IUD- what do you know?
 

welll, i'm going into the process of getting an IUD. my husband and i don't want to have kids (yet) and i'm rather loopy on BC (hormones make me very moody) and we are not liking the penis rancoat option. sooo an IUD is the best option for us (after considering lots of things). anyway, do you have one? have you ever had one? do/did you like it/not like it? i'm very curious about this (tho i have a great OBGYN to answer questions) i wanna hear some REAL stuff about actually having one! please share!

I got one put in a little while ago and I dont mind it one bit. I'm not going to lie, it hurt really really bad to get it put in but I had some left over loratabs so I took those for a few days. Also, don't be surprised if theres some bleeding for the first little while.

Storm, which IUD did you get put in? I'm interested in the Mirena hormone-coated IUD, but all the literature I've read from the company markets it specifically towards women who have had children already. So I would also like to hear stories from women who have had IUDs put in but specifically the Mirena IUD.

Mine is the copper IUD, no hormones at all. I was on depo for three years and it totally screwed me up, so I wanted something with no hormones at all.

Ok, for the record - Make sure they're careful when they cut the string of the IUD. I had my string cut down a couple of days ago, and no sex for me now, as the string is a pointy little bitch that stabs my boyfriend every time we try :(

We're going to have to go back and have then cut it further (it was cut to be flush with my cervix, but . . . it's not)

Otherwise, so far my IUD is going ok. They placed mine to stop my period to prevent pain due to Endometriosis, so we're crossing our fingers . . . .

Didn't hurt much more than anything else has, for me, anyway. Do make sure to take some sort of pain reliever before hand. They gave me a shot in my uterus to numb it up, but I still felt everything they were doing.

has your ob-gyn already agreed to put one in for you? many of them won't if you haven't had a child yet.

K, bumping this thread because ratbastid and I are discussing this. I've been on bc pills for about 15 years now, (god I feel old!) and even though my doctor says there's no problem with me staying on the pill for another 10 years if I feel like it, part of me would really like to get reacquainted with my own rhythms. I've heard that the main side effects of IUDs are 1. spotting, 2. cramping, and 3. increased flow. So I'd like to hear from folks who do have them - what are the side effects like? Do they diminish over time? Since one of the main reasons I'm on the pill is to control horrrrrible cramping, I'm not really interested in doing something that might make it worse. I know side effects are unpredictable and vary wildly from person to person, but I'd still like to hear some personal experiences.

Good Link

I too am looking into non-hormonal IUD's. I want out of the hormone guessing game.

I've had a Mirena IUD for two months now, and I've not noticed any hormonal type side effects. BC pills make me moody, gain weight, have sore breasts, and nauseated frequently. Haven't noticed any of that so far, and with BC pills, the side effects showed up after about a week.

The first month I bled every day (spotting), and last month I spotted a few days before my period and it looks like it's going to be the same this month. From what I've read, this is normal for up to six months. Last month I had some menstrual cramps, but they weren't very bad at all and my regular ones are curl-up-in-a-fetal-position bad. My actual period was only 2-3 days....I could just tell when it started and when the spotting stopped.

As for the actual insertion, I took 800mg of ibuprofen about an hour before the procedure, and the insertion pain felt like a sharp period cramp that lasted about 3 seconds. I was slightly crampy the rest of the day, but it wasn't anything that ibuprofen didn't take care of nicely.

As for sexual positions, I've found that deeper penetration positions can cause some discomfort, so that is something you have to work around.

One other difference...the Mirena is much more expensive than a copper one. At the clinic I went to, the copper one was about $125 and the Mirena was $400.

All in all, I'm very pleased so far with the Mirena. The spotting is annoying, but it usually goes away in 3-6 months. Mine has already lessened, so I'm hoping it will stop pretty soon. Hope this helped, lurkette!!

