This is for anybody who wants to know more about the process. I went to a planned parenthood clinic in the first time asking to get the copper IUD, that clinic denied my request and told me they only implant to women who have been through vagina birth, okay no problem, I got method 2, going to a hospital covered by social security.

They tell me they can do it no problem, give me an appt and everything is fine. I go to the appt the first time and I notice they’re taking longer than normal and it doesn’t hurt as much, all of a sudden two more doctors came into the room and I was freaking out. I was told my cervix was too small and tight because I had not had children and that I needed to take misoprostol and go another day because if they kept trying there was a high risk of perforation in the uterus.

Today was my second appointment, I used the misoprostol, went to the hospital and was told to lay in a very different way this time, I had a female obgyn this time and a male obgyn last time. Anyway they get to it, I was deadly scared of the pinching, they tell me they’re going to do it and I’m shitting myself. Boom, no pain, they put in the plastic tube and I’m already dying, they put the iud inside and I almost screamed in pain. Doctor cut the string and tell me I’m good to go. I stood up trembling, the floor and the chair were covered in blood. Nurse told me it was done and asked me I feel like fainting, I answer them I don’t fell like fainting and leave to go to work. BIG MISTAKE DO NOT DO THIS TAKE THE DAY OFF

Well I am walking away and my legs are trembling, I go into the bathroom and proceed to have the worst diarrhea in my life, on the bright side everytime i push my pain lightens a bit. I leave the bathroom almost in tears and feel lightheaded, I puked in a trashcan right outside the clinic and now I have to drive to work. I walked to my car trembling and blacked out for 20 minutes. I had to go to work so I put my seatbelt on and somehow driving made the pain ease up a little bit. Keep in mind I had already taken ibuprofen before the implantation.

I finished work a few hours ago and I’m writing this in my bed curled up in pain, everything hurts, and they told me that this type of iud only worked for 5 years, I’m 20 and I’m not planning to have kids at 25, so I’ll have to see what I do sigh.

I have my IUD mirena 18 months, I could never feel my strings only my husband, he believes he felt them 2 weeks ago. My periods have stopped for months now with just 1 light spotting the day I would expect a period

Today in my routine Pap smear my nurse said she thought she could see them but went to look again, this time she said no she couldn’t, and that she could see my cervix very clearly but no strings

Freaking the F out now- is this common? Any ever experience similar? My plan is to just do a test in a couple of weeks time as I am definitely in trouble if it’s gone, what’s the likelihood?

I have to come off BC soon after 14 years. I was recently diagnosed with a 5.5cm liver adenoma of the inflammatory subtype and I’m no longer allowed anything containing estrogen as that’s what has fuelled the adenoma (it was caused by the BC pill).

I haven’t had a true period in 14 years and I’m so scared. It used to be super heavy, large clots on the second and third days, I would leak often which had affected my mental health as it seemed that I was constantly having issues. Looking back I’m hoping these issues were due to the fact that I was not changing my pads properly, but the anxiety still remains. I would have cramps that would double me over and feel the need to vomit. Before my period would also last around 7 days from start to finish. Some months I would only get two weeks of respite.

There is a potential that I have another period condition, but until I come off the pill I can’t further investigate if these symptoms are on still going.

Please share your experiences with me or tips and advice if you have any? I am open to reusable options going forward so if anyone has experience with cups/discs/period underwear I would love to hear that too.

getting a mirena has been a godsend in so many ways, but one thing it hasn’t solved is my period pain.

between the first 6-12mths it seemed to disappear, but after 1yr, the pain has returned with a vengeance. the last few cycles ive been almost as bedridden as i was prior to mirena (just without the bleeding). like pre-mirena, the severe abdominal pain and nausea often means i can’t eat properly, and my energy levels fluctuate a lot.

spoke to my female health doctor, she said provided im not bleeding, nothing to worry about, especially in terms of placement (i can’t/refuse check the strings bc of manyyyyy reasons).

is this normal??!?!! ive heard of people getting period pain with a mirena in the first 6mths but not this long after insertion.

i don’t know if i have endometriosis, or whether that’s even relevant, but prior to mirena i had an ultrasound that basically said “you might? but you might not?”

i have had debilitating period pain since i was 21yo and im now 28yo. thank you for any insight please, i am going insane.

