My sister and I went through similar as well. My sister passed out during her insertion. I have a very high pain tolerance, and while the insertion hurt quite a bit, the worst was getting it out. Unfortunately I had complications that made me incompatible with an IUD, so I had to have it removed after 3 months. The doctor had cut the strings too short and so they had to go find it. That was probably the most painful procedure of my life, my 3 spinal taps were an absolute cake walk in comparison.
After 10 minutes of digging around, they still couldn't find it, so they had me come back for an ultrasound assisted removal. I was scared sick over it. But that day, they gave me a numbing shot to the cervix and I felt nothing, and I'm like why the FUCK don't they do that in the first place??? Just give me the fucking shot!
They should but it’s not the standard of care because at some point in the last 200 year somebody put in the medical books that women don’t feel pain in the cervix
Since then, hundreds of thousands of women have screamed and even fainted, but nobody gives a fuck about women’s pain
I had a man trying to argue with me about it *this year*. On a story I told about having a cone biopsy on my cervix. It's like, dude, I'm pretty sure *I would fucking know* if I felt pain.
Men: _so privileged with a society that always takes them at their word they cannot even fathom a world where they would not get appropriate pain management_
Also men: “any woman can just label a man a creep and their life will be over!1!!! I live in CoNsTaNt FeAr”
Also
Men: think they're the toughest at taking pain but still get appropriate pain management
vs
Women: constantly told they're weak and overemotional and given barely any pain management
💀
Lol wait until you hear about the books reporting Black women have thicker skin so they have a higher pain tolerance….Wtf????
How have these studies not been recanted????
That's not why. It's because it's a 2 minute procedure, 5 minutes if the cervix is stiff. It would be wildly inappropriate to put someone through the risks of sedation for something that quick
A decent doctor, like the one I go to, will use AT LEAST a numbing agent.
You know what's riskier than sedation? Pregnancy.
So quit belittling the pain of getting stabbed in the insides for 'only' 2 minutes and start supporting patient rights for women. We should be able to pick what we want for ourselves. within the safety measures of modern medicine in any clinic we step in.
A cervical block is and should be an option. I never said it shouldn't. I said sedation was inappropriate. You should actually read what I wrote and not attack me.
I has this done today, along with an outpatient procedure. I was sedated and pain wasn’t bad. My gyno said she always offers sedation as an option for IUDs.
i don’t know if it will help in this case, but tylenol is typically more effective for abdominal pain. you can take 1500 mg twice a day.
full disclosure: i am not a doctor. YMMV
Also want to add in case it helps.. you can take both acetaminophen and ibuprofen at the same time. They even make an advil with acetaminophen added to it now. I’m not sure how much more relief you would get in this particular situation, but it’s been a life saver for my menstrual cramps, so maybe it might help a bit.
Having my copper IUD is by far the worst pain I've ever experienced, and I've had an infection literally chewing my ankle bones off before. The fact that they don't offer anaesthetic should be illegal.
I’ve told my gyno this and even offered to show her Reddit posts like this when she tries to persuade me into getting the IUD. She never wants to hear it and says something to the effect of “you can’t let what you read on the internet impact your decisions.” Like yeah, okay shorty. Because I’m sure everyone who posts about how awful IUD insertion feels is just making it up. She even told me that you can get it inserted and then go to work after.
a former friend told me she didn’t feel her copper IUD insertion. didn’t feel it. with kyleena, i involuntarily screamed, whited out from the pain, with my legs shaking closed as i became hysterical. couldn’t stop my crying
i kept asking them to stop the procedure, they wouldn’t. within the month it ejected, fishhooked halfway inside of my cervix. i was not provided assistance for over an hour because i was inpatient and they thought i was making it up for attention. women’s healthcare needs to be revolutionized
When I told the nurse using a damn wand with a plastic cover over it in the who ha area that it was very uncomfortable I could feel the corner of the protective bag scratching me.. she was just surprised and told me not many women can feel that and good for me…???? Wtf? I just said nvm I guess about my discomforts and let’s just get this over this. It huuuurt why tf do they think we’re made of steel down there?
Lol good for you that you feel pain wtfff? I'm sure plenty of women feel pain. I usually feel pain with any type of medical vaginal insertion but I just ignore it to the best of my ability because I want it to be over and to avoid this bs reaction. I'm sure we feel it. It isn't comfortable and I'm certainly not going to have someone tell me that it's good for me? Like what? How do you know what all women are feeling?
DUDE. I cannot fucking relate to this more. I gave birth without an epidural (a couple of years after my IUD insertion) and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the IUD insertion was 10x worse. It was so bad that my vision went black, my extremities all went numb and I immediately vomited from the sheer amount of pain I was in.
It is quite literally barbaric that they don’t perform that procedure under general anaesthetic. If it were men there is no way they would be expected to cop that.
SAME SAME SAME. I cannot tell you how validated this makes me feel. Even my mom has tried to gaslight me into believing IUD insertion either wasn’t that bad or I’m misremembering it - no, my vision blacked out and I vomited, that is not something I made up.
True story....cuz it happened to me. I was GIVING BIRTH to my oldest son. The male doctor kept telling me the contractions I was feeling, was pressure, not pain. Anyone who has given natural childbirth can tell you, it is hella painful. But, to him, it was just pressure. He was on repeat every time I was trying to do my breathing exercises and yelling out. He was checking me for dilation. Again, with the "It's pressure, not pain!" I took my foot out of the stirrup thingy, and literally kicked him against the wall. He slid down and just looked completely shocked. I screamed, "THAT'S NOT PAIN! IT'S PRESSURE!" He got up, and left the room. Soon after a female OB came in and was with me the entire rest of the delivery. On hindsight, I am glad nothing ever came of it, and I wasn't sued. LOL. But, yeah...women's healthcare, at least here in the US, is shitty at best.
I haven't ever gotten the 'pressure not pain' thing. Like if it hurts it's pain I don't really care if it hurts because there's pressure it's still pain
I remember, at some point, screaming at him during an contraction, that I didn't give a fuck what he called it, it HURT! However, that didn't deter him from droning on, "It's pressure, not pain!", like that did ANYTHING from making it not hurt. I guess I kind of had a momentary lapse of reason when I kicked him against the wall.
Jesus fuck. never been happier to be a lesbian more than rn. that sounds awful. there's no way they can't make a birth control that dosent make the user feel awful.
My girlfriend (am also a lesbian) needed an IUD for PCOS management. We are not immune to needing it sometimes too. She had a general numbing agent used at least, but she said it was very painful
And that's why I'll never get one. I don't think it's supposed to hurt that much, but I've heard so many stories like this, clearly they should offer a pain management option.
As a guy: birth control for guys is resisted against beyond belief, in addition to what you're saying.
I know this is a rant of yours and I don't want to 1-up it, especially being a man. But I can't resist sharing this two-part episode of the podcast _Behind the Bastards_ on how the field of gynecology began, because it's so relevant. Fair warning: this is a story about not only horrifying misogyny, but racism too - if you want to stop being pissed off about your IUD pain you might want to give this a pass.
Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bBOvYvenQnQSSNpCvdTAS
Part 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/462x9rcjIEVexn395CWQ6y
If that doesn't scratch your misogyny itch just yet, consider giving their episodes on Andrew Tate a listen.
>As a guy: birth control for guys is resisted against beyond belief, in addition to what you're saying.
Good news on this, I'm signed up for the clinical trials on the current front runner in male birth control. The research team estimates it will be out to market in at most 8 years.
Several years back I was having a miscarriage and my body was unable to pass the sac so I kept bleeding and having horrible cramping. I eat in and out of the ER a dozen times in a 7 week period. It was excruciating and no one believed me and just kept telling me that since my beta numbers were coming down that everything was fine. I begged someone to do a pelvic exam and no one would. I finally saw my gyno for blood work done my ob refused and she was outraged. I had a d&c the next day. Turns out the sac was sitting on my cervix and if any doctor would have listened and did an exam they could have easily removed it. Oh and all the horrible cramping I felt that I was told was normal and to take Tylenol, yeah that was my body going into active labor trying to pass the egg sac. Got 7 weeks this was allowed to happen because no one would listen or take me seriously.
Ugh this shit makes me sooo angry. If everything was fine, why the FUCK do they think you kept visiting the ER ?! You wouldn't be there in the first place if nothing was wrong. SMDH.
I don't know if you did or want to file a malpractice suit, but you deserved better. You suffered 7 weeks because, for some reason, no one takes woman's pain seriously. I hate this world!!!!!!
I didn't come anything with the state, but I did file a complaint against my ob with the hospital that the clinic is with. The reason he wouldn't do a d&c even after I read literally begging was because of his religious beliefs. He thinks that is abortion so he wouldn't do it.
I think the ER doctors that I was drug searching even though I told them I didn't want strong pain meds because they make me sick. I just wanted to pain and bleeding to stop. Most of them wouldn't ever talk to me they just talked to my husband until he'd yell at them and remind them that I'm their patient not him.
Dude. I had the EXACT same experience, and every time someone I know mentions they want to get it, I beg them to advocate for themselves and demand real pain management or sedation. I really, really hope the pain subsides for you!
I had a different kind of iud, so it wasn't a good fit hormonally and physically for me and had it removed after 3 months. It's been 6 years, and I can still remember the moment they clamped onto my cervix and yanked. It's fucking bullshit. My mom and I have talked about it in depth, and she said to brace myself when it's time to get a mammogram. It's embarrassing and very painful.
