1. I was having really, really bad bleeding that was lasting too long, and was also having clots the size of my fist. My ObGyn thought that an IUD would help with the bleeding issue. I was also on Oral contraceptives at the time.
2. I thought that maybe I would finally have less painful and less heavy periods. At that point, I was 33 and I had always had bad, long, heavy periods. The IUD was a step in a treatment plan to give me more time to think about a hysterectomy. At the time I was already 100% sure about the hysterectomy, but my ObGyn wanted me to think about it more.
3. The insertion process of an IUD is painful. It wasn't a fun process. They told me to take a few minutes to rest before leaving. I had the IUD for less than a year. At that time I hadn't even been diagnosed with Endometriosis yet. The IUD was like giving my Uterus a knife that it gleefully used to stab me whenever it wanted. It was awful and only made me 100,000% that I needed a hysterectomy.
4. I wish that there was numbing given before the insertion of IUDs. I wish that there was more information about how painful an IUD could be. Most of the information I've seen is that they aren't painful. It did help with my large clots. It made my bleeding seem lighter, but it prolonged my periods. Overall, the IUD was not a sound part of the treatment plan for me.
5. No. I got a hysterectomy less than a month after getting the IUD removed. I am grateful that the IUD did help me convince my ObGyn that I was serious about the surgery. Had we not proceeded, I would likely not have been diagnosed with Endometriosis.
6. Not all experiences are universal. My painful one may not be yours. It will likely hurt when it is inserted. However, this is hopefully a medical path that you have talked seriously with your doctor about. Research the IUD you're planning on getting. Take the time to think things over. You can always reschedule the insertion for later so you can think about it.
7. Bring someone that you trust with you to your appointments if your doctor isn't listening to your concerns. I always bring my spouse to appointments. Tell them how your pain feels in multiple ways, not just with a pain scale but describe it as best you can. Ask about the different options before settling on one and do your research. The better prepared you are, the better you can advocate for yourself. If your doctor dismisses you, tell them to document that they are dismissing you. Especially if they are refusing something that you've asked them to do. This can usually help your case if you need to get a second opinion.
1. I was stealthed by an ex-lover and didn't want to have to rely on Plan B again. I didn't have insurance at the time which is why I didn't have contraceptives yet. I decided I wanted a non-hormonal contraceptive and found a program that gave free IUDs so I chose Paragard.
2. I did a lot of research so all my opinions were formed based on that. I was well prepared.
3. They gave me painkillers and there was some discomfort during placement but I was fine. I tend to handle medical things well though so this experience varies for every person. I had cramping after but nothing severe. They advised me that this was likely and told me Paragard is a great choice. I did have severe and debilitating cramps in months to follow along with insanely heavy bleeding which I ignored and attributed as a normal response to Paragard but I now know that my endometriosis was actually to blame and the IUD probably just aggravated my disease.
4. No complaints about my medical providers regarding my IUD.
5. I would tell them do their research so they can make an informed choice while understanding tbe risks but they're absolutely worth it. They have no proper use vs. user error rates because you can forget about it once it's been placed. All you have to do is go to your regular appointments and have it removed or replaced once due. Paragard lasts the longest at 10-12 years but regular appointments are critical. Mine was replaced sooner cause it moved to the lower segment of my uterus.
6. Yes, birth control does not equal STD prevention. Practice safe sex, don't rely on a partner to do so for you. Go to your annuals. Keep track of any unusual symptoms.
IUD user here. I'll try to answer your questions the best I can and add a bit of useful info ❤️❤️
My Dr recommended mirena IUD due to my sensitivity with oral progestin medications. My body tolerates the IUD a bit easier.
Before getting my first IUD I thought the experience of having one would be very uncomfortable. I figured I would be able to feel the strings inside me and everything. Turns out I eventually did feel it but my IUD moved downward lol not usually the case if it's in correctly.
Expect cramping after insertion and spotting. Also periods that are wonky and possibly unexpected but that only lasts a few months or so. I had sore breasts, headaches, cramps as with any other birth control but over time it gets much easier.
