>IUD-Day
>Remember that time, a long long long long long long long time ago, when I was determined to get an IUD? I wrote about it and provoked a flood of horror stories from some of you, about getting pregnant despite your IUD, about your post-IUD suicidal thoughts, and about gaining 20 pounds a year until you had it removed…
Well, I must be a glutton for punishment because… I did it anyway.
>I found your blog via Google Reader, you appeared one day in their suggestions and added you. I wish I had seen your original blog post about this! I had an IUD place in July or August (can’t even remember now…lol). I was scared. AND IT HURT! ALOT! (I have never been pregnant, so my cervix was CLOSED) BUT? The best thing that I have ever done. I think I am one of the lucky ones. I used to have what I would call fairly bad. Now? I don’t have cramps. My period doesn’t last as long. My sex life has improved because I used to always worry that the condom/pill/other form of BC would fail. I love it. I got the same concerns you got, when you told people. I don’t have the one with the hormone, I have just the copper one.Anyways, just wanted to let you know that they aren’t all bad experiences :)Natasha
>I thought about Mirena and stuck with the pill instead. Not because of any horror stories, but because I feel more in control with the pill – if it started to bother me, I could stop it immediately, not have to make an appointment to get it taken out.I went through a phase of baby fever about a year ago. I mean, I REALLY wanted a baby. REALLY. Probably because everyone at work seemed to be pregnant.Now, a year later, I’m really glad I didn’t get pregnant. Because after all the cute pregnant bellies gave birth to cute babies, THEN I started hearing the horror stories again: up all night, colic, day care, vaccinations, ear infections, etc. and all I could think was “been there, done that, and mine is almost ready to move out”.Life is pretty sweet.
>BAHHAHAHAAA! I think it is pretty funny that someone actually used (and typed out no less!) the word “cootchie” in the comments.
>I know! And now it looks like the webmaster deleted that comment. Disappointing… I love stirring up the crusty online readers over there.
>I had Mirena for 5 years and a month. Make sure when you get your yearly pap that your doctor checks for it and finds the strings. I was ready to have mine taken out, and thought I was just going in and they would yank it out. Wrong! I had to have an ultrasound to make sure it was still there (doctor didn’t note in March that the strings were out, not sure if he checked or not) and since he couldn’t get it out or find the strings, I had to have outpatient surgery. It was embedded so I had a perforated uterus. I had the surgery 3 weeks ago and am fine. Just waiting to have the first period in 5 years! I don’t remember it hurting much when it was put in (I had had one child. I think it must hurt way more when your cervix hasn’t been abused). I would still get another one if I didn’t want to have another baby now. I stopped having a period within the first month of it being inserted, and I like the idea of (ideally) being able to just go into the doctor’s office and having it taken out when I’m ready! So, while I would rather not have had surgery, I’d still get another Mirena.
>My Mirena has been in for 2 years. I originally went to my doctor because of severe bleeding each month and thought I wanted a hysterectomy. He suggested the Mirena and it’s been great! After an annoying adjustment period of light periods that lasted for 10-14 days, I started skipping months and finally they stopped altogether (after about 9 months). I walk past “that aisle” at the supermarket and smile smugly. I hope it works as well for you!
>It’s easy to get caught up in anecdotal horror stories. Of course, people who have awful experiences are more likely to share them than those where things were “fine”, so it is easy to be scared off by the stories that you do hear. I am on my 2nd Mirena (7 years total now) and I haven’t had a period in as many years, nor any cramping, craziess (well, no more than ordinary)or any of the other negative side effects. The installation wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time, but it wasn’t any worse than getting a pap smear either. I think some of that depends on the doctor’s technique- anyway- good luck- hope it works for you as well as it has for me… I would marry this thing if I could!
>So far, so good. No crazy mood swings, no pain, no awful periods. Woot.
>The next time you get that baby craving… think of getting poojoinked!!!
>The Ob/Gyn department at my med school is a HUGE proponent of the IUD in general, and the Mirena in particular. I am *totally* getting one after I have my first kid. The only reason I’m waiting that long is I want to have a kid relatively soon. So much more reliable than the pill.