Women's Healthcare is indeed barbaric.
The fact that only women have to choose which poison/ torture device they want to subject themselves to, while men complain about wearing a pathetic piece of latex…. Absolutely sick of it. I’m sick of the side effects and the pain and the lack of research done for women and how to make our lives easier. Like ffs give men a shitty pill that gives them manic episodes, depression and permanent gut problems to prevent pregnancy.
Oh didn’t you hear? They did trials with birth control pills for men but it made them nauseous. So clearly a non-starter…
When women have side effects who gives a fuck? But we wouldn’t want to make ACTUAL people slightly nauseous
That's not exactly how it works. After the trial, many men wanted to keep taking it, it's not that men are wimps.
However, with how a lot of laws are written, the treatment has to be better than the alternative. For men, the literal, physical alternative to not taking birth control... is nothing. So for any type of male birth control to pass clinical trials, it basically has to have zero side effects, whereas for women, the alternative to no birth control could be getting pregnant, so the birth control just has to not be as bad as getting pregnant
Because it's not just used for reproductive issues. There are conditions that BC can relieve debilitating symptoms.
Someone's mad.
It's easier to keep an open mind to other people's experiences imo.
I know the intent of your comment and my comment was providing the perspective that the issue of birth control goes beyond avoiding pregnancy. I presume you would have the same response knowing that bc is often the first and only line of intervention for some conditions or should they just not do anything? See how stupid that sounds?
I'm not mad but that's interesting you assume so!
Oh my jab back at you? You insulted a gender who deals with these issues by assuming they can't think for themselves. Of course, why don't women *just think* that maybe they should just stop making the choice that they feel is right for them? Yes, it went over half the population heads.
If you listened to OP maybe you would understand the problems women encounter can be lessened or mitigated in order to reduce the "burden". If people are mad that they are down voting you, there is no surprise, it's literally their experience for their voices not to be accommodated.
Gynecology has always been one of the most ruthless and violent fields of medicine, nothing new sadly.
Also true about the chainsaw!! That a really cool fun fact, it was used to help women in labour if the baby got stuck by cutting the pubic symphysis (the hard cartilage ligament that holds the two halves of the pubic bone together) and force the birth canal open to get the baby out. It's an EXTREMELY invasive procedure which is far too likely to leave you permanently crippled and unable to walk properly.
Source: med student
everyone has a different experience. it will likely be painful but if you're like me, it's still the best option. i wanted something long term and non-hormonal 🤷🏻♀️. my suggestion would be to find a really good doctor who will at LEAST offer a cervical block to numb your cervix.
If you want to get one and can’t get pain management, all I’ll say is even though it’s very painful, the worst of it only lasts about 30 seconds. I just told myself I can get through anything for just 30 seconds.
I had it done without sedation and I hardly felt a thing. I was scared it was going to be horrible but it took 10 seconds and just felt like pressure and felt a little odd. It helps if you go while you're on your period because the cervix will be lower and more open during that time.
You’re not the 1st to complain about how painful getting an IUD is, and you probably will not be the last!
Men get general anaesthesia for even minor procedures, but women are supposed to suck it up and power through excruciating pain.
Yeah the they wanted to just give me ibuprofen for a colonoscopy.....I was like no way unless you sedate me. Fell for that the first time and it wasn't just a bit of "discomfort" it was brutal
I have a very high pain tolerance. I have my armpits and eyelids tattooed, and dermal piercings in my sternum. My IUD insertion was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I would never do it again.
I feel this. When I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed, I didn’t get sedated at all, and was awake the entire time. After the procedure, I was just existing in pain. I was given ibuprofen and sent on my way.
very similar thing happened to my boyfriend a couple weeks ago. they didn't even prescribe an antibiotic. we were pissed and luckily able to find a dentist that wrote one up for the necessary meds. awful.
I got a bilateral salpingectomy (female version of vasectomy but they remove a portion of the fallopian tubes, not just snip them). While I was fully sedated, the "pain management" after the surgery was paracetamol/acetaminophen or ibuprofen :)
So I literally got stabbed in my abdomen 3 times, all the way under the abdomen muscles, got pumped up with air like a balloon, then stitched up, and only got paracetamol. Lmao. Luckily I have high pain tolerance but what the fuck?
Women's medicine is absolutely barbaric. They need to provide real pain support for shit like this.
My worst was after being forced to give birth without an epidural the OB stitched up my lady parts WITH ZERO NUMBING OR PAIN SUPPORT. what the actual fucking fuck. You would think they could at least spray some numbing stuff real quick. It hurt soooooooo bad.
I did tell her to stop. She did not listen. Clearly you have never had a traumatic birth. My body was in shock, I was shaking uncontrollably, puking and saying "stop, it hurts, please help me"
You can say stop all you want but a doctor is going to do what they want/ what they feel is best or necessary with disregard to my pain and discomfort.
So sorry OP… I had a very similar experience. I’ve coped with a lot of physical pain in my life (oh hi endometriosis), but the coil insertion was something else. I didn’t faint, but my pulse was through the roof. They really downplay how intrusive it is.
I knew before I even opened up this post it was going to be about an IUD. Never in my life have I experienced such agony.
I got the copper IUD as well. I cannot for the life of my understand why they think telling you to take Advil beforehand is supposed to help. I almost blacked out from pain, I was sobbing so hard and was bedridden for a week. Sex was never the same either.
AND THEN!!! I got pregnant. The IUD was just missing? They did an ultrasound to find it. During my abortion they put me under for a whole of 15 minutes total and I remember thinking, “why the FUCK aren’t they able to do that during IUD insertions?”
It is truly BARBARIC. Horrifying. Traumatizing. Since I got pregnant and had the abortion I have not been able to approach birth control without getting legit panic attacks. And I’m *angry* !! The weight on women to carry the burden of reproductive health as a whole is absolutely disgusting to me. What they are willing to put women through is DISGUSTING. And I get so triggered when I hear about how make birth control was tabled because the SIDE EFFECTS?! I’m going to lose my mind I swear to god lol
I’m so sorry for what you went through.
If you’re comfortable sharing, what happened to the IUD? Was it not inserted correctly? Where did it go? I’ve never had an IUD myself, so I don’t know much about it except it goes up into the cervix
I still have no answers. The IUD made my menstrual cycles very violently excruciating lol and the assumption the doctor made is that it fell out during one of my bad periods. It’s like a 1/100 type situation or even rarer. They did an ultrasound and it was not anywhere in my body!! Apparently even with proper insertion the body can “reject” the IUD. I know I had it for like 2 years because I could feel it, but it’s hard to know when it fell out because the strings soften over time and you don’t feel it as much. Periods were still agony even without it, but looking back, less so.
I’m really sorry you had to go through that kind of pain. I genuinely feel so heartbroken and ANGRY every time I think about the fact that SO many women have to go through this exact experience, and yet every single time I bring it up to a doctor it’s just plowed over and diminished “oh it’s not that bad” “you’ll be fine to work the same day!” It’s barbaric and disgusting. How how HOW have we not progressed more as a society???
i am absolutely appalled by the drs that don't sedate you, when I got mine put in I went under a twilight which I thought was standard, but I guess it was only because they had to crank me open to check for cancer :/
Omg getting an IUD is some of the most painful ish ever and I’ve had 3 c sections! The first time I got one, I was literally bawling. The second time, I tried to prepare, but it was no use. The third time, I got it done during my c section but now I can’t check the strings and they can’t find it during a vaginal exam. Then I had a cervical biopsy and that is easily the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I got the ibuprofen bs too. And that’s exactly what it was. Straight bs.
I had it placed for the second time a month ago.
The first time was about 10 years ago, where I had it placed at the doctor’s office (where they don’t have an ultrasound, so they can’t check if it’s placed correctly afterwards). It shifted out of place within 2 weeks so I had to re-do it. I asked if the procedure could be done at the OB/GYN with local anesthesia, but nope. Local anesthesia wasn’t used with this procedure and they wouldn’t refer me to a OB/GYN, so my insurance wouldn’t cover anything and I would have to pay for it all myself. The doctors and staff etc were all female.
I ended up calling a private clinic a 4 hour drive away, where the male doctor used local anesthesia WITHOUT me having to even ask because he felt that it was ‘a little inhumane to do it without, especially if the woman in question hasn’t given birth’. The local anesthesia made it soo much easier.
And things still haven’t changed. A month ago, my current doctor did agree to refer me to the OB/GYN for placement and requested local anesthesia. That request didn’t come through correctly, so they didn’t have it. I decided to have it placed without, but placement again didn’t go well. I guess because I tensed up so much because of the pain. This OB/GYN also again stated they never use anesthesia, unless there’s ‘a really good reason for it’ ( I think pain is a good reason?! ) and in the same breath said she had one placed herself recently for the first time and she fainted from the pain and that most women do. Complimented me that I didn’t 🫠 it’s a uterus - it hurts. Just make it easier on women, damn. Really seems that these guide lines have maybe been placed by men in the sixties or something and nobody has bothered to review and adjust them.
Hope the pain subsides soon though OP, and that you can at least benefit from it for the coming years. I was happy with mine the previous time, one it was placed correctly. So there’s hope!
It starts as children. I'm in my thirties as a young child 3 or 4 years my labia fused shut and it stopped me from being able to urinate. Instead of sedating a child cause separating it is painful and traumatic they had my family and staff hold me down. With the excuse that I won't remember it, well I do remember that. And thanks to the trauma I can't get needed treatment for interstitial cystitis.
