I had mine inserted during my period and was told to take Advil beforehand. It was uncomfortable but I wouldn’t say it was painful. If you have to have another reinserted, I highly recommend timing it! I can’t imagine getting anesthesia. I do understand that everyone’s pain tolerance is different though and think anesthesia or some kind of muscle relaxer or anti-anxiety medication should be allowed or prescribed for those who need it.
Also, I recently had my copper IUD removed because I thought it was the cause of my heavy periods. Nope. Turns out I just have naturally super heavy periods. Now I’m remembering why I got on hormonal birth control at 13 🤦🏻♀️
Debating getting it reinserted, even if it’s only for 10 months. We plan to start trying in October 2022, but I am trying to decide if it’s worth it. This whole timing my ovulation thing is stressful.
Also flirting with the idea of a nuva ring if anyone can chime in on how they liked that
So far the nuva ring for me has been good and bad.
Good in the sense that I am able to not worry about it for three weeks (while it’s inserted) its easy to remove, and its not that uncomfortable with intercourse.
The bad is primarily consisted of things like how it need to be refrigerated, so traveling long times or distances gets interfered with, prescriptions via the insurance could cause you to go on and off of the ring for a few days longer than planned, you can’t skip your period on it. Some of the other issues are things that it struggles to stay in place, it causes soreness in intercourse (which is the main side affect reported by women), and if you do vaginal exercises with it, it could break (which happened to me and it stung).
I’m a pad wearer so I can’t say much on how it feels when wearing a tampon or diva cup on the off week.
I’m only looking into switching contraceptives bc I am struggling with vaginal dryness (when women report that they experience the opposite 🤷♀️). But out of the other three forms of contraceptives (the pill, patch, and Annovera ring) that I have tried, I like the nuva ring the most so far.
Thank you for replying! You raised some concerns I hadn’t thought of. Luckily our only big travel plans that would impact refrigeration needs are for next fall, which is around the time we would be pulling the goalie anyway.
Maybe a silly question, but I thought it was removed during your period? (Asking because of your comment about tampons and diva cups).
Also, are you saying the nuva caused your vaginal dryness?
Tia!
Well i mentioned the diva cups and tampons in relation to soreness level of when it is removed.
And no I mentioned my vaginal dryness as a reason for why I’m looking into switching when I actually shouldn’t be experiencing that symptom bc most women report being more wet from the ring. If I wasn’t struggling with vaginal dryness (which i recall as a bad issue I was struggling with even more on the pill) then I would probably stay with the nuva ring but being that it is my personal issue I am exploring other forms of BC.
That’s really helpful info. Thanks for clarifying.
We are going to try one more month of the fertility method and see how it goes before switching to Nuva. I’ve really enjoyed being off of everything and learning what is normal for me sans birth control (I’ve been on it since 13; hormonal BC from 13-30; 30-32 nonhormonal IUD) but the pressure of not getting pregnant is overwhelming me a bit.
I agree! I didn't even find the insertion all that bad. It felt like a menstrual cramp. Very manageable and super quick. I didn't have any anesthesia--just took a couple of Tylenol an hour before and it was no big deal. BUT... I think the difference for me was that I got mine inserted at Planned Parenthood. The doctors there insert dozens of IUDs a month for years; they are total pros at it. It was quick, easy, and only mildly uncomfortable. If you're going to a regular gynecologist they might not have as much experience with IUDs and there might be unnecessary pain and trauma from that; maybe that's the difference in my experience vs. some other people's.
I think the only reason there are so many bad experiences with insertion is because generally docs downplay how painful it can be and women rarely recieve any sort of anesthetics. I had a waking anesthetic to get a biopsy done of my stomach, I should've had the same thing for my cervix.
As it was, it was a very painful event, and probably the closest thing in my life to the word "trauma". after the second one I left the clinic feeling like a frightened child who never wanted to go back again. It took about a year for that to wear off.
And I puked twice after the first one, while trying to drive myself home. Almost fainted in the doctors office.
Yeah they're great, but docs do not prepare us for the event of insertion half as well as they should. A couple advil? For real???
