paragard IUD . . .?

**leahbia_83008** · 06-29-2011 10:38 AM

sorry if a similar thread has been posted already, but i was just curious . . .

i had the paragard copper t iud inserted yesterday morning & let me tell you, it was the worst pain i've ever felt in my life! not only was i uncomfortable because my regular obgyn was not available to insert it so another doctor in the same office had to do it & he had an intern following him around all day, but when he told me i would feel some slight discomfort, i could not fathom the cramping i was about to feel. i literally felt like i might poop myself right on the table, although luckily i did not. my obgyn told me i had to be on my period when they inserted the paragard & was prescribed medication to take vaginally the night before & morning of my appointment to help soften my cervix since i have never been pregnant. the total procedure took about 5 minutes & i was good to go. since my boyfriend was at work, i had to drive myself home and although i was cramping, i felt able to drive.

however, as the day went on the cramps got worse. i took an aleve before my visit & it did not seem to help at all. the only relief i could find was with my heating pad, which i ended up burning myself with, leaving a nasty little blister on my abdomen :( a couple hours after insertion, i noticed a creamy brown discharge that looks like melted milk chocolate on my sanitary pad. when i wipe, it appears to be old blood, but it looks scary on the pad. has anyone else experienced this with the paragard?

it has now been over 24 hours since insertion & i feel 100 x's better! the cramping has almost completely gone away, and although that nasty discharge is still present, it is no where near as heavy as it was last night. i am still a bit leery about it however, i've heard of a lot of women having bad experiences with paraguard & it makes me a little anxious. although i suppose everyone is different & what might not work for one person might be a solution for the next.

has anyone else had a similar experience with paragard like i have? i'm praying this will be my lifesaver since i have been on the birth control pill for 2 years prior to getting the iud (ortho lo, ortho novum & yaz) & the hormones made me ill.

i am a 20 year old female with overall good health & have been in a monogamous relationship for almost 3 years now.

**leahbia_83008** · 06-30-2011 10:39 AM

update: it has now been 48 hours since inserting my iud & i feel a whole lot better. i'm still bleeding, but the severe crampiness (if that's even a word) has pretty much gone away 100%. i'm just worried i made the wrong decision . . . i keep reading & hearing so many bad things about it & it's made me very depressed . . . i feel like no one understands what i'm going thru with this.

**WildChild** · 06-30-2011 11:50 AM

I had one for years with no problems.

**lizzardb63** · 07-01-2011 11:42 AM

Leahbia,

I have been considering getting one for around a year now and haven't built up the courage to do so. I fear getting BV infections, yeast infection, etc. I also fear that my boyfriend will feel the strings because he is well endowed. I guess there are so many horror stories and it makes me a chicken. I can go get a tattoo, but can't get an IUD, makes no sense! lol

**WildChild** · 07-01-2011 02:23 PM

Again, I had one for years, hardly noticed it was there.
I know several women who've had no trouble with them. Most of the horror stories I've heard were regarding the Mirena

**Little** · 07-01-2011 03:29 PM

I've looked into both this and the Mirena (I can't take "regular" BCP's because I'm nursing.) I agree with WC, the horror stories I've heard are largely concerning the Mirena.

**leahbia_83008** · 07-03-2011 11:31 AM

well it has been nearly a week now since getting it & although it's still taking some getting used to (ie. slight cramping, backpain, etc.) i have had almost no problems with it thus far. my period was about 4 days longer than it was on the pill, but that is bearable & i have had no issues with sex with my boyfriend. i warned him he might feel the strings but he didn't complain so that's good news ; ) i go back for a follow up appt. with my obgyn at the end of july so hopefully i can talk to her about my concerns & see if everything is going smoothly. i have been trying my best to stay off google & not compulse over these horror stories i've been reading, but the only thing that semi - worries me is the fact that i am young & have never been pregnant & i've heard i may have a better chance of it falling out. if that were to happen, idk if i could go thru getting it put back in . . . that was by far the worst experience i've ever had in my life. i also wonder if it may effect fertility in the future? i do not plan on TTC for a few years from now (hence why i got the iud in the first place), but i would like to have a family one day & if there's a good chance this will alter my plans, i would def. consider getting it removed.

