Paragard IUD problems

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2006
Paragard IUD problems
8
Tue, 09-12-2006 - 11:40am

Hi. I've had the Paragard IUD for about 5 months. In the last 3 months my sex drive has been non-existent, no natural lubrication, and intercourse is painful. Also, shortly after the IUD was put in, my boyfriend told me that he could feel the string. I went to the gyno and had her shorten the string, but he still says he can feel it and it's uncomfortable for him. Has anyone else had problems with the Paragard IUD?

If I get the IUD removed, I'm not sure what type of BC to use. I had been on Micronor pills for 3 years because i'm sensitive to estrogen, so whatever I use cant have estrogen in it. And from what I know, there aren't many options out there that doesn't have estrogen. Can anyone recommend something?

Help please!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-12-2002
Wed, 09-13-2006 - 5:14am

Hi there,


Because Paragard doesn't contain hormones, it *shouldn't* affect your sex drive.

 


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2005
Wed, 09-13-2006 - 9:36am

I'm sorry to hear you've been having a bad time. Have you tried lubricant you can buy in the store? The Paragard has no hormones and really shouldn't affect you this way. Are you sure you didn't get a Mirena? As for the Strings, shortening them would make the poking problem worse as they need to be longer to wrap up aroung the cervix out of the way. Mine are about 2 inches, and my bf can feel them, but no poking this way. No way to lengthen them though...

I hope you find something that works for you! Was the Micronor good?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2006
Thu, 09-14-2006 - 12:29am

Thank you for your reply!

I chose the Paragard because it didn't contain hormones and I wanted my sex drive back! However it doesn't seem to have changed things, and if anything has made it worse. I realize that my sex drive could be affected by many other factors, such as stress (yes I am stressed - I'm in graduate school!). And yes, i do worry about the strings affecting my boyfriend, so I guess that could play a role in everything. It just seems like ever since I've had the IUD put in, intercourse has been painful and has felt differently than before, and I attributed this to the IUD.

You mentioned having my hormone levels tested? I've never heard of that. How do I go about doing that? What would that tell me? The only change to my cycle came when I stopped the Micronor and had the IUD insterted - my periods have become a lot heavier! I am taking meds for migraines/high blood pressure, but no antidepressants.

And as far as the strings of the IUD, I actually did have them shortened, but my boyfriend still claims that he can feel it....so i'm not sure what to do.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2006
Thu, 09-14-2006 - 12:42am

Thanks for your reponse!

Yes, i'm sure I got the Paragard and not the Mirena, because I didn't want to be on hormones anymore...so I thought this was the answer to all of my problems. We've tried lubricant, I've had my strings shortened, and intercourse is still unpleasant. I'm not sure what else to do!

As for the Micronor - I liked it, however I get migraine headaches and have tried many different medications to prevent them and nothing has really worked, so I wanted to see if it was the progestrin in the Micronor that was contributing to the headaches, so I stopped taking it. Also, my sex drive was decreasing while on the Micronor so I wanted to see if the hormones were affecting that as well. However, it seems like since i've had the IUD, my sex drive has gotten worse.

So i'm confused, and not sure what to do now.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-03-2006
Thu, 09-14-2006 - 1:04am
What medications are you taking for migraines? I know the most commonly prescribed things for migraines are antidepressants.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2006
Thu, 09-14-2006 - 1:13am
I was taking antidepressants for the migraines, but since my doctors discovered that I had high blood pressure, my neurologist decided to kill two birds w/ one stone and use the blood pressure medicine that i was already taking as a preventative medicine for the migraines. thanks for your response!
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-12-2002
Thu, 09-14-2006 - 1:57am

Hi schigh,


You might want to have a look and see if the blood pressure medication lists lowered sex drive as a side effect.

 


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 07-03-2006
Thu, 09-14-2006 - 8:35pm
It seems my doctors have sometimes brushed over the fact that they were actually precribing an anti-depressant for migraines. I am fairly certain they mentioned it when I was on the tricyclian ones but it was almost an after thought.