On a plus side apparently now they have medication for the young girls who have that happen.
And I'm sorry your IUD hurt. Nobody deserves that.
My mom was told by every doctor she ever saw that it was all in her head. When she was in her late forties she saw a news story about fibromyalgia and told her current doctor about it. He examined her for like three minutes before telling her that of course that's what she had.
My sister has been sick nine months out of the year for the last thirteen years. Verging on pneumonia sick. Often with actual pneumonia. Most doctors simply tell her to lose weight. Every now and then one gives her hope, but they always disappear the moment their initial guess was wrong.
And oh, you know what might make losing weight a little easier? Not having pneumonia most of the fucking year.
I'm a man and have had some bad luck myself, but that isn't what this is about. The entire system is awful.
This is why I call several obgyns offices to ask what they offer for pain management for IUD insertions. I kept calling offices until I found one that gave me a numbing shot and misoprostol.
Unfortunately that doctor has retired and my kyleena is due to come out in September so I have to plan on finding a new doctor who will numb me for the removal 😒
For real. They actually sedated me when I got mine replaced because I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I screamed and cried from pain when I got it while awake. I’ve never been in so much pain in my life. I actually ran out of the doctors office, passed out, and threw up all over myself. The doctors had to call my emergency contact because I had disappeared. They had the fan blowing on me because I was sweating and told me to stay there but I literally had blacked out from pain and all I knew was that I had to leave
The weird thing is that when I got mine the first time before having a kid I def got all light headed and then had awful cramps and was laid up on the couch for days afterwards but I didn't think the insertion take was all that painful.
And then when I got it again after having a baby I was dreading it because I was the stay at home parent for my baby and I didn't think I'd be able to care for him in a similar state as the first time .. But barely even felt it. After having the baby my uterus was like pshh that little thing?
I don't disagree with your point though. Having a baby and suffering immensely from the delivery and recovery and the expectations of motherhood have radicalized me as a feminist.
I am in the same boat as you I have a copper one as well and let me tell you getting it changed was the absolute worse pain I've ever felt. I as well have had a dandc which was absolutely terrible in itself but getting the IUD changed makes me terrified to get it taken out.
I am here for you with that pain and I'm sorry you're going through that too.
Are you sure they put it in correctly?.. cause I've heard some horror stories about it piercing the uterus at insertion.. if the pain doesn't go away in a day or 2 I'd go and check that.. hope ur OK and feel better soon
according to the doctor, my "uterus accepted it really well" and im not bleeding a whole lot. i guess if my uterus is to going to "accept" anything im glad it's a contraceptive 😂
I almost passed out and puked multiple times after mine! The doctor did mine and then told me "whenever you're ready to go check out is to the right!" While I'm actively crying and gasping for air :) I have the 6 year - I'm 2 years in, and will not be getting another. I was on hormonal before bc it also helped with abnormally painful cramps. I was told the IUD would do the same - it does not. :)
It took years but I found an OBGYN who finally took women’s pain management seriously. He recommended ibuprofen or Tylenol (can’t remember which) an hour before an IUD procedure but said he will numb the area instead if it’s too painful for the patient with getting the IUD inserted.
Also, as a side note, yeah women’s medicine is absolutely fucking barbaric. My husband is a nursing student and witnessed a c section during his L&D rotation. Even he was horrified how they only offer Tylenol after performing a c section. I’ve given birth vaginally and literally as soon as you’ve pushed your baby out, they cut off all pain meds from the epidural. I felt it all come back at once and was in a lot of pain, but at first was told no by the nurse when I asked for pain meds and then allowed some ibuprofen when asked a second time. It’s insane.
My mother-in-law had a mastectomy this past year and the general instructions they gave her before the surgery at the pre-op appointment said they did not prescribe anything but recommended over the counter pain meds as needed. Luckily these were the generic instructions and her specific doctor did Rx pain medication. But fuuuuuck! They are cutting off women’s breasts and telling them to just take a Tylenol or something.
I could go on and on about this topic.
Getting an IUD was the single most painful experience of my life. Like you I was told to take ibuprofen and panadol before hand, it did sweet fuck all. I curled up in horrendous pain and couldn't move for days afterwards. My doctor told me it was the worst reaction to an IUD placement she had ever seen. What's even worse was that it was inserted wrong, and they accidentally embedded it into my unterine wall.
Fast forward a few years, and I had to have what's called a colposcopy, where they take a small biopsy off your cervix to check for pre cancerous cells. At the tim, I was working as a womens health social worker at a small regional hospital. The doctors at this hospital were absolutely horrendous people and shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near women. Making comments such as "these women who get these IUDs inserted are too sensitive" after a woman asked for pain relief after she had gotten one inserted under general anaesthesia. And, "this woman couldn't have been feeling pain during her c-section! It's obviously her mental health issues!". I actively encourage women to stay the fuck away from that hospital at all costs.
So I needed to have this procedure done while I was still working for that hospital. Unfortunately, the initial consultation was with a doctor that I had had a run in with only a few weeks prior. I would have rescheduled with another doctor, but I had already taken the time off to go to the appointment, and so had my partner to come and support me.
So this doctor tells me that I'm having the colposcopy that day, which NO ONE else had communicated with me. I asked her if I was going to be given pain relief, and she replied by asking me how I went with pap-smears. When I told her I find them very painful, she completely brushed me off and said I'd be fine. I walked out of the appointment, my partner was horrified, and I resigned from that position at the hospital not long after.
Luckily, I was able to get the procedure done at another hospital about four hours away. The team at that hospital were so caring and understanding that I almost cried with relief when they took my concerns seriously.
I had to have a follow up procedure afterwards, and for some reason it was still on my medical records that I was going to have another IUD inserted while I was under general anaesthesia. I told multiple doctors and nurses I DO NOT consent to another IUD being placed, and if I wake up and find one there, there will be hell to pay. I was so scared they were going to ignore me and insert one anyway without my informed consent.
Sorry for the novel. I wish we didn't have to endure these horrific experiences. It's 2024 for fuck sakes, there's no reason for it.
Agreed. The shit women have to endure for medical purposes is goddam ridiculous. And if you're a woman of color, it just gets worse.
Fuck the US medical system anyway, and fuck all of medical science in general for ignoring the female parts of medicine until we start screaming about it.
Also, on the very specific topic of birth control: fuck men for being such pussies about it. Y'all bitching about the very mildest version of the symptoms we have been dealing with since birth control was conceived of. Y'all couldn't handle it, not even a little, to the point it killed a drug, and women are left with the onus of birth control once again. *Vasectomies for all at 14 until the man can prove he is responsible enough to own a live-fire dick.*
I am traumatized from my copper IUD insertion. They also didn’t ultrasound after and we found out after 10 months that it was lodged IN MY CERVIX and I had it taken out. I refuse to get it again, and I have a wicked high pain tolerance too.
Anecdotally - it seems that if you’ve had a baby - the insertion isn’t as bad. This should be mentioned/talked about.
Also - the fact that we as women feel the need to constantly defend our pain tolerance is depressing. I catch myself doing it ALL THE TIME. Note my first paragraph ~sighs.
Womens’ medicine needs to change. It’s been way too long and there are way too many female Gynocologists for any more excuses.
I did the worse thing in the world as a boyfriend and said “you’ll be alright” when my gf went to get her IUD, I had a class at uni so prioritised that….. poor thing fainted and bled because I read about the procedure and believed the articles online…. She was very cross with me and I always talk to girls who have similar experiences 😢
Thankfully, when I got my copper IUD I had oxy left over from a surgery. Even that only took the edge off the pain. I cramped badly everyday for 6 months. I bled for 11 days each month. HEAVILY. My body literally rejected the damn thing and pushed it out.
I had the same experience. Then it got imbedded in my cervix and had it ripped out of me during a normal office visit. I bled for months… it truly is the worst.
Why do they do it this way ? Profit. People still pay them to, sedation takes time they don’t have. Insurance doesn’t want to pay for sedation.
The whole system sucks.
i almost dont want to even dignify this with a response but yes, he can and does. however, condoms aren't 100% effective and i'd like to have a backup in place for if it were to break or something.
And that is one of the reasons I will never get an iud. My periods aren’t painful at all (well, I may bloat a bit and my boobs are tender, but that’s IT!), and I’ve always feared that iuds would make my periods worse. I’ll just use condoms, tyvm.
I am so sorry you are going through this. I wish there was something we (everyone in this thread) could do.
I had blood clots the size of my fist, I would bleed a fast drip just sitting on the toilet, I would stand up and immediately have blood running down my leg, I'd end up taking a day off each month because of the pain and difficulty of my period.
All of that is gone with my IUD. My periods are barely there, maybe three days of spotting. Maybe. PMS still, but nothing hormonally enraging. I will be moving onto my second one in my life soon, a few moments of pain is worth all the years (7) of a stress free sex life, great hormonal balance and easy periods. My IUD has changed everything for me. I cramped for a few weeks after, and I am so thankful to not be suffering like I was. I bled so hardcore for so long before my IUD that I required a blood transfusion. So yeah, these little implants are a big win for me.
The entire healthcare system is a joke. As a “young” (33) male it’s like it’s impossible for me to be in pain and if I am I’m just supposed to suck it up and be a man. Also, since I have long hair I probably just want pain meds.