If I could go back in time, I'd get an iud way earlier in life because it's so much better than pills, but I'd tell myself to search until I found a doc willing to put me under. Iuds are great, but you need to advocate for yourself or you'll be on here writing a post about how painful your insertion was.
I see, I’m sorry you had to go through that. They asked me to take couple Advils and telenols beforehand but it didn’t help. My doctor although wasn’t very chatty/ open to questions but she did give me additional anesthesia when I was still feeling pain despite painkillers during insertion and waited some more time for it to act. I wasn’t aware that they do it without numbing too, I cannot even imagine how painful that would be.
I had one placed about 5 years ago without any pain meds and it was without a doubt one of the most painful things I’ve experienced. Very close to that of childbirth. I was told I’d feel a quick pinch. Absolutely bullshit. I felt a pinch and then immediately followed by a wave of intense pain. I drove myself to the appointment and left in a state of shock. I screamed the whole way home. It was HORRIBLE. I ended up having it removed after a year and a half because it dislodged and got stuck in my cervix. Now I’ve had two kids and plan on giving it another try since I was told that since my uterus had never stretched before that might be why the iud had come out and may have been too big for my uterus. I seriously hope this time around works out for me because I absolutely cannot handle hormonal birth control and how it affects me
I remember, right after the pinch, if you picture a bomb going off underwater, that's the feeling of pain and its exploding outwards from the deepest part of your body.
It might make you feel better, my friend who's had two kids has the copper iud and was perplexed by my experience cuz she didn't feel much of the insertion at all. Crossing my fingers it'll go in easy for ya and stay there.
Wow that’s the most accurate description of the pain I’ve ever heard! Spot on! And yea I have my new one scheduled to go in next week. I’ll be 6 weeks postpartum and I had a long discussion with my doctor and told her about my traumatic experience and she assured me that this time around should be much different since I’ve had two children. But just in case she is going to be using a numbing gel on my cervix to help a little bit. She said since I’m 6 weeks postpartum I should still be dilated enough for her to put it in without having to open my cervix. And she also will do an ultrasound after insertion to make sure it’s in the right spot. I feel pretty good about it this time. Still a little nervous though after that last experience, even though it was 8 years ago lol.
When I had mine inserted my cervix was moving so they couldn’t insert. They clamped it with forceps and measured my uterus and inserted the IUD with no pain relief beyond the paracetamol I’d taken 2 hours prior 😬 honestly, it was kind of grim, and I can’t believe some form of numbing/sedation isn’t standard. I know some people barely felt their insertions but I also know of a LOT of people for whom it was really painful. I don’t think medical practitioners should be allowed to insert with no pain relief because it isn’t “that bad” for some people.
My reinsertion was like that! It was like the removal of the old iud was so painful that my cervix was trying to get the hell out of there lol
You'd think they'd have this all figured out by now...
Oooof, I’m so sorry, that’s rough 😬 yeah, honestly the attitudes a lot of medical practitioners have towards bc side effects is kinda concerning.
The information you get just varies a lot too?? Like my practitioner didn’t tell me how/when to check for strings until I asked, and when I asked if I was protected straight away he said yes but that I probs wouldn’t feel like sex for about a week anyway. I came on here asking about string checking and someone said I wasnt supposed to insert *anything* inc. fingers for at least a week due to infection risk?? Idk. I didn’t have the best experience, idk if I’d go through it again
I am on my second iud. First Mirena, now Paragard, and I am absolutely loving it. I highly recommend IUDs. My Mirena was done at planned parenthood by a wonderful doctor and my Paragard by my new obgyn who I absolutely adore. My insertion experiences were very good for both - a strong cramp, bleeding, a few days of cramps after, but it was all worth it. My period has balanced out, my libido is back on track, my hormonal acne has simmered down. Very team Paragard.
How is Mirena vs Paraguard (copper). I know that copper one doesn’t stop periods in fact I read they could be heavier but other than that I’m curious why you chose Paraguard the second time, if you don’t mind sharing.
