I had my copper IUD in for 3 years , it made my periods heavier but it was fine. Then I realized my period was late, since I had the IUD I didn't think much of it until I realized my period was 2 weeks late so I went to read about pregnancy and IUD online and read some horror story about the increased risk of tubal pregnancy so I ran out and bought a test. I came home and did it, I was living in Japan at the time and had never done a test before so when it came out with 2 lines, I didn't know if that meant positive or negative and all of the directions were in Japanese! finally I found a tiny one line translation on the back that said 1 line negative 2 lines positive. I couldn't believe it. My husband and I were in shock. We didn't imagine that we would have kids yet and especially not in Japan. The next day I saw my Dr he did an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and the position of the IUD. He sent me to an OB to remove the IUD, they said it was riskier to leave it in as it could cause infection or preterm labor. After they took the IUD out they said if I was going to miscarry, it would happen in the next week. I didn't have any spotting or anything and the pregnancy continued normally after that. My son is now almost 6 years old. After telling the story to my Dr back in Canada,, he said "oh, its because the IUD was too old. They stop working after 3 years. The copper breaks down" Although I clearly remember being told it would be fine for 10 years. Now we have another little boy. Between the kids we just used natural family planning / timing for birth control but now I have the Mirena IUD. I didn't want to risk it with the copper one again. I don't have any complaints with the mirena although I wanted to avoid hormones, it is a much lower dose than say on the birth control pill, but it made my periods disappear completely which I don't like. Anyway... for those of you who have the copper IUD's check with your Dr. how long they are good for so you don't get stuck with an unplanned IUD pregnancy. Good luck!
My periods got extremely heavy right after the IUD was inserted; this last time was much lighter. I have taken a pregnancy test and it turned out negative. It sounds like it is still possible that I am pregnant from reading stories all of the ladies share...
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