If you haven't had kids or an abortion, IUDs are sort of difficult and very painful to insert, as they must dialate your cervix. There's often spotting and increases in cramping, but the hormonal based Mirena tends to help with things like that. If you have a history of severe cramps and very heavy period flow, then they don't reccomend that you use an IUD.

The experts recomend that you check its strings after each period, but other than that you don't need to worry about birth control for up to ten years, and they tend to be 99% effective in preventing pregnancy.

While I haven't had one, I know the info. ^_^

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- :)

I've had one for two years now. The actual insertion hurt to the point I almost passed out from pain, I've been told this is not normal, though it could be attributed to a low pain threshold.

No kids here and none planned. Since having one inserted the only difference I have noticed is my periods are much heavier than before though cramps are almost nonextistent - a welcome trade off.

No discomfort for my guy or myself during sex, if anything it has liberated us as we are not concerned with my taking bc or pulling out early.

Aside from the initial pain/shock the only factor that took some getting used to was having the procedure done while having my period.

I highly recommend it. :thumbsup:

Sage - thanks for the info about PID - not something I had really considered. I don't think it'll be an issue since our marriage is really only open to women, but if that ever changes it'll be something to think about.

I had one put in 7 weeks after the birth of my third baby was born, so about 6 or so weeks ago (I forget the exact date...need to find it out!). The sounding was definatly the worst part for me, but I had recently given birth and was on my first period after birth, so I don't know what kind of difference that makes in the dialation of my cervix comparitivley. I was sent home with a Rx for 800mg. Ibprofin, but never felt a need to use them until last week when I had my first period with the IUD installed. I had some pretty heavy cramps for about two days. I'm a baby when it comes to that stuff though, normally I don't really notice any, but this period was a little intense. However my OB has told me it will go away after the first few months, for 10 years of protection, I can live with a few months! I have the Paraguard, which is the copper/non-hormonal type. Its the best thing I've ever done for myself. I wanted to breastfeed, and this type of BC made that possible (until I stopped cuz I just couldn't handle it with two other munchkins running around, one in school!). I am very excited about it. I wasn't ready to get my tubes tied just yet, but hated to think I would be put on the pill and get it all screwed up because I never remember to take a 5 day treatment of antibiotics properly, let alone birth control! Plus it's non hormonal, which I am screwed up enough as it is...don't want to add to my madness ;). From the pamphlet I have read, they are one of the best and most effective forms of BC out there.

I don't know if that helped much, but I love bragging about it. There was an older version that caused a lot of problems and the bad stuff seems to stick out most in peoples minds, but these are not like the ones of the past and I just thought I'd put that all out there!

OK, I just (like 1/2 hour ago) had mine inserted and can I just say

OOOOWWW!

That hurt like a motherfucker!

Apparently I have (according to the doctor) a "tiny little cervix." The sounding hurt, the insertion hurt, and when she opened the arms on the thing it must have scraped something because goddamn! that hurt. I apparently "flinched" (felt more like I sprung about 3" off the table) and nearly fainted, and freaked the doc out, because that wasn't supposed to happen - guess it's not supposed to feel like anything when they open the arms. Anyhow. Now it's like one big long nasty cramp that doesn't end. Hoping the pain meds will kick in soon.

But. Now I'm good for 5 years, and with any luck my periods will stop completely. Woohoo!

Man, this IUD thing is almost tempting, except that almost everyone who has gotten one and posted here said that it hurt like a bitch. Can't they just knock you out??.. I guess it's not a serious enough procedure, but for things like that I wouldn't mind.

Maybe I should coordinate inserting an IUD with having my wisdom teeth out. General anesthesia all around. :lol:

Awesome! I hope to post the same in April! (minus the owing, of course). Congrats!

Wait wait wait - why would your period stop? I thought you were getting the non-hormonal one? And I thought it was for 10 years, not 5?

I was told I couldn't get an IUD because I was too young. What a bunch of bull.

I got the hormonal one - I have intensely painful periods to start with, and the other one (the copper one) can cause heavier bleeding and cramping, which is the last thing I need. The amount of hormone released by the IUD is small compared to the dose in oral contraceptives.