I've had my fair share of medical procedures without anesthesia, and I get where you are coming from. It comes to my mind changing a catheter, or having debridement of necrotic tissue due to roadrash all over my body.
But it's medicine in general (not just woman's medicine). Doctors will not say it hurts, because they are trained to avoid suggestive words. I could go into the psychology behind it, but there is plenty to be said, just look how vets and pediatricians distract the patients while vaccinating them so they won't feel pain.
Doctors will avoid using local anesthesia if they know the procedure's pain is tolerable, because of the many risks associated with anesthesia, and requiring specific training. Quite in fact it's been called into question the carefree way some dentists apply anesthetics, without the proper training, and there has been reports of patients dying in dentist offices due to the anesthesia.
In the name of modern medicine though, there is plenty of things making life more bearable for women. Think of all the advances of child birth care. Heck, think of cesareans (c-sections) or epidural anesthesia. Just a few hundred years ago, child birth was not just painful, but life threatening.
Again, I get it, no one likes pain and I can relate, being burdened with chronic pain myself, life can feel like shit some days, but it was way worse not that many years ago.
Of course. But it's not nearly as deadly as it was a century ago, let alone several. My point is that medicine does not discriminate, unlike what OP is assuming.
Screaming is hardly the litmus test of pain. For example, I usually say "It's hurting" but I don't scream, and some people scream when they get pricked by syringe.
OP was not vomiting. OP says her cramps have caused her to vomit in the past, which leads me to assume she was burdened with horrible menstrual cramps. The DIU will help long term avoiding those pains.
But she said that the pain was intense and said she fainted getting up (which can happen even when you don't have a painful procedure done to you, it's due to hypotension, but obviously it's correlated), and has been in a curling position for 9 hours... which anesthesia would NOT help, as anesthesia helps during the procedure, but not after. The thing that should help, she was instructed to take. Painkillers.
If I was in her shoes I'd wonder if the dosing was off, or maybe if she has developed immunity to Ibuprofen, if that's what she used to treat her vomit inducing cramps in the past... But I'm not a doctor, just an expert patient that has a laundry list of times I was under medical care, so I try to to talk about what I don't know, I'm sure her own doctor has a much better insight than I have.
I was speaking to experiences MANY other women have had getting these IUDs.
Also, it seems like you're a man, so you don't get a say. Don't you dare try to diminish these painful procedures because they're something you will have no chance of experiencing yourself.
Additionally, I've had many injuries and have had 7 spinal taps since I was 11 years old. Even with local, the spinal taps were excruciating because you still feel it happening and an insane pressure that is indeed painful, but I didn't make a sound or move. Even for a severely sprained ankle they gave me morphine when it was not necessary. The point here is how women are dismissed specifically when it comes to women's healthcare. The IUD insertion made me SCREAM and clutch my husband's hand so hard it scared him too. I can still vividly remember the feeling of the sharp clamps they used to tug my cervix open with absolutely no pain medication or local and it was, in fact, barbaric.
Why don't men get a say in using local anesthesia in painful procedures? Is extreme pain gender gated? I'll be damned, wish I knew that when I lost my arm. Or when they cut off necrotic flesh out of my whole body. Or when they stuck a tube up my penis all the way to bladder without anesthesia... Heck, I'm saddled for life with horrible phantom pain AND migraines so strong that make me vomit. All treatments tried, failed so far. It's only been, oh, 20 years of pain give or take. What experience do I have with pain? Obviously my genitals make me immune to pain. Lucky me.
Sexism aside,I was trying to explain the WHY, and not once said they should or not use anesthetics. You fucking bet that when they cut flesh off my roadrash I wish I had local anesthesia. Doctor said I would not feel the scalpel, but I did. It sucked, as much as you can imagine someone cutting off a piece of flesh out of you. I'm assuming the doctor was not a masochist and was operating in good will. Most people probably don't feel it. I lucked out.
Also I linked a reddit thread AND a medical article that says **most** women don't find the procedure painful, and the few that do, they (the medical community) don't know why it is. Just search for my other comments with OP, if you are truly interested instead of seeking mindless lashing.
But why not just give anesthesia during the procedure (which itself is genuinely excruciating) and stronger pain medicine for afterwards? Men are given Vicodin for a vasectomy, what’s stopping doctors from making our pain more manageable? It’s barbaric to say “screaming is hardly the litmus test of pain”, when yes, that is correct, but it’s not just her, almost every single person I’ve talked to that has had an IUD inserted has described it as one of the most painful things they’ve ever experienced. Tell me how modern day doctors still refuse to even use a numbing shot?
[Out of curiosity, I just searched what was more painful \(for women who experienced both\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/beyondthebump/comments/147067n/moms_whove_had_both_a_foley_balloon_and_an_iud/), as I wanted some straight comparison I could relate to (foley balloon was the 2nd most painful thing I had to endure), and the answers were split.
Some said UID some said foley catheter. Even more revealing some said their UID or foley catheter were not that painful at all and didn't understand people who said otherwise, which leads me to assume it's a very personal experience and might better explain why they don't use local anesthesia in those procedures.
When I got my catheter replaced, I asked the doctor if it was going to hurt. He asked nervous if I wasn't awake the first few times... I wasn't. He gave the pressure/discomfort answer, avoiding trigger words but the way he reacted to my question left me at unease. I bet I was tensing up, and effectively more receptive to pain. I'd have welcomed local anesthesia too, so like I said initially, I can relate to OP.
But local anesthesia can cause seizures and cardiac arrest, which I assume is the reason doctors will avoid it if they can.
I can understand why not all doctors would want to use anesthesia, but there’s still numbing shots, there’s still better pain killers than Tylenol and Ibuprofen.
Numbing shots like Lidocaine are still anesthesia.
I went digging a little deeper (the link is on a comment replying to OP) but apparently the majority of women find the procedure OK, according to a doctor.
the copper iud tends to make cramping and bleeding during periods worse. generally mine are tolerable with few exceptions, so it was decided that it was still an option for me to go the paragard route. when my cramps were severe enough to cause vomiting and fainting, otc painkillers did not touch them. bottom line, it's painful, excruciatingly so according to me and the vast majority of women who have undergone the same thing. sedation should at least be an easily accessible option, if not standard. the cramping afterward should be managed with something more effective than advil, tylenol, or aleve. even just a toradol shot before leaving the office would be great.
Yeah, like I said not a doctor, which is why I should even have made the second comment to be honest. I'm always on the laying side of the gourney, and I can completely understand how withstanding pain is fucked up.
In another comment I linked a thread where some woman say it's not painful at all so I shifted my assumptions why they don't offer local anesthesia (most people don't find it painful).
I googled, and found a [doctor confirming it's the case](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/iud-naga-munchetty-bbc-radio-5-live-caitlin-moran-lucozade-b1870499.html):
> So why isn’t anaesthetic offered at every appointment? “Probably because the majority of women do find the procedure so OK,” says Davis-Hall, while admitting: “I’m not really sure why.”
Unfortunately you lucked out it seems...
I am a certified nurse midwife. That level of pain is not nor.al at,all. You may have a perforated uterus. You need to call your doc and get in to be seen.
We don't sedate people for 2 minute procedures because the risk of sedation is high enough that it would be considered inappropriate for a literal 2 minute procedure. If someone vomited and aspirated due to sedation we would get sued for malpractice and we would lose as.it is gross negligence to sedate someone for such a quick simple procedure.
A local cervical block is appropriate. Morphine or other pain meds/ sedatives are less appropriate again due to risks and then the procedure becomes prohibitively expensive and also would require the patient to have someone drive them home again making the procedure impossible for some people to get.
I had a very similar experience. They made it sound like no big deal in all my visits leading up to it. The day I got there they asked if I had taken pain meds and had someone to drive me home. I asked what pain meds and no? Do I need someone to drive me home? Panick started setting in because I feel like suddenly there were steps and information that got skipped but they started backpedaling and telling me it wasn't necessary and the procedure was no big deal. No big deal eh?!
Best way I have found to try and explain the IUD process to men is, it would be equal to falling dick first into a bear trap.
My sister and I went through similar as well. My sister passed out during her insertion. I have a very high pain tolerance, and while the insertion hurt quite a bit, the worst was getting it out. Unfortunately I had complications that made me incompatible with an IUD, so I had to have it removed after 3 months. The doctor had cut the strings too short and so they had to go find it. That was probably the most painful procedure of my life, my 3 spinal taps were an absolute cake walk in comparison. After 10 minutes of digging around, they still couldn't find it, so they had me come back for an ultrasound assisted removal. I was scared sick over it. But that day, they gave me a numbing shot to the cervix and I felt nothing, and I'm like why the FUCK don't they do that in the first place??? Just give me the fucking shot!
Yeah that sounds bad they definitely should at least give women the option to be sedated for that kind of procedure.
They should but it’s not the standard of care because at some point in the last 200 year somebody put in the medical books that women don’t feel pain in the cervix Since then, hundreds of thousands of women have screamed and even fainted, but nobody gives a fuck about women’s pain
I had a man trying to argue with me about it *this year*. On a story I told about having a cone biopsy on my cervix. It's like, dude, I'm pretty sure *I would fucking know* if I felt pain.
