IUD Panic- please help

[mommyofshmoo]

Hi,

I'm having a bit of a panic attack and I was wondering if anyone has any advice.

I got an IUD put in today- the kind with low dose hormones- and I am totally freaking out that I made a bad decision.

I think the main problem is I rushed into it without thinking enough and I was overwhelmed by the procedure and I hadn't really looked into the risks and side effects adequately.

Now I'm TERRIFIED I'll get PID, I'm scared of the long term effects of the hormones on my nursing baby, I'm worried something will happen and I'll become infertile.

I thought an IUD was a good choice because we may very well be done having kids. Now I think I may have been a bit rash.

But if I get it removed I have no idea what I'll do for birth control. Dh and I have used condoms our entire relationship. It's getting kind've old. NFP is how we ended up with both our kids (well the second one were were not really avoiding PG so much). I seem to get pregnant when I don't use birth control- but I'm scared of the mini-pill becaue of the hormones in breast milk.

Ugh.

Anyway- any IUD users out there who could help me out with advice? Reassurance? Info?

I don't want to rush out in a panic to get it taken out, especially since it was a pain to put in. My gut is telling me that it's scary having something weird in my uterus. My brain doesn't know what to think. My brain is very tired.

Thanks

[cmb123]

My gut is telling me that it's scary having something weird in my uterus.


LISTEN TO THAT GUT! IT ALWAYS KNOWS!
This would freak me out too. I always think it's a bad idea to mess with your body in that way. I also think the pill is dangerous. I think anytime you try to mess with your body's natural rythems you are potentially asking for trouble.
Have you considered a diaphram? At least you just take that out when you are done. Maybe you and dh can take turns with condoms and diaphrams?

[gardenpoetry]

I've used a diaphragm. Takes a bit of spontaneity out of things, but it is hormone free and very safe.

I have an IUD. I use the copper IUD - so no hormones. The instance of PID is very low. It usually occurs right after insertion within a week or two. It is become of a lack of sterile environment when putting in the IUD. If there is any bacteria vaginally, etc. Basically, you are at a higher risk for PID when you first get it, then your risk goes way down.

Good luck.

[Lucky Charm]

I am a big chicken about those things too. I would be just like you, freaking out because there is something in my uterus!! It just doesnt seem right! :lol

But I have two friends that have them in and love them. No big problems, no heavy bleeding or bad cramping.

My good friend graduates this december to be a nurse practitioner and spent her entire womens health rotation at Planned Parenthood and inserted a ton of them! She said they are quite popular. But she never had anyone come in with PID or issues related to that.

If you are really uncomfortable with it, you can always have it removed. But maybe keep it in for a bit and see if you relax.

:Hug

[~ATenthMuse~]

Listen to your gut as someone else said.

I had an IUD for almost 3 years after dd. For me, I could always feel it and it was uncomfortable. My periods were worse. And then...it came out.

I had a miscarriage a few months after it came out. Not sure if that was related or not.

We've been using condoms, but I just started using the films, VCF, I think they're called. Condoms just weren't working for us. You can get VCFs at the drugstore near the condoms and spermicides.

[melissa17s]

I think the PID is also a concern if you have multiple partners. I felt uncomfortable for a few days after having a copper-t put in. Somedays, I feel it if I move wrong. I chose it because both of my pregnancies were unplanned while attempting nfp methods. I also wanted to be able to breastfeed without interference. As far as I know, the pill negates breastfeeding because it causes the milk to dry up. I would call your dr. and express your concerns. Sometimes, dr.'s nurses are just as helpful and knowledgable and you might consider talking to the nurse if you have a hard time communicating with the dr.

[mommyofshmoo]

Hmm. Last night I read a bunch of past threads about Mirena and most people sounded like they really liked it- so I was planning on trying to get over my initial hesitations.

Now I don't know what to think.

I can't use diaphragms because I'm allergic to both spermicide and latex. When we used condoms I had to use the sheepskin kind all the time. (Expensive!)

I think my main problem was that the procedure brought up past trauma issues for me and the Doc was kind've a jerk. I don't want to ditch good birth control without trying it because of past trauma issues.

I think I need to try to chill. I can't get it out for at least a few days anyway, so I may as well try to relax and see if I get used to it. I have a sneaking suspicion that it may come out at some point. My body tends to expell foreign stuff. I don't have the type of body that just deals and ignores foreign bodies, My ear piercings are the only ones that have ever stayed ok. I tend to get hypertrophic scarrings.

I need to get over the PID fear though. Having kids is dangerous as well and I did that. I should focus on how I feel about it as time goes on and what my experience is, rather than my fears.

MY fears are mainly the result of having my cervix clamped. YUCK!

[dharmamama]

I've had Mirena for 2 1/2 years now. My midwife recommended it to me. She said the low-dose hormones were not an issue for breastfeeding babies. She said the instance of PID is very, very low. I've had no problems or issues with mine. It's the best birth control I've ever had.

Namaste!

[Danielle283]

I have had the Mirena IUD for 6 months now and love it! My doc highly recomended it.

[mamaley]

I love my iud. I've had it for 2 years. At times there's been a bit of discomfort and at first my periods were heavier but not anymore. It beats having another surprise pregnancy, at least for right now!

Oops, please don't say I just jinxed myself! :lol

Oh yeah, my midwife suggested naming your IUD so that you would feel more comfortable having it in there. :lol

[crazy_eights]

Take a deep breath. IF you are in a monogamous relationship then your chance of PID is about zero. Esp. if you already have it put in, I would say ride it out for the next few months and see how you like it. I suspect you will find that you like it a lot, esp. once it decreases your periods to just spotting or non-exsistant.

