IUD
I had an IUD put in yesterday. I thought I'd write about it since I hadn't any idea what to expect and knew no one else who's ever had one, or at least, no one close enough to have shared.
So in Canada (and, I presume, elsewhere) there are two types - copper and hormonal. The hormonal one sends small doses of hormones (one-fifth of what's in the pill) to your uterus/ovaries and impedes ovulation and implantation. The copper one kills sperm and impedes implantation. The copper one has a 99% success rate*, the hormonal slightly higher. The side-effects of copper are heavy periods for the first few months. The side effects of hormonal are lighter or possibly no periods (which could be a bonus for some!)
I opted for copper because I'm not comfortable taking hormones, even low doses, while breastfeeding. Not sure why exactly - I'm just not. Also, the Pill really affected my sex drive, so I prefer just to be off hormones completely. Besides, I figured that even though the hormonal is slightly more reliable (99.9% apparently*), the copper IUD is still more reliable than the Pill, or at least, the Pill with normal usage. And since I'm not getting a period right now, heavy periods isn't much of an issue for me. That said, hormonal IUDs are said to be safe during breastfeeding.
My doctor referred me to a clinic to have it inserted. The doctor there does lots of IUDs. I went in, took off my pants, hiked my legs up into the stirrups and away we went! She started, well, probing, and explained she was doing some freezing. I didn't feel anything more than I do with a PAP. Then she inserted the IUD. There was a brief twinge of pain then; I'd say it was similar to the pain of an early labour contraction, or maybe similar to the pain of an injection. But it lasted just a second - like by the time I could have said "ouch" it was over. She checked the IUD's position with an ultrasound and said it looked great. We exchanged pleasantries; I was as pleasant as I could be knowing she'd just had a full-on view of my vagina. I pulled up my pants, paid my $35 for the device (the copper ones are also a lot cheaper; range from $35 to $80 versus $350 to $400) and was on my way.
After that I was a bit menstrual crampy for the evening (had it inserted at 6 p.m.). I took a couple of acetaminophen (no ibuprofen on hand) and was fine. I also had some bleeding - and they didn't offer me a pad which was kind of annoying! I hadn't thought to bring one... actually I had one in my diaper bag but I forgot I did. I'm still spotting very lightly, but just a pantiliner's worth.
So that's it! I go back in six weeks to make sure it hasn't fallen out because they are occasionally rejected in the first few weeks; although she said that the only time it would fall out without me knowing was during a period (which so far, I don't get). And it's effective immediately.
So far so good - a highly effective, dirt cheap, non-hormonal birth control that I never have to think about - except in five years if it needs to be replaced, or before then if I remove it to further our baby-making adventures! You can start trying right after it's removed, and you do not need to have given birth already to have one inserted. Why on Earth are these things not more common?
Speaking of birth control, the baby calls again!
*(Note - those stats come from the handout I got at the clinic and are similar to what I came across browsing around the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists web page; I have not looked at original sources.)
So in Canada (and, I presume, elsewhere) there are two types - copper and hormonal. The hormonal one sends small doses of hormones (one-fifth of what's in the pill) to your uterus/ovaries and impedes ovulation and implantation. The copper one kills sperm and impedes implantation. The copper one has a 99% success rate*, the hormonal slightly higher. The side-effects of copper are heavy periods for the first few months. The side effects of hormonal are lighter or possibly no periods (which could be a bonus for some!)
I opted for copper because I'm not comfortable taking hormones, even low doses, while breastfeeding. Not sure why exactly - I'm just not. Also, the Pill really affected my sex drive, so I prefer just to be off hormones completely. Besides, I figured that even though the hormonal is slightly more reliable (99.9% apparently*), the copper IUD is still more reliable than the Pill, or at least, the Pill with normal usage. And since I'm not getting a period right now, heavy periods isn't much of an issue for me. That said, hormonal IUDs are said to be safe during breastfeeding.
My doctor referred me to a clinic to have it inserted. The doctor there does lots of IUDs. I went in, took off my pants, hiked my legs up into the stirrups and away we went! She started, well, probing, and explained she was doing some freezing. I didn't feel anything more than I do with a PAP. Then she inserted the IUD. There was a brief twinge of pain then; I'd say it was similar to the pain of an early labour contraction, or maybe similar to the pain of an injection. But it lasted just a second - like by the time I could have said "ouch" it was over. She checked the IUD's position with an ultrasound and said it looked great. We exchanged pleasantries; I was as pleasant as I could be knowing she'd just had a full-on view of my vagina. I pulled up my pants, paid my $35 for the device (the copper ones are also a lot cheaper; range from $35 to $80 versus $350 to $400) and was on my way.