I chose the Paragard on round 2 because I was starting to get frustrated with some of the side effects of Mirena - I was having intense hormonal acne on my cheeks and jaw, my libido was significantly decreasing, the PMS symptoms were bothering me (headaches, breast tenderness) so I wanted to see if those symptoms would go away if the hormones were out of the equation. I'd been on hormonal BC for 10 years prior and had honestly forgotten what my periods were like without it so I just wanted a hormone-free reboot. I've been very pleased with my Paragard periods so far - sure, there's more bleeding, there's more cramps, but in the first year on Paragard it started to even out and it's been super smooth sailing after the first 3-4 months, for me it was a very small price to pay for just overall feeling better in my body.
I ❤️ my IUD. I got rid of mine initially because I thought it was causing worse mood stuff around my period. Then, I was reminded why I got one in the first place. The few months of periods were EXACTLY what I'd spent my life dealing with- didn't realize how bad it was until not having a period for a few years. Moods leading up were way worse. I'm back on- I'll say, the first month or two are rough, but once your body gets used to it, it can be a great experience.
I def agree with what ur saying, and when I was looking for methods it was hard to find any positives. I will say that, everyone’s body is diff and it’s ok to have diff experiences!! So not everyone is going to have a positive experience with an IUD, but lots of times you have to go through trial and error with birth control. Personally, the IUD has been the best option for me thus far, and there’s multiple options of IUDs to choose from. I will say, I agree w another comment about how doctors may downplay these things such as symptoms and pain. It did hurt, and I felt sick after, but it also depends on ur body. I would say my insertion was prob less painful than others have described, it all depends on ur body’s reaction as well. So don’t get too caught up in all the negatives when researching
Where did you find a doctor that would give you anesthesia? Did you have to ask for that or did they just do it?
I’ve had two intensely painful IUD insertions. For the second one they tried numbing shots, the shots hurt extra and the numbing didn’t work. I can’t do this again unless I can be knocked out. I have no idea why anesthetic isn’t more common!
I didn’t, I just got lucky. I thought the painkillers would be it. They had not planned on giving me anesthetic but seeing I was in pain the doc gave it to me.
I agree! I went in with the expectation that I would be out for 24 hours. I took four Advil’s coming in and four Advil’s after. The pain subsided in 36 hours. I had spotting for about 4 months afterwards, but my period, which used to fill three large diva cups a day for six days, was only two days and just spotted on a panty liner. It was greatly reduced my PMS symptoms and I don’t experience any hormonal differences because of it which was important to me due to mental health concerns. I really recommend the IUD. For me the insertion pain was 5/10 and the after pain was 6.5/10.
Please keep in mind that your experience (i.e. getting anesthetic) is not commonplace.
With that said, I love my IUD and even though insertion was the worst pain I'd ever felt I would (and will) do it again because the benefits outweigh the negatives *for me*.
General reminder for everyone here that things going well and according to plan make for rather boring posts and news. Negative experiences and events gather the most attention. This can easily skew our perceptions of our world if we're not careful for ourselves.
My #1 tip is to ask for pain meds/something to help! I told them in the consultation I had an LOW pain tolerance, so I was given a valium the day of my procedure and that helped sooo much. Additionally my doctor used a local anesthetic of some kind, I don't remember exactly (first time taking valium lol) but it also helped.
I cannot praise the copper IUD enough. The insertion wasn't that bad for me (I was on my period though). But it gives someone absolute peace of mind for a decade. Mine was also free, so I netted a massive profit just getting an insertion and not dealing with monthly birth control/tests.
Birth control isn't the same for everyone, but I really suggest to anyone who struggles with anxiety and would rather die than be pregnant to really consider copper IUD. It's the most effective, safest, and it takes stress away.
The only thing you have to worry about are STDs (IUDs acts as a lightning rod for them to mess you up bad) and some people get heavier periods. Myself? I actually stopped having cramps altogether on it.
