Opinions about IUDs please?

Hello ENA,

I've taken the last few months to decide about getting an IUD, and a few weeks ago I finally made the decision to do it. I am getting it inserted tomorrow. I outweighed the pros and cons a lot, and here's what I came up with:

Pros:

-No more pills

-Good for 5 years

-Can be removed if I want children

-Very light periods, if any

Cons:

-My partner may feel it

-Cases of it piercing the uterine wall

-Cases of outside wall pregnancy

-Cases of pelvic inflammation

The very main reason I want an IUD is because I am terrible at taking pills on time. So far I've survived without getting pregnant by using the pill, but I'm terrified that my lack of consistency will result in the worst.

The very main reason I'm still leery of it is because I've gotten some opinions prior to this and most men say they can feel it, with a few saying it's uncomfortable. I'm terrified that this will ruin sex for me and also my partner. Intimacy is very important in my relationship and I'm scared it will dwindle because of this.

Does anyone have anything to add? Personal experiences?

Ive had mine in for 5 years, I am actually getting it out in a few weeks and I am deciding to go back on the pill for two reasons:

1) It made me paranoid constantly that it had either fallen out or is being imbedded into my uterus and I was constantly checking to make sure the string was in place.

2) Yes, I never got pregnant with it and I did have no complications with it, I have decided I am not going to push my luck any further with having a foreign object just inside my body.

My spouse has told me he can feel it but its very minimal because the string is not to long, but he can still feel it. The period you get one them, is normal, its not minimal or at all.. you still get it and the sucky thing is if you're not one to mark on the calendar, it will come at surprising moments... So I am going to convert back over to the pill after this to stop my paranoia for one and two so that I can know 100% when my time of the month is going to start and instead of it being a guessing game. It doesnt stay constant either, mine has switched dates so many times and when I think its the week I am going to get it, ends up not coming for another week and I get paranoid even more because of the chance of IUD pregnancy.

My doctor told me that the Mirena stops periods or maybe some spotting at most. Did you have a different one?

I can understand about being paranoid about it staying there. I have also read about it spontaneously moving. But for me, the fear of pill inconsistency scares me far more. It's weird.

I have the Copper IUD. It's different but ive been told my doctor that you should still get your periods on the IUD, Mirena or Copper...

I was on the pill when I got pregnant with my son, but I was also 20 was not organized like I am now. So after I have my son I had the IUD put in to prevent any things messing up again. But, now that Im older and Ive watched my paranoia get worse because of this IUD, I would rather just set an alaram and take the pill everyday then be constantly checking out my lady bits to make sure this foreign object is where its supposed to be.

Plus, depending on what kind of sex you like (soft, rough, mixture etc)....

the rough sex can hurt with the IUD like painfully hurt to point you are almost in tears sometimes.. sorry if TMI.

Did it ever hurt him like that?

No, not him. it hurts me.

Feels like a knife or like a something sharp jabbing me and i know its the iud cuz its the uterus that hurts...

but this only happens maybe every 2 or 3 months.

I have had mine in for 3 years now. At first I had constant light bleeding for 3 months, now I hardly get a period, sometimes a very light one every few months. No other complications what so ever from it.

i have had mine for 3 years or so. i get very light periods and no every month. similar to spotting for maybe 3 days. some partners have told me they felt it, others have not. and yes if your guy is larger or rougher, sometimes it hurts deep inside your uterus. i do sometimes get really terrible cramps when i did not before.

OK, will you be getting the hormonal IUD or the non-hormonal? I'm assuming that since you wrote about light periods that you're getting a hormonal IUD, which is good.

For a couple years I had the non-hormonal IUD (I forget what it's called). BIG MISTAKE. TMI, but my periods were so heavy I'd have to change my tampon every hour, and my backaches were severe. I was completely miserable.

I'm getting to an age where I want to stop having children, and when that comes I will probably get the hormonal IUD.

As far as your partner feeling it, supposedly it sort of feels like the plastic thread on a price tag that you find on clothes in stores. LOL. He can't get the thread wrapped around him or anything like that, so to speak.

And yeah the complications you speak about are rare but are possible...you should really be okay, as long as you have a good, competent gyno that you trust, as it's a blind procedure (he just kinda reaches in and places it).

I'm so very happy with the pill. For some miraculous reason the pill I am on (as long as I don't skip any pills) allows me to skip periods! No pain, no menstruation, it is like I am 10 again! So for that reason alone, I'd never give it up.

I've had the non-hormonal IUD for 9 years (though I had it replaced after 5 years, as you are supposed to).

I have had zero problems with it. It didn't change my periods. No sexual partner has ever mentioned feeling it. I don't think it has caused any pain during sex that wouldn't have occurred anyway from someone large being that deep (sorry, TMI).

I really like the IUD because I like not messing with my hormones (the normal pill gave me migraines) and I never have to worry about it. It's the best birth control for me, but everyone is different. The only thing I didn't like about the IUD was that it was painful on the day I had it put in (severe cramps) but that went away with painkillers, plus there was a lot of bleeding on the day, too. Otherwise, no issues at all.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences. I chose the hormonal-IUD because I have PCOS and I HATE not being on hormones. (Body hair gets darker and more abundant, face breaks out, plus I'm on depression/anxiety medication and the extra hormones work well with the medication I'm on.)

