestyle- one of the possible side effects of the IUD is getting Pelvic Inflammitory Disease, which could then cause the IUD to lodge in the lining of the uterus (not good). PID is most likely contracted from getting bacteria in the uterus or from getting an STD (even a totally treatable one). This is why it's important to be monomagous or nearly so when you have an IUD. But that's something to research online and ask your OBGYN about!
Best wishes-
