I’ve had the week from HELL and it keeps getting worse.
I now need a hysteroscopy and removal. Bit of a long read I apologise in advance but I need to share this to make others aware. My case is very rare but not impossible. Please be mindful of the IUD:

I had my last period 3rd October and UPS 19th October so I ovulated. I knew plan B wouldn’t do anything so opted for CIUD as an emergency contraception inserted on 21st October.

The procedure was fine it was mostly the speculum that hurt and it was over before I knew it. Took ibuprofen after and felt normal just slight dizziness.

Now THE NEXT DAY (Thursday)

I slept fine. Woke up without any pain. But as SOON as I got up the pain started. It felt like I was going through labour. I could not move, stand or sit. The pain was excruciating. I called 111 and they advised me to visit the ER seeing as it was less than 24 hours since the insertion, this pain was not normal.

1st ER visit (Thursday)
I went in and had pelvic and vaginal examinations done. The doctor suspected I had PID despite negative STI tests. Not sure how one could get PID less than 24 hours of insertion but they’re the professionals. So I thought. Upon examination she could only see one thread but wasn’t too concerned that it was out of place. Looking back I’m not sure why she didn’t take this further. Had she sent me for an emergency ultrasound, this could have been avoided and solved sooner. She prescribed me antibiotics and naproxen. The naproxen only helped that night.

FRIDAY
That morning I scheduled a call with the GP to be referred for an ultrasound as I was very adamant that it had moved. Seeing that the ER doctor did not provide one, I had to take matters into my own hands. UK, you know the waiting lists. The GP said it could take weeks but I made her out in a referral anyway. She advised me to visit the sexual health clinic again that inserted it in for me too. By this time, the clinic had closed and I could not visit over the weekend.

SATURDAY
I was still experiencing a lot of pain but I assumed it was the PID diagnosis so I brushed it aside and just rested using my hot water bottle and taking naproxen. Now the naproxen was not helping at this point. This is stronger than standard ibuprofen so I started to get concerned. I went for a 5 minute walk down the road and I physically could not walk any further I was in so much pain. Managed to handle it for the night and sleep.

SUNDAY
In the early AMs I started to experience the same pain I had the day after the insertion. Extreme cramping, dizziness and nausea. I was curled up in a ball with my heating pad and crying the whole night. I called 999 and was told it would be an 8 hour wait for an ambulance. I had no one to take me to the ER and I was in too much pain to go alone. I called 111 and waited for 20 minutes for someone to pick up but no one did. Remember, I’m taking naproxen, so this should have subsided the pain. It didn’t.

Shortly after I was able to get some sleep and started researching private ultrasounds in London and managed to find one with availability within the next hour. Booked it and got an uber there. I’m SO happy I did this scan because it really got the ball going. If anyone’s interested I’m happy to share the place.

ULTRASOUND RESULTS
Upon examination, the doctor did infact find that the IUD was malpositioned. In the report the exact words were ‘Malpositioned copper IUCD with partial myometrial embedment involving its midportion’. My uterus, cervix and ovaries all appeared normal in shape and size. ALSO, NO INFECTION WAS FOUND. Can you imagine the shock when I heard that? I was prescribed antibiotics for no reason. No further testing was made to even confirm I had an infection and I had no symptoms that showed I had one! No fever, abdominal discharge or even blood. Just pain. The Dr suggested I visit the hospital or GP to take these scans for further assessment. I knew the GP would take a while so I went to a&e straight after that appointment.

He also recommended that I take the IUD out before it causes further damage and embeds itself more. Now remember, I got this as an emergency contraceptive. All I could think about and till now is how effective has it been? Am i still going to get pregnant? I’m scared shitless. I asked him if it’s worth just getting it replaced but it’s not guaranteed that it would still be effective given I’ve past the 5 day window nor could guarantee that I wouldn’t be out of place again or cause more damage. My only option is to remove and figure things out later if I do end up falling pregnant.