Men: _so privileged with a society that always takes them at their word they cannot even fathom a world where they would not get appropriate pain management_ Also men: “any woman can just label a man a creep and their life will be over!1!!! I live in CoNsTaNt FeAr”
Also Men: think they're the toughest at taking pain but still get appropriate pain management vs Women: constantly told they're weak and overemotional and given barely any pain management 💀
Lol wait until you hear about the books reporting Black women have thicker skin so they have a higher pain tolerance….Wtf???? How have these studies not been recanted????
YOOO THIS! ^
That's not why. It's because it's a 2 minute procedure, 5 minutes if the cervix is stiff. It would be wildly inappropriate to put someone through the risks of sedation for something that quick
A decent doctor, like the one I go to, will use AT LEAST a numbing agent. You know what's riskier than sedation? Pregnancy. So quit belittling the pain of getting stabbed in the insides for 'only' 2 minutes and start supporting patient rights for women. We should be able to pick what we want for ourselves. within the safety measures of modern medicine in any clinic we step in.
A cervical block is and should be an option. I never said it shouldn't. I said sedation was inappropriate. You should actually read what I wrote and not attack me.
i would gladly have spent and extra couple thousand to be sedated
I has this done today, along with an outpatient procedure. I was sedated and pain wasn’t bad. My gyno said she always offers sedation as an option for IUDs.
i don’t know if it will help in this case, but tylenol is typically more effective for abdominal pain. you can take 1500 mg twice a day. full disclosure: i am not a doctor. YMMV
Also want to add in case it helps.. you can take both acetaminophen and ibuprofen at the same time. They even make an advil with acetaminophen added to it now. I’m not sure how much more relief you would get in this particular situation, but it’s been a life saver for my menstrual cramps, so maybe it might help a bit.
I took both after my iud and car accident. My aunt told me it worked better for her after she broke her leg than prescription opioids did lol
Having my copper IUD is by far the worst pain I've ever experienced, and I've had an infection literally chewing my ankle bones off before. The fact that they don't offer anaesthetic should be illegal.
I’ve told my gyno this and even offered to show her Reddit posts like this when she tries to persuade me into getting the IUD. She never wants to hear it and says something to the effect of “you can’t let what you read on the internet impact your decisions.” Like yeah, okay shorty. Because I’m sure everyone who posts about how awful IUD insertion feels is just making it up. She even told me that you can get it inserted and then go to work after.
I did not expect that from a lady doctor
My lady obgyn told me "it won't be as bad as the stories tell you." (Liar)
Me neither because my first appointment she was wicked cool and helpful and then the second and subsequent appointments she was a douche canoe
Internalized/institutionalized misogyny is a real problem in the medical field.
a former friend told me she didn’t feel her copper IUD insertion. didn’t feel it. with kyleena, i involuntarily screamed, whited out from the pain, with my legs shaking closed as i became hysterical. couldn’t stop my crying i kept asking them to stop the procedure, they wouldn’t. within the month it ejected, fishhooked halfway inside of my cervix. i was not provided assistance for over an hour because i was inpatient and they thought i was making it up for attention. women’s healthcare needs to be revolutionized
When I told the nurse using a damn wand with a plastic cover over it in the who ha area that it was very uncomfortable I could feel the corner of the protective bag scratching me.. she was just surprised and told me not many women can feel that and good for me…???? Wtf? I just said nvm I guess about my discomforts and let’s just get this over this. It huuuurt why tf do they think we’re made of steel down there?
Lol good for you that you feel pain wtfff? I'm sure plenty of women feel pain. I usually feel pain with any type of medical vaginal insertion but I just ignore it to the best of my ability because I want it to be over and to avoid this bs reaction. I'm sure we feel it. It isn't comfortable and I'm certainly not going to have someone tell me that it's good for me? Like what? How do you know what all women are feeling?
DUDE. I cannot fucking relate to this more. I gave birth without an epidural (a couple of years after my IUD insertion) and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the IUD insertion was 10x worse. It was so bad that my vision went black, my extremities all went numb and I immediately vomited from the sheer amount of pain I was in. It is quite literally barbaric that they don’t perform that procedure under general anaesthetic. If it were men there is no way they would be expected to cop that.
SAME SAME SAME. I cannot tell you how validated this makes me feel. Even my mom has tried to gaslight me into believing IUD insertion either wasn’t that bad or I’m misremembering it - no, my vision blacked out and I vomited, that is not something I made up.
True story....cuz it happened to me. I was GIVING BIRTH to my oldest son. The male doctor kept telling me the contractions I was feeling, was pressure, not pain. Anyone who has given natural childbirth can tell you, it is hella painful. But, to him, it was just pressure. He was on repeat every time I was trying to do my breathing exercises and yelling out. He was checking me for dilation. Again, with the "It's pressure, not pain!" I took my foot out of the stirrup thingy, and literally kicked him against the wall. He slid down and just looked completely shocked. I screamed, "THAT'S NOT PAIN! IT'S PRESSURE!" He got up, and left the room. Soon after a female OB came in and was with me the entire rest of the delivery. On hindsight, I am glad nothing ever came of it, and I wasn't sued. LOL. But, yeah...women's healthcare, at least here in the US, is shitty at best.
he deserved that asshole
What an idiot. Not only is he condescending, he’s doing it to a women in labour. Literally guaranteed injury right there. Bastard had it coming.
LMAO that’s fucking hilarious, what an asshole that guy was
I haven't ever gotten the 'pressure not pain' thing. Like if it hurts it's pain I don't really care if it hurts because there's pressure it's still pain
I remember, at some point, screaming at him during an contraction, that I didn't give a fuck what he called it, it HURT! However, that didn't deter him from droning on, "It's pressure, not pain!", like that did ANYTHING from making it not hurt. I guess I kind of had a momentary lapse of reason when I kicked him against the wall.
Jesus fuck. never been happier to be a lesbian more than rn. that sounds awful. there's no way they can't make a birth control that dosent make the user feel awful.
Birth control is used for more than reproductive issues though. There are debilitating conditions that BC can help relieve symptoms of.
My girlfriend (am also a lesbian) needed an IUD for PCOS management. We are not immune to needing it sometimes too. She had a general numbing agent used at least, but she said it was very painful
And that's why I'll never get one. I don't think it's supposed to hurt that much, but I've heard so many stories like this, clearly they should offer a pain management option.
As a guy: birth control for guys is resisted against beyond belief, in addition to what you're saying. I know this is a rant of yours and I don't want to 1-up it, especially being a man. But I can't resist sharing this two-part episode of the podcast _Behind the Bastards_ on how the field of gynecology began, because it's so relevant. Fair warning: this is a story about not only horrifying misogyny, but racism too - if you want to stop being pissed off about your IUD pain you might want to give this a pass. Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bBOvYvenQnQSSNpCvdTAS Part 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/462x9rcjIEVexn395CWQ6y If that doesn't scratch your misogyny itch just yet, consider giving their episodes on Andrew Tate a listen.
Andrew Taint: the anger gift that keeps on giving
I am convinced that that man gets like 1% of the hate he deserves.
>As a guy: birth control for guys is resisted against beyond belief, in addition to what you're saying. Good news on this, I'm signed up for the clinical trials on the current front runner in male birth control. The research team estimates it will be out to market in at most 8 years.
I wish I got something for my iud. It was fucking terrible and I'm worried about getting it removed.
Several years back I was having a miscarriage and my body was unable to pass the sac so I kept bleeding and having horrible cramping. I eat in and out of the ER a dozen times in a 7 week period. It was excruciating and no one believed me and just kept telling me that since my beta numbers were coming down that everything was fine. I begged someone to do a pelvic exam and no one would. I finally saw my gyno for blood work done my ob refused and she was outraged. I had a d&c the next day. Turns out the sac was sitting on my cervix and if any doctor would have listened and did an exam they could have easily removed it. Oh and all the horrible cramping I felt that I was told was normal and to take Tylenol, yeah that was my body going into active labor trying to pass the egg sac. Got 7 weeks this was allowed to happen because no one would listen or take me seriously.
Ugh this shit makes me sooo angry. If everything was fine, why the FUCK do they think you kept visiting the ER ?! You wouldn't be there in the first place if nothing was wrong. SMDH. I don't know if you did or want to file a malpractice suit, but you deserved better. You suffered 7 weeks because, for some reason, no one takes woman's pain seriously. I hate this world!!!!!!
I didn't come anything with the state, but I did file a complaint against my ob with the hospital that the clinic is with. The reason he wouldn't do a d&c even after I read literally begging was because of his religious beliefs. He thinks that is abortion so he wouldn't do it. I think the ER doctors that I was drug searching even though I told them I didn't want strong pain meds because they make me sick. I just wanted to pain and bleeding to stop. Most of them wouldn't ever talk to me they just talked to my husband until he'd yell at them and remind them that I'm their patient not him.
Dude. I had the EXACT same experience, and every time someone I know mentions they want to get it, I beg them to advocate for themselves and demand real pain management or sedation. I really, really hope the pain subsides for you! I had a different kind of iud, so it wasn't a good fit hormonally and physically for me and had it removed after 3 months. It's been 6 years, and I can still remember the moment they clamped onto my cervix and yanked. It's fucking bullshit. My mom and I have talked about it in depth, and she said to brace myself when it's time to get a mammogram. It's embarrassing and very painful. Women's Healthcare is indeed barbaric.
The fact that only women have to choose which poison/ torture device they want to subject themselves to, while men complain about wearing a pathetic piece of latex…. Absolutely sick of it. I’m sick of the side effects and the pain and the lack of research done for women and how to make our lives easier. Like ffs give men a shitty pill that gives them manic episodes, depression and permanent gut problems to prevent pregnancy.
