IUD concerns and cost
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| Wed, 03-07-2007 - 4:14pm |
Since I have been off BC my periods have been getting back to where they used to be... awful, heavy, and preventing me from living my life. My doctor recommended a progestron IUD since I have been with my bf for awhile, but I have to be refered to another doctor for it. The doctor she wanted me to see was booked until mid-May, but that didn't go with my cycle, and the first one he has that works with my cycle is June. The receptionist talked the other receptionist into letting me see someone else in about 2 weeks to talk about it, or the beginning of April to just get the IUD inserted if he will do it without a consultation, but they said to bring $100 for my co-pay. My insurance pays for 90% of BC, and they said 10% was $100. My insurance just recently started covering IUDs if no other BC can be used. That seems kind of high to me since when i looked into an IUD about a year ago it was like $500 without insurance. Can it really cost $1000 for an IUD and insertion?
Just some background, I can't have anything with estrogen, and my doctor won't even give me anything for a short amount of time because of previous reactions to estrogen birth control. She thinks the IUD will help lighten my period and that will help with some of the pain, and she gave me an anti-depressant to take during my period to help with the mood swings and fatique. The progestron-only pill did not work for me.. caused horrible mood swings and I never wanted sex.
Do you think it is worth waiting until June to get it with the doctor I was refered to, or see the other doctor I have the appointment with? I have seen the original doctor before for a cyst, so I am comfortable with him and he is a really good doctor. I really dread my period, but it might be better with the anti-depressants and trying to take a pain reliever a couple days before my period every 4 hours to help with the cramping and headaches... so I don't know. Any opinions? Any thoughts on the cost? I don't mind paying $100, but I am worried that it will fall out, or cause damage, and it will be a waste of money. I have such bad reactions to everything.
I have never been pregnant, and I am 23. Super sensative to spermacide, and cant handle any estrogen at all. Much to BF's annoyance, abstinance has been our protection method for like 5 months because I worry that something will go wrong with the condoms, and it is not the right time in our lives for me to get pregnant.

well I have the IUD you're interested in, Mirena. While it may seem like it's expensive to have the IUD it's not really, it's just that all the cost is at once. If you keep the IUD for at least 2 years it becomes cheaper then the pill, and it's good for up to 5 years. The IUD itself is about half the cost and the other half is the appt/insertion.
If you take the $1000 and divide it the IUD only costs you about 16.50 a month if you keep it the full 5 years. If you only keep it 2 years it costs you about 41.50 a month.
I had it inserted after I had my first child. I had my baby in Dec and had it put in at my 6 week check up. I personally love it so far. I had some cramping/bleeding after the appt. Then I had my period but it was lighter then normal. I've had some spotting off and on since then though, which is normal, a lot of women experience off and on spotting for 6 months or more. It's only enough to make me wear a panty liner. It's not enough to interfere with my sex life or daily activities and it's not there all the time. So don't be surprised if you have that happen. Also some women say that their partners can feel the strings during sex. The IUD has small strings that hang out of your uterus into your vagina, you can check for them after a period. If they do bother your partner they can trim the strings.
Also there is no estrogen just progesterone and that is localized and tends to cause less side effects for most people. Since you haven't had a child the risk of expulsion is higher but not really enough to make it a true worry for most women.
It's a great form of birth control for a lot of people because there is no way to mess it up yourself. It's the reason I chose it for my family. My DH is on medication that can cause birth defects and we wanted something that was VERY effective. The only thing more effective then an IUD is permanent sterilization.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask. There is an FAQ on this board for IUDs as well but I'd be happy to answer any personal questions as well. I'm sure the CL will have more information if you need it too.
-Mel
Hi crys9876, welcome back!
The IUD information at Planned Parenthood http://www.plannedparenthood.org/birth-control-pregnancy/birth-control/intrauterine-devices.htm says
Jill
Mine cost just under $500 but the insertion was billed separately. That was another $450. I was surprised to see it billed that way, I just assumed it would be the cost of the visit. I had no idea there was a separate cost for actually inserting it, isn't that part of the doctor's regular job? My insurance covered 90% of it though.
-Mel
I had mine put in last September. It cost me $30 co-pay for my consultation appointment. And, although my insurance covers BCP, they did not cover the cost of the IUD. It was $800 even out of pocket. (Thank goodness I had a health flex account, but I still had to pay it upfront, ouch)
Best of luck to you!
Sallie
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edit to add: Mine was the Paragard, not the Mirena, which I think would have been about $100-150 more total cost.
Edited 3/8/2007 11:45 am ET by lemonewton
Thank you to everyone. I havn't heard back so I assume I still have my consulation instead of just getting it like my doctor said they would do, but I was trying to accelerate the process so I guess I will play by their rules. I guess now that I hear about others experience with cost that it is reasonable. They just recently started covering IUDs on my insurance, which I was so happy when my doctor told me this because I had been on BC for like 6 months because I ran out of options and couldn;t afford an IUD without some help.
I did call way back then to demand my insurance pay for it, and they said if I really couldnt toleraet anything else and my doctor would write a note about it they would cover it, but the doctor was new and I didn;t like her because she is kind of conservative and I felt like she was judging me, but now that it is clear that I need this for more than protection against pregnancy she is a lot nicer and she wrote the note without me asking.
I just would like to not be miserable and have to take off work and misses classes because I hurt too bad or have too heavy of a day and can;t even reach a destination without having an embarassing moment. I am really scared about an IUD but it is my last option. I told my bf what the doctor said and he was concerned that it was for 5 years. He seems to be under the imporession that we will be married and having kids before that even though we have not talked about stuff like that yet. Apparently in his mind 28 is too old to start having kids so I dont know what to tell him about that. We have only been together like 2.5 years. We live together, but I don't think we are there yet lol.
Thanks for all the advice. I have been going through the old posts to see what others have had to say.
If you decided to have kids sooner you can have it removed. There is no waiting period before you could start trying like some BC.
Let us know how the appt goes.
-Mel
*UPDATE*
I had my appointment today with the new doctor to talk about the IUD. He agrees that I gave a good effort to all the other options, and that hopefully an IUD will help make my periods more pleasant and be a good BC option. I am going to have an IUD inserted on April 9. That is going to work out to be either the last day or so of my period, or just after the end. He said he could insert it at any time, but that he prefered that I had my period before to take away some pregnancy concerns, but whatever I chose was fine. I tried to get an appointment the 2nd day of my period because i heard that it might hurt less from somewhere, but there wasn't an opening until the 9th, so that was the day.
He told me to take 3 Motrin an hour before coming in, but that it would still be painful. I am not looking forward to the pain, but hopefully in a few months I won't be so miserable.
Taking motrin beforehand is a good idea. Try and stay relaxed during it too that will help a lot. Take some more motrin afterward too. A warm compress on your abdomen might feel good later too. I didn't have too much pain during/after but I have already had a child and I hear that makes it a little easier. The worst of the pain/cramping should be over in a few days.
Let us know how it goes. Good luck
-Mel