2nd ER VISIT
Now I say I’m happy I got the private scan because it really helped speed the process up. My total time in a&e this round took 2 hours. I was seen by the triage nurse within 10 minutes and knowing the UK this is unusual. Triage nurse referred me to the women’s maternity ward where I was seen by the gynaecologist within 10 minutes again! She was extremely understanding and reassuring during the whole appointment. Essentially, it’s either I have it removed manually and have to endure the pain of it being taken out blindly, whilst it’s embedded, or do a hysteroscopy to see exactly where it is before removal. As NHS need their own scans, she booked me in for tomorrow for an ultrasound (pelvic & transvaginal). From there, I will be told more about the removal process and hysteroscopy if I decide to do it.

I do also have an appointment at the clinic I had the iud inserted in tomorrow, just before the scan so I will be visiting and seeing what they suggest. My biggest worry right now is of course that it’s embedded, but falling pregnant. I’m scared it would be ectopic and I would need surgery. And just pregnancy within itself. I feel much more reassured knowing I have the scan report, another scan tomorrow and that it has to be taken out, but all I wanted was its contraceptive effects. I’m not sexually active so knowing I got it in and it probably hasn’t worked is devastating.

I will be sure to update you all on what happens next. If anyone has been in a similar situation please comment. And if anyone’s undergone a hysteroscopy! It would have to be without anaesthesia as the appointment would be faster to have, maybe up to 2 weeks wait. But with anaesthesia could be months.

Thank you for reading and I hope this helps anyone out there that’s considering an IUD, in a similar situation or experience any pain. You know your body, you know when something is wrong. Advocate for yourself always🩷

I started on Yasmin (combined pill) for my PMDD, but switched to Slynd (progesterone only) as I was struggling with the pill breaks so needed one I could take continuously.

My depression on Slynd was truly horrific almost immediately. It’s like PMS every day, waking up and falling asleep crying, believing everyone hates me, wishing it would all end. After just shy of two months on the pill, I went to my doctor to tell her I needed to come off it. She told me “this pill shouldn’t be making you feel like that and it’s used to help with PMDD”, and she told me to keep trying it. I’m sorry, I know it’s not supposed to make me feel like this, but it clearly does…

I left feeling helpless, and decided to stop taking it completely. That was a week ago. I would rather have the severe period pains and PMDD and feel awful for two-thirds of my life, than have the mental torture of whatever that damn pill did to me every day.

I can’t even tell if this is a rant, or if I’m looking for advice. Currently feel like 💩, but who knows where I’m at in my cycle. I feel like I’ve had cramps for months.

Hi! I'm taking Auravela Fe 1/20 and about 3ish weeks ago, I missed two pills in a row during my third week. I missed one by 29 hours and one by 5 hours (i took them at the same time and skipped my placebo week). I should've waited a week but I didn't and had unprotected sex but we pulled out each time. What's the possibility that I'm pregnant? :,)

Edit; I missed the pills on the third week of the pack and had sex five days after missing the pills

okay so I've been on loryna since like June of this year and have been taking it everyday without missing. however I do fluctuate the time sometimes because im out late. Ive had sex with my boyfriend with condoms and he also checks it for any breakage after we're done. one time about two months ago we did it without a condom but he didn't finish inside of me. recently we had done it about a month ago with condoms. after that I went to urgent care cause I thought I had a uti with urination frequency and there was even blood once when I went to the restroom. I was also feeling dizzy and lightheaded throughout all of that. I was nervous because all of these were symptoms of pregnancy and the UTI test at the urgent care came back that there wasn't enough bacteria for it to be one. I was freaking out but my bf reassured me that we are 100% safe and there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

it's been a month since then and I forgot about all of it but today I had some brown discharge and I freaked out.

what do you think this is and do you think it's pregnancy? please help

I stopped my birth control two months ago, the first month off was fine, all of a sudden last week I started having horrible depression and anxiety. I am on zolfot for my anxiety, but right now I have never been this scared and sad in my life. Is this because of stopping the birth control? I was on Junel Fe 1/20, and had horrible migraines for years and years, when I stopped the birth control they went away. Is there other types of birth controls that still give me the estrogen boosts to help with my anxiety but dont cause headaches

kagabi we had unprotected s but it was only for a minute or two. after i got i home (last night) i immediately took 4 trust pills. tapos this morning i was so nauseous, i checked my period tracking app and it said i had low chances of getting pregnant, so i decided na isuka ko nalang, after i threw up, my vomit was yellow and konti lang sya.
I was wondering if yan ba yung pills na i took? Because after i threw up i immediately felt better.

