I am considering an IUD. Anyone have experience with the IUD birth control?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I like mine a lot.

The insertion was very uncomfortable - if I do it again in the future, I’ll bring my husband to hold my hand. But it seems YMMV - don’t know if it’s the skill of the practitioner or the body of the woman that makes the difference.

But it was totally worth the discomfort! I don’t have to prepare ahead of time to have sex, or take a pill every day, or use condoms. I can breastfeed my baby since no hormones are involved. I have a normal hormonal cycle every month (unlike when I was on the pill), which happily includes several “no man is safe around me” type days. (Not literally of course - monogamy is pretty much required for using an IUD and I’m happily married.)

I do bleed very heavily during my period, and have very slight breakthrough bleeding at other times of the month, but not even enough for a pantyliner, really. And my understanding is Mirena usually prevents that.

I used to have awful cramps. Then on the pill, I hardly had any. Then I had a baby, and had the IUD put in, and I have somewhat bothersome cramps sometimes. So I’m still better off than I was before I started the pill (though that may be due to my uterus going through pregnancy).

My husband can feel the strings, but he says it’s just a little odd, not painful or bad in any way.

Oh and I get pregnant if I borrow his toothbrush, if we aren’t using anything, and it’s been a year with no accidents, FWIW.

22

I’d say it’s a little of colum A, a little of column B. If I had to choose one, I’d lean toward column B. There’s so much variation in cervical tightness, uterine angle, and individual pain threshhold, that I’d say the same practioner could do 50 insertions and get fifty different discomfort levels. In my particular case, we were dealing with a really clamped-down cervix and degree of cervical retroversion that all three practicioners agreed was truly impressive, which made it much more unpleasant than it would be for most people.

Mrs. Giraffe, some providers don’t like to use IUDs in women who haven’t had kids because there were some studies ages ago that implied that it might possibly have some slight reduction in your fertility if your uterus hadn’t been all stretched out beforehand. More recent studies indicate that it’s really not an issue, but some doctors aren’t willing to take the chance.

23

Wow- I want to thank everybody for their input and experiences with IUDs. I didn’t think I would get such a response! This info is so much more useful than online brochures.

I will definitly talk to my doctor about the both the Paraguard and Mirena brands of IUDs. to see which would truely be best for me.

Don’t worry BoringDad, I didn’t take it as you being critical. You were asking a legitimate question :slight_smile:

24

There’s an old thread on this topic that kinda got sidetracked. Motorgirl’s What was getting a IUD like for you?

25

I had the Mirena fitted about 6 weeks ago, it was quick and relatively painless when it was inserted. However I have not stopped bleeding since and I’m considering having it taken out which will probably be more painful and a huge waste of money, but I’m sick of it. I actually searched this message board to see if anyone else had the same experience as me. I guess its not for everyone.

26

I have the Mirena, and I really think that’s the best option, after reading what everyone else has said here. I’ve had it for two years, and have three more to go until I might get it replaced. The OBGYN said that the company is only saying five years now, because they’ve only tested for five years, but by the time I get it out they may say ten, so we’ll have to see.

I was on my period at the time of insertion. My period dried up two days later and hasn’t come back.

It hurt on insertion. They told me to take ibuprofen, and I did. I think I should have taken something stronger. If you are going with the IUD, ask if they can give you a stronger painkiller than what is over the counter. There is no reason to suffer when drugs are available. (slight hijack – I am still angry with them for only telling me to take an ibuprofen, when they HAD to have known it was going to be more painful than that. Is there a reason that they put me through so much?)

To give you an idea, I didn’t leave the office for about an hour and a half because every time I stood up I felt like I was going to faint. I finally made it out to my car and took a lot more painkiller. I sat in my car for about half an hour before putting it in drive. I made it home – I don’t know how – and took some aspirin. Then I laid in bed and tried not to cry, until I went to sleep. It hurt for about a week.

ASK FOR PAINKILLER.

However, I feel it was worth it. I am very sensitive to birth control pills – make me weepy, bloated and sick every day I take them. I was using a barrier method, and had several problems with it. My husband was sensitive to most types of spermicide to the point where there is only one brand he can stand, and it wasn’t available in our state so I had to order online. I don’t want kids – maybe not at all – but certainly until I am damn good and ready to have them. I really hated the 10% per year failure rate, and agonized over every day I was late.

So I never have to think about birth control, and everything is a lot less messy and more spontaneous. That’s a good thing!

There are a lot of horror stories about IUDs out there. Doctors don’t like to prescribe them either. Just stick with it and tell them that you know what you are getting in to. And ask for some strong painkiller.

27

I could introduce you to Alex, born 5 weeks ago, Mason, born about 4 months ago and if you come see me next May, I’ll introduce you to the Baby Currently Called Polliwog who is currently half a centimeter long and camped out next to mama’s Mirena.

Now perhaps it’s just a weird time for my friends, but three IUD failures (which is 50% of the women I know who have them at the moment) in not quite 15 months’ time seems pretty high to me. In fact, I don’t know anyone else who has had a birth control failure that couldn’t be explained by drug interaction (Pill+Antibiotic=Baby) or user error (something was forgotten or put on/in wrongly).

Yes, this is entirely anecdotal, but it’s enough to give me pause. I know, academically, that IUD failure rates are supposedly 1% or lower, but if i knew 6 women using any kind of birth control and 3 of them had failures, I’d have to think very, very carefully if not being pregnant was extremely important in my life.

28

Guess I’d better chime in, then! :smiley:

Had mine inserted not too long after the above mentioned thread.

I got the Paragard T 380A (no hormones - good for 10 years).

Having it inserted was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. However, I’ve also never broken a bone or had a baby or gone through any of the other classically painful events, so I really can’t tell you how it stacks up.

My gynecologist wanted to insert it during my period, but that was really not going to work out timing-wise without waiting months, so we did it just before my period. That probably contributed to the pain. I got really dizzy and barfed after the insertion. (I’m a barfer)

That day I had a lot of cramping but not terribly painful cramps. Sort of mild menstrual cramps. By the next day I was pretty much back to normal.

My periods were much heavier with the IUD than without. Before the IUD my periods usually lasted 2-3 days, and I rarely needed much more than a panty liner. With the IUD they ranged from 5-10 days long and I needed significantly more tampons & pads. Sometimes I had cramps, but in general I could deal with them with ibuprofen. Not a lot to complain about.

Unfortunately, in August my IUD moved and though I didn’t actually expel it, the doctor wasn’t comfortable with its position so we took it out. I’ve opted for trying the pill again, but might get a new IUD later.

I was prepared for the removal to be horrible, but it was so painless it was incredible. I had taken the day off work anticipating lying around with a hot water bottle, but got to use the time to goof off instead because I felt so fine.
I had the IUD for almost two years.

What I liked:
No pill, no condoms, no need to worry about birth control.
It’s a blessing not to have to even think about your birth control other than checking the string once a month (which is how I found out mine had moved - so check it!!!)

What I disliked:
longer & crampier periods
insertion was awful for me (some women say for them it isn’t terribly painful, so everyone is different)
my periods were, um, how do I put this delicately… chunkier(?) than they were befor (we really need a barfing smiley) which grossed me out a little

I think the good far outweighed the bad for me, which is why I’m considering trying an IUD again someday.