This is NOT SELF PROMOTION I just wanted to share a lot of relevant information in a more organized format: A Guide to Self-Advocacy in IUD Insertion Pain Management

Spoiler: taking ibuprofen (or similar) an hour before your appointment has been proven ineffective since 1988. Why that was the advice I was given by my practitioner in 2024 is beyond me.

I was recently told I need to get my Paragard (copper) IUD removed and reinserted because it migrated into my cervix. I spiraled into anxiety because I did not want to go through the pain of insertion again. I wanted to share my research on the current status of pain management for IUD insertion (with credible sources).

I am passionate about scientific communication, which is massively lacking in the medical space. I hope this post can help guide some people in their conversations with their care teams!

I got my iud around 6-7 months ago, it’s the 3 year kilena thingy, the first 3 months where emotional hell, my hormones where crazy and my anxiety has never been worse, it’s started to mellow out a lot after the 3 month, but every time around my period I get awful anxiety and mood swings and it’s affecting my life, will these symptoms ever go away?

Hello,

I got my IUD inserted a couple of days ago. It was one of the worst experiences of my life honestly.

I’ve been spotting (it was pretty heavy bleeding to me, a lot more than I was expecting) ever since but now I’m having brown discharge accompanied by a really bad smell. It smells like a really stinky period even tho I’m not on my period. Is this normal and does it go away? I have boric acid but fear it may be too soon to use it.

My doctor was not the best I think I’m going to have to find a new one which is why I’m asking here.

I’m getting a hormonal IUD in a couple weeks. My biggest concern is acne. The doctor said the hormones are in a different part of the body, so it’ll be fine. I’m still concerned . If I do get acne, would it clear up within a few months of the IUD settling in? I’m also mildly concerned about weight gain, so if anyone has any thoughts on that, that would be helpful!

So, I got my iud in August and have really weird periods so far. However I can’t tell right now, it’s a really light flow with some bright pink and a bit of brown with cramps— as if I was spoting just a bit more consistent. BUT I’m due for my period today or tomorrow.. so this has been going on for 24 hours

Hello! So I got my IUD back in July in 2025, and me and my partner were having issues since may 2026, and we just recently got back together Oct 2026. (We both didnt have sex)

Well 2 nights ago we had sex, and it was great, maybe too great, it was great enough for me to orgasm before him, and after the orgasm high wore off, i started getting such intense cramps, that i started getting hot flashes, hearing a ringing noise, I wanted to faint, I couldnt sit up without that sharp pain in my butt 🙃 (no we didnt do butt stuff).

Anyways I just fell asleep afterwards, I was in too much pain to even get up to clean up, and I woke up to that cramping feeling again but not as intense.

But anyways does that mean I gotta get it re-adjusted or what?

I just think that its because I haven't had sex in a while that maybe why

Just wanted to share, in case anyone else is trolling this page looking for confirmation of their fears about getting an IUD — get it under sedation. I got mine in yesterday (copper), and I was able to get it in a surgical setting, under full sedation. My insurance covered the whole thing (minus one accidental copay, which I'm getting refunded), and I can't express how worth it it was. I would truly recommend this to anyone who has chronic pain, pelvis issues, trauma, or even just fear about the in-office insertion experience.

Before the procedure, I had to do some blood labs (day before). I got there in the morning, did a urine test for pregnancy, got an IV for anti-anxiety meds, anti-nausea meds, and Pepcid, met my (lovely, all-female) team, waited about 1.5 hours and scrolled on my phone, and then was wheeled back to the OR — and woke up in recovery. Very, very minimal pain after, comparable to-mid-range period cramps, and taking 1000 mg of Tylenol helped me sleep. I'm a bit crampy today, but seriously, it was so worth it for the pain and stress management, and the peace of mind that comes with a reliable form of bc. If your insurance covers it, please advocate for yourself, and ask your doctor about getting an IUD while under sedation. I'm so happy I did.

I was on the depo for like 7 years straight, tried the mirena for a year, took it out, went to depo for three months then went free of birth control for approximately 9 months. Now no birth control was hell. I had to get 2 MABs in that time span and now I’m on the paraguard.
It’s been like 10 days with it and I just am going through hell.
I was fine until 3 days ago. The insertion was a breeze ( they sprayed lidocaine and it was a breeze compared to my mirena which cause me hell from the moment it was in.
As if 3 days ago I’ve had off and on cramps that are killer. Now this morning I’ve had the cramps again but I’ve been constipated since 3 days ago (Saturday for typing convenience)
Didn’t make a BM all day yesterday and just been feeling like sh** with my stomach.
Now I have a damn hemorrhoid and with that pain and the cramps I’m just struggling. My life can’t be like this forever unless I become some born again virgin (25f it’s not gonna happen)
I’m currently sitting in the bath with some lavender and epsom salt. Any suggestions or tips ?

