to iud or not?
For some reason the comment I remember making about Paraguard and heavy periods doesn’t seem to be showing up in those links. So: I got a Paraguard after not being on hormonal birth control for about 10 years (I don’t like the way it fucks with my body). Before getting the IUD, as long as I exercised regularly and ate reasonably well, my periods were pretty light and I had very little cramping. I figured I could handle upping both of those without seriously upsetting my life. The first period with the IUD was hell. I spent three days curled up with a heating pad (which REALLY helped). My gynecologist inserted it while I was bleeding, so it was a combo of reasons for uterine unhappiness, but man was it unpleasant. The next few months were iffy. Cramping wasn’t bad — I’d have one really bad day which could be staved off with Midol or heating pads — but the heavier flow was starting to bother me. It was often ridiculously heavy compared to what it had been in the past, and there would b
I’ve posted about having an IUD before (and asked about it before, too). I have the Mirena. No kids for me, ever. Hormonal BC started making me feel funny, too — not the violent reaction you are talking about, but just “not right” and probably bitchy. The Mirena is awesome – I haven’t HAD a period the whole time I’ve had it, which is not a guaranteed side-effect, but a common one. More painful or heavier periods were not an option for me, so the Mirena is basically BC nirvana for me. You should talk with your GYN about this. I was afraid I’d have trouble with mine, but she asked me about plans for kids (none, and certainly none in the next five years) and a few other things, and then she said she would be happy to try, with the caveat that it’s harder for someone who hasn’t had kids. I had to take a pill on the night before I went – I don’t remember what it was called, but it was to help dilation of the cervix to make insertion easier. I won’t kid you, insertion hurt, but not necessar
I’ve posted in previous IUD threads. I’m also a nullip with bad reactions to hormones (although mine started suddenly, which is why I went off them.) I had a three month gap between pills and the IUD but I charted since before I was on the pill as well. If you have crampy periods already, Paragard’s possibly going to make it worse. I never had really crampy periods, and the first three or four cycles I had to take an NSAID, but nothing since then. The heaviness is about on par with pre-Pill periods, but I definitely feel more anemic than I did in high school. I’ve had it in for almost three years now and I love it so much it was worth the few months of crampiness and the insertion-day cramps. There’s an LJ group which is pretty active here, but a lot of the posts are people who have newly gotten them. You don’t hear too much from long-term users since once the cramping goes away, generally there aren’t problems. There are also s
I had both. I started with the copper one, 6 weeks after I had my daughter. While I was very happy with it because of the care free intimate life I could have, my periods increased in heaviness, as well as length (from 5 days to 9 days) over the next 3 years. That 3rd year, my flow had increased so much, I had to take off work and go to the OBG (think 1 whole pad package in less than 3 hours, and huge blood clots). He (doctor) took it off the following week, after doing some quick blood tests: my Iron was dangerously low. A couple of years later, I had an ectopic pregnancy (while I was without the IUD), and was told I could never use an IUD again, because that would not prevent ectopic pregnancies. A year later my doctor called me and told me about Mirena, and how it was safe for me to use it if I wanted. I’ve had it for 6 years now, and it’s the best thing I ever did. My periods are 3 days only, very light, and no pain. I did gain 10 pounds after I first had it inserted, but that wasn
I’va had a copper IUD for 10 years and love it – no thinking in advance, no extra hormones messing with my moods. The first few months were annoying in that not only was flow heavier, but it would come up all in one swoosh – making me sure I was in sight of a bathroom and with a change of clothes at all time. After that, I was just like a regular woman – periods every 4 weeks like clockwork, a bit heavier than I would hav liked, but nothing to think about or deal with. Really, the least worst form of birth control of tried (and for me that’s high praise). I’m going to have to go off it soon since it’s been 10 years and I’m not sure what to do next. I’m guessing I’ve got about 5 years of fertility left and I’ve got no desire to be the world’s oldest single mother. The only tip I would have is – when you go to get it, have someone drive you home. That’s the only time the cramping was really bad for me and like an idiot, I thought I was only going to get measured for the IUD and not actua