It's good for 5 years. I had it placed yesterday, and let me tell you, it's definitely not the best experience I've ever had! I've never been pregnant, so the contractions/cramps that the uterus does when touched were amazingly painful. I took Aleve and regular pain medicine beforehand, as instructed, and I feel like they didn't even touch the pain. The cramps only worsened as the hours passed. I'm feeling much better today, still slightly crampy, but definitely not as bad. I bled like crazy yesterday, but it seems to be much lighter today. She did say that if my partner feels anything, it's just the string at the end, which means it's too long and needs to be trimmed.

Despite the pain, I'm relieved to have chosen this method. I know I won't worry as much as I did on the pill. Good thing I'll only have to relive this experience one every 5 years!

Yes I also found the insertion process extremely painful, I almost fainted afterward and had to lay down in the doctors office for about 20 minutes afterwards. Mine is due to be removed next year, and I am not looking forward to having a new one inserted.

The strings will soften with time and curl around the cervix, your partner shouldn't feel anything once they soften. My strings are long, and have softened and curled and I have serious trouble feeling them when I check each month.

Glad you went through with it

I've had two mirenas over the last 6 years. I love it. Super light periods (like...half a day and I don't even need a pantyliner), PMS isn't as bad- break outs are rare, and I'm only crazy a few times a year now instead of monthly...but the best? No surprise babies! Awesome.

You want to check to make sure you can feel the string every month because they can "fall out". It's not common though.

I've never had a guy complain about it. I did have one bf that was larger that would hit it and I would bleed every time we had sex. That sucked.

Other than that...I've loved it. After kids, I'll totally get it again.

Not happy with mine and getting it taken out in a couple of weeks. Periods have been stupid heavy and I get a lot of random cramping, esp. after sex. Takes the fun out of it, that’s for sure. It was promising for the first little while, but after a year and a half, I’m done.

I loved the IUD (I have the paragard) for the first year, but this year I've been having constant cramping and cervicitis, so I've decided to have it taken out because it may be a sensitivity to copper. Makes me sad =(

I'm happy to see all the responses to this post. I'm getting lots of opinions from both sides, which is lovely.

Greywolf, I decided against the copper one... It just didn't make any sense to me to put copper in the body. I have no medical background but it just wasn't logical to me. That's why I went with the other one. Will you try a different one?

I'm happy to see all the responses to this post. I'm getting lots of opinions from both sides, which is lovely.

 

Greywolf, I decided against the copper one... It just didn't make any sense to me to put copper in the body. I have no medical background but it just wasn't logical to me. That's why I went with the other one. Will you try a different one?

There's actually nothing wrong with it. It's just that some people seem to be sensitive to it, which may be the case for me. And the copper helps kills the sperm, or something like that.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point. My insurance doesn't cover Skyla and I don't want the Mirena. I really wanted the copper IUD because I hated hated hated being on hormonal birth control. I felt like a fat cow and I woke up with aching swollen fingers and feet every morning. My breasts grew to enormous proportions and not in a good way. It just made me look fat, and now I have stretch marks.

So I was thinking that if I ever went back to hormonal birth control, I would go with something that was super low dose. Right now the Skyla has the lowest dosage of hormones on the market. Only 14 mcg/day compared to Mirena's 20 mcg/day. So I was thinking maybe I would try the Skyla after removing the Paragard and seeing if my chronic cervicitis clears up after the removal.

So I'm at work right now, I suddenly have intense pain throughout my lower abdomen, namely around the area where my left ovary is... It's gotten so I can't sit, I'm actually scanning in documents standing up. Yikes!

Just wanted to update, in case anyone needs some info to refer to--

It's been a good 3 weeks since I got the Mirena inserted. Up until maybe 2 days ago, I bled constantly. Now it's a spot here and there. I don't wear tampons, so having to use a panty liner every day for 3 weeks was such a hassle - including the chaffing

I was intimate with my partner for the first time since getting it in, yesterday. It did not hurt at all and he did not feel it. He's on the larger side and I was terrified that he'd feel it and our sex life would be OVER. (I'm very dramatic.) But this wasn't the case. I asked him afterwards if he could feel it, and he said he could not. Even doing it from behind and being a little rougher didn't cause him to feel anything.

I'm still getting discomfort if I'm full or have a full bladder, but it's not as bad as before. I have a follow-up appointment mid-December with my gyno, so I can post an update regarding that if anyone cares to read about it!

I'd sometimes feel it, but it wasn't always, and only in certain angles. The little string gets softer over time, and it's not really a big deal...you just make a mental note for a split second, and then you continue on!

Have you considered Nexaplanon? It's the implant they put in your arm, lasts 3 years, and is also a lower hormone option. I'm having one put in next week and can't wait. I've been on a higher hormone pill for over 10 years and it is time for a change. I considered an IUD, but many of the reasons mentioned in this thread were why I decided against it.

Just an update, for future reference!

Still have discharge, still have abdominal discomfort at times. I went to the doctor for a check up. Everything is still in place, and she said it does sometimes take 3-6 months after the initial insertion for things to return to normal. She reminded me that I hadn't been on my period for a few months prior to getting the IUD, and they had given me that 10-day pill to make it appear. Likely the reason I'm having issues longer than most is because my system is still cleansing itself. She said I was still considered to be in the "normal" bracket of symptoms etc, but if it truly bothered me, she would put me on the pill for one month to get myself regulated. I declined though, since it's still normal.

I had intermittent abdominal pain for a few months after insertion, decreasing in frequency as time went on. I think that's just normal as it is a foreigners body that is in your uterus. I haven't had any pain for months now. It will be 2 years this March that I've had it.