>Lindsey, I had an IUD after my first son, the one without hormones. I had very heavy periods. I got it removed when we wanted another child, no problems whatsoever. After our second son was born, I got the Mirena instead of the regular. It is wonderful, eventually, I got to the point where I didnt have full blown periods anymore (2 years I have had it). Just some spotting. I havent noticed any other side effects from it whatsoever. So far so good. It is different for everyone. Not all experiences are bad. It may or may not work for you, you just have to see! But for me, no problems. Good luck! I love your blog.
>I’m having my baby in 2 weeks…10 weeks after that I get my Mirena…and I can’t wait.
>I hate it when people tell isolated horror stories about something that for most women is pretty benign.I was on the pill for 16 years before TTC my son. I fully intended on going back on it after the pregnancy.But, during my pregnancy we discovered I have 2 copies of a genetic clotting disorder. It caused severe preeclampsia and something called HELLP syndrome. My son was 12 wks premature but is doing really well today at age 3. My doctor said no more hormonal birth control for me EVER. He said it is amazing I never got a clot or even a stroke while on the pill and having a clotting disorder.So my options were limited. I went with the copper IUD (good for 10 years…hooray!) and I have been VERY happy with it.It hurt to have it put in, but let’s be honest….no where near as much as my c section recovery pain!I never have to think about it and I love it.I think you will too. 🙂
>Well, I love my IUD. And that’s the totally cool thing….if you decide you want another little one, you can just have it removed and you’ll be back to your old baby-makin’ self. I’m glad you did it, and you will be too! Even if you decide to have more kids, you can make that decision after you’ve had awhile of worry-free fun.
>I’ve had my Mirena for 5 years. So, now it’s time to get it replace, which is happening next Friday.If anyone has any stories about insertion of the second one, let me know. The first one was very painful (way more than a PAP, BUT I’ve never had kids – so that is why) and I spotted heavily off and on for two months. Since then it has been a dream. I love it.I’m just wondering if I’ll go through all that pain and spotting the second time around. My GYN couldn’t give me an answer.If you know, please email me at greystgirl@gmail.com. Thanks for posting this blog so we can hear the good stories too!
>Hey – I’m one of the women who commented on how painful the IUD insertion was…but I failed to mention both of my children were born via c-section, which probably makes a huge difference…anyway, I read the comments on your other blog and JEEZ those people are some kind of uptight! I know exactly how you feel about the IUD and I have to say the reason I got it instead of having my tubes tied was because I wasn’t ready for something that permanent. Anyhow, welcome to the IUD club and I hope you love it as much as I do.
>Interesting comment war for sure. Not touching that with a ten foot pole.I’m on year 3 of my Mirena and I love it. It’s the only long-term birth control I will ever be able to use (due to other health issues). It is a little painful the first week, but so worth it. I love mine. It probably helped that it was 100% covered by insurance. (Which was obviously before I became an employee of a parochial school…)
>Lindsay, your timing is perfect!I remember when you wrote the last post about planning to get a Mirena, and was on the verge of e-mailing you to ask how things were going with it. I was on the pill until I started trying to get pregnant, then got the Paragard IUD put in at my 6-week post-birth appointment. I’ve now had it 10 years, which means it’s time for it to come out.I don’t really want another Paragard, because my periods are pretty bad, but I was hesitant to get the Mirena because I’m not sure I want anything with hormones. But the more I read/hear about it, the more I think that might be the way to go. I think I’m too old for the pill(45), and I smoke, so that’s not an option (ducking for the slaps I’m going to get for that) and I don’t see that the “side effects” of the Mirena would be any worse than those of the pill, which I used for 15 years before pregnancy.Man, I was really counting on menopause kicking in before those 10 years were up!
>I am SO glad that I didn’t find your previous post before I had the Mirena put in about 6 weeks ago – I would have been to scared to do it had I read all those horror stories. I haven’t had any problems with it at all – hopefully you have the same experience. And it’ didn’t hurt…although I did have a baby 6 weeks before so it changed my rating of pain permanently.
>I’ve had my Mirena in for about four years and it’s great. I love that the pregnancy rate is lower than if I’d gotten my tubes tied, and even lower than if my husband had a vascectomy. And I’d rather have a few minutes of discomfort rather than myself or my husband having surgery.I also love that my period is down to almost nothing. But FYI, my doctor said some people have almost daily spotting for the first couple of months. As far as “TMI” goes – anyone who doesn’t want to read about someone else’s personal experiences needs to get off the internet!
