Please note that the information below is private information I am willing to share, however it is slightly graphic in nature and if you are offended by sexual health or topics of bodily functions or processes, then please do not continue past this point.



I am making an easy-to-follow reference for anyone concerned about getting an IUD, the procedure, fitting, and placement, side effects, and the subsequent life before, during, and after.

However, this is also MY EXPERIENCE and MY OPINION and it is still a blog post. I am not a medical professional, I am not the pain receptors in your head, nor am I able to ensure everything that happened for me will happen for you. But I’m hoping that through all of the negative posts out there, a tiny beacon of hope might shine through. The best thing you can do in this situation is relax, and be relaxed, and feel confident in your doctor and your decision.

So if you read through this and are looking at the screen like this:

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Today I was finally able to have my IUD inserted. After having to wait two weeks while my period was somehow late, then only lasted for three days, I managed to abstain from sex and get my appointment scheduled within the first week of my period. They suggest this time frame because your cervix is softer during and right after your period making for easier insertion, as well as ensuring beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are not pregnant. It is also easier for the IUD to work immediately if you are within the first two days of your period as the IUD will be able to release the correct hormones at the right time. Whereas anywhere from 3+ days after your period, it will take a week or so for your body to adjust.

Just think of your period as the perfect time to have this done.

Now I had originally planned to have a copper coil put in. This was due to the fact that I have Grave’s disease (though in remission and I’m not being currently treated for it) and I was afraid of what hormones might do. I had taken the pill while I was in Japan (they only have one variation available over there) and suffered from a ridiculous amount of side effects. Acne broke out all over, I gained 5 lbs I couldn’t get rid of, I felt heavy and my mood swings were terrible–as well as the constant headaches, body aches, and relative feeling of despair, I had to stop taking the pill very quickly as it affected my life pretty badly.

While the copper coil is an IUD, it does not have any hormone whatsoever. The copper is deadly to sperm and therefore makes the uterus and even more inhospitable environment, therefore preventing pregnancy. However, as it has no hormone, the most common side effect of this IUD is heavier and more painful periods. For many women, these heavy/painful period last from 6 months up to a year before settling back down to normal patterns. I have read stories of women who said that they genuinely have loved their copper coils as they last for 10 years, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’ve got an ectopic pregnancy because your period always comes and there are no hormone side effects like acne, weight gain, mood swings, etc, unless you deal with those issues during your period anyway.

I decided to go with Mirena, which is a hormone releasing IUD. Mostly because I feel that my PMS symptoms and my short but heavy period were a bit too much for me and I would like to have some semblance of control over it. Plus, a positive with the hormone IUD is that you have shorter, much lighter periods, sometimes to the point where you only need to wear a pantyliner. I’ve read many women who said they have lost their period altogether, and that sounds like an awesome situation for me. No period, but no baby either. Amazing.



IUDs work in a completely different fashion than the pill. The pill you have to remember to take every single day for as long as you want to be childfree and manage your hormones and periods. This is sometimes difficult, as we all have busy lives and can forget something as simple as taking a pill–and we all know once you’ve missed a day, it’s like you’ve screwed up the entire cycle.

IUDs work in that they are positioned at the top of the uterus, where the fallopian tubes connect and it directly releases a much smaller amount of hormone that you would normally take orally. It releases a small amount because of it’s position within your uterus, the hormones do not need to travel throughout your entire body to work.

(your hormones ^^^)

Although I had originally settled for Mirena, the nurse suggested after measuring me that it would be easier to insert the Jaydess/Skyla IUD which is considered the “baby Mirena” as it is a bit smaller, releases a smaller dose of hormone, and only lasts for 3 years instead of 5.

I didn’t object, I was prepared for what some had said would be “labour like pains” or that it would be so painful I would “black out” or “cry incessantly”. My own mother was petrified for me over the pain that I would endure through the insertion. The amount of comments I received over how to prepare myself for the pain was astronomical. I mean, I had women coming out saying they’ve had complete back tattoos and it didn’t hurt as much as this did.



LET ME SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

I am, by no means, a tough cookie. At least not physically. I stub my toe and cry. I hit my funny bone and want to scream. I get a regular non-threatening period cramp, “OMG I’M GONNA DIE”. So when I heard all of these horror stories about how painful it was, I was sitting there thinking, “I better try to get me some freaking morphine to deal with this!”

Now that I’ve gone through it. How absolutely ignorant and rude do you have to be to be that fear-inducing to other women?