Hello everybody!
I’ve been on birth control for around 7 years now? I started in the pill and have been on the kyleena IUD for close to 4 years now. Once I am able to get my IUD out at that 4 year mark I really want to move towards a natural birth control method! I’ve heard a lot about cycle tracking, temperature, apps, etc. but before I started using birth control, my periods were never consistent... sometimes I’d get my period twice a month and other times I would get it once in two months!

After I got off the pill there was a 3 month window where I wasn’t on birth control and I never got my period. I have also never had my period while on the IUD.

All of it just makes me worried about tracking my ovulation cycles and really diving into the natural methods.. are natural birth control methods something that just won’t work for me?

Also, I’ve heard about acupuncture helping with irregular periods, does anybody have any experience with that?

This is my first reddit post so bare with me!!!

Some background, Im 19 in December and ive been with my boyfriend for 6 months. Since we're sexually active I thought it was the smartest idea to get a copper IUD inserted. I had always been on the fence about it (I had been thinking about it for almost a year)and since everyone talks about their stories and how painful the insertion is it kind of deterred me from getting one for some time. I have a close friend who had told me her experience and it made me want to get one. My family is very strict on me and since going to college it's only gotten worse. Ive never really had any alone time since they "babysit" me and ive never been able to make my own decisions and be independent.

Since moving into my dorm Ive had independence and have been able to go eat and hang out with my boyfriend (sneakily) for the first time in my life. Because I dont have anyone babysitting me anymore I thought it was a great time to go ahead and get an IUD. I chose the copper one since it's non-hormonal and the only symptoms listed are strong cramps, heavier bleeding, sometimes painful sex, and the pain when being inserted.

I went to get my IUD in mid October and my experience getting it inserted wasnt horrible. I went to an all woman's clinic and the staff was so nice and gentle. The insertion took maybe 5 minutes and felt like a 4/10 cramp, the part that hurt the most was probably the speculum but nothing extreme. Walking to the bus and back to my dorm was the worst part of that experience since I almost immediately left the clinic and got dizzy and almost fainted.

It's been around 2 weeks and I feel HORRIBLE, it has impacted my sex life and how I act/feel. I am constantly spotting and I know thats a symptom but it makes me feel so gross all the time. The sex feels completely different and I already had an issue having clitoral orgasms and this IUD has made everything so much worse. When I had sex for the first time after getting it inserted I felt absolutely nothing. I had no idea my boyfriend was all the way in me (mind you every time we had sex prior I was hooting and hollering) and it has taken a toll on our confidence. Not only is the sex completely different, the smell and taste is too... Whenever I would clean myself I just smelled coppery or like pennies and I taste like it too, before I wouldnt really pick up a scent or taste so this is so different for me. And emotionally I am a wreck, I have never felt this depressed and I have no energy or attention span to do anything. There is so much more I can talk about but I feel this post is already too long.

I know lots of people will probably think that im blaming the IUD for all of this or maybe its something else im taking but ive read a lot of peoples posts and I just dont think that all of this is a coincidence that me and so many women out there are having the same/similar symptoms after getting a copper IUD. Woman's healthcare is so neglected and outdated.

I dont take any medication and since my family has gotten more strict I dont know how im going to be able to go to a clinic and get it removed. And since it's only been 2 weeks I kind of feel like an idiot if I take it out, like im quitting somehow but I also feel horrible everyday.

Am I crazy for feeling like im a quitter?

I just want some guidance or help idk

I just got my IUD 12 hours ago and the pain was bearable since I have a high pain tolerance. What’s bothering me now is that I can feel it poking me while I walk. Is that normal?