It's a commonly held perception that has only been recently approved by the FDA. Lots of old-style gynos are going to say that. Find one a little younger and/or more aware of the changes. I'm compromising with mine - if I don't have major cramps/heavy flow off of the pill over the next few months, she'll put in the copper IUD for me.

JustJess, are you replying to me? If so, I spoke to a woman in her 30-40's, not too old. However, I am going to be seeing another gyno soon. Right now, I'm not on any form of birth control (hate condoms, was on depo and it screwed me up), but I'd like to have more confidence in sex than the "pull out and pray" method.

Yes, the Dalkon Shield--and it caused some very serious problems: ectopic pregnancies, septic abortions, PID, tubal scarring, etc. The general consensus as to why is that these devices were not properly sterilized before insertion, and that led to infection. 12 women died. The actual rate of death is low when considering 2.8 million women had used the Shield in its heyday, but it scared women enough that now the IUD is the least popular method of contraceptive among American women, though it is making a comeback.

Interestingly enough, the rate of pelvic infection among IUD users is lower than the rate of infection among women using no contraceptive (taken from Yahoo! Women's Health).

I fucking LOVE my IUD. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. LPM, keep going to gynos until you find one that will work with you- it's not fair that men can go to their doctors complaining about "performance issues" and get Viagra like it's candy, but women can't find birth control options that work for them if they don't respond favorably to hormones.

On another note, I'm very proud and happy that the thread that the thread that I started earlier this year has inspired some of you to take charge. :)

LPM - yes ma'am, I was replying to you, but I took too long!

Yes, I meant you'll want a gyno with a little more awareness. Lots of them were taught that women with no kids means no IUD. So go kick some ass! Unless they can give you reasons specific to YOU (i.e. you have bad cramps now, or very heavy periods now that the non-hormonal IUD would worsen), don't let them discourage you.

Sage - thanks for the encouragement! I'm a little worried about the string poking Quad's pieces, because he oftens hits my cervix, and I don't want him to get hurt! Do you think that will be a concern?

Just Jess- it's happened maybe three times in the past ten months, so no, I don't think it will be a concern. If it does bother him, you can always go back to your doctor and have the string trimmed down :)

Awesome. You're the best!

If I may plug another good reason to have the non-hormonal IUD (at least for moi) - I've been off hormonal BC for the first time in about 8 or 9 years, and suddenly, ta-DAAAAA!!!!!!!! I have a libido. It's the most wonderful thing. I missed me. (Quadro missed me too!)

I am never going back to the ring or the pill or any of that shite. Though I am happy for those it helps, of course. ;)

JJ - libido was one of the big reasons I wanted to go off the pill, too. I've only had the IUD for about a week, and during that week I've been having my period and cramping so I haven't felt much like fucking, but I'll keep you posted on the libido front. Partly I was horny but afraid to have an orgasm because the nurse said when you have one, the IUD tucks up into the uterus so you can't really feel the string, and I was kind of afraid it would hurt. However, ratbastid helped me prove that fear wrong empirically :)

HOLY CRAP LURKETTE, ARE YOU SERIOUS???? OMG you have *no* idea how many times i've felt the string after sex and been like "WHY IS IT SHORTER???!!!???" You just took a MAJOR load off my mind!!!


:) :) :) :) :icare:

The string comes back down later, right? Right??

oh, JustJess- sometimes the IUD will "settle" into place in the uterus- resulting in a string that's a little bit shorter than it was when it was first put in. My Dr. said that a sign of a major deal is not being able to feel the string at all, or the string being very significantly shorter.

Lately, I've been having issues with spotting- I've been spotting 1/8-1/4 oz every day. It's REALLY annoying (not annoying enough to have the IUD taken out). Anyone else have issues with this? Anyone know what I could do to help with spotting?

Weird. I *thought* I replied...