Was it pain-free? No. Was it the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life? LOL No.

In fact, as a woman who has had tattoos (and I downed half a bottle of whiskey to get through the one on my back okay), and as a woman who doesn’t deal with pain well.

THIS IS NOTHING TO BE SCARED OF

Please, if you’ve had ONE period cramp, you now know what it feels like to have this inserted. That’s what it feels like, a bad cramp. At worst, like you really want to poo.

I was advised to have local anesthetic injected 3-4 times at the base of my cervix to deal with the pain. I had a local anesthetic gel, once, and it wasn’t even that much. Just enough so that I wouldn’t feel the forceps so much. That was what actually hurt about the entire procedure were the forceps. The actual insertion of the device was nothing, so maybe all these women are actually afraid of was the pain of the forceps, which truth be told, if you look at the damn things, they are QUITE SCARY and medieval looking.

The nurse I had was absolutely amazing and she didn’t want me to see the forceps as she said she thought they looked like a torture device, and they do.

Had I seen them before the procedure I would’ve flipped.

That is not what they use for a pap-smear!

However, the most pain I felt was one of those bad, long cramps where you know you just need to roll over and curl up to let it pass. But that’s it. You actually feel it pass as you would a normal regular cramp.

The entire procedure takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on how long it takes to measure your cervix. I was actually waiting for her to insert it, because I thought that’s where the real pain was going to come from and as I thought they were getting ready to inject me with some horrifying piece of metal, she just said, “All right, you’re done! Great job!”

I needed to wait around the doctor’s office for a bit afterwards, just to see if I had any terrible pains afterwards. To be honest, it just felt like I was on my period and dealing with cramps again. Nothing horrendous, just normal average cramps where you feel like laying down and watching Netflix, not going on a big run. I did, however, walk back to my house, which was a good 5km away, right after the procedure. Was totally okay, took it slow, didn’t run or anything.

I swear, the amount of build up I had in my head over how much this would hurt was unfair. It was unfair for these women to build up such a horrific scenario for other women to read. And I talked with the nurse about this. I told her I was afraid because other women have told me it was a horrible experience and very painful and she seemed really surprised as she’s done hundreds and no one has ever cried before. She was even more surprised when I told her that women who have had children had explicitly said how painful it was. She reassured me of what I would be feeling, what others she’s fitted have felt, and told me if I felt any pain at all to let her know and I could squeeze the other nurse’s hand if I’d like.

(the worst pain ever, you say??!!)

She also made a very good point. That pain is relative. To one person, pain is an everyday experience that even medicine can not help them through, for others, they rarely face any physical pain in their life so a normal headache can genuinely feel like a brain tumor. She said that often times people who have longer medical histories understand more about what pain is and what is truly feels like as opposed to healthier individuals. She told me not to judge any of the women too harshly for they may not have had the same life experiences I have, and even though I consider myself to be some what of a wimp, they have probably dealt with less or nothing at all.

I did feel a bit embarrassed for having said such nasty things about them, but sometimes I feel people cross a line when they’re trying to help. There’s a difference between being helpful and inciting fear and anxiety within someone. If you are concerned that you might be doing the latter, explain “in my experience” or “this is probably just me” in order to reassure whomever is reading that it is not a common or definitive experience for everyone.

My cramps got better after I took a nap and took some more ibuprofen. The one thing that’s a little irritating is the leakage. It’s come in three forms:

brown goo

blood

white discharge (consistency of water; not congealed, thick, or sticky; it’s literally like just water discharge)

Now, these come all together or individually and were a little shocking at first. Now it’s just annoying. My cramps have disappeared, but I’m left with bloody water leakage. As a woman who usually wears tampons, it’s already uncomfortable to wear a pad, but to deal with this? Ick.

For ladies who normally wear tampons and are switching to pads for this: Always Infinity — Definitely the choice I made. It’s thin, it’s absorbent it feels much less like a diaper and more like a soft, thick underwear. Anyway, it’s soft near your crotch instead of itchy and dry feeling.



I’ll update every day to let you know if it gets better or worse or what. Because as gross as it is, I wish I had found something like this that gave me a guide for what I’d be experiencing!

So far today, my insertion went well, my cramps have disappeared, and although I’m dealing with some watery discharge and wearing pads which feel like diapers, I’m okay. And once the little recovery period is over, I will have 3 full years of not having to buy condoms or worry about taking a pill a day or even really buying tampons or pads (just a nice box of panty liners). And that’s a win for me.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you!

Jillian

-(๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