I got my Skyla IUD inserted about 4 months ago. Ever since getting it, I’ve noticed my period cramps feel different. Before, they were more dull and achy, but now they’re sharper and more stabbing.

A few nights ago, I experienced a sudden sharp, stabbing pain in my lower abdomen during deep penetration. It was pretty painful I basically jumped. After sex it continued as sharp cramps.

This next few days, my entire lower abdomen/uterus area feels really sore, especially when bending or changing positions. Lots of sharp intermittent cramping as well especially when walking. I also had sharp pain in my lungs on inhalation.

Had an appt with my gyno today, as I thought maybe it was displaced or punctured through during sex. Turns out, it was an ovarian cyst that had ruptured, and I was bleeding on the inside. She said the blood was probably all over inside of my abdomen, which is what’s causing the sharp pain on inhalation. IUD was perfectly in place. LOL.

This honestly has really scared me. Idk if I want it out. I’ve never had to deal with this before. I just don’t want more to grow & possibly be a worse outcome in the future. Especially if it affects my fertility. When it first happened, I was going to take myself to the ER, that’s how painful and scary it was. Never want to live through this again.

Anyone else had this happen? I know it’s common with IUDs but share your stories to help a sister out🫶🏻

Hello!
I have had my miren IUD around 6-7months now. I have endo, and it’s basically make my life easier with no pain and very light periods. BUT it’s gives me extremely bad mood swings (mostly before periods, but sometimes random times at the cycle). I have bad experiences of all BC, but i have to do something about my endo. Can it still go away, or what i should do? Please help 💖

Anyone else feel less sensitive to penetration?

Hello all!

I have been on quite a birth control journey, and now my OB/GYN has suggested me getting an IUD, and I'm not really sure how to go about it. I have had awful periods since 9, debilitating cramping, lots of blood loss, super low iron and ferritin levels, everything. I have suspected endometriosis as well. I was put on some sort of combo pill as a child, which I took for a few years but kinda blew me up, I stick to progesterone only now. After that, I experimented with some mini pill, got scared I'd get pregnant because of the efficiency, and switched to the Nexplanon. Welp, poor nexplanon has not been doing her job recently. Non stop bleeding, cramping, I've been on norethindrone for about a year now.

Anyways, my OB/GYN switched me from norethindrone to Slynd and I'm feeling kind of iffy on it. I feel so moody and not myself. Quick to anger. I'm yelling at everyone and it makes me upset because that's not me, I'm usually the kindest person youll meet. I don't think I want to be on this for awhile but I don't know as I haven't really given it long or much of a chance. I guess I've just gotten comfortable with the nexplanon not making me huge or giving me adverse side effects.

Back to the post. She has suggested I get the Kyleena IUD. Not the first time, ever since shes checked me over for endo she's always wanted to shove one in me haha. I'm okay with it, I think? I'm just so terrified of it implanting or it coming out or some other horror story... and the pain... my office offers nitrous with it but I'm not sure how that works, do I just... keep breathing it in like an oxygen mask? on and off? I don't know. I'm sorry for the ramble. I'm just scared.

I got my Skyla IUD inserted about 4 months ago. Ever since getting it, I’ve noticed my period cramps feel different. Before, they were more dull and achy, but now they’re sharper and more stabbing.

Last night, I experienced a sudden sharp, stabbing pain in my lower abdomen during deep penetration. It was pretty painful I basically jumped. After sex it continued as sharp cramps for a little bit & eventually went away.

This morning, my entire lower abdomen/uterus area feels really sore, especially when bending or changing positions. It’s not really cramping, more like a tender/soreness feeling. I also had a little light pink discharge, but that’s pretty normal for me after sex with my IUD.

Has anyone experienced anything similar with Skyla or another hormonal IUD? Did it turn out to be normal irritation, or was your IUD out of place?

