IUD

I have received a few messages over the last couple weeks of people telling me they went to my blog to try and find the piece I wrote about my experience with getting and having an IUD, but were unable to find it. I ad originally put this piece on my other blog that was removed, and had chosen not to republish it becasue of a lot of negative feedback, but have changed my mind since many people have asked for it! I would like to point out that this is me being extremely personal, something I do not mind doing, but with that being said I would appreciate it if you take that into account when commenting.

Today I am here to discuss my chronic auto immune illness, endometriosis, and the way I am choosing to treat it: an IUD. If the topic of female health and birth control makes you uncomfortable, I encourage you to keep reading to gain a different understanding than you may currently have. 

Ever since I started my period at 11 years old, it has been unpleasant. It was hard to track, extremely painful, and lasted an un-godly mount of time. I’m talking like two week long periods with another one two weeks later. It was uncomfortable and unmanageable, but I thought it was normal and would just have to deal with it. But around my junior year of high school, I discovered most of my friends had what is considered a “normal” period and I began to wonder what was wrong with mine. 

Things hit the tipping point into unbearable with a trip to the ER after I had been working while on my period. Even though I usually lost a lot of blood during it, this one had me loose so much blood I passed out at work, and continued to bleed through everything once I made it home. The hospital couldn't do anything for me other than give me some pain meds and make sure there wasn't an obvious, removable cause for the issue. I left with a recommendation for several gynecologists and a feeling like they had laughed at me all night. 

One whole year later, I finally found a doctor who was willing to do exploratory surgery on me to see what the full extent of the issue was. She had suspected endometriosis and wanted to get a set diagnosis so that I could finally receive adequate treatment. The diagnosis came back as endometriosis, a condition one in ten women in America struggle with at varying levels of discomfort.

So lets start with the basics: what is endometriosis? It is a condition in which the uterus over produces tissue that lines the uterus and then does not shed it all when it comes time for a period. This lining grows out of the uterus and onto the ovaries, cervix, and even up on to the bowels. It makes periods extra painful and heavy, as well causing pain and inflammation of the pelvic area and lower back. And this isn't just during that time of the month. For me, it means constant pelvic pain and inflammation, food sensitivity, constant joint and lower back pain, and chronic fatigue. But, it can effect women in all kinds of ways. It is even considered an autoimmune disease since it messes up the chemistry of the body so badly. 

Since I am one of the lucky ones to get the actual diagnosis, I had options to seek accurate treatment. There is no one “cure” for endo (endometriosis), unless you remove the uterus, and there for remove the problem. It is mainly treating the symptoms and trying to make life more comfortable.  The first step is trying an IUD. This is the option with the least amount of side effects and is really non-invasive in a persons life once it is inserted. Once I decided I was going to go with this course of treatment  as a first step, I had a lot of female friends ask me several questions about it and wanted to know all about it so I thought I would make this post to give some answers and insights to everything IUD related! 

The most asked question has been how bad does it hurt? And unfortunately, yes it does hurt as bad as everyone says. I figured since I was used to pain, above and beyond pain, it would be a piece of cake. It was 100% the opposite of that. IUD insertion is no joke and I even took the recommended 800mg of Advil before I went in and it still was VERY painful. Without being too graphic, there are several things that have to happen before the doctor even gets the IUD in. They insert the speculum so that they can see where they are going. After they see your cervix and find the opening, they insert an instrument that looks kind of like really skinny and long scissors to keep the cervix open. All of this is the part that really hurts. By the time they actually get the IUD in, you mostly just feel pressure since there is already so much cramping going on. It is a very small pop and seems insignificant to the rest of the pain. I ended up having to go in for an additional ultra sound to make sure everything was in place since all my organs in that area are incredibly inflamed at all times, but that is not common practice. 

Once the doctor takes out all of the instruments, you have about an hour of relief before the next wave of cramping hits you. So my advice here is to get home as quickly as you can so you can set yourself up in bed and not have to move the rest of the day. The cramping just feels like severe menstrual cramps and with the help of some Advil and a heating pad, you should be able to find some relief. The cramping can last up to six days and is really just more annoying than it is painful. 

And that is the IUD insertion! Its not fun, but so far my experience with it after the fact has been positive. The spotting and other side effects after the initial insertion only lasted about six days and then got much better. I still have pain and other symptoms from the endo itself but the actual IUD is no longer an issue. The first period after the insertion was rough, and that says a lot coming from someone who has had so many issues in that area already. It may have been worse for me becasue of the endo, but it is normal to experience heavier, longer and more cramping in your period the first couple months before they start to slow and then stop all together. When it comes to using this as a birth control method, it is 99% effective which makes an IUD the best possible thing you can choose for brith control. Obviously, I am not a doctor. And I am using an IUD for a reproductive disorder, so if you think this may be a good option for you, talk to your doctor and see! Taking a pill everyday can be tricky and give you a lot more side effects since it is systemic where as the IUD is more localized.

I wrote this initially almost a year ago, and I am happy to say that I am still doing very well the IUD! Unfortunately, it has not helped as much with the endo as I had initially hoped, but it has helped regulate things and make my periods shorter, which helps enough. I would also like to add in a couple more little tidbits I wish I would have included then.

First, there are two kinds of IUD’s: copper and hormonal. Hormonal is the most common, but not any more or less effective than the copper. The main difference is that the copper one lasts a shorter amount of time than the hormonal one, and must be replaced sooner. The copper one also has less noted side effects, but I experienced none with the hormonal IUD, and it really is just up to you. You know your body best and how it reacts to things.

The last thing I will add is that this is just birth control and does not protect against STD’s, so even if you get or have an IUD you should still be using condoms with your partner for safety.

I know the topic of birth control can be a bit heated, but I would also like to make a quick reminder that a woman’s body is her own, and she and she alone is the one who gets to make decisions about it.

Madey