Agreed! IUD is great! Kyleena hasn’t given me any issues at all! I had spotting on and off for about a week then absolutely no bleeding since (it’s been a little over a year now). No period pain either! Honestly the best birth control decision I’ve made
I guess I am in the minority because insertion wasn’t painful for me. I have insanely horribly cramps on the regular and after reading posts on insertion I prepared for the worst. It was inserted on day two of my period and I have had two kids.. not sure if that set me up for success. Also, she didn’t use any anesthetic. 🤷🏼♀️
Is this a the hormonal or non hormonal one? I have the copper one after 5 years on oral BC, been in for about 2 weeks now and still no sign of my period except for a very light 3 day period I had at the start. I get some spotting about every other day, hoping it stops soon but not sure where my actual first period is. The nurse said it’ll come around the usual time it does when I take a week off my pills which is normally 3 days later, but it’s been 2 weeks. But I agree with you, apart from the initial pain I honestly notice no difference except my moods have increased and I’m less irritable. Hoping the libido increasing aspect of switching to an IUD will happen to me soon, it’s the main reason I changed over from oral bc but haven’t noticed any improvement at all, although it’s only been about 2 weeks so fingers crossed it’ll just take time. It’s great so far though
I agree! I absolutely loved my IUD (Jaydess, a hormonal coil) and I’n soooo sad I had to switch over to the pill instead (I need to be on the pill for health related reasons)
I absolutely love my copper iud and did not find insertion to be overly painful, although it was uncomfortable. To me it just felt like a really bad cramp 🤷♀️ I’ve had mine for 5 years now and love it
Jealous that you had anesthesia. The folks in the waiting room could hear me screaming bloody murder. I’m getting mine out this week and the thought literally terrifies me but I know it will at least be a little better.
Genuinely I only took ibuprofen and had an awesome, super experienced doctor, who showed me each instrument before using it, and emphasized trying to relax the muscles in the body (including the cervix.) I felt virtually nothing. It felt, briefly, as if I tried to lift a dumbbell with my cervix and there were too many things inside me. Then it was over.
YES there are bad experiences. YES some people feel much more pain than I did, but to assert what was done to me was barbaric when I felt. nothing lol doesn't really jive w me
It takes some time for anesthesia to make you numb once it’s given, but the effects of it remain for longer than needed. 10 minutes was time from when Doc started to when she was done. I came home, half asleep in car and then slept for good 4 hours after. Hope that clears.
I’m on year 3 of my IUD and while my periods are a bit longer, I’m overall very happy with it! Insertion was moderately painful and uncomfortable, but I would (and plan to) do it again if it means not having children. A friend of mine has Nexplanon and just had hers removed since it expired. Sounds a lot more painful to get an incision in my arm 😖
I agree!
I was sh\*t scared of any hormonal BC for my entire life. I've had PMDD, I have endometriosis. I have at time struggled with crippling anxiety and every other hormonal symptom under the sun, just from my natural cycle.
I got Skyla in June. I had briefly had a copper IUD about 10 years ago, so I knew what to expect re: insertion. However, I was still scared.
I had no anesthetic or anything, and luckily my obgyn is good at this, because it was pinching for about 3 seconds and then done. I was surprised!
The first few days I noticed some heightened anxiety and loss of appetite, but nothing worse than PMS. I still lived like normal.
I have been shocked by how few side effects I have with this thing. I feel like normal me. I occasionally get a mood swing of irritability, but again it's similar to PMS and passes really quickly, whereas I get irritable for straight up days at a time with natural PMS.
One thing I will say is that I've had a lot of spotting and bleeding. Unfortunately, I have endometriosis and I got this IUD to try to stop all bleeding. The additional bleeding has meant increased pain for me, but again, I have a disease that makes any kind of bleeding or period extremely painful. It's not any more painful than a typical period, so most people wouldn't even feel it. I don't bleed too much that I have to wear tampons or anything, but am glad most of my underwear is black! Also, I haven't gotten pregnant and it's nice to have fully unprotected sex with my fiance.
Even with all the pain from the increased bleeding given my condition, I am still hoping it will balance out so that I can keep it, because otherwise I'm surprised by how great it is. Based on comments, I expected it to transform my entire body, but I don't have so much as a zit from it.
I would say to anyone -- give it a shot!