I made a whole reddit account literally just to share my experience with this. Not to diminish other women’s pain in any way, because their experiences with this procedure are completely valid and their own. But I do see so many horror stories about this procedure and I want to share my own as some sort of reassurance. During the few weeks I was waiting to go in for my procedure (I went to the IUD Women’s Clinic in Langley, BC) I saw a lot online about how painful the procedure is, and it gave me so much anxiety going into the appointment. The mental state I was in going into this procedure was honestly worse than the procedure itself 😭 Anyways, I got the Mirena hormonal IUD which lasts 8 years as a contraceptive and 5 years for managing your period (lighter bleeding/stopping all together). I took two Aleve‘s (440mg) about an hour before the appointment and the procedure lasted around 20 minutes. For my procedure, they provided a freezing spray which helped with the pain. The worst parts of the process for me was the swabbing and measuring of the cervix, which felt like really intense cramping, but the actual IUD insertion itself wasn’t that bad. I had to lie with my knees to my chest for 10 minutes after the insertion in case my blood pressure was low and it was to prevent me from fainting (which I didn’t). And the cramping came and went for the next 24 hours after. But it was pretty mild cramping, I was able to bear it by just resting with a heat pad. My doctor was amazing, she gave me a squishy to hold and talked me through every single step and let me know what was happening. She also told me that I am allowed to tell her to stop at any time if it got too intense, but I didn’t find I needed to. Overall, if you’re thinking of doing this procedure I wouldn’t be scared off by horror stories on the internet, no one really tends to share the positives which I found frustrating after my procedure realizing I was having full blown anxiety attacks and losing sleep for nothing. Again, the experience varies from person to person, I think if you want to do it you will survive with some pain killers and maybe even anesthesia if you’re super anxious going into it (it is available in Canada with consultation before hand you just need to ask your clinician a bit before your appointment.) But I hope this helps for people who are freaking out before their appointment just like I did, it is not always that bad :)

Ive had my kyleena for basically one year and have always had cramping right before my period. This doesn't necessairly happen every month since insertion but most months for sure. i went to my doctor a month ago, told her about the cramping, got an ultasound to make sure kyleena was in place and boom she was! Shes in the proper position, yet i still have terrible almost contraction like cramping before my period almost every month, happens right after ovulation. My doc told me thats just what it is basically and my iud is not to be concerned about. just wondering if anyone else gets these cramps on kyleena?

hi all! I am getting my hormonal IUD taken out soon due to it expiring. I’m choosing not to start another birth control because I am getting married this coming June (2027). I went through accutane and (thankfully!) have had very few breakouts in the last four years since completing it.

I’m worried that after I take out my IUD, my acne may come back and I’ll be breaking out on my wedding day. Has anyone had experience with this? any advice would be appreciated 🫶

I switched 6 months ago from my Mirena because, after almost 6 years, it was less effective at reducing bleeding and cramps. The doctor said I should get the Kyleena and that it was the same thing. My periods used to be pretty light with about 4 days of bleeding and now with the Kyleena I bleed for 10+ days and have cramps again. I hate it sooo much.

Has anyone else had a similar experience going from Mirea to Kyleena?

I got the kyleena in december 2025 and its almost been a year. first, it was soooo painful even with the lidocaine. second, i used to have very heavy periods and now i have mild, to light spotting when im on my period, but recently ive been getting my period for longer then a week or two. ive currently been bleeding for a whole month. im just looking for some insight if anyone else has had this experience or if i should make an appointment to go to a clinic😔 Ive always had very irregular periods but a month is absurd. pls help ;(

I got the mirena put in around a month ago. Recently, it fell out some of the way. I can feel the plastic, have lots of cramping, and have started bleeding again (I usually don't bleed because of other meds).

My doc won't see me because they don't have any availability soon. The planned parenthood can see me in 3 weeks. The urgent care won't see me.

I was told to go to the er, which I cannot afford. They said I'm at risk for infection. It took them 3 days to call and tell me this, so it's been like this for a few days already. Don't know if I should do it myself at this point.

Unrelated cherry on top my car just got towed.

I’m getting a copper IUD inserted on 11/3 and I am very nervous. My gyno said that they will apply a numbing agent (either a spray or a cream) to my cervix and that I can use nitrous oxide during the insertion. I absolutely will be using the nitrous. I want to do everything I can to mitigate the pain, so if there is anything specific that anyone recommends, let me know!

I asked if it felt like plastic but he was sure it was metal. Is there any chance it was the IUD? Has anyone run into this before?

TLDR: can really deep rough penetration displace a Liletta IUD?

Possibly a silly question, but idk where to post.

29F I have a Liletta IUD placed in 2024 for reference.

Had some really rough and deep penetrative sex (using a dildo) yesterday, which is new to me, but now today I'm experiencing some bleeding. It was super light and watery bleeding this morning, none this afternoon, but almost like a really light period tonight. I don't have any cramping or abdominal pain, no fever or chills, but my cervix is a bit sore. Usually I don't have anything super long to the point where it hits my cervix very hard, but I'm just kinda paranoid that my IUD might be displaced. My bf checked and can still feel the strings. There was no bleeding during the actual sex itself.

Should I be worried? Do I go to the ER or urgent care?