Can't find strings!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2006
Can't find strings!
7
Wed, 08-16-2006 - 3:50pm

So I got my IUD on Friday and have checked the strings everyday. (My doctor left them long so they've been pretty easy to find.) I checked yesterday and they were there. This morning, I couldn't find them no matter how hard I tried. I called to get an appointment with my doctor but they can't get me in until Friday.

Does anyone have any words of advice? Have you ever "lost" the strings but they were there all along? It's hard to believe after all the pain it took to get it in, it could be expelled without me even knowing it...but I guess it happens. I'm really nervous about this. I was really hoping the IUD would work out for me, not to mention that DH & I had sex a couple of days ago. ARGH!

Any words of encouragement would be helpful.

Thanks!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Wed, 08-16-2006 - 4:44pm

Hi coamber628, welcome!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2006
Wed, 08-16-2006 - 5:26pm

Thanks, Jill. I did lots of squatting and pushing this morning...lol. I'm still not completely sure I've ever found my cervix. I *think* I have but if I did, I couldn't locate any strings around it. I'm going to try tonite and tomorrow, too. I would honestly be very surprised if I expelled it, but I guess stranger things have happened.

I decided on the Mirena, as I have very heavy periods for a full 7 days when I'm not on hormonal birth control. I was on the NuvaRing before, and really liked it...especially the "put it in and forget it" thing. So after lots of research, I decided to do the "put it in and forget it for five years" thing. It hurt like blazes when it was inserted but after the first day, I have hardly had any cramping at all. So with just my few days of experience, I'm already loving it. That's why I hope, hope, hope I haven't expelled it. Not to mention the money I spent on it...ARGH!

Any other soothing words would be welcome as I enter full freak-out mode!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Wed, 08-16-2006 - 6:06pm

Noooo... Don't do the warp-speed full freak-out mode thingy! I'm betting that the strings are around your cervix, just waiting for you to touch them. It may be that your cervix is high right now and will drop in the next day or so. If that's the case it should be much easier to feel your strings. I'm glad you like Mirena.

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-12-2002
Wed, 08-16-2006 - 6:58pm

Don't panic just yet.

 


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2006
Thu, 08-17-2006 - 12:51pm

Good news! Last night before bed, I decided to check for them again and lo and behold, there they were! I did a happy dance. This morning, I checked again (because I am nothing if not obsessive) and couldn't find them. But obviously they're in there somewhere...just playing hide and seek.

This is the hard part of doing something new...trying to figure out what's normal and what's not. Thank you both so much for your encouragement. I'll try not to over-react next time. LOL

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Thu, 08-17-2006 - 1:02pm

Awesome! :)


Thanks for the update. Keep us posted about how you're doing, ok?


Take care,

      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-07-2003
Sun, 08-20-2006 - 11:30am

Hi,

Since getting my IUD on August 1, i have only been able to feel one string. My doctor says this is normal and not to worry - the strings could be wound around each other, or one of them could be up in the uterus.

But not able to feel either string - maybe call your doctor or go in for a check-up?

fuchsia