Sage, how near to your cycle are you? Some women spot close to the due date. Did you have heavy cycles at all before the IUD? After? What about current stress levels?

Just some things to consider... I hope it stops soon, I *hate* bleedthrough - it's why I stopped using Depo Provera - I started having bleedthrough constantly.

I'm about... half a week... week out from my period. I went through a month a little while back where I spotted for a whole month. I have recently changed my diet and are taking supplements too. It's just *annoying*! No oral sex for me in AGES.........

4 days... not so bad. When I said I had it constantly on Depo, I mean I had it for 3 months straight. Ew.
So hopefully it'll continue on this trend and you won't have any next month. I have to agree that no oral is a travesty! :p

So I tried to get an IUD today, but my new gyno will not consent!

I think it's more than just going around to every gyno you can and trying to get them to do what you want. For me, the Nurse practitioner at college (who had seen how badly i reacted to BC and who did all my pelvic exams) was the one to mention an IUD in the first place. I talked to her about it quite a bit. I then went to the women's clinic at the local health department (the doctor I went to go see once worked with the nurse practitioner at my college). At first, she was adimantly against it, thinking I was just some young girl wanting to screw around. However, when I explained my situation, and she called the nurse practitioner (who knew my history) and they chatted a bit, she understood *why* I wanted an IUD.

The idea of giving a woman who has not had a baby an IUD is a relatively new one in the realm of OBGYN's as far as I can tell. Since there were so many problems with IUD's when they first came out in the 70s, a lot of doctors are very hesatant to take *any* chances with a woman who hasn't had a kid- if the IUD makes them unable to have kids for some reason they could possibly be sued.

Be mature about it- do research, talk to a lot of people, and try to get your gyno to understand why you want an IUD. I *do* think, LMP, that the biggest factor going against you is the fact you aren't married. Since having an IUD makes you more succeptable to getting PID, gynos want to see consistent, long-term, committed monogamy. Talk to your doctor, do it maturely, and see what your options really are.

Yes, do listen to Sage... she's sage, after all. That is precisely the sort of thing I heard from my gyno when I first discussed it. My gyno's concerns are about my not having had kids, my cramps and heavy flow (not really an issue) - so I'm going on a regular non-hormoned cycle and tracking all the details to prove that it's a good idea for me. Be consistent, be clear, and be honest. They have to feel you're a good candidate - it's not a procedure they should do lightly.

Yeah, the marriage thing is the biggest thing, as the first thing my gyno asked was if I wanted to be tested for STDs. Of course, I know I don't have any, so I said no. Anyway, I'm going to try nuvaring for now; hopefully that will be enough for now.

I have a friend on.... oh what is that stupid kind of BC called... the kind that's advertised as being totally different from every other kind of hormonal BC... I want to say Yasmin but i'm not sure. Anyway, she can't tolerate any other kind of BC other than that, so that's something to look into as well.

---UPDATE---
 

Just to let you know, the bleeding has *finally* stopped!!!!

Yes, ladies, it does happen!!

:D

LPM - I am now in your boat. Because I may or may not have had a pelvic infection 3 years ago - based on finding ureaplasma cells, which, by the way, you will have if you've even SEEN a member of the opposite sex naked, and then the colposcopy based on that, jesushrooseveltchristthathurt, which found a little tiny bit of lymphoid aggregates that weren't enough for diagnostic purposes but were mentioned - based on this, this makes her think I might become infertile and I haven't had kids yet, so she doesn't want to give me an IUD. She wants me on diaphragms instead, which I am so not thrilled about (don't like yet more spermicide, icky, and I'm MARRIED I WANT TO HAVE FREE AND EASY SEX GODDAMMIT)............. plus that whole meh effectiveness rate...

I am so frustrated. She told me I could quite easily find someone who would, but I really wanted to convince HER - she already knows me, my history, etc. Now I have to find someone else I can trust who agrees with me, but now I'm nervous that maybe I'm wrong. :|
Guys?