**Jayla2251** · 07-06-2011 09:07 AM

Glad the cramps went away. I had mine for a year, and I had it removed. I had a horrible time with it. But doesnt sound like anything your going thru so that's good.

**Rn.sdavis** · 07-08-2011 01:56 PM

PLEASE READ IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET THE PARAGARD COPPER WIRE IUD (or want to know about my story!)!!!

I got the copper Wire IUD (Paragard) two days ago (7/5/2011). I have never had any children, never been pregnant, and have never had an IUD before. I did not have any medication to soften my cervix or to numb my cervix during the procedure. All i took was 600 mg of Ibuprophen 1 hour before the procedure and I got it put in in the first day before I was going to start my period (I wasn't bleeding yet, but I felt crampy and back-achey and bloated- I knew I was going to get my period soon).

I have only had the Paragard for 2 days now and I am extremely happy with it thus far!

I will discuss how the actual insertion went as well as how I felt afterwards, but first, I want to discuss why I decided to get the Paragard.

I am extremely liery of Hormones. I am a nurse and I have seen WAY TOO MANY cases of YOUNG (17-34 years old- Both smokers and NON SMOKERS, physically fit!!!!) females having strokes and heart attacks due to birth control/hormones. My feeling is - WHY RISK IT!? I have tried Birth control pills, the Nuvaring, the mini pill (progesterone only pill) and condoms (UGH!).... I finally decided NO MORE HORMONES when one of my best friends had a stroke ( 28 years old) due to birth control pills). Although I had seem some patients have strokes due to brith control pills (or shots or patches), it never reall affected me until it hit home- my best friend was affected by a stroke! I stopped taking my birth control pill that day. that was 1.5 years ago. I have been using condoms ever since, and BELIEVE me.. they are NOT fun. I recently got engaged and my fiance and I have decided that on the wedding night, we do NOT want to be messing around with condoms!!!

Thats where the idea of the Paragard IUD came in. I of course, did MUCH research. I went to my GYN office.. TERRIFIED of the pain I had read about.
As far as the insertion- First of all, paragard is a smaller device than the mirena device (Other IUD also offered in the USA, FDA approved- but is a progesterine hormone IUD). The Paragard is tolerated easier in insertion for women who have not had a child, due to its smaller size.
The Dr. told me to cough right before she put the teneculum (device that stabilizes the cervix) into my cervix. WHOA! Seriously. that was not expected. that pain can not be described. However, it is tolerable. You can tolerate it- but it does take some serious focus and strong stirrups! If I knew what a contraction felt like- I would think it felt like a MILD contraction. It only lasted about 5 seconds. Next, She inserted the actual Paragard device (it is folded up on itself, and springs out into normal shape once its in your uterus). The discomfort that is experienced with that is about the same as when the teneculum is inserted. It only lasts about 4-5 seconds, then its over. Afterwards, I had MILD cramps (I ususaly have very mild periods, light cramps- but more backaches). I was able to drive myself home from the appointment. I didn't even bleed afterwards right away!

I got it put in at 3:00 PM. by 5:30-6:00 PM, my world was a different work. I had, BY FAR the WORST cramps I've ever felt in my life. i was in the fetal position on the couch- seirously, no joke... the pain would slowly come.. I could tell that the "pain" (i.e my pseudo contraction) was coming, it slowly got worse and worse, then reached its peak, then slowly went back down to no pain... each "cramp" lasted 30 seconds - 1 minute. It was pretty unbearable. i was having them at least 8 an hour. I took more Ibuprofen and used an electric heating pad that WORKED WONDERFULLY! I SWEAR BY IT! I thought I had made the biggest mistake by getting the paragard.. but I guess those cramps were just my lovely little uterus getting used to the device.
Yesterday I was able to work (as a nurse in the hospital), took some more iubprophen. The cramps were minimal, bleeding had started overnight, and I was able to use a tampon. I am now on my second day after getting the device and I can't feel a thing! I am still on my period (of course), But i haven't noticed the bleeding being heavier.

Thus far, i am extremely happy with the Paragard! I hope this helps you decided what choice is right for you.