After that I was a bit menstrual crampy for the evening (had it inserted at 6 p.m.). I took a couple of acetaminophen (no ibuprofen on hand) and was fine. I also had some bleeding - and they didn't offer me a pad which was kind of annoying! I hadn't thought to bring one... actually I had one in my diaper bag but I forgot I did. I'm still spotting very lightly, but just a pantiliner's worth.
So that's it! I go back in six weeks to make sure it hasn't fallen out because they are occasionally rejected in the first few weeks; although she said that the only time it would fall out without me knowing was during a period (which so far, I don't get). And it's effective immediately.
So far so good - a highly effective, dirt cheap, non-hormonal birth control that I never have to think about - except in five years if it needs to be replaced, or before then if I remove it to further our baby-making adventures! You can start trying right after it's removed, and you do not need to have given birth already to have one inserted. Why on Earth are these things not more common?
Speaking of birth control, the baby calls again!
*(Note - those stats come from the handout I got at the clinic and are similar to what I came across browsing around the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists web page; I have not looked at original sources.)
Labels: breastfeeding, health
posted by grass @ 7:58 PM
7 Comments:
At 8:07 AM ,
LL said...
I have the Mirena IUC and I like the mindlessness and guaranteed reliability of it. I miss being as regular as I was on the pill, and JP swears he can feel it during sex, but overall I'm glad I went this route.
At 12:39 PM ,
Anonymous said...
My mother had her ovaries removed due to an incredibly resilient infection that grew to the size of an orange, was painful, and finally grew a cyst wall type that prevented antibiotics from reaching the center of it.
Anyway, what does this have to do with an IUD? Her doctors strongly believe (but obviously can't retroactively prove) that the IUD lead to the invasive bacteria more easily accessing her ovaries, where usually the bacteria would have laid in her cervix, and would have been probably more accessible by antibiotics, (and I think more accessible to the outside to fall out..or something...not sure of the physics, but apparently more benign, non surgery needing situation).
Basically, an IUD can act as a quick pathway for bacteria to the fallopian tubes, where once an infection grows, well it's hard to take out unless you take out the whole contraption.
So, you should keep that in mind. I'm not sure what the % increase of risk is, but for me personally...I'm not going to take it having seen the horribly prolonged pain my mom had to go through.
It took 3 weeks for the surgery to be performed, for the first few weeks they went through: (1) diagnosis, (abdominal pain is hard to pinpoint and they don't first suspect an ifnection there, they start thinking appendicitis, then cancer, then finally after ultrasounds and the like, they are like, ah hah, not thick enoguh to be cancer)... after that, of course surgery is risky, you can die, so they first try antibiotics...which can take forever to figure out if they are working or not.
Anyway, so it might not happen to you, but if you start having horrible abdominal pain, hurry up to the hospital She let it go on for a really long time, and the infection grew to the size of the orange and that's why the antibiotics wouldnt kill it.
Me personally, I figure my body has enough odds against as it ages, I am not going ot insert another thing in it that gives easy access for bacteria to destroy it, but to each its own. It's your body and your choice.
At 12:41 PM ,
Anonymous said...
Oh, part 2, I also don't believe in the pill. There is much debate about it, but a strong contingent of my friends who are doctors told me to stay from it. According to them, the risks of cancer are very real.
At 5:57 PM ,
kaitlyn said...
IUD's seem to be a popular conversation these days. I thought about getting one after I had Leila, but in the end, I just didn't feel confortable with. To each her own, but the IUD doesn't stop conception, it just stops implantation. And at the end of the day, I didn't feel confortable with that. That said, I totally understand your apprehension about hormones and BF. They're hard decisions to make. I am also afraid that a foreign obkect in my uterus will somehow morph into cancer, silly, I know. We tried the sponge for a while. I found it mildy inconvenient, but Steve really didn't like it, claiming her could feel it (sorry TMI). I guess I'll probably go back on the pill since despite predictions, I seem to be pretty fertile, and well, two pregnancies in two years... I'm ready for a break!
At 1:18 PM ,
portia said...
It sounds good. And isn't breast feeding automatically good birth control? Like is one less fertile while they are breast feeding?
At 1:20 PM ,
portia12 said...
And to anonymous there, with any birth control one weighs the pros and cons. I thought the pill lowered a woman's rate of certain types of cancer? I've never been on the pill myself.
At 1:22 PM ,
portia said...
And...my three cents worth, this IUD kills the sperm so would prevent conception, which sounds good to me.
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