female only IUD - What should I expect?

[CHM 1,009]

I'm curious - how did it go for you? I've been contemplating getting an IUD (on Nuvaring now), so this thread has been fascinating.

I would love to be able to answer this! Unfortunately as I was leaving town to head to my appointment on Friday, the doctor's office called saying they had to reschedule me again, so I now have to wait until April 28th.

I'll get this thing in eventually, dammit!

[CHM 1,009]

Just an update: It is April 28th, and I've finally had my Mirena inserted. All of you ladies who said it was no big deal must be made of cast iron! It was not as bad as an endometrial biopsy for me, but damn that hurt. A lot.

I tried to get the OTC muscle relaxer the doctor had suggested, but upon asking the pharmacist it turned out that it was not OTC at all, so I settled for taking an oxycodone before hand that was leftover from my last D&C. They obliged my request for the use of anything they had to help numb me. The nurse was told to keep a wastebasket within easy reach, as I tend to vomit when I'm in a lot of pain. It was a good thing I'd mentioned it. I did indeed need it.

The measuring rod came first, which made me scream. I remembered @@katanne mentioning that this was the worst part for her, and I thought that if this was the case for me as well then it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Unfortunately it was not. The insertion was far worse for me. I screamed. I bawled. I vomited. I forgot how to breathe. Yes it was relatively quick, but in my case it was also relatively extreme. IUDs must definitely be very different for women who have been through childbirth.

It is now 7 hours later, and the cramps are still quite strong. I'm definitely far more comfortable up and walking around than I am sitting, as sitting too long puts pressure on the pelvis and causes my uterus to spasm randomly. All in all, as much as it sucked, I still believe it was worth it. I would absolutely do it again. I'm just glad I don't have to for another 5 years!

[KristenLe 5,979]

Yeah - I was surprised to see the responses about it not hurting. My sister has an incredible pain tolerance (she had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and had her husband drive her home from Home Depot so she could lie down) and she complained about the pain and cramping after the Mirena. It will be worth it though.

[daizymom 62]

Honestly don't hate me but after 3 children it really didn't hurt! I'm on my 2nd one.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[CHM 1,009]

Honestly don't hate me but after 3 children it really didn't hurt! I'm on my 2nd one.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Of course I don't hate you. I'm glad that not everyone has such a trying experience!

[Apple85 7]

I've had Mirena for 1 year, never been pregnant. I thought it was horrible pain, worse than any menstrual cramps I'd ever had. That being said, it hurt for about 5 minutes, then I was just sore for the rest of the day. I haven't had a period since so I think it was totally worth the pain!! I also sucked at taking the pill.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

Maybe Minera, hurts more? I dunno, I dont have that one. It wasn't comfortable, but the gas pain in my shoulder after the sleeve was worse.

I'm glad you got it finally and are the other side. I think IUDs are the best invention

[theantichick 2,204]

I know I'm late to the party, but I am almost done with my 2nd Mirena. I thought it hurt pretty bad, and had menstrual-level cramps for a couple of days afterwards. I don't want to scare you, but I had it out and another put in, and that was worse. Not like exponentially worse, but definitely worse. I rate everything to the pain of childbirth or dislocating a knee, since those are my references. This was more like the worst ankle sprain I've ever had, so maybe a 7 on a pain scale of 10 (with 10 being the aforementioned knee dislocation) for the inital insertion and an 8 for the removal and re-insertion. Now, that only lasted for the time it took to do the procedure. After that I'd say it was a 5-6 for several hours. I know you can't take Advil, but that's what I took that night and before bed, and it was down to 3-4 for bad cramping by the next morning. I'll likely be doing it again, since at 46 I can apparently still get preggers. :/ But I have to say, I've had exactly 3 "periods" since getting my first one 9 years ago, and that is SWEET. I also suffer from Migraines and they decreased for me with the Mirena.

My 19 year old had the implant put in and she said that was nothing much, just a couple of stitches.