>On Thursday I spoke to my nurse and made all the plans to have the Mirena IUD ordered. I told her I would call her on Monday to pay for it (my insurance requires me to pay $95 for it and all up front). I almost emailed you to see how it had gone (I saw on your twitter that you had it done) but now that I am re-reading all these comments, I’m not going to do it. I am really scared about any kind of uterine pain. I am scared that I will have pain during sex. I am scared the string will bother me. I am scared it will cause me to gain weight. So I will continue to pay $60/month, which we don’t have, to wear the birth control patch. I just can’t go through with the Mirena.
>After years of worrying about this decision, I have finally found a simple solution…. menopause!
>Oh Christian Kay, it REALLY was no big deal. If those horror stories were the norm, then no one would be getting it.The procedure hurt, but not badly. I would describe it as “discomfort.” It took maybe five minutes, start to finish. It didn’t hurt afterward at all, but you’ll want to have someone drive you home, because I was a little lightheaded for about 30 minutes, and that’s normal. I had about a week of spotting and that was that. No problems.
>As for weight gain (just re-read your comment), the Mirena causes less weight gain than any other hormonal birth control method, including the pill. That’s primarily why I chose it. I think the studies showed 0-2 lbs over the five years the Mirena was in, compared to 5-10 pounds per YEAR weight gain with the patch, the pill and the implant.
>I had 3 IUD’s inserted ( more than 30 years ago) My doctor recommended that I bottle my muscles and sell them since they pushed all 3 out within a month each!Since I didn’t want more kids I went for the belly button tubal ligation. Now I’m old and don’t have to contend with any of that stuff…YAY!I still remember how bad those friggin IUD’s hurt when I had them inserted…I felt like I was in labor for a couple of days after.
>”Anonymous: I love that the pregnancy rate is lower than if I’d gotten my tubes tied, and even lower than if my husband had a vasectomy.”Lower? Like, .02 percent lower? Woo, big difference there.Not sure where you researched your failure rates, but “perfect use” rates for tubal ligation and vasectomy are pretty darn good!
>Not as good as an IUD, though. Interesting, isn’t it? Check anywhere, the data’s all the same- I did, because I found it hard to believe, too!
>i’m a mirena girl… two years going strong! i had some minor side effects, but nothing i didn’t battle when on the pill.i don’t think it made me crazy… but ask my husband to be sure! 🙂
>Thanks for the feedback Lindsey (Oh great, is it ey or ay? I can’t ever remember…sorry about that). Anyway, I may do it, I don’t know. I just filled another month’s worth of the patch today so we’ll see how I feel about it next month. I am glad it went so well for you. With all of my other health problems I just don’t want to end up being in the minority and having bad side effects. From past experience I tend to be in the minority alot when it comes to health issues. My husband also asked how it will affect my mood. That was nice of him, huh? LOL
>the main reason that tubal ligations and vasectomys fail is that people are still fertile for a while, maybe up to a year, and if you don’t follow up and have a sperm check, you might not be shootin blanks! Also there are weirdos out there like my husband who had a double set of cords( thankfully our dr checked and found them!) Do you know how many divorces occured because of post sterilization pregnancies? bunches, i bet.
>I had an IUD for 10 years and loved it. I only had it removed because it was time to replace it and my insurance wouldn’t cover it, but my husband’s insurance would only charge a $30 co-pay for a vasectomy. (Tell me that’s logical) Since we don’t plan on having anymore, it just made sense to go w/the vasectomy.
>I loved my IUD, and I had it “installed” after my youngest was born 11 years ago. Best birth-control I ever used. I had it removed only two years ago, since I’m old and my ovaries quit working anyway. It was sort of a moot point to keep that thing in. Removal? 3 seconds and 300 dollars. Good luck with yours!
>Just wanted to say THANK YOU for this post. As someone with an appt to have Mirena implanted next week (it is one of few reliable options for people with epilepsy) I am incredibly relieved to read of these positive experiences with IUDs. Online forums usually only tell the horror stories…search BlogHer and I get the positive AND not so positive stories.