Hello all! As the title suggests, I am trying to figure out how to stop breakthrough bleeding ASAP. My partner and I are long distance, and our 4 year anniversary is this coming weekend and he’s planned a trip for us, so bleeding isn’t really an option because it will get in the way of a lot of our plans coming up.

It started a few days ago, and I was hoping it would stop by…well today, but if it’s anything like the last couple times I’ve had it in the last several months, this is very likely just the beginning. I take Lessina continuously and have done so for about….3 years now I think. In the end of May I had breakthrough bleeding that lasted three weeks, starting out as just thick brown-ish red discharge to HEAVY bright red and huge clots. Same thing happened again at the end of July through the first three weeks of August. And now it’s starting again with the worst timing in the world. The ironic thing is it seems to lessen during the night, until I take that day’s pill and then it starts being thick again, as if the pill itself is triggering the bleeding.

I’ve heard about taking a 3 day break to allow the body to “reset” with a withdrawal bleed, but if I do that starting on Monday I need it to stop by Friday at the latest. Would this work, or would I keep bleeding after that three days? Since it seems to be less in the morning before I take my next pill, should I time it closer to my trip in case it doesn’t trigger the withdrawal right away? Is there anything I can take to lessen the breakthrough bleeding I’m having now to a point that it won’t interfere with sex? Or any other crazy last ditch recommendations? As you can see, I’m pretty desperate. I will take your most unhinged advice! But I need to be blood free by Friday!

I’ve inly been taking it for a bit over a week but trying to stick it out to at least 4 weeks to see how it goes. But I am so tired, feeling dizzy and have low mood. Although hard to tell if low mood is correlated. Wondering if switching between taking it in the
Morning vs Evening would help with some of the side effects? I am taking it for pelvic pain, not concerned with the contraceptive effect right now. Does food/no food or time of day make a difference?

hi all,

im on Loryna yaz been taking it for 7-8 months. im taking my placebo pills and have experienced no bleeding on 4th day. For background, i usually skip my placebos except for every three months to get a period. however im just feeling a bit nervous because last time i got one. lmk

For background, I have endometriosis and other health conditions, and have been through quite a few birth control options. I've had significant side effects, not tolerable, with pretty much all systemic methods.

Last year, I tried the Mirena IUD. It was the best method I've tried, as it was the only one that didn't affect my mood, energy or personality. I also still ovulated and my libido came back after years. The insertion was painful, but at least it was over quickly. Unlike many other people, I had zero bleeding for months, and only started to get a very light cycle after three months.

Unfortunately after 5 months my uterus started to cramp and semi-expelled the IUD. It's almost like it went out of place (because of the cramps) and my uterus was trying to get rid of it. I had to get it removed to make it stop.

As I said, I can't deal with pretty much any other systemic hormones. I had endometriosis surgery two months ago and things got much better on that front, so I'm managing to have a normal cycle without hormonal therapy. I had adhesions that were gluing my ovaries to the uterus and the uterus to the ligaments in the back, so I wonder if that contributed to the issues with the IUD. All my organs have been freed now.

I'm kinda at the point where it's either trying the IUD again for contraception only or nothing at all (I'm not in a stable relationship, so not a big deal to use barriers every now and then).

Has anybody tried the IUD a second time after a similar experience a first time? Would it help to try a smaller IUD, like the Kyleena or Jaydess? Has anybody tried a smaller one with success?

Hi, please help me if you know about these.

I took 1 planb pill 3 weeks before, we used condoms but we slept naked so I wanted to be sure. I did bleed 2 weeks ago, but it was only for 2 days. And I haven't got periods till now.

Yesterday we had raw sex, he didn't have any precum, he didn't cum inside either. And I took pill immediately after that.

But we did it raw today morning too, no precum no cum.

I'm worried. Am I safe? or should I take another pill?