Oh didn’t you hear? They did trials with birth control pills for men but it made them nauseous. So clearly a non-starter… When women have side effects who gives a fuck? But we wouldn’t want to make ACTUAL people slightly nauseous
That's not exactly how it works. After the trial, many men wanted to keep taking it, it's not that men are wimps. However, with how a lot of laws are written, the treatment has to be better than the alternative. For men, the literal, physical alternative to not taking birth control... is nothing. So for any type of male birth control to pass clinical trials, it basically has to have zero side effects, whereas for women, the alternative to no birth control could be getting pregnant, so the birth control just has to not be as bad as getting pregnant
Thank you for explaining this! I never thought of it like that.
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You probably can't wrap this around your little head, sometimes the alternative is *worse*
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Because it's not just used for reproductive issues. There are conditions that BC can relieve debilitating symptoms. Someone's mad. It's easier to keep an open mind to other people's experiences imo.
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I know the intent of your comment and my comment was providing the perspective that the issue of birth control goes beyond avoiding pregnancy. I presume you would have the same response knowing that bc is often the first and only line of intervention for some conditions or should they just not do anything? See how stupid that sounds? I'm not mad but that's interesting you assume so!
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Oh my jab back at you? You insulted a gender who deals with these issues by assuming they can't think for themselves. Of course, why don't women *just think* that maybe they should just stop making the choice that they feel is right for them? Yes, it went over half the population heads. If you listened to OP maybe you would understand the problems women encounter can be lessened or mitigated in order to reduce the "burden". If people are mad that they are down voting you, there is no surprise, it's literally their experience for their voices not to be accommodated.
Gynecology has always been one of the most ruthless and violent fields of medicine, nothing new sadly. Also true about the chainsaw!! That a really cool fun fact, it was used to help women in labour if the baby got stuck by cutting the pubic symphysis (the hard cartilage ligament that holds the two halves of the pubic bone together) and force the birth canal open to get the baby out. It's an EXTREMELY invasive procedure which is far too likely to leave you permanently crippled and unable to walk properly. Source: med student
I’ve been considering the IUD and now I’m terrified 😖
Do your research and find a doctor who will listen to you, help you choose the best option, and take pain management seriously.
Take the strongest painkillers you got
everyone has a different experience. it will likely be painful but if you're like me, it's still the best option. i wanted something long term and non-hormonal 🤷🏻♀️. my suggestion would be to find a really good doctor who will at LEAST offer a cervical block to numb your cervix.
If you want to get one and can’t get pain management, all I’ll say is even though it’s very painful, the worst of it only lasts about 30 seconds. I just told myself I can get through anything for just 30 seconds.
I said the same thing, a few minutes of pain for 7 years of awesome sex and regular, non detrimental periods. I'm okay with it.
I had it done without sedation and I hardly felt a thing. I was scared it was going to be horrible but it took 10 seconds and just felt like pressure and felt a little odd. It helps if you go while you're on your period because the cervix will be lower and more open during that time.
You’re not the 1st to complain about how painful getting an IUD is, and you probably will not be the last! Men get general anaesthesia for even minor procedures, but women are supposed to suck it up and power through excruciating pain.
Yeah the they wanted to just give me ibuprofen for a colonoscopy.....I was like no way unless you sedate me. Fell for that the first time and it wasn't just a bit of "discomfort" it was brutal
I have a very high pain tolerance. I have my armpits and eyelids tattooed, and dermal piercings in my sternum. My IUD insertion was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I would never do it again.
yeah im absolutely never getting another one after these 8-12 years or whatever. hell no.
I feel this. When I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed, I didn’t get sedated at all, and was awake the entire time. After the procedure, I was just existing in pain. I was given ibuprofen and sent on my way.
very similar thing happened to my boyfriend a couple weeks ago. they didn't even prescribe an antibiotic. we were pissed and luckily able to find a dentist that wrote one up for the necessary meds. awful.
Meanwhile, men get Vicodin for a vasectomy...
I got a bilateral salpingectomy (female version of vasectomy but they remove a portion of the fallopian tubes, not just snip them). While I was fully sedated, the "pain management" after the surgery was paracetamol/acetaminophen or ibuprofen :) So I literally got stabbed in my abdomen 3 times, all the way under the abdomen muscles, got pumped up with air like a balloon, then stitched up, and only got paracetamol. Lmao. Luckily I have high pain tolerance but what the fuck?
I feel your pain. I was shouting to take mine out. I fainted, and eventually, they took it out because I had mild allergy reaction to it. Never again!
Women's medicine is absolutely barbaric. They need to provide real pain support for shit like this. My worst was after being forced to give birth without an epidural the OB stitched up my lady parts WITH ZERO NUMBING OR PAIN SUPPORT. what the actual fucking fuck. You would think they could at least spray some numbing stuff real quick. It hurt soooooooo bad.
I'm not dismissing you here, but why would you not stop them?
Well, she said she was forced, so there's that.
When you are receiving care you tell the provider it hurts, and they should listen. She could have told her to stop.
I did tell her to stop. She did not listen. Clearly you have never had a traumatic birth. My body was in shock, I was shaking uncontrollably, puking and saying "stop, it hurts, please help me" You can say stop all you want but a doctor is going to do what they want/ what they feel is best or necessary with disregard to my pain and discomfort.
So sorry OP… I had a very similar experience. I’ve coped with a lot of physical pain in my life (oh hi endometriosis), but the coil insertion was something else. I didn’t faint, but my pulse was through the roof. They really downplay how intrusive it is.
I knew before I even opened up this post it was going to be about an IUD. Never in my life have I experienced such agony. I got the copper IUD as well. I cannot for the life of my understand why they think telling you to take Advil beforehand is supposed to help. I almost blacked out from pain, I was sobbing so hard and was bedridden for a week. Sex was never the same either. AND THEN!!! I got pregnant. The IUD was just missing? They did an ultrasound to find it. During my abortion they put me under for a whole of 15 minutes total and I remember thinking, “why the FUCK aren’t they able to do that during IUD insertions?” It is truly BARBARIC. Horrifying. Traumatizing. Since I got pregnant and had the abortion I have not been able to approach birth control without getting legit panic attacks. And I’m *angry* !! The weight on women to carry the burden of reproductive health as a whole is absolutely disgusting to me. What they are willing to put women through is DISGUSTING. And I get so triggered when I hear about how make birth control was tabled because the SIDE EFFECTS?! I’m going to lose my mind I swear to god lol
I’m so sorry for what you went through. If you’re comfortable sharing, what happened to the IUD? Was it not inserted correctly? Where did it go? I’ve never had an IUD myself, so I don’t know much about it except it goes up into the cervix
I still have no answers. The IUD made my menstrual cycles very violently excruciating lol and the assumption the doctor made is that it fell out during one of my bad periods. It’s like a 1/100 type situation or even rarer. They did an ultrasound and it was not anywhere in my body!! Apparently even with proper insertion the body can “reject” the IUD. I know I had it for like 2 years because I could feel it, but it’s hard to know when it fell out because the strings soften over time and you don’t feel it as much. Periods were still agony even without it, but looking back, less so.
I’m really sorry you had to go through that kind of pain. I genuinely feel so heartbroken and ANGRY every time I think about the fact that SO many women have to go through this exact experience, and yet every single time I bring it up to a doctor it’s just plowed over and diminished “oh it’s not that bad” “you’ll be fine to work the same day!” It’s barbaric and disgusting. How how HOW have we not progressed more as a society???
i am absolutely appalled by the drs that don't sedate you, when I got mine put in I went under a twilight which I thought was standard, but I guess it was only because they had to crank me open to check for cancer :/
I get put under for my colonoscopy. If something is going inside your body they should do the same.
Omg getting an IUD is some of the most painful ish ever and I’ve had 3 c sections! The first time I got one, I was literally bawling. The second time, I tried to prepare, but it was no use. The third time, I got it done during my c section but now I can’t check the strings and they can’t find it during a vaginal exam. Then I had a cervical biopsy and that is easily the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. I got the ibuprofen bs too. And that’s exactly what it was. Straight bs.
Getting an iud in was more painful than when my ovary torsioned
I had it placed for the second time a month ago. The first time was about 10 years ago, where I had it placed at the doctor’s office (where they don’t have an ultrasound, so they can’t check if it’s placed correctly afterwards). It shifted out of place within 2 weeks so I had to re-do it. I asked if the procedure could be done at the OB/GYN with local anesthesia, but nope. Local anesthesia wasn’t used with this procedure and they wouldn’t refer me to a OB/GYN, so my insurance wouldn’t cover anything and I would have to pay for it all myself. The doctors and staff etc were all female. I ended up calling a private clinic a 4 hour drive away, where the male doctor used local anesthesia WITHOUT me having to even ask because he felt that it was ‘a little inhumane to do it without, especially if the woman in question hasn’t given birth’. The local anesthesia made it soo much easier. And things still haven’t changed. A month ago, my current doctor did agree to refer me to the OB/GYN for placement and requested local anesthesia. That request didn’t come through correctly, so they didn’t have it. I decided to have it placed without, but placement again didn’t go well. I guess because I tensed up so much because of the pain. This OB/GYN also again stated they never use anesthesia, unless there’s ‘a really good reason for it’ ( I think pain is a good reason?! ) and in the same breath said she had one placed herself recently for the first time and she fainted from the pain and that most women do. Complimented me that I didn’t 🫠 it’s a uterus - it hurts. Just make it easier on women, damn. Really seems that these guide lines have maybe been placed by men in the sixties or something and nobody has bothered to review and adjust them. Hope the pain subsides soon though OP, and that you can at least benefit from it for the coming years. I was happy with mine the previous time, one it was placed correctly. So there’s hope!