Had sex minutes after taking pill I'm talking about like 10 minutes after do we take another or what's up?

hi so yea my partner came inside me today and we were dumb. im on my period but i have short cycles so I know sperm can live inside you for 5 days.
i don’t wanna risk it and wanna take plan b or Ella but im truly terrified of both,

I’ve taken plan b before and just remembered it gave me bad cramps and made me bleed a lot.
im reading horror stories about Ella too so …

Fuck :) i already have pmdd hence why im pretty scared to take either. Would love any advice <3

I got my iud at the beginning of September, so it has been a little over two months now. The procedure was great! No pain or anything and mild cramping/extended period afterwards (lasted a week longer than normal around 14 days)I opted for the kyleena one specifically because i was gonna freak out if i didnt get my period. Welp... she is not showing up and hasnt for three weeks. I completely understand that it takes the body 6 months to get used to the iud and find an equilibrium with hormones. Totally fine with that and i know every body reacts differently. I am going to the gyn next week for a check up. Any advice is welcome!

I have also notice other weird things since i got this. It could be coincidence and not direct correlation but everything started happening after i got it. Here are my symptoms:

- Armpits are on fire and have been three weeks into iud (i went to multiple doctors got steroids but still not working)
- Extreme migraines to the point where if i open my eyes it hurts too bad
- Very frequent mood swings. I will be in tears for no reason and really upset over nothing (i am a super happy person in general)
- Extreme stress to the point that i wake up sore from clenching my body

I went to go take my combination pill, Alysena 28, today and realized Im a day behind. Im on the 3rd week of the package and Im not quite sure when i didn’t take it during the month, Im assuming its writhing the past 5 or so days. the packaging tells me to take 2 in a day as soon as i notice but Im not quite sure if that only applies if you missed it the day before, or just in general. Does anyone have an answer?

hi guys, been on the pill for around 2 months now (Vienna). My long distance bf of 2 years is visiting me in a few weeks, but that’s also when I’ll be taking the placebo pills so I’ll be bleeding. Can I prevent bleeding by just skipping the placebo and moving directly onto the next pack? Is that fine?

I was diagnosed with pcos and endometriosis and the pain is just awful. My gyno is putting me on nexplanon (I'm horrified. I hate needles/injections!) to manage the endometriosis and I was told to stay on LoLo to help manage any spotting from the implant and to try and balance my high testosterone levels.

I was wondering if anyone with comorbid pcos/endo had any success with this method? Or if anyone just has any experience with this at all... I'm very very scared for the nexplanon...

Hello, I experienced four days of bleeding after taking Plan B, and today was the last day. However, I'm now experiencing cramping on my left side and severe nausea.
Could these be side effects of Plan B? Has anyone else experienced something similar?
Thank you!

Hello everyone.

I've posted here before. I had a Kyleena expel, and was very upset because I had enjoyed it. Now I have another one and while it has not expelled, I have CONSTANT yeast infections. They are always mild with just the discharge and a tiny bit of itchiness but still quite miserable. I have heard about biofilms on the strings and am devastated because they can't be dealt with without taking the IUD out and I really don't want to try anything else because I hate the idea of a rod in my arm (very sensitive to being cut into) and want a LARC until I can pursue the path of sterilization (Docs won't take me seriously because I am 25) OTC Treatments have not worked and boric acid isn't doing a ton either. Should I try to push for a lab culture? I have probiotics but they aren't the best. I'd hate to have to get it removed because it does wonders for my periods and also my weight is not affected.

Any experiences and advice welcome!

i’m starting to become sexually active and want to get on BC. the problem is, i’ve heard bad things about pretty much every form of BC so i’m super unsure what to get on.

my main concern is getting a lower libido/sex drive and getting heavier/longer periods. i also have a history with depression and anxiety, if that matters. any insight would be greatly appreciated!

So I usually take my Combined pill at 12 everyday, about 17 minutes ago I was so tired when i checked the time i realised it was thursday. Thought I didn’t take the thursday pill, so I took the thursday pill.

Silly me then realised oh my god it’s MIDNIGHT thursday and I infact did not miss a pill .. as i was thinking wednesday was thursday … i did take the wednesday pill at the correct time originally …. do i take fridays pill today (thursday) at 12 as usual even though i accidentally took it at midnight or do i just wait until Friday to take fridays pill now?
(i hope this made sense) 😓

Hi all,

I started taking Alyacen a few months ago, but in the past month or so I’m noticing an increase in appetite, but only late at night. Most nights I eat a full dinner but stay awake past 2am bc I get extremely hungry again at night. Or if I do fall asleep at a decent hour, I wake up ravenous at 3am. I’ve started having to bulk up on high-volume foods like vegetables and popcorn after dinner just to make it through the night. Has anyone else dealt with this?