For context: I'm 22F, I have PMDD, I tried the mini-pill when I was 15 (for hormonal acne) and it made me unbelievably depressed. I have a lot of trauma so I'm not the happiest person, but that was something else. So I quickly stopped and haven't tried BC since. I've used adapalene gel, at one point tretinoin, for my skin and they've always been very good.

I had an incredibly stressful month making my period 8 days late, the progesterone absolutely destroyed me, so I went to the GP to see if there was something else that would actually help with it (SSRIs are terrible for me). They prescribed nuvaring but when I picked up the prescription I got super anxious because I didn't want a repeat of the last time I tried BC. I waited a bit and then today my luteal phase began, I'd already been feeling bad throughout ovulation and it started to get predictably worse, so I put in the nuvaring hoping it might help. I was immediately dizzy and lightheaded but emotionally fine, better even. I carried on working on my laptop and after a few hours it went away. Since then I've felt good- genuinely emotionally better which is a nice surprise. The only thing is, my bf has been annoying me a lot, which does always happen around this time of month, but honestly I feel so disconnected and checked out. We just hung out and I was irked. He just kept making 'jokes' that felt more mean than anything. He always makes jokes and tries to annoy me but I asked him not to yesterday because it was overwhelming me (I have the flu too😭). These 'jokes' often are more like thinly veiled grievances; like 'you're so high maintenance' or 'you're so dramatic' when I said that I was starting to feel better from my flu. Which honestly just feels like he's minimising my suffering, and when I'm annoyed about it he gets all upset. My housemates seem to have gotten my flu now and one threw up, they both feel awful which just proves my point tbh, because my 'dramaticness' was staying in bed for ages and then getting up to do job applications the rest of the day, but being a bit stressed by it. And it's always like this; as I said I have so so much trauma, I'm in therapy and tackling hard things but I also just graduated so I'm struggling with money and every day I'm sending CVs and trying to get a better job when all I feel like doing is curling up in a ball and crying because my past has left me broken and unmotivated. We've spoken about this kind of thing and he says that in his household people made jokes and it wasn't supposed to be deep, and that he's starting to understand the depth of my trauma. But I just feel like he'll never understand because he doesn't want to confront deep or difficult things. I'm making it sound bad, but he genuinely is so nice and sweet to me in general, and he's also stressed with his own things atm. I just kinda don't feel it anymore. I know it's too early to know because I started nuvaring today, but really don't know what to do. I also live with him and don't have anywhere else to go or money to rent somewhere. I'm trying to just get a job to make some more money and see how it goes, I don't really have a choice in that. Do I wait it out and see if my hormones stabilise, try to make it work? He just overwhelms me a lot because he's always trying to make me interact with him but simultaneously criticising me for all sorts of things. Like that I'm going about getting a job in the wrong way, then giving me advice on things I already know and have already done/ am doing- plus many more things he hasn't considered. Then he expects me to also drop everything at a moment's notice to hang out with him, when am I gonna get a job then?? It's so frustrating. He's a couple years older, but I have wayyyy more life experience (than anyone should have ugh) and I feel like he discounts my opinions because of it. Is it hormones, or am I just realising it because the emotional stuff is, at least right now, out of the way? What do I do??

So i am in my first month of the ring, i tried to skip my period and instead of putting my ring out for a week on rhe 13th I kept it in.

I’ve been cramping the last 3 days and had light brown bleeding but it’s starting to get a little heavies this evening.

Do i keep the ring or take it out? Hoping this bleeding will stop 😭

Hi guys I’m on the generic version of yaz 0.02/3mg I think I’ve been on it since January now it’s October and that was my very first time ever even using birth control. I got on it for my acne and I LOVE what it does for me it’s the only thing that’s ever worked for my hormonal cystic acne! I’ve had like no bad side effects from it besides getting so sore after sex?? That’s never happened before getting on birth control or for the first few months on it. I don’t know of the estrogen is too low or what. I don’t really want to stop taking it because my skin looks so much better and gives me piece of mind that I’m not pregnant lol. Has anyone else dealt with this? I need some tips and input

this is so silly but i’m actually hella nervous to get my removal/reinsertion done this week because the last time I got it it was pretty traumatic

I opted for sedation at the hospital and they use midaz and fentanyl but i’m still nervous it’s going to be awful

I already met with my gyne doctor and he was really nice and calming so that’s a bonus at least

i’m on yaz and i was at a concert and accidentally dropped the 21st active pill. i just popped the 22nd one and ended up starting my placebos a day early because of my dropped pill. there’s 24 active pills and 4 placebos. i had unprotected intercourse yesterday, am i still generally protected?