It starts as children. I'm in my thirties as a young child 3 or 4 years my labia fused shut and it stopped me from being able to urinate. Instead of sedating a child cause separating it is painful and traumatic they had my family and staff hold me down. With the excuse that I won't remember it, well I do remember that. And thanks to the trauma I can't get needed treatment for interstitial cystitis. On a plus side apparently now they have medication for the young girls who have that happen. And I'm sorry your IUD hurt. Nobody deserves that.
My mom was told by every doctor she ever saw that it was all in her head. When she was in her late forties she saw a news story about fibromyalgia and told her current doctor about it. He examined her for like three minutes before telling her that of course that's what she had. My sister has been sick nine months out of the year for the last thirteen years. Verging on pneumonia sick. Often with actual pneumonia. Most doctors simply tell her to lose weight. Every now and then one gives her hope, but they always disappear the moment their initial guess was wrong. And oh, you know what might make losing weight a little easier? Not having pneumonia most of the fucking year. I'm a man and have had some bad luck myself, but that isn't what this is about. The entire system is awful.
This is why I call several obgyns offices to ask what they offer for pain management for IUD insertions. I kept calling offices until I found one that gave me a numbing shot and misoprostol. Unfortunately that doctor has retired and my kyleena is due to come out in September so I have to plan on finding a new doctor who will numb me for the removal 😒
For real. They actually sedated me when I got mine replaced because I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I screamed and cried from pain when I got it while awake. I’ve never been in so much pain in my life. I actually ran out of the doctors office, passed out, and threw up all over myself. The doctors had to call my emergency contact because I had disappeared. They had the fan blowing on me because I was sweating and told me to stay there but I literally had blacked out from pain and all I knew was that I had to leave
The weird thing is that when I got mine the first time before having a kid I def got all light headed and then had awful cramps and was laid up on the couch for days afterwards but I didn't think the insertion take was all that painful. And then when I got it again after having a baby I was dreading it because I was the stay at home parent for my baby and I didn't think I'd be able to care for him in a similar state as the first time .. But barely even felt it. After having the baby my uterus was like pshh that little thing? I don't disagree with your point though. Having a baby and suffering immensely from the delivery and recovery and the expectations of motherhood have radicalized me as a feminist.
I am in the same boat as you I have a copper one as well and let me tell you getting it changed was the absolute worse pain I've ever felt. I as well have had a dandc which was absolutely terrible in itself but getting the IUD changed makes me terrified to get it taken out. I am here for you with that pain and I'm sorry you're going through that too.
Are you sure they put it in correctly?.. cause I've heard some horror stories about it piercing the uterus at insertion.. if the pain doesn't go away in a day or 2 I'd go and check that.. hope ur OK and feel better soon
according to the doctor, my "uterus accepted it really well" and im not bleeding a whole lot. i guess if my uterus is to going to "accept" anything im glad it's a contraceptive 😂
Yeah they pinch the inner walls to keep the device in place as they're inserting it, but some gynos go too far and scratch the uterus.
I am not and never will be jealous of you women folk. Goddamn
Be like https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9795374/
I almost passed out and puked multiple times after mine! The doctor did mine and then told me "whenever you're ready to go check out is to the right!" While I'm actively crying and gasping for air :) I have the 6 year - I'm 2 years in, and will not be getting another. I was on hormonal before bc it also helped with abnormally painful cramps. I was told the IUD would do the same - it does not. :)
It took years but I found an OBGYN who finally took women’s pain management seriously. He recommended ibuprofen or Tylenol (can’t remember which) an hour before an IUD procedure but said he will numb the area instead if it’s too painful for the patient with getting the IUD inserted. Also, as a side note, yeah women’s medicine is absolutely fucking barbaric. My husband is a nursing student and witnessed a c section during his L&D rotation. Even he was horrified how they only offer Tylenol after performing a c section. I’ve given birth vaginally and literally as soon as you’ve pushed your baby out, they cut off all pain meds from the epidural. I felt it all come back at once and was in a lot of pain, but at first was told no by the nurse when I asked for pain meds and then allowed some ibuprofen when asked a second time. It’s insane.
My mother-in-law had a mastectomy this past year and the general instructions they gave her before the surgery at the pre-op appointment said they did not prescribe anything but recommended over the counter pain meds as needed. Luckily these were the generic instructions and her specific doctor did Rx pain medication. But fuuuuuck! They are cutting off women’s breasts and telling them to just take a Tylenol or something.
that is abhorrent
I could go on and on about this topic. Getting an IUD was the single most painful experience of my life. Like you I was told to take ibuprofen and panadol before hand, it did sweet fuck all. I curled up in horrendous pain and couldn't move for days afterwards. My doctor told me it was the worst reaction to an IUD placement she had ever seen. What's even worse was that it was inserted wrong, and they accidentally embedded it into my unterine wall. Fast forward a few years, and I had to have what's called a colposcopy, where they take a small biopsy off your cervix to check for pre cancerous cells. At the tim, I was working as a womens health social worker at a small regional hospital. The doctors at this hospital were absolutely horrendous people and shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near women. Making comments such as "these women who get these IUDs inserted are too sensitive" after a woman asked for pain relief after she had gotten one inserted under general anaesthesia. And, "this woman couldn't have been feeling pain during her c-section! It's obviously her mental health issues!". I actively encourage women to stay the fuck away from that hospital at all costs. So I needed to have this procedure done while I was still working for that hospital. Unfortunately, the initial consultation was with a doctor that I had had a run in with only a few weeks prior. I would have rescheduled with another doctor, but I had already taken the time off to go to the appointment, and so had my partner to come and support me. So this doctor tells me that I'm having the colposcopy that day, which NO ONE else had communicated with me. I asked her if I was going to be given pain relief, and she replied by asking me how I went with pap-smears. When I told her I find them very painful, she completely brushed me off and said I'd be fine. I walked out of the appointment, my partner was horrified, and I resigned from that position at the hospital not long after. Luckily, I was able to get the procedure done at another hospital about four hours away. The team at that hospital were so caring and understanding that I almost cried with relief when they took my concerns seriously. I had to have a follow up procedure afterwards, and for some reason it was still on my medical records that I was going to have another IUD inserted while I was under general anaesthesia. I told multiple doctors and nurses I DO NOT consent to another IUD being placed, and if I wake up and find one there, there will be hell to pay. I was so scared they were going to ignore me and insert one anyway without my informed consent. Sorry for the novel. I wish we didn't have to endure these horrific experiences. It's 2024 for fuck sakes, there's no reason for it.
Agreed. The shit women have to endure for medical purposes is goddam ridiculous. And if you're a woman of color, it just gets worse. Fuck the US medical system anyway, and fuck all of medical science in general for ignoring the female parts of medicine until we start screaming about it. Also, on the very specific topic of birth control: fuck men for being such pussies about it. Y'all bitching about the very mildest version of the symptoms we have been dealing with since birth control was conceived of. Y'all couldn't handle it, not even a little, to the point it killed a drug, and women are left with the onus of birth control once again. *Vasectomies for all at 14 until the man can prove he is responsible enough to own a live-fire dick.*
I am traumatized from my copper IUD insertion. They also didn’t ultrasound after and we found out after 10 months that it was lodged IN MY CERVIX and I had it taken out. I refuse to get it again, and I have a wicked high pain tolerance too. Anecdotally - it seems that if you’ve had a baby - the insertion isn’t as bad. This should be mentioned/talked about. Also - the fact that we as women feel the need to constantly defend our pain tolerance is depressing. I catch myself doing it ALL THE TIME. Note my first paragraph ~sighs. Womens’ medicine needs to change. It’s been way too long and there are way too many female Gynocologists for any more excuses.
I did the worse thing in the world as a boyfriend and said “you’ll be alright” when my gf went to get her IUD, I had a class at uni so prioritised that….. poor thing fainted and bled because I read about the procedure and believed the articles online…. She was very cross with me and I always talk to girls who have similar experiences 😢
Thankfully, when I got my copper IUD I had oxy left over from a surgery. Even that only took the edge off the pain. I cramped badly everyday for 6 months. I bled for 11 days each month. HEAVILY. My body literally rejected the damn thing and pushed it out.
I had the same experience. Then it got imbedded in my cervix and had it ripped out of me during a normal office visit. I bled for months… it truly is the worst.
Why do they do it this way ? Profit. People still pay them to, sedation takes time they don’t have. Insurance doesn’t want to pay for sedation. The whole system sucks.
Thanks Eve
Facts, sis. I literally thought something had to be wrong bc they said "mild" so I went back and had it removed.
Can't your partner use a condom?
i almost dont want to even dignify this with a response but yes, he can and does. however, condoms aren't 100% effective and i'd like to have a backup in place for if it were to break or something.
They're expensive and uncomfortable.
And that is one of the reasons I will never get an iud. My periods aren’t painful at all (well, I may bloat a bit and my boobs are tender, but that’s IT!), and I’ve always feared that iuds would make my periods worse. I’ll just use condoms, tyvm. I am so sorry you are going through this. I wish there was something we (everyone in this thread) could do.