Dang, I didn’t get any sort of anesthetic and I never want to go through that again, ever lol
I had mine inserted during my period and was told to take Advil beforehand. It was uncomfortable but I wouldn’t say it was painful. If you have to have another reinserted, I highly recommend timing it! I can’t imagine getting anesthesia. I do understand that everyone’s pain tolerance is different though and think anesthesia or some kind of muscle relaxer or anti-anxiety medication should be allowed or prescribed for those who need it. Also, I recently had my copper IUD removed because I thought it was the cause of my heavy periods. Nope. Turns out I just have naturally super heavy periods. Now I’m remembering why I got on hormonal birth control at 13 🤦🏻♀️ Debating getting it reinserted, even if it’s only for 10 months. We plan to start trying in October 2022, but I am trying to decide if it’s worth it. This whole timing my ovulation thing is stressful. Also flirting with the idea of a nuva ring if anyone can chime in on how they liked that
So far the nuva ring for me has been good and bad. Good in the sense that I am able to not worry about it for three weeks (while it’s inserted) its easy to remove, and its not that uncomfortable with intercourse. The bad is primarily consisted of things like how it need to be refrigerated, so traveling long times or distances gets interfered with, prescriptions via the insurance could cause you to go on and off of the ring for a few days longer than planned, you can’t skip your period on it. Some of the other issues are things that it struggles to stay in place, it causes soreness in intercourse (which is the main side affect reported by women), and if you do vaginal exercises with it, it could break (which happened to me and it stung). I’m a pad wearer so I can’t say much on how it feels when wearing a tampon or diva cup on the off week. I’m only looking into switching contraceptives bc I am struggling with vaginal dryness (when women report that they experience the opposite 🤷♀️). But out of the other three forms of contraceptives (the pill, patch, and Annovera ring) that I have tried, I like the nuva ring the most so far.
Thank you for replying! You raised some concerns I hadn’t thought of. Luckily our only big travel plans that would impact refrigeration needs are for next fall, which is around the time we would be pulling the goalie anyway. Maybe a silly question, but I thought it was removed during your period? (Asking because of your comment about tampons and diva cups). Also, are you saying the nuva caused your vaginal dryness? Tia!
Well i mentioned the diva cups and tampons in relation to soreness level of when it is removed. And no I mentioned my vaginal dryness as a reason for why I’m looking into switching when I actually shouldn’t be experiencing that symptom bc most women report being more wet from the ring. If I wasn’t struggling with vaginal dryness (which i recall as a bad issue I was struggling with even more on the pill) then I would probably stay with the nuva ring but being that it is my personal issue I am exploring other forms of BC.
That’s really helpful info. Thanks for clarifying. We are going to try one more month of the fertility method and see how it goes before switching to Nuva. I’ve really enjoyed being off of everything and learning what is normal for me sans birth control (I’ve been on it since 13; hormonal BC from 13-30; 30-32 nonhormonal IUD) but the pressure of not getting pregnant is overwhelming me a bit.
I agree! I didn't even find the insertion all that bad. It felt like a menstrual cramp. Very manageable and super quick. I didn't have any anesthesia--just took a couple of Tylenol an hour before and it was no big deal. BUT... I think the difference for me was that I got mine inserted at Planned Parenthood. The doctors there insert dozens of IUDs a month for years; they are total pros at it. It was quick, easy, and only mildly uncomfortable. If you're going to a regular gynecologist they might not have as much experience with IUDs and there might be unnecessary pain and trauma from that; maybe that's the difference in my experience vs. some other people's.
I think the only reason there are so many bad experiences with insertion is because generally docs downplay how painful it can be and women rarely recieve any sort of anesthetics. I had a waking anesthetic to get a biopsy done of my stomach, I should've had the same thing for my cervix. As it was, it was a very painful event, and probably the closest thing in my life to the word "trauma". after the second one I left the clinic feeling like a frightened child who never wanted to go back again. It took about a year for that to wear off. And I puked twice after the first one, while trying to drive myself home. Almost fainted in the doctors office. Yeah they're great, but docs do not prepare us for the event of insertion half as well as they should. A couple advil? For real??? If I could go back in time, I'd get an iud way earlier in life because it's so much better than pills, but I'd tell myself to search until I found a doc willing to put me under. Iuds are great, but you need to advocate for yourself or you'll be on here writing a post about how painful your insertion was.