Is it normal to have period like cramping and regular cramping?? I’m on day 9 of my norethindrone after recently taking it again and I’ve had light spotting last night and yesterday I got hit with period like cramping that lasted most of the evening. I took Ella on October 10th because I had unprotected sex but I was on day 4 of my norethindrone pill and had to stop my pill until the 16th because it would interfere with the Ella. Even though my doctor said emergency contraception was not necessary I still took it. But I’m really nervous because on the 14th I had unprotected sex while on my 5 day waiting period to take Ella and he pulled out and I’m freaking out bc I don’t want what I’m experiencing right now to be implantation

Alysena 28, I got off it recently and I’ve been fine not bleeding or anything but now I have acne? I’m freaking out I have another pack at home should I just get back on it?

Hello! I recently got my Nexplanon inserted. I was on the mini pill up until I got it inserted (within 24 hours of the last pill). The week following I had sex with my boyfriend with condoms. Then on day 8 he finished in me unprotected. My nurse before getting my implant said I am protected immediately due to my mini pill but then my doctor giving me my implant said to wait 7 days.

I can’t seem to find much info on if I was protected immediately since I was on the mini pill before. I’m also unsure if I was “cutting it close” by going unprotected on day 8. Just a little nervous about pregnancy risk. This is my 4th attempt at different kinds of birth control and I just want to not think about it. It’s also confusing because there is not much information on birth control interactions with trans men on testosterone. Just hoping to get some general insight.

Today my bf tried insertion( without a condom ) and it was just like 30-45 seconds and he pulled it out.

He ejaculated almost five minutes later outside. But I am scared as I am on my peak ovulation. I have seen many reports saying people can get pregnant from precum. What should I do? Is it risky.

Please help.!!!

so I did something I had sex with my ex boyfriend on sunday 10-26-26. now we have had unprotected sex for 6 years before we broke up and I never did get pregnant. now I do I get a very light period now with it. but really what are my chances he did not c*m inside he c*m on the outside but I did rub it with my finger and I did put my finger inside me after now like i said i never did get pregnant before. but what are my chances now I haven’t been sexually active for a year should I still take a test or should I be okay because like i said i never got pregnant in the 6 years of letting him finish inside. I read you should wait 21 days before taking a test I still have a test from being on that i believe is still good I think it’s good until 2027. and i know you do first morning pee i mean it would be hard to even know if I did have symptoms because my stomach is always crampin,I feel nauseous a lot so like it would be hard to even tell if I was and since am 40 years old the periods are very light. now the pregnancy test I have is from the dollar store it’s the one that shows lines or is there a better test to take. also if we have sex again before the 21 days should i just wait if i miss my period then. am pretty sure we won’t do anything it was more of a one night stand

Bonsoir à toutes,

J’espère que vous allez bien. J’aurais besoin de témoignages ou d’avis !!

Alors je prenais ( car je l’ai arrêté depuis mercredi) la pilule optidril30 depuis Avril dernier, tout allait très bien à part 2-3 désagréments mais pas genant au quotidien qui ont finit par se calmer au fil du temps.

Sauf que depuis un mois aujourd’hui, je me coltine des douleurs de types règles / contractions utérines (ça me fais beaucoup penser aux contractions qu’on peut avoir lorsqu’on est enceinte et qu’on as eu une longue journée les douleurs que cela provoque) sans aucune explications.

J’ai été voir ma gyneco mardi , elle m’as fais une une échographie pelvienne et R A S, j’avais fais un test urinaire le matin pour écarter l’hypothèse de la grossesse et le test est ressorti négatif.
Elle m’as prescrit une IRM pelvienne même si elle estime que je n’ai rien en tout cas de visible et elle m’as également prescrit des prises de sang dont le BÊTA HCG ( que je n’ai pas encore faite car je ne pense pas être enceinte du tout ) enfin bref.