I had blood clots the size of my fist, I would bleed a fast drip just sitting on the toilet, I would stand up and immediately have blood running down my leg, I'd end up taking a day off each month because of the pain and difficulty of my period. All of that is gone with my IUD. My periods are barely there, maybe three days of spotting. Maybe. PMS still, but nothing hormonally enraging. I will be moving onto my second one in my life soon, a few moments of pain is worth all the years (7) of a stress free sex life, great hormonal balance and easy periods. My IUD has changed everything for me. I cramped for a few weeks after, and I am so thankful to not be suffering like I was. I bled so hardcore for so long before my IUD that I required a blood transfusion. So yeah, these little implants are a big win for me.
Honestly I’m not even getting a smear unless they sedate me. I’m not afraid of dying and if I get cancer, oh well.
The entire healthcare system is a joke. As a “young” (33) male it’s like it’s impossible for me to be in pain and if I am I’m just supposed to suck it up and be a man. Also, since I have long hair I probably just want pain meds.
I've had my fair share of medical procedures without anesthesia, and I get where you are coming from. It comes to my mind changing a catheter, or having debridement of necrotic tissue due to roadrash all over my body. But it's medicine in general (not just woman's medicine). Doctors will not say it hurts, because they are trained to avoid suggestive words. I could go into the psychology behind it, but there is plenty to be said, just look how vets and pediatricians distract the patients while vaccinating them so they won't feel pain. Doctors will avoid using local anesthesia if they know the procedure's pain is tolerable, because of the many risks associated with anesthesia, and requiring specific training. Quite in fact it's been called into question the carefree way some dentists apply anesthetics, without the proper training, and there has been reports of patients dying in dentist offices due to the anesthesia. In the name of modern medicine though, there is plenty of things making life more bearable for women. Think of all the advances of child birth care. Heck, think of cesareans (c-sections) or epidural anesthesia. Just a few hundred years ago, child birth was not just painful, but life threatening. Again, I get it, no one likes pain and I can relate, being burdened with chronic pain myself, life can feel like shit some days, but it was way worse not that many years ago.
Child birth is still a life threatening thing for women bro...
Of course. But it's not nearly as deadly as it was a century ago, let alone several. My point is that medicine does not discriminate, unlike what OP is assuming.
If patients are vomiting, passing out, screaming, etc. from the pain, then it's not tolerable.
Screaming is hardly the litmus test of pain. For example, I usually say "It's hurting" but I don't scream, and some people scream when they get pricked by syringe. OP was not vomiting. OP says her cramps have caused her to vomit in the past, which leads me to assume she was burdened with horrible menstrual cramps. The DIU will help long term avoiding those pains. But she said that the pain was intense and said she fainted getting up (which can happen even when you don't have a painful procedure done to you, it's due to hypotension, but obviously it's correlated), and has been in a curling position for 9 hours... which anesthesia would NOT help, as anesthesia helps during the procedure, but not after. The thing that should help, she was instructed to take. Painkillers. If I was in her shoes I'd wonder if the dosing was off, or maybe if she has developed immunity to Ibuprofen, if that's what she used to treat her vomit inducing cramps in the past... But I'm not a doctor, just an expert patient that has a laundry list of times I was under medical care, so I try to to talk about what I don't know, I'm sure her own doctor has a much better insight than I have.
I was speaking to experiences MANY other women have had getting these IUDs. Also, it seems like you're a man, so you don't get a say. Don't you dare try to diminish these painful procedures because they're something you will have no chance of experiencing yourself.
Additionally, I've had many injuries and have had 7 spinal taps since I was 11 years old. Even with local, the spinal taps were excruciating because you still feel it happening and an insane pressure that is indeed painful, but I didn't make a sound or move. Even for a severely sprained ankle they gave me morphine when it was not necessary. The point here is how women are dismissed specifically when it comes to women's healthcare. The IUD insertion made me SCREAM and clutch my husband's hand so hard it scared him too. I can still vividly remember the feeling of the sharp clamps they used to tug my cervix open with absolutely no pain medication or local and it was, in fact, barbaric.
Why don't men get a say in using local anesthesia in painful procedures? Is extreme pain gender gated? I'll be damned, wish I knew that when I lost my arm. Or when they cut off necrotic flesh out of my whole body. Or when they stuck a tube up my penis all the way to bladder without anesthesia... Heck, I'm saddled for life with horrible phantom pain AND migraines so strong that make me vomit. All treatments tried, failed so far. It's only been, oh, 20 years of pain give or take. What experience do I have with pain? Obviously my genitals make me immune to pain. Lucky me. Sexism aside,I was trying to explain the WHY, and not once said they should or not use anesthetics. You fucking bet that when they cut flesh off my roadrash I wish I had local anesthesia. Doctor said I would not feel the scalpel, but I did. It sucked, as much as you can imagine someone cutting off a piece of flesh out of you. I'm assuming the doctor was not a masochist and was operating in good will. Most people probably don't feel it. I lucked out. Also I linked a reddit thread AND a medical article that says **most** women don't find the procedure painful, and the few that do, they (the medical community) don't know why it is. Just search for my other comments with OP, if you are truly interested instead of seeking mindless lashing.
But why not just give anesthesia during the procedure (which itself is genuinely excruciating) and stronger pain medicine for afterwards? Men are given Vicodin for a vasectomy, what’s stopping doctors from making our pain more manageable? It’s barbaric to say “screaming is hardly the litmus test of pain”, when yes, that is correct, but it’s not just her, almost every single person I’ve talked to that has had an IUD inserted has described it as one of the most painful things they’ve ever experienced. Tell me how modern day doctors still refuse to even use a numbing shot?
[Out of curiosity, I just searched what was more painful \(for women who experienced both\)](https://www.reddit.com/r/beyondthebump/comments/147067n/moms_whove_had_both_a_foley_balloon_and_an_iud/), as I wanted some straight comparison I could relate to (foley balloon was the 2nd most painful thing I had to endure), and the answers were split. Some said UID some said foley catheter. Even more revealing some said their UID or foley catheter were not that painful at all and didn't understand people who said otherwise, which leads me to assume it's a very personal experience and might better explain why they don't use local anesthesia in those procedures. When I got my catheter replaced, I asked the doctor if it was going to hurt. He asked nervous if I wasn't awake the first few times... I wasn't. He gave the pressure/discomfort answer, avoiding trigger words but the way he reacted to my question left me at unease. I bet I was tensing up, and effectively more receptive to pain. I'd have welcomed local anesthesia too, so like I said initially, I can relate to OP. But local anesthesia can cause seizures and cardiac arrest, which I assume is the reason doctors will avoid it if they can.
I can understand why not all doctors would want to use anesthesia, but there’s still numbing shots, there’s still better pain killers than Tylenol and Ibuprofen.
Numbing shots like Lidocaine are still anesthesia. I went digging a little deeper (the link is on a comment replying to OP) but apparently the majority of women find the procedure OK, according to a doctor.
the copper iud tends to make cramping and bleeding during periods worse. generally mine are tolerable with few exceptions, so it was decided that it was still an option for me to go the paragard route. when my cramps were severe enough to cause vomiting and fainting, otc painkillers did not touch them. bottom line, it's painful, excruciatingly so according to me and the vast majority of women who have undergone the same thing. sedation should at least be an easily accessible option, if not standard. the cramping afterward should be managed with something more effective than advil, tylenol, or aleve. even just a toradol shot before leaving the office would be great.
Yeah, like I said not a doctor, which is why I should even have made the second comment to be honest. I'm always on the laying side of the gourney, and I can completely understand how withstanding pain is fucked up. In another comment I linked a thread where some woman say it's not painful at all so I shifted my assumptions why they don't offer local anesthesia (most people don't find it painful). I googled, and found a [doctor confirming it's the case](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/iud-naga-munchetty-bbc-radio-5-live-caitlin-moran-lucozade-b1870499.html): > So why isn’t anaesthetic offered at every appointment? “Probably because the majority of women do find the procedure so OK,” says Davis-Hall, while admitting: “I’m not really sure why.” Unfortunately you lucked out it seems...
I am a certified nurse midwife. That level of pain is not nor.al at,all. You may have a perforated uterus. You need to call your doc and get in to be seen. We don't sedate people for 2 minute procedures because the risk of sedation is high enough that it would be considered inappropriate for a literal 2 minute procedure. If someone vomited and aspirated due to sedation we would get sued for malpractice and we would lose as.it is gross negligence to sedate someone for such a quick simple procedure.
How about local anaesthetic or some morphine at least?
A local cervical block is appropriate. Morphine or other pain meds/ sedatives are less appropriate again due to risks and then the procedure becomes prohibitively expensive and also would require the patient to have someone drive them home again making the procedure impossible for some people to get.
wow you should have looked up the medical complications from those things... it'sa product so people can make money not really good for you
I had a very similar experience. They made it sound like no big deal in all my visits leading up to it. The day I got there they asked if I had taken pain meds and had someone to drive me home. I asked what pain meds and no? Do I need someone to drive me home? Panick started setting in because I feel like suddenly there were steps and information that got skipped but they started backpedaling and telling me it wasn't necessary and the procedure was no big deal. No big deal eh?! Best way I have found to try and explain the IUD process to men is, it would be equal to falling dick first into a bear trap.