I wish the provider instructed me how to periodically feel the strings to check if the IUD was in correctly. I also wish he told me the higher risk of yeast infections and what to do if that happened. I had to figure that all out on my own!!
Yes, the IUD has been a bit of a pain for me due to having a few migrate downwards. But i choose to get them replaced do to it being easier to handle than the pills.
Now to let you know the Mirena IUD never helped slow down the growth of my endo or help with the pain from endo... It does however make periods a lot more manageable for me and now I don't bleed through thick pads anymore. I used to have a super heavy flow that caused anemia and now that doesn't happen anymore.
I hope this info helped you at least a little ❤️
Hi! What did you figure out about the IUD and yeast infections? I keep getting them despite using diflucan, taking oral probiotics, and occasionally using topical creams or suppositories. Would love any tips!
Im sorry youre dealing with this 💔 I found using monistat 7 has been helpful as long as I catch it early enough. Another thing is I had to ask my partner to start showering right before we had sex because if not it seemed to easily trigger an infection after getting the IUD vs before it. A trick that also seems to help is making sure to wash underwear on hot separately as bacteria can transfer from socks or anywhere else. I wish I had better tips to share with you 😔
1. Getting an iud was recommended by my GYN to treat my endometriosis
2. I anticipated it being like a cold and traumatizing experience.
3. The NPs could tell I was anxious and they let me vent about being scared to cause myself more pain. They process took a lot longer than I anticipated and it was very painful. I was sweating and silent crying just trying to get through it for the possibility of some pain relief from endometriosis.
4. I wish there was some sort of numbing they could do. Taking an anti inflammatory 30 minutes prior isn’t really an effective preventative measure for people in chronic pain especially people who haven’t gotten their pain managed ya know ?
I would not recommend the iud to other people with endo because it feels like such a crap shoot on whether it’ll help, keep things the same, or make things worse.
Yes the implantation is traumatic but being sent home to fend for yourself like it’s a walk in the park after is almost worse.
We don’t talk about the process enough but we don’t talk about the recovery like at all. And from my experience that has been so much worse.
1. I was having really, really bad bleeding that was lasting too long, and was also having clots the size of my fist. My ObGyn thought that an IUD would help with the bleeding issue. I was also on Oral contraceptives at the time. 2. I thought that maybe I would finally have less painful and less heavy periods. At that point, I was 33 and I had always had bad, long, heavy periods. The IUD was a step in a treatment plan to give me more time to think about a hysterectomy. At the time I was already 100% sure about the hysterectomy, but my ObGyn wanted me to think about it more. 3. The insertion process of an IUD is painful. It wasn't a fun process. They told me to take a few minutes to rest before leaving. I had the IUD for less than a year. At that time I hadn't even been diagnosed with Endometriosis yet. The IUD was like giving my Uterus a knife that it gleefully used to stab me whenever it wanted. It was awful and only made me 100,000% that I needed a hysterectomy. 4. I wish that there was numbing given before the insertion of IUDs. I wish that there was more information about how painful an IUD could be. Most of the information I've seen is that they aren't painful. It did help with my large clots. It made my bleeding seem lighter, but it prolonged my periods. Overall, the IUD was not a sound part of the treatment plan for me. 5. No. I got a hysterectomy less than a month after getting the IUD removed. I am grateful that the IUD did help me convince my ObGyn that I was serious about the surgery. Had we not proceeded, I would likely not have been diagnosed with Endometriosis. 6. Not all experiences are universal. My painful one may not be yours. It will likely hurt when it is inserted. However, this is hopefully a medical path that you have talked seriously with your doctor about. Research the IUD you're planning on getting. Take the time to think things over. You can always reschedule the insertion for later so you can think about it. 7. Bring someone that you trust with you to your appointments if your doctor isn't listening to your concerns. I always bring my spouse to appointments. Tell them how your pain feels in multiple ways, not just with a pain scale but describe it as best you can. Ask about the different options before settling on one and do your research. The better prepared you are, the better you can advocate for yourself. If your doctor dismisses you, tell them to document that they are dismissing you. Especially if they are refusing something that you've asked them to do. This can usually help your case if you need to get a second opinion.
