My IUD Experience
I’ll never forget the words I uttered the moment my second (and last) child Kai, was brought into this world, “Thank God it’s over!"
It’s probably NOT what most women say right after their baby is born, but when you’re pushing out a 9 pound baby out of a 10 cm diameter without, I repeat, without any epidural or pain medication, the relief to finally have it over with, is an understatement.
My husband and I were blessed to have both a girl and boy, and after the birth of Kai, we felt that our little family was complete. Once we had made that realization, we knew that something had to be done to prevent any future unwanted pregnancies, so I decided to try the IUD.
At the time, I didn’t know anyone personally who had tried it themselves, but I knew that going on the pill wasn’t an option for me. I had tried it in the past, but I was never good at being consistent with taking the damn thing each day at the same time, so the only other choice was to give the IUD a try.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what an IUD is, an IUD is a form of birth control that is inserted into the uterus by a practitioner. They’re usually made of plastic, in the shape of a T. There are copper IUD’s that are non hormonal and IUD’s that contain a synthetic hormone. There are several different “brands” in the market, the one that I had used was called the Mona Lisa, recommended to me by my gynaecologist.
During the first 10 years that I had the IUD, I don’t remember specifically if I dealt with any issues. Looking back, I didn’t really pay much attention to myself. My diet was crap, I didn’t exercise much, if at all, and my entire focus was on my two young babies. I can tell you for certain that I didn’t have any serious side effects though.
The first 2 IUD’s that I had (I’ve done 3 in total), were the ones that stayed in for 5 years and when it was time for me to switch to a new one, my doctor had suggested that I try the 10 year one. My doctor had never done me wrong, so I trusted his advice and went ahead with it.
The third IUD was inserted in July of 2021, and just like the other two times, I didn’t experience anything different or unusual. But as months went by I started to notice some unpleasant things. Fair warning, the following text may gross you out …
I was beginning to notice that I had severe bloating and stomach distention. It had gotten so bad to the point where my husband would jokingly ask if I were pregnant, that’s how round and hard my belly would be. Along with the bloating would come stomach discomfort and trapped gas. There were times that I wanted to pass gas so bad because the discomfort was terrible but nothing would come out! And if anything did, it wasn’t enough to feel any relief.
My period was also noticeably longer, lasting a full seven days and fairly heavy too. But before my period would arrive, I would deal with spotting that also lasted quite a few days, so in total I was dealing with a period for 10 days. Not. Fun. And the best part, and I am being VERY sarcastic, is that after my period I would also have to deal with that dreaded milky substance that we women all hate … I don’t even want to type in the word because the word itself is just as bad LOL, but I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. This “substance” was also dark in color, which I know is not usual … so yes, on top of everything else, there was that, the cherry on top as they say.
I don’t know, maybe these sorts of things are common and to be expected, and maybe it was just all a coincidence, but something inside me was telling me that the two were connected. So after deliberating the pros and cons in my head, I decided to have it removed. I felt that after having had the IUD for 12 years that my body needed a break and that I needed to just allow my body to go about its natural processes.
At the end of March 2022, I had it removed, so its been just over two months ago as I sit here and type this out, and I got to admit, removing it was the best decision.
The very first thing I noticed that had changed for the better was the bloating, it was almost instant! The bloating was gone, the stomach discomfort was gone and so was the awful feeling of the trapped gas. I couldn’t believe it!
My first period after having it removed was a few days late, and I’m thinking it was because of the adjustment my body was making. My period came with no pre spotting and it was shorter in length and also considerably lighter than what I was used to. It’s funny, because growing up I remember hearing people say that birth control would shorten AND make your periods lighter, but for me it was the opposite … I also haven’t had to deal with any dark “fluids” outside of my cycle which has been a delight!
As previously mentioned, it’s been just over a few months since I’ve been IUD free, and as each month goes by I’ll be making notes for myself to see how my periods are and how my body responds while making this new adjustment.
The purpose of creating this blog post was to share with you my experiences in hopes that if you find yourself in the same situation, you can rest assure that there are others going through it as well.
Part of my goal with Spreadthegoodhealth is to create a community where we can share stories amongst each other, a place where we can be open and honest without fear of judgement. Health to me isn’t about just diet and exercise, it’s about treating the body as a whole, there is no separation.
September 2022: I'm adding in this bit here as my original intensions were to upload this post in the beginning of summer ... It's been half a year since I had the IUD removed and I am happy to share that all is well! Periods are still considerably shorter in length, bloating is pretty much non existent and trapped gas is no more!
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