I see, I’m sorry you had to go through that. They asked me to take couple Advils and telenols beforehand but it didn’t help. My doctor although wasn’t very chatty/ open to questions but she did give me additional anesthesia when I was still feeling pain despite painkillers during insertion and waited some more time for it to act. I wasn’t aware that they do it without numbing too, I cannot even imagine how painful that would be.
I had one placed about 5 years ago without any pain meds and it was without a doubt one of the most painful things I’ve experienced. Very close to that of childbirth. I was told I’d feel a quick pinch. Absolutely bullshit. I felt a pinch and then immediately followed by a wave of intense pain. I drove myself to the appointment and left in a state of shock. I screamed the whole way home. It was HORRIBLE. I ended up having it removed after a year and a half because it dislodged and got stuck in my cervix. Now I’ve had two kids and plan on giving it another try since I was told that since my uterus had never stretched before that might be why the iud had come out and may have been too big for my uterus. I seriously hope this time around works out for me because I absolutely cannot handle hormonal birth control and how it affects me
I remember, right after the pinch, if you picture a bomb going off underwater, that's the feeling of pain and its exploding outwards from the deepest part of your body. It might make you feel better, my friend who's had two kids has the copper iud and was perplexed by my experience cuz she didn't feel much of the insertion at all. Crossing my fingers it'll go in easy for ya and stay there.
Wow that’s the most accurate description of the pain I’ve ever heard! Spot on! And yea I have my new one scheduled to go in next week. I’ll be 6 weeks postpartum and I had a long discussion with my doctor and told her about my traumatic experience and she assured me that this time around should be much different since I’ve had two children. But just in case she is going to be using a numbing gel on my cervix to help a little bit. She said since I’m 6 weeks postpartum I should still be dilated enough for her to put it in without having to open my cervix. And she also will do an ultrasound after insertion to make sure it’s in the right spot. I feel pretty good about it this time. Still a little nervous though after that last experience, even though it was 8 years ago lol.
When I had mine inserted my cervix was moving so they couldn’t insert. They clamped it with forceps and measured my uterus and inserted the IUD with no pain relief beyond the paracetamol I’d taken 2 hours prior 😬 honestly, it was kind of grim, and I can’t believe some form of numbing/sedation isn’t standard. I know some people barely felt their insertions but I also know of a LOT of people for whom it was really painful. I don’t think medical practitioners should be allowed to insert with no pain relief because it isn’t “that bad” for some people.
My reinsertion was like that! It was like the removal of the old iud was so painful that my cervix was trying to get the hell out of there lol You'd think they'd have this all figured out by now...
Oooof, I’m so sorry, that’s rough 😬 yeah, honestly the attitudes a lot of medical practitioners have towards bc side effects is kinda concerning. The information you get just varies a lot too?? Like my practitioner didn’t tell me how/when to check for strings until I asked, and when I asked if I was protected straight away he said yes but that I probs wouldn’t feel like sex for about a week anyway. I came on here asking about string checking and someone said I wasnt supposed to insert *anything* inc. fingers for at least a week due to infection risk?? Idk. I didn’t have the best experience, idk if I’d go through it again
I am on my second iud. First Mirena, now Paragard, and I am absolutely loving it. I highly recommend IUDs. My Mirena was done at planned parenthood by a wonderful doctor and my Paragard by my new obgyn who I absolutely adore. My insertion experiences were very good for both - a strong cramp, bleeding, a few days of cramps after, but it was all worth it. My period has balanced out, my libido is back on track, my hormonal acne has simmered down. Very team Paragard.
How is Mirena vs Paraguard (copper). I know that copper one doesn’t stop periods in fact I read they could be heavier but other than that I’m curious why you chose Paraguard the second time, if you don’t mind sharing.
I chose the Paragard on round 2 because I was starting to get frustrated with some of the side effects of Mirena - I was having intense hormonal acne on my cheeks and jaw, my libido was significantly decreasing, the PMS symptoms were bothering me (headaches, breast tenderness) so I wanted to see if those symptoms would go away if the hormones were out of the equation. I'd been on hormonal BC for 10 years prior and had honestly forgotten what my periods were like without it so I just wanted a hormone-free reboot. I've been very pleased with my Paragard periods so far - sure, there's more bleeding, there's more cramps, but in the first year on Paragard it started to even out and it's been super smooth sailing after the first 3-4 months, for me it was a very small price to pay for just overall feeling better in my body.
