allergy to copper IUD?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2006
allergy to copper IUD?
8
Mon, 07-24-2006 - 9:47am

Hello,

Has anyone ever had an allergic reaction to a copper IUD -- or heard of anyone who did? I just learned that this is possible. I am having some trouble with my Paragard IUD and am trying to figure out what is causing it -- crampy menstrual-like pain all month, feeling like I have to pee, but negative test for bladder infection.

Also, does anyone know if IUDs in general (not the hormones in Mirena) can cause ovarian cysts?

thanks so much,

Troyogini

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Mon, 07-24-2006 - 1:20pm

Hi troyogini, welcome!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-07-2003
Mon, 07-24-2006 - 3:47pm

Hi,

How long have you had your copper IUD? I just made an appointment to get one next week and am interested in your experience.

There is a brief thread on this topic at the Aphrodite Women's Health board: don't know if their symptoms are similar to yours:
http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/7/1382.html

fuchsia

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2006
Tue, 07-25-2006 - 9:22am

hi fuschia

thanks for the link to aphrodite, that is where i learned about the possible copper allergy first. but i think cl is right, it's very rare.

i'v had the iud since the end of dec 2005 (7 months now). i have no children, which can be an issue (smaller uterus can be problematic). i will tell you insertion was a bit rough -- take some ibuprofen (4 maybe) before you go in. there was cramping and pain, and i felt light headed for a little bit after. but it was not unbearable and i drove myself home after.

then i did have cramps for a few weeks... the first couple weeks was the worst, and i think if my doctor had warned me that there would be that kind of pain and cramping i wouldn't have panicked as much. i actually thought it had perforated -- but everything was fine. (i had it checked to be sure)

after about one month, things normalized, however, my periods are still much much heavier than ever before. they do seem to be getting a bit better now.

the birth control aspect of it is absolutely GREAT. no worries, NOTHING to think about or do at all. and you can have completely protected (against pregnancy) sex any day of the month. i should mention i am in a very monogamous relationship.

so, after things settling down and feeling good, i started to have pain in my low abdomen, pain during sex, need to pee, and cramps all month long (about 6 weeks ago i would say). my doc recommended an ultrasound and they found a cyst on one ovary and a 'tiny' fibroid -- these are both new to me, i've never had them before.

so now i find myself wondering if the iud could have caused these issues -- or if the iud is actually causing the pain -- or if it's really the cyst and/or fibroid....

i have a followup ultrasound next week to see if the cyst is still there (if so, may need to address it somehow). i am still considering having the iud removed -- but i am reluctant to do so because it's such an excellent, nonhormonal, reliable, cheap form of bc for me. and removing it may not make me feel better if the problem is really the other things.... this is my dilemma!

if i DO have the iud removed, i believe i may try the "Lady Comp." google that name for more info. basically it's a handheld computer device that tracks ovulation and tells you when you are fertile/not. it's more complicated than that, but you get the idea.

good luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-07-2003
Tue, 07-25-2006 - 1:12pm

Hi again,

Thanks for recounting your experiencefor me. Please keep us posted on your outcome next week - whether the ultrasound gives any indication of whether it was the IUD or whether you had it removed.

By your screen name, i assume you do yoga? I do a lot of hatha yoga, at kind of an intermediate level, and frankly this is my biggest concern with the IUD. Since December, have you felt that the IUD has in any way impacted your yoga - have you been able to do forward bends and twists with comfort just like before your IUD?

Before you got the IUD, were you on the pill? You mentioned that your period has been heavier since getting it in December. Heavier than on the pill or heavier than a normal non-pill period? The other thing is that with the pill i am totally spoiled and have no cramps and four days of very light flow. So i'll be bracing myself for the Paragard!

Actually, i did have the Mirena IUD inserted in June, and the dizzyness and bleeding for two days afterward made me really panic. I was so lightheaded that i took a fall down my stairs. So i really did panic and have it removed two days later. I can tell you that i *really* regretted removing it very intensely.

Maybe your doctor can suggest some other intervention that might indicate if the IUD is causing you problems.

Thanks again - please keep us posted!

fuchsia

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Tue, 07-25-2006 - 2:36pm

Hi again

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2006
Wed, 07-26-2006 - 10:24am

hi again,

thanks for your reply, fuschia. in fact, i teach yoga here in troy (www.troy-yoga.com, if you want to see...) and have done yoga for more than half of my life. i had NO issues with the IUD and my yoga practice. it's really very tiny and as far as i can tell, once it's in it doesn't really move around. i was very uncomfortable for the first month, to be totally honest, but i continued to teach and do yoga on my own. in fact, that helped to destress me and to relieve some of the cramping. i was ready to have the iud removed too, but i held on and things really did get better (until recently... but of course my symptoms now may or may not be the iud).

as for heavy periods, yah, get ready. i haven't been on the pill in years. my non-pill pre-iud periods were fairly light and less than a week long. now i feel like a lose a lot of blood and actually started taking an herbal iron supplement on and off, and it makes me feel less depleted. the cramps are also substantially worse, but i guess i'm getting used to them? ibuprofen helps as does hot water bottle and a glass of wine!

may i ask why you are opting for paragard this time, rather than having mirena again?

take good care, and namaste!

troyogini

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2006
Wed, 07-26-2006 - 10:38am

hi dancer,

thanks for your feedback on the lady comp. at this point, i am just exploring other non-hormonal options, and appreciate the extra information. what i've read so far *does* sound as if the LC is fairly reliable and not just a rhythm method calculator. i had NOT heard about pre-fertile-time issue, however, and will try to learn more about that.

regardless, my boyfriend is not 100% convinced of LC effectiveness, and neither am i. however, i do feel (if I had to have the IUD removed) it might be a better option than using condoms. we used them when we first started being intimate, and i wound up having to take the morning after pill TWICE. once the condom slipped off and the other time we used poor judgement... we are physically intimate quite often and i think the chances of becoming pregnant are pretty high with condoms... sigh. i do wish there was some good option for male bc, but i wonder if i would trust a method like that anyway...

i'll keep you posted on the iud sitch.

thanks for listening and responding!

TY

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-07-2003
Sat, 07-29-2006 - 11:02am

Hi!

Thanks for sharing your experience. My pre-pill periods were in fact pretty heavy and crampy, so that is what i am afraid of with the copper IUD.

The reason i am desperate to go off the pill and get an IUD, is because of the pill's hormonal side effects. Low libido, depression and mood swings, and melasma. I'm reading that these are due to the progestin in the pill, and partly to the fact that ovulation is suppressed. Since the Mirena has the progestin, it could conceivably have the same effects, and i also learned from this board that 25-55% of women on Mirena are non-ovulatory.

So i don't want to go through all the trouble and pain of an IUD (again!) if there is a likelihood of having similar hormonal side effects.

The yoga non-interference makes sense too - when practiced safely yoga poses should not compress or squeeze the abdomen, anyhow - even twisting poses done with proper alignment are all about the spine. I feel so much better about that now - thank you!

fuchsia