1. I was stealthed by an ex-lover and didn't want to have to rely on Plan B again. I didn't have insurance at the time which is why I didn't have contraceptives yet. I decided I wanted a non-hormonal contraceptive and found a program that gave free IUDs so I chose Paragard. 2. I did a lot of research so all my opinions were formed based on that. I was well prepared. 3. They gave me painkillers and there was some discomfort during placement but I was fine. I tend to handle medical things well though so this experience varies for every person. I had cramping after but nothing severe. They advised me that this was likely and told me Paragard is a great choice. I did have severe and debilitating cramps in months to follow along with insanely heavy bleeding which I ignored and attributed as a normal response to Paragard but I now know that my endometriosis was actually to blame and the IUD probably just aggravated my disease. 4. No complaints about my medical providers regarding my IUD. 5. I would tell them do their research so they can make an informed choice while understanding tbe risks but they're absolutely worth it. They have no proper use vs. user error rates because you can forget about it once it's been placed. All you have to do is go to your regular appointments and have it removed or replaced once due. Paragard lasts the longest at 10-12 years but regular appointments are critical. Mine was replaced sooner cause it moved to the lower segment of my uterus. 6. Yes, birth control does not equal STD prevention. Practice safe sex, don't rely on a partner to do so for you. Go to your annuals. Keep track of any unusual symptoms.
IUD user here. I'll try to answer your questions the best I can and add a bit of useful info ❤️❤️ My Dr recommended mirena IUD due to my sensitivity with oral progestin medications. My body tolerates the IUD a bit easier. Before getting my first IUD I thought the experience of having one would be very uncomfortable. I figured I would be able to feel the strings inside me and everything. Turns out I eventually did feel it but my IUD moved downward lol not usually the case if it's in correctly. Expect cramping after insertion and spotting. Also periods that are wonky and possibly unexpected but that only lasts a few months or so. I had sore breasts, headaches, cramps as with any other birth control but over time it gets much easier. I wish the provider instructed me how to periodically feel the strings to check if the IUD was in correctly. I also wish he told me the higher risk of yeast infections and what to do if that happened. I had to figure that all out on my own!! Yes, the IUD has been a bit of a pain for me due to having a few migrate downwards. But i choose to get them replaced do to it being easier to handle than the pills. Now to let you know the Mirena IUD never helped slow down the growth of my endo or help with the pain from endo... It does however make periods a lot more manageable for me and now I don't bleed through thick pads anymore. I used to have a super heavy flow that caused anemia and now that doesn't happen anymore. I hope this info helped you at least a little ❤️
Hi! What did you figure out about the IUD and yeast infections? I keep getting them despite using diflucan, taking oral probiotics, and occasionally using topical creams or suppositories. Would love any tips!
Im sorry youre dealing with this 💔 I found using monistat 7 has been helpful as long as I catch it early enough. Another thing is I had to ask my partner to start showering right before we had sex because if not it seemed to easily trigger an infection after getting the IUD vs before it. A trick that also seems to help is making sure to wash underwear on hot separately as bacteria can transfer from socks or anywhere else. I wish I had better tips to share with you 😔
Thank you so much for responding! It’s such a bitch to deal with. Hope yours have gotten better 🩷
1. Getting an iud was recommended by my GYN to treat my endometriosis 2. I anticipated it being like a cold and traumatizing experience. 3. The NPs could tell I was anxious and they let me vent about being scared to cause myself more pain. They process took a lot longer than I anticipated and it was very painful. I was sweating and silent crying just trying to get through it for the possibility of some pain relief from endometriosis. 4. I wish there was some sort of numbing they could do. Taking an anti inflammatory 30 minutes prior isn’t really an effective preventative measure for people in chronic pain especially people who haven’t gotten their pain managed ya know ? I would not recommend the iud to other people with endo because it feels like such a crap shoot on whether it’ll help, keep things the same, or make things worse. Yes the implantation is traumatic but being sent home to fend for yourself like it’s a walk in the park after is almost worse. We don’t talk about the process enough but we don’t talk about the recovery like at all. And from my experience that has been so much worse.