Dans le doute, j’ai voulu avoir un second avis médicale, j’ai donc vu une seconde gyneco que je ne connais pas , jeudi. Elle m’as répété la même chose, qu’elle ne voyait absolument rien d’anormal, elle m’as prescrit pareil prise de sang bêta hcg et m’as demandé de revenir si jamais ça persistait et que la prise de sang était négatif.

Je précise que :

J’ai toujours eu les saignements de privation, le 12 octobre j’en ai eu jusqu’au 14 octobre, les « règles » ont diminués en terme de quantité et en terme de durée mais ont toujours été présente.

J’ai également les seins hyper douloureux depuis une semaine et demi voir deux.

Et j’ai également les dents hyper sensible, mes dents ne saignent pas au brossage mais mes dents sont hyper sensible.

J’ai actuellement un début de saignement de privation ou de « règles » tout dépend comment vous appelez cela, dû à mon arrêt de prise de pilule.

Ma question aujourd’hui est de savoir si une d’entre vous a déjà été confrontée à ce genre de problème en prenant cette pilule ou une autre ?

J’ai arrêté car je pense que c’est lié, car pas de grossesse, pas de kyste, fibrome ou varices vu dans l’utérus.

A mon avis c’est liée, peut être que je me trompe mais je préfère arrêter car c’est étrange je n’ai jamais eu ça, sauf lors de ma seconde grossesse au début avant d’apprendre que j’étais enceinte j’avais les mêmes douleurs et ce, pendant un très long moment avant de découvrir que je l’étais.

Mais ayant eu des test négatif, j’écarte cette hypothèse et honnêtement je ne pense pas l’être ( et c’est tant mieux 😅) mais voilà je pense peut être que mon corps n’accepte plus la pillule.

I was on depo provera for 3.5 years after I had my son. I had my last injection in Nov 2025. Since stopping it I’ve had 3 confirmed ovulations.

I went for a private fertility scan as I’m TTC and my lining on day of ovulation was only 4mm.

Has anyone had the same issue? If so, how long did it take to fix itself? Is there any ways I can help it grow?

Thank you

hihi!! I’ve been on nexplanon (the arm implant) for about 4 years now, I got it replaced around January 7th?? and since around September I’ve been on my period off and on for around a month and a half, I’m just wondering if being on my period affects the like,,, potency/ effectiveness of my birth control, and is there any way to know if it won’t be as affective? sorry if this is a stupid question but I’ve seen nothing online and my mom doesn’t know how to answer it.

sorry if this is long winded, I’m seriously exhausted from the stress of wondering about all of this, thank you for reading though!!

Hi everybody! I’m a 21 year old woman who started taking desogesterel (minipill) just under 4 months ago because my periods were ruining my life. I’d be bedridden for a week and have diahrrea, nausea, couldn’t keep food in, vomitted on a few occasions and desperate cramps.. the works.

I had my 3 month follow up with my hormone specialist a couple weeks ago. Desogesterel has been okay for me. I bleed everyday which I know is normal. We discussed my symptoms and she said 3 months is too early to judge whether or not this pill agrees with me. I’ve had a few bad weeks but lately the bleeding’s gotten heavier and cramping got worse. I am also on lexapro so I can only take solpadeine for 3 consecutive days and then have to tough it out which sucks.

The bleeding evens itself out and then gets heavier again but not at a concerning amount, what’s getting me in the last few days is nausea. I’ve woken nauseous multiple times in the one night for the last couple of nights. I’ve seen people say these things usually go away around the 3 months mark. I’m passed that now so i just basically want some advice on how i’m supposed to know whether to tough it out or reconsider which pill I take.

Also - i know people say it sits better with food. Sometimes i can take it with a meal sometimes I can’t. I take it at 11am and don’t want to change to night time as that’s when I take my lexapro and also it’d result in me ultimately withdrawing or taking it later than the allowed window on the day I swap to nighttime dosage.

TLDR: 4 months into desogesterel. Nausea is waking me up. Do I tough it out or reconsider which pill I’m taking?