birth control
"My Complicated experience with the insertion of the copper IUD. It was "one of the most difficult & Complicated IUD insertions I've had in a very long time" quoting the words of my Gynecologist MD. Now I have not been sexually active for over a year and a half (by choice) & I've never had kids so that for one was a concern for my doctor since she said i might be very tight & feel pain. Anywhom I am 23 and recently decided to date again & wanted to have a convinient birth control that won't affect my weight or cause acne since acne has recently been a new battle for me, so my first step was hitting the Internet for options. After reading many reviews for multiple birth controls I decided on the copper para guard which is for 10-12 years. Now I went to my doctor and had a screening for STDs & HIV which is protocol to any birth control procedure. Then pregnancy tests were taken a few days before the insertion and the day of the insertion, after everything came out negative I was ready for my IUD. I was schedule to go in on Tuesday September 1, 2015 so I went in with anticipation of pain and I was very nervous. Mostly because it was something new for me to have a speculum inside me since I just had my first Pap smear ,ever, two weeks prior to the IUD insertion. As my doctor placed the speculum I had some discomfort, she had trouble finding my cervix, after some time she had everything positioned right and began to try and dilate my cervix, right when she started I began to feel extreme cramping. My doctor could not get her tool that she used to dilate my cervix to stay in, I was too tight due to the fact that I've never had kids so it wasn't easy, my cervix kept pushing the prob out. She attempted a few more times until I couldn't take the pain anymore because the cramping became so severe I began to cry. Now I know i sound ridiculous crying but I have a pretty high tolerance for pain & I never understood how many woman couldn't take the cramping they had when on their period because I don't experience cramping on my periods, at least until now. I now have so much more sympathy for those who do have this pain every month. My doctor gave me other birth control options because she wasn't successful in Inserting the IUD but she knew I didn't want others so she offered to use an anesthetic on my cervix to help with the insertion (which is not normally a part of the procedure but since I had a special case she offered this option to me). I was not happy with the fact that I had to have a needle inserted in my cervix but this was the birth control I wanted and I was going to do whatever to get it. I was in too much pain that day so I had to come back the next morning. So here I go Wednesday morning into my doctors office, laying down ready to get a needle inserted into my cervix which terrified me because I already knew how painful it was but I didn't feel a thing when she put the anesthetic, I was told I would feel a slight sting and some burning sensation but I didn't feel anything. It took her about 15 min to position the IUD correctly, she had to dilate me 8cm to get a good view and make sure I had a successful insertion. I felt NOTHING & then she was done. Right after she had me lay down for a few minutes then had me slowly sit up, I felt like I was going to faint, The MD said my eyes were not focusing on her and I was so pale. At that point my whole face and hands where numb. She stayed there with me until I regained full blood flow to my upper body. FYI my doctor said some woman actually faint after the procedure & in some rare cases they even have seizure because the pain of dilating the cervix is so intense. I was lucky of not having any cramps because my cervix was numb. 8 hrs later the numbness began to fade & the pain started, I got prescribed 600 Tylenol which helped a little. I spotted the next 3 days, I had to use pantie liners. Then my period came 1 week early just 4 days after I got my IUD placed, it was very heavy the first 3 days with medium cramping and my period lasted 5 1/2 days. My usual periods post the IUD was 4 days with only 1 heavy day. I have now had my IUD going on 3 weeks and I have little spotting every day so I use liners all the time. Now the part that I was most nervous about was the whole "me checking if I can feel the IUD strings" Its something I'm a bit uncomfortable doing mostly because I've never done it before so the first couple of times I tried to check for the strings I couldn't feel anything so I began to freak out and rushed to my doctors office after my unsuccessful attempts. She said to wait until my first period was over and then to try again. I tried again after my period and I still couldn't feel anything then I found a way to check that best fits me since I have small hands so I'll share my wisdom with you guys lol. I check in the shower every morning I lift one leg as if I'm going to shave then I insert my pointer and I squat a little which helps and I'm able to feel the tip of the strings. I have not had any cramping since my period and my discharge has reduced. I'm very happy with my IUD & I plan on using it safely and responsibly as I have heard many woman have got pregnant with the IUD. I still plan on using condoms because of STDs and I got the IUD as a backup just in case. I plan on keeping it for the full 10 year unless there are any complications. Sorry for the long story but I for one would have loved to hear the entire experience someone had so I decided to share mine. Hope it helps at least one person :)"