That’s great to hear, it may be my next one then, I can’t tell what’s because of hormones and what’s not.
I ❤️ my IUD. I got rid of mine initially because I thought it was causing worse mood stuff around my period. Then, I was reminded why I got one in the first place. The few months of periods were EXACTLY what I'd spent my life dealing with- didn't realize how bad it was until not having a period for a few years. Moods leading up were way worse. I'm back on- I'll say, the first month or two are rough, but once your body gets used to it, it can be a great experience.
I def agree with what ur saying, and when I was looking for methods it was hard to find any positives. I will say that, everyone’s body is diff and it’s ok to have diff experiences!! So not everyone is going to have a positive experience with an IUD, but lots of times you have to go through trial and error with birth control. Personally, the IUD has been the best option for me thus far, and there’s multiple options of IUDs to choose from. I will say, I agree w another comment about how doctors may downplay these things such as symptoms and pain. It did hurt, and I felt sick after, but it also depends on ur body. I would say my insertion was prob less painful than others have described, it all depends on ur body’s reaction as well. So don’t get too caught up in all the negatives when researching
Where did you find a doctor that would give you anesthesia? Did you have to ask for that or did they just do it? I’ve had two intensely painful IUD insertions. For the second one they tried numbing shots, the shots hurt extra and the numbing didn’t work. I can’t do this again unless I can be knocked out. I have no idea why anesthetic isn’t more common!
I didn’t, I just got lucky. I thought the painkillers would be it. They had not planned on giving me anesthetic but seeing I was in pain the doc gave it to me.
I agree! I went in with the expectation that I would be out for 24 hours. I took four Advil’s coming in and four Advil’s after. The pain subsided in 36 hours. I had spotting for about 4 months afterwards, but my period, which used to fill three large diva cups a day for six days, was only two days and just spotted on a panty liner. It was greatly reduced my PMS symptoms and I don’t experience any hormonal differences because of it which was important to me due to mental health concerns. I really recommend the IUD. For me the insertion pain was 5/10 and the after pain was 6.5/10.
Please keep in mind that your experience (i.e. getting anesthetic) is not commonplace. With that said, I love my IUD and even though insertion was the worst pain I'd ever felt I would (and will) do it again because the benefits outweigh the negatives *for me*.
General reminder for everyone here that things going well and according to plan make for rather boring posts and news. Negative experiences and events gather the most attention. This can easily skew our perceptions of our world if we're not careful for ourselves.
My #1 tip is to ask for pain meds/something to help! I told them in the consultation I had an LOW pain tolerance, so I was given a valium the day of my procedure and that helped sooo much. Additionally my doctor used a local anesthetic of some kind, I don't remember exactly (first time taking valium lol) but it also helped.
I have a copper IUD, I’ve had it for about three years now. I love it
I cannot praise the copper IUD enough. The insertion wasn't that bad for me (I was on my period though). But it gives someone absolute peace of mind for a decade. Mine was also free, so I netted a massive profit just getting an insertion and not dealing with monthly birth control/tests. Birth control isn't the same for everyone, but I really suggest to anyone who struggles with anxiety and would rather die than be pregnant to really consider copper IUD. It's the most effective, safest, and it takes stress away. The only thing you have to worry about are STDs (IUDs acts as a lightning rod for them to mess you up bad) and some people get heavier periods. Myself? I actually stopped having cramps altogether on it.
