[mmullen90]

So, this past year my period has been all out of whack. I went 9 months with out a period, i wasnt pregnant. I attributed it to being under immense stress. I went to the doctor, she told me my hormones were a little off, my testosterone level was a little high.. eh.. and she gave me a prescription. I took the pill and ten days later got my period. after I started getting my period again I got an IUD put in. That was about three months ago. Within the last month, between periods, for three days I had crippling pelvic, back, and leg pain. I read up on the symptoms on the internet, a lot of women were having the same problem. They said it got so bad they couldn't get out of bed, and had to get their IUD removed. Thankfully, the pain went away.

So i just got my period this week. It super heavy, we've all been there, can't be too far from the ladies room, it leaks through everything. It's the worst Ive ever experienced.

So my concern is this; my mom had expressed to me she wasn't too thrilled with the idea of me having the IUD because when she was young she understood that the way they worked was instead of preventing pregnancy, it allowed it, but then, i guess, aborted the pregnancy before you have a chance to detect it. I had to think that there was no way that is true, especially today. but now that ive got this crazy heavy period, its making me wonder if thats whats going on.

Does anyone have anything thoughts? Are my hormones just being crazy, or did i get pregnant and not know it??

[ItsASecret]

me having the IUD because when she was young she understood that the way they worked was instead of preventing pregnancy, it allowed it, but then, i guess, aborted the pregnancy before you have a chance to detect it.

First off this is not at all true. Taking a birth control pill or having one implanted does not cause pregnancy. It controls pregnancy, it does not create it, it does not make a favorable place for implantation or conception to occur.

No two periods are ever going to be exactly the same. Some are going to be lighter some are going to be massively heavier. Some will cause cramps some will pass by like nothing is even happening. Stress can exasperate period symptoms. The more you worry the more problems, like more pain more cramps etc, that can occur. Having something put into your body like an IUD is going to take awhile for your body to get used to. It is common for symptoms to occur after a procedure such as this has occurred. If it becomes too much of a worry than you can go to the doctor to ask some questions to put your mind at ease.

[mmullen90]

First off this is not at all true. Taking a birth control pill or having one implanted does not cause pregnancy. It controls pregnancy, it does not create it, it does not make a favorable place for implantation or conception to occur.

I appreciate the advice, thank you.
however, i said that she thought the IUD allowed one to become pregnant. not create a pregnancy. my mother has six children, i assume she knows how babies are created.

So, obviously, there is something wrong with my body, I've been to the doctor, they have nothing to tell me. This forum was more to reach out to women having similar problems, and get some feed back from them.

Thank you.

[ItsASecret]

however, i said that she thought the IUD allowed one to become pregnant. not create a pregnancy. my mother has six children, i assume she knows how babies are created.

A birth control pill or device is made to not allow pregnancy unless the sperm and egg meet under the extremely unlikely circumstance and those are very rare % chances (talking 98-99.xx% effective with the pill and 96-99% effective with IUD). A woman with an IUD is to put them at ease about not becoming pregnancy, because it is very very unlikely a pregnancy can occur while using a protective method such as that. If it allowed pregnancy it simply would not be considered a "birth control" product. However that said there is still that small unlikely chance that a woman can become pregnant. Nothing is perfect except abstinence. It has happened to other women so there is of course going to be some cause for worry if a missed period happens.

I guess all you can really do is monitor your periods. You said you went to the doctor and they have nothing to say, which is pretty much true because it can be a result of your body just getting used to the IUD or simply a different period this month. The problem with a lot of blood comes when it is full of clots. Not small ones like is typically seen but large ones. And a lot of blood in addition to that. Losing more blood than you would normally for an extended time can mean your body is rejecting the IUD and it is coming loose or known as expulsion. What you read about other women is true, it can get so bad pain wise that the IUD will need to be removed. You obviously do not want that situation to happen. Just watch if the pain you experienced comes back in such a way that you cannot call it regular menstrual cramps. If that is to happen you will want to bring it up with your doctor.

[viola]

The paraguard can cause heavier periods. That's the only drawback. It doesn't alter your cycles in any way because there are no hormones involved. Your periods were out of whack before you got it put in. There must be some sort of explanation for that. But if it's creating such heavy bleeding, you may want to get it removed. Were you checked for fibroids? They can cause very heavy bleeding. I had one, so I know.
The mirena is the other IUD. My gyno said she has that one. It will lesson the bleeding, but it also produces hormones.

[physicsnerd]

A birth control pill or device is made to not allow pregnancy unless the sperm and egg meet under the extremely unlikely circumstance and those are very rare % chances (talking 98-99.xx% effective with the pill and 96-99% effective with IUD). A woman with an IUD is to put them at ease about not becoming pregnancy, because it is very very unlikely a pregnancy can occur while using a protective method such as that. If it allowed pregnancy it simply would not be considered a "birth control" product. However that said there is still that small unlikely chance that a woman can become pregnant. Nothing is perfect except abstinence.

Actually, as I understand it, which, I am no doctor, the 98-99% effectiveness refers to a method of birth control's ability to prevent pregnancy in the sense that, the fertilized egg does not implant on the uterine wall and develop into a fetus, or a baby. Most people don't consider a fertilized egg a baby so, just because the egg gets fertilized, as in a sperm joins with an egg, does not mean you technically get pregnant, if the fertilized egg does not implant. I'm not speaking to my personal beliefs nor am I suggesting what your beliefs should be but, birth control controls "birth" not egg fertilization. Just because a means of birth control is 98-99% effective at controlling "birth" doesn't mean it is 98-99% effective at preventing fertilization. And, as I understand it, preventing fertilization and preventing implantation are both means by which the effectiveness of birth control methods are rated. So, just because the IUD is rated to be 98-99% effective, that does not necessarily describe the odds of a sperm meeting an egg to be 1%.

However, the true method by which an IUD works is debated. But, my extensive internet research (so, take it for what it's worth) would indicate most people don't know. Some people say the shape of the IUD destroys sperm or interrupts the flow of sperm and, some people say the copper in paraguard creates a toxic environment for sperm. Others say that your uterus reacts to the foreign matter of the IUD in such a way that the uterine lining becomes inhospitable to a fertilized egg and what it is essentially doing is "allowing" an egg to be fertilized but, just not allowing it to develop within the uterus.

I don't know. And, I know that doesn't help you. I had a physician tell me that the best they can do is assume it works by preventing ferilization based on the studies that have been done on IUDs. That has steered me away from IUD's but, it was a hard decision. There are studies that suggest they decrease your risk of uterine cancer. And, recently, a large society of GYNs got behind the IUD, over the pill, as the suggested form of birth control for women because, the effectiveness of the pill is so greatly reduced because so few people take it as regularly as you are supposed to take it. You don't have to remember to take a pill with the IUD, with paraguard you can get away from hormonal birth control, it lasts for a long time and, it doesn't get in the way of sex. It seems like the perfect method of birth control. I favored it over the pill for a long time but, I've never made the move to have an IUD inserted because of the kind of inconclusive nature of the research regarding IUDs.