Got the IUD (again!)

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-07-2003
Got the IUD (again!)
42
Tue, 08-01-2006 - 7:11pm

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my positive experience. This morning i mustered all my bravery and went back into the clinic to get the IUD again! This time i chose the Paragard, to avoid hormones (i have marked side effects from the pill).

Insertion was good, and she didn't use a needle, so i was spared that pain. But the sonometer that measures the uterus was pretty crampy and painful, as was the insertion. Not again until 2016 if all goes well!

Afterwards, though, i had a fainting episode. Leaving the reception area i had to sit down and then ask them to take me to a recovery room, where a nurse and then doctor monitored me. I have had the 'vapors' before under other circumstances, and my blood pressure is haywire, so i was not surprised or alarmed by this - just grateful that they gave me a place to lay down for a good long while before going back to the office. (Total time in the clinic was 2.5 hours, with the actual insertion over after half an hour).

Since then, though, i've felt okay. Am not used to the heavy periods, so i may yet be coming back here for moral support, gals! Hopefully i can help others too.

fuchsia

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-07-2003
Sat, 08-12-2006 - 12:46pm

Hi,

You were on the pill, right? I was on the pill before the IUD and this is my 2nd week off it, and voila, i'm starting to get zits. Bleh. I'm too sensitive to use Retin-A so have to think through a strategy, maybe salicylic acid but that dries out my skin.

fuchsia

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2005
Sat, 08-12-2006 - 1:40pm
Yup, I was on Ortho-cyclen for a year. I too had pretty bad acne before the pill. I used to use Benzoyl peroxide cream (be careful it will bleach EVERYTHING) or Burt's Bees stick with tea tree oil (expensive though) in addition to anything by Neutrogena to wash my face. I'm already breaking out again. Hoping it will get better as I get older too!
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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-04-2003
Sun, 08-13-2006 - 6:28am
"Some women have reported a tampon pulling on their IUD strings, usually in a situation where it was used with a light flow and the blood had dried so the IUD strings stuck to the tampon."


My IUD (non-hormonal) strings were quite long and my DH could feel them. I was told I could use tampons, but I didn't realize that I shouldn't be using tampons when the flow was really lite..which is most likely why my IUD strings stuck to my tampon and pulled out.


But you shouldn't be confusing the IUD strings with the tampon strings...


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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2005
Sun, 08-13-2006 - 12:25pm

When I had mine put in she showed me a piece of the string so now I know what it looks like and feels like. I think my strings are on the medium-length side so they can curl around and not "poke" my boyfriend hopefully. If I tuck my tampon string in, I'll have to be careful and not just pull out anything like I used to!

Rowan6: I'm sorry your IUD got pulled out. Was it painful? Were they able to put another in for you? Any health problems?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-04-2003
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 2:24pm
Thanks for asking Tortoisegirl,

It didn't really hurt when the IUD got pulled out. It was sor tof like pulling out a very dry tampon..which is what I had done..and the IUD followed. :(

It would have been possible to get another IUD right afterwards and the doctor was ready to do it, I just wasn't ready for another one. My insertion was just painful enough that I think if I were to get another right now..I'd be afraid to ever have kids. LOL. Ok, no, not really..but I also had a cyst in one of my ovaries so trying Nuva ring to get rid of it was a better option for the time being and I like the ring well enough for now.


If I were to get an IUD again, I'd make sure the strings were a bit shorter so that they don't poke my DH. And I'd know better now to not use tampons on my very light days.


No health problems or after effects from the IUD.

I'll definitely have another someday.


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Avatar for melissa_jpf
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 7:00pm
Keep the updates coming ladies. I'm still waiting on a call back from the GYN that's going to be doing the insertion. I have no idea when I'll be getting it done until I get that call...
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-07-2003
Sun, 08-20-2006 - 11:39am

Hi Melissa,

So far so good! But strange coincidence: since getting mine on the 1st, i have had pretty steady intestinal disturbance (ahem). Have been to the nurse practitioner and doctor, have had blood work and samples, and there is no bacterial or viral infection, so we are all perplexed as to its cause. However, i have been under extreme stress at work, unreal stress actually, so that compounded with the agitation of getting the IUD may have triggered it.

The IUD itself has been great, though - don't even know it's there.

A few of us on the board (me, tortoisegirl, amyjennymay?) who got our Paragards at about the same time, should be coming up on our first periods with the IUD over the next couple of weeks, maybe. Maybe we'll post about that on the board: i hear that especially the first few periods are v. heavy and crampy, and having been on the pill for 11 years i am used to v. light periods with no cramps. Advance warning not to let my reaction scare you!

fuchsia

Avatar for melissa_jpf
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Mon, 08-21-2006 - 5:28pm

Sorry to hear about your intestinal difficulties. I actually had a mysterious case of that myself last year. I had an Upper GI and it showed nothing and I was too chicken to do anything more invasive. The doctor diagnosed it as IBS and gave me some medication to take as needed for my symptoms. I seem to be fine now though...

No news from the doctor's office yet. So I still have no idea when this will be done. I have just started my 2nd week of pills in my last pack though so they've got to do something soon.

Good luck to you all with those first periods... I hope they are not too terrible.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2005
Mon, 08-21-2006 - 6:14pm

I've been having serious bloating/gas/diarrhea, BUT, I would think the bloating is from getting off the pill, and the diarrhea from the high-dose magnesium I'm taking. No clue about the gas. Having an increase in headaches too! I got off the pill because of migraines, but am having withdrawl headaches I think. Libido increase since I got off the pill too. =) I'm hoping my pill withdrawl bloating and headaches go away soon (it's been two weeks post-pill today). Anyone have experience with that? From what I've read, two or three weeks is pretty much the max for symptoms like that...

The Paragard has been wonderful. No more spotting or cramps after the first few days. I have had a lot of normal-type discharge, but that is usual for me. Just an increase is all--maybe double. Boyfriend can feel the strings, but not at all painful.

I wouldn't be surprised if my first period is late between getting off the pill and being very irregular to start with. So, I'm not going to worry for awhile and take a test if I start to get worried as we're not using backup anymore. I'll let you all know how it is when I get it.

Best wishes everyone!

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Avatar for melissa_jpf
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Tue, 08-22-2006 - 5:52pm

Well... I got the name and number of a doctor in the mail today from my doctor's office. I guess I'll be calling tomorrow to set up the appointment.

Keep that luck coming... I'm getting more nervous!