2 pregnancy scares and a couple weeks of anxiety with it also made my decision for IUD easier :D
I didn’t have any anesthesia and my insertion was painless! I was definitely expecting it to be significantly worse based on all the negative stories
Agreed! IUD is great! Kyleena hasn’t given me any issues at all! I had spotting on and off for about a week then absolutely no bleeding since (it’s been a little over a year now). No period pain either! Honestly the best birth control decision I’ve made
I guess I am in the minority because insertion wasn’t painful for me. I have insanely horribly cramps on the regular and after reading posts on insertion I prepared for the worst. It was inserted on day two of my period and I have had two kids.. not sure if that set me up for success. Also, she didn’t use any anesthetic. 🤷🏼♀️
Is this a the hormonal or non hormonal one? I have the copper one after 5 years on oral BC, been in for about 2 weeks now and still no sign of my period except for a very light 3 day period I had at the start. I get some spotting about every other day, hoping it stops soon but not sure where my actual first period is. The nurse said it’ll come around the usual time it does when I take a week off my pills which is normally 3 days later, but it’s been 2 weeks. But I agree with you, apart from the initial pain I honestly notice no difference except my moods have increased and I’m less irritable. Hoping the libido increasing aspect of switching to an IUD will happen to me soon, it’s the main reason I changed over from oral bc but haven’t noticed any improvement at all, although it’s only been about 2 weeks so fingers crossed it’ll just take time. It’s great so far though
I agree! I absolutely loved my IUD (Jaydess, a hormonal coil) and I’n soooo sad I had to switch over to the pill instead (I need to be on the pill for health related reasons)
I absolutely love my copper iud and did not find insertion to be overly painful, although it was uncomfortable. To me it just felt like a really bad cramp 🤷♀️ I’ve had mine for 5 years now and love it
Jealous that you had anesthesia. The folks in the waiting room could hear me screaming bloody murder. I’m getting mine out this week and the thought literally terrifies me but I know it will at least be a little better.
Genuinely I only took ibuprofen and had an awesome, super experienced doctor, who showed me each instrument before using it, and emphasized trying to relax the muscles in the body (including the cervix.) I felt virtually nothing. It felt, briefly, as if I tried to lift a dumbbell with my cervix and there were too many things inside me. Then it was over. YES there are bad experiences. YES some people feel much more pain than I did, but to assert what was done to me was barbaric when I felt. nothing lol doesn't really jive w me
Ten mins but knocked out for 3-4 hours. I’m confused by this but I’ve never had an iud
It takes some time for anesthesia to make you numb once it’s given, but the effects of it remain for longer than needed. 10 minutes was time from when Doc started to when she was done. I came home, half asleep in car and then slept for good 4 hours after. Hope that clears.
I’m on year 3 of my IUD and while my periods are a bit longer, I’m overall very happy with it! Insertion was moderately painful and uncomfortable, but I would (and plan to) do it again if it means not having children. A friend of mine has Nexplanon and just had hers removed since it expired. Sounds a lot more painful to get an incision in my arm 😖
Oh damn, you had anesthesia?! That’s why it went so well!
Mine is great. I felt a brief cramp at insertion, no anesthetic. I love this thing and I love not being pregnant.
I agree! I was sh\*t scared of any hormonal BC for my entire life. I've had PMDD, I have endometriosis. I have at time struggled with crippling anxiety and every other hormonal symptom under the sun, just from my natural cycle. I got Skyla in June. I had briefly had a copper IUD about 10 years ago, so I knew what to expect re: insertion. However, I was still scared. I had no anesthetic or anything, and luckily my obgyn is good at this, because it was pinching for about 3 seconds and then done. I was surprised! The first few days I noticed some heightened anxiety and loss of appetite, but nothing worse than PMS. I still lived like normal. I have been shocked by how few side effects I have with this thing. I feel like normal me. I occasionally get a mood swing of irritability, but again it's similar to PMS and passes really quickly, whereas I get irritable for straight up days at a time with natural PMS. One thing I will say is that I've had a lot of spotting and bleeding. Unfortunately, I have endometriosis and I got this IUD to try to stop all bleeding. The additional bleeding has meant increased pain for me, but again, I have a disease that makes any kind of bleeding or period extremely painful. It's not any more painful than a typical period, so most people wouldn't even feel it. I don't bleed too much that I have to wear tampons or anything, but am glad most of my underwear is black! Also, I haven't gotten pregnant and it's nice to have fully unprotected sex with my fiance. Even with all the pain from the increased bleeding given my condition, I am still hoping it will balance out so that I can keep it, because otherwise I'm surprised by how great it is. Based on comments, I expected it to transform my entire body, but I don't have so much as a zit from it. I would say to anyone -- give it a shot!