[bobandjess99]

Like you said, take some time to relax, think it through, determine if your intuition is really telling you to get it out, or you are freaking over your past trauma.....

All that said, I really do think they are great for most women......I'd maybe give myself a "trial period", whatever you think is reasonable, say maybe 3 months?.....promise yourself you will leave it in 3 months (unless you have some truly bizarre serious reaction or something) and then make a decision about removal. If you hate it, get it out with no regrets, knowing you made an informed, deliberate decision, if you like it, leave it in!

[crazy_eights]

PSA - It takes about 3 mos. for the spotting and such to settle down. You might want to give it at least that long.

[foxytocin]

I think that a bit over 3 months is a good trial period...... it seems like with the Mirena it takes that long for your system to balance.
Thoughts on the Mirena:
Today I go for my yearly checkup......I got my Mirena not long after having my second baby, a little over a year ago. I'm pretty thrilled. Having it inserted was no big deal (my dr.'s a very confident and experienced lady), I had some cramping and spotting for a month or so. Since the hormone doesn't enter the bloodstream, there is supposed to be no effect on nursing babe's. We nursed for a year with no hitches and the experience was no different than nursing my first babe with no mommy contraceptives involved. However, I was simply amazed that my periods didn't start back up after we weaned. Freaked me out because I thought I'd somehow conceived again. I now know that I'm part of that 20% or so who don't menstruate while using the Mirena. I'm sure this was explained to me, but I must have put the notion on the bach shelf. At first this struck me as highly suspect and unnatural (and, this is still true in some respects), but I've got to admitt that over the past 5 years, I've been pregnant and nursing most of the time and got pretty accustomed to not having my period. I started menstruating just before I turned 10. I don't miss it. I'm also aware that my body is still going thru a "monthly cycle;" it's odd, there's no menstual flow to prove it, but I can feel the changes. I'm 29 now. We're not sure if we should bring another child into the family. I do awful on the pill or any strong hormones, DH can't be persuaded to have a vasectomy, my normal menstrual cycle is completely unpredictable; I think the Mirena is a contraceptive well-suited for many people like us.
Anyway, just some thoughts in honor of my yearly and this line of posts about hormone-releasing IUD's. Best wishes to you all.

[mommyofshmoo]

I ended up getting it taken out yesterday.

It turned out the doc didn;t get in in right. It was only in my cervix, not my uterus- or barely in the ueterus.

Also, the doc sut the string REALLY short. SO if my body did migrate it up to the right spot, I would have lost the string.

I'm glad I followed my intuition.

I think I'm going to use spermicide or barrier stuff till I get my periods back. I didn;t get it back till 15 months with dd#1.

Gotta run

[Brinda]

Just for future reference, there are now latex-free condoms that aren't sheepskin and cost about the same as latex ones.

[blessedwithboys]

I can't use diaphragms because I'm allergic to both spermicide and latex. When we used condoms I had to use the sheepskin kind all the time. (Expensive!)

have you ever tried the polyurethane ones? i think thats what they were made of, i may be getting it wrong. but besides latex and sheepskin, there is only one other kind afaik, so you might want to try those.

[mommyofshmoo]

The cost of condoms is not such a big deal really since we don't have sex all that much- especially now with the new baby. A buck or two a condom is not so much if you don't use more than 1 per week or less.

I think that for me an IUD might be overkill since I probably won't be fertile again for a while. I need to use birth control- but spermicide is probably enough, just to be on the safe side.

Also, I had thought we were almost done with kids, but my dh has been making jokes/intimations to the contrary. I need to "have a conversation" with him about it, but don't really want to have to think about it for a while. Not that I could get PG anyway with a 2 months old.

(BTW- I know you "can" get pg while nursing and before you get your period- I just mean that it's less likely.)

[Brinda]

Not that I could get PG anyway with a 2 months old.

(BTW- I know you "can" get pg while nursing and before you get your period- I just mean that it's less likely.)

LOL, that's when I DID get pregnant, and I was nursing AND on the pill. :wink

[mommyofshmoo]

LOL, that's when I DID get pregnant, and I was nursing AND on the pill. :wink


Eep! Was that after your first kid?

I never seem to get pg when I use birth control- nomatter what kind of birth control I use I don;t get pg. (Not counting NFP- that definately gets me pg.)

I pretty much trust that if I use SOMETHING I'll be OK. I'm almost 33- so probably not as fertile as I onse was anyway.

[Threefold]

I have the Paraguard, which is the all copper version. I don't like artificial hormones, so this is the best choice for me.
I love it. I had it inserted by a midwife in whom I trust, who told me she herself would also use one. The risk of PID is for those who have mutliple sexual parteners. When mine was inserted, she washed everything with betadine, so the risk of infection was minimized.
I did spot for 4-6 weeks after insertion and my first 3 periods were heavier and longer, but I have almost no cramping with the IUD, which is a change.
I love it.

[Brinda]

Eep! Was that after your first kid?

I never seem to get pg when I use birth control- nomatter what kind of birth control I use I don;t get pg. (Not counting NFP- that definately gets me pg.)

I pretty much trust that if I use SOMETHING I'll be OK. I'm almost 33- so probably not as fertile as I onse was anyway.

Yeah, that would be my little Lori. After she was born, I went to the depo shot thinking that would be better since it wasn't as often. Big mistake, that was something I wish I'd researched first. Bad side effects, AND I ended up pregnant again right when I'd decided not to go in for the next shot. :lol Unfortunately, I m/c that baby though. With my last I was waiting to regulate after m/c to put in an IUD and found I was pregnant again (this time I had used condoms). The only thing that DID work, was the IUD I had put in after Adam was born.