My First IUD Experience

Getting My First IUD

I’m going through my first adventure since starting this blog. Although it was a small adventure, I felt I needed to share it. I’m going on birth control, and my nurse practitioner and I decided on choosing an IUD. IUD is short for intrauterine device. Depending on the IUD selected, it’s a little T-shaped plastic device inserted into your uterus to provide birth control for so many years. This is my IUD experience, and it will differ from others’ experiences. That’s why sharing my IUD experience is so important to me. But first, I want to discuss birth control and why I’m writing this post.

Let’s talk about birth control for a minute. For starters, there’s this unspoken rule that you have to be super secretive about it. It’s almost like you should be ashamed to be using birth control. It’s 2019. Why are we still unable to talk about natural occurrences with women’s bodies? Second, why is it that it’s purely the woman’s job to take birth control? Again, it’s 2019. Why can’t we find a men’s birth control option? (I know we have options for men, but that’s a whole other post for another day).

Don’t get me wrong; I’m proud to be a woman on birth control. It gives me a sense of control over my life. That’s why I felt a need to share my IUD experience with you. If I can let one woman know she’s not alone in this journey, I’ll be happy. I have the privilege of not having to go through this experience alone, for the most part. However, I know there are women out there who aren’t as lucky. I’m going to be sharing my IUD experience before, during, and after the insertion (or implantation) process. I am going to give you the whole truth. I don’t plan on scaring anyone out of this choice, but I want to share my experience. However, you’ll see the sensations felt are very hard to describe unless you’ve felt them before.

Before Insertion

The Night Before

The night before I got my IUD inserted, I was a ball of emotions. I cried for 20 minutes straight because I was experiencing emotions I’d never experienced before and didn’t know how else to handle them. I was scared and nervous about the unknown. But also curious and happy that I can do this one thing to make sure I get to follow my dreams.

I’m the kind of person who likes to research before doing anything. So I took to Pinterest for testimonials for other IUD experiences. Let me say this was probably my worse idea of the night. Very rarely do people write about their good experiences with anything medical-related, so I should have known it would be nothing but horror stories. I’m not saying those horror stories aren’t true, but I wish more stories showed the process isn’t always so bad.

I then used my pre-pharmacy brain and decided to look at the website of the particular IUD I was getting. Now, it’s been a few months since I’ve seen my nurse practitioner, and I forgot the name of the exact IUD I was getting, but using a process of elimination, I figured out that I was getting Liletta. So, I went to the Liletta website and found some basic information about what to expect during the insertion. Of course, though, this is a website available to the general public, so it’s not going to put how bad it can be. That’s when I realize the prescribing information is available.

Although I didn’t know every tool or procedure mentioned (and Google is a great resource to find some of those out), I could see exactly what was going to happen during the insertion. That’s when my nerves started to settle. I soon realized that my biggest problem would be dilating my cervix, which women go through every day for various reasons.

So, I texted my mom to tell her I was freaking out a little about my appointment. I was trying to get her to go in late to work to go with me, but she wasn’t having that. She reminded me several times that I would be just fine and feel some cramping like I was on my period. She told me to take some Tylenol before I went to help prevent some pain from the cramps. I then went to bed, knowing I needed to get some rest for the best results the next day. I used my tips from this post to get to sleep since I was so nervous.

The Morning Of

I woke up to my alarm at 6:30 because my appointment was at 8:15, a half-hour away. I did my regular morning routine, trying to stay as calm as possible. My nurse practitioner told me to make sure I take ibuprofen and eat before my appointment. I ate half a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese with a handful of fresh strawberries. To drink, I had a hot chocolate. However, I took Tylenol instead of ibuprofen because ibuprofen upsets my stomach. I wore sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a zip-up hoodie to my appointment. Then, I left for my appointment.

During the Appointment

I arrived for my appointment early to fill out the necessary forms. After that, I