STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

deadlyjane · BCBG

birth control Iuds

Elle · Hermes

I don't have one personally, but I can tell you alot about them! Was there something you wanted to know specifically?

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

Wow, freaky, I was just at the gyno yesterday finding out more about them. I'll probably be getting one in the next 2 months (I'd get it sooner, but I'll be out of town). My gyno told me that if you polled the staff in the women's health department, probably half have the IUD/IUS. Which one are you thinking of getting, the IUD or the Mirena?

shopgirl82 · Chanel

gingembre1 wrote:

Wow, freaky, I was just at the gyno yesterday finding out more about them. I'll probably be getting one in the next 2 months (I'd get it sooner, but I'll be out of town). My gyno told me that if you polled the staff in the women's health department, probably half have the IUD/IUS. Which one are you thinking of getting, the IUD or the Mirena?

i was going to post the same thing. a lot of women in the healthcare profession have them. i've been entertaining the idea too.

what do you want to know?

Metric · Gucci

have they improved IUD since the 70's? My mom told me not only was it painful but that's how my brother came about. Is there an new special IUD technology?

Elle · Hermes

Metric wrote:

have they improved IUD since the 70's? My mom told me not only was it painful but that's how my brother came about. Is there an new special IUD technology?

Yup

. IUDs these days are much more advanced, not to mention reliable

!

deadlyjane · BCBG

Elle wrote:

I don't have one personally, but I can tell you alot about them! Was there something you wanted to know specifically?

Well I have one, the mirenia but I feel rather ignorant because I know nothing about them. After I had my daughter it was the only birth control my insurance would pay for in whole.Specific questions would be is it normal to not have a period at all? not even light spotting? I asked my Dr. a few months ago when I had my annual and she said it was fine but I am still sketchy about it. It's been at least 6 months since my last period. also some times I think I can feel it and it freaking hurts! I dont think thats normal. right? and I've felt not really bloated but like my lower abdomen is hardish. is that normal? The percentage rate for pregnancy is really really low right? I think I might just be parioniod.(hopefully) and what happens if you do get preggo with an iud? I know i need to go in and talk to my Dr. but shes on vacation for month and I feel weird talking to the guy Dr. that is subing for her. Sorry for so many questions! thank you so much in advance!

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

According to my gyno, it is normal, even expected, with the Mirena for your periods to get lighter, and even for them to disappear. However, the other symptoms you described should probably be checked by your doctore. As I don't have the IUS yet, I can't tell you my experience, but I'm looking forward to getting one in a month or two. I am nervous about the cramping though. It's strange to me that IUDs still seem kind of taboo. 90% of the gynos I've had have refused to discuss alternatives to BC, even if my life is miserable when I'm on Birth Control pills. What is it about the health care profession today, and our culture in general, that makes taking apill every day, loaded with hormones, preferable to a longer-term solution that will simplify my life?

Elle · Hermes

Deadlyjane - It is totally normal for your periods to become lighter or disappear when you have an IUD. Recurring pain however really isn't, especially since you've already had a child. It's possible that you're feeling pain because it's shifted slightly, in which case I highly recommend getting to your doctor. I'd call your docs office and ask if there is a nurse practitioner you could see since your regular docs is out - the ones I've been too have always been young women and they usually spend more time answering questions that a regular doc does.

I say buy yourself a peestick and don't exercise strenuously until you can get into the doc so they can check the positioning of your IUD.

For others who are thinking about getting an IUD - the mirena IUD works using localized progesterone to irritate the lining of the uterus to inhibit inplantation, which is why many women don't menstruate or menstruate very lightly while they have one. The expulsion rate for a woman who has not had any children is around 10%, and the insertion procedure is usually a little more painful (though in most cases manageable) for those who haven't had children. Copper IUD's work by changing the pH in your uterus and are therefore hormone free, but they can also cause very heavy periods.

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

Elle wrote:

For others who are thinking about getting an IUD - the mirena IUD works using localized progesterone to irritate the lining of the uterus to inhibit inplantation, which is why many women don't menstruate or menstruate very lightly while they have one. The expulsion rate for a woman who has not had any children is around 10%, and the insertion procedure is usually a little more painful (though in most cases manageable) for those who haven't had children. Copper IUD's work by changing the pH in your uterus and are therefore hormone free, but they can also cause very heavy periods.

Elle- When you say "expulsion rate" do you mean the IUD coming out? Why would it be higher in women who haven't had children? I'm interested in as much information as I can get about the Mirena, since I'm definitely leaning towards that option.

Elle · Hermes

Yep, the expulsion rate is how often IUDs typically come out. For women who have had children, their cervixes (in most cases) have already dilated and their uterus has already been stretched to it's limits, so usually their bodies are less likely to be bothered by an IUD - kind of a 'been there, done that' situation. For women who have not had a child, their cervixes have likely not been dilated, which can sometimes completly inhibit the placement of an IUD altogether because the cervix is closed up tight and not willing to be artificially dilated. And because the uterus hasn't ever been stretched by a pregnancy, they're less likely to tolerate a foreign object as it shifts and such. Still, that means that 90% of childless women who have gotten IUDs did so successfully without expulsion, which are pretty good odds.