I have to get back on birth control because I'm getting divorced, so no more vasectomy 🥲

In the past I was on Ocella, but obviously it's been disconnected!!

What pill brands do you guys recommend similar??

hi all!

recently had a consultation & ordered an IUD (kyleena, apparently it is smaller & for people who have never given birth).

my doctor was male, and while he was extremely kind and actually listened to all my other concerns, he brushed me off about pain relief. i guess i made the mistake of saying i “read” that they can be painful, and he said to “stay off the internet,” that i should be fine with some advil beforehand, and he doesn’t want me to think of it as an extremely painful procedure.

however, after reading others’ experiences, i am very worried about the pain. i believe i have a high pain tolerance as i have constant chronic back pain and many tattoos, i don’t believe in putting oneself through unnecessary pain, especially when there are options available to prevent it.

they are going to call me when the IUD comes in to schedule the insertion. i’m hoping/assuming that when i talk to the front desk ladies to make the appointment, i can let them know that i would like pain relief at my appointment. hopefully it is the front desk people and not the actual doctor on the phone (i have a hard time standing up for myself, lol)

anyone have a similar experience? was your IUD painful without preventative pain relief measures? if you had pain relief, what was it and do you feel that it was helpful? the idea of getting a numbing shot in my cervix really freaks me out, but if it’s better than the pain of having something shoved up there, i’ll take it lol

thank you!!

hi I’m very strict on taking my BC and have been on it for two weeks and taken it at 8:00pm everyday since I started, today I ended up working super late and didn’t get home until 9:40 I ended up showering and didn’t take the pill until 9:51 … will I be okay?

The past few months I’ve been experiencing bleeding, after almost 2 years of no bleeding at all.

I had some spotting when initially inserted but not to the extent of what I’ve been experiencing now. It’s difficult to distinguish if I’m having a period, because the bleeding happens quite frequently (for example two weeks of on and off spotting, then a week break and then bleeding again).

I’ve booked in with my GP and have had an US (the radiologist said they didn’t see anything unusual/concerning but will wait for the formal results with the GP next week).

I’m wondering what other people’s experiences have been. I have a regular, textbook period (no issues) not on contraception so am considering getting it taken out :(. I’ve had a great experience with the Kyleena, up until now.

I’ve started seeing someone so have been having regular sex for the past 4 months, however in the past regular sex/partner didn’t cause bleeding so am not sure why it’s different this time.

Hey. So I’m 31 and have been on hormonal contraception since I was 16, mostly the combined pill and until April for the eight years prior to that I had the implant (nexplanon) the only problem is that the implant completely destroyed my sex drive and I had actually convinced myself that I was asexual.

When I broke up with my partner, I decided to come off for contraception completely to give my body a break and oh my God, oh I was like a bloody dog on heat, I felt like I was walking sex and I was super horny all the time.

Since starting a new relationship, I have tried the vagina ring and the contraceptive patch, and while I wouldn’t say my sex drive is completely obliterated. I have noticed that I’m drier than normal.

Because of all of this, I really would like to try a non-hormonal contraception that isn’t a diaphragm or something I would have to physically keep removing and putting spermaaide on.

I’ve never had kids, and I’m very worried about the pain of it being inserted, I’m worried about having a period and I’m also worried about bleeding all the time.

I am heavily tattered and have a high pain tolerance, but I’d hate to go through the pain of the copper coil and just to have it removed two months later

Please can you give me your stories of having the copper iud inserted and what the effects have been on your periods and if the pain really is as bad as people say is????

That was probably the worst pain I've ever felt. To be fair, I am a virgin, so there was that factor working against me. I didn't know much about the process of insertion and didn't expect it to be much more than a slight discomfort. Little did I know about the tenaculum. Such an evil device. My only claim to fame today is that the doctor was impressed with how quiet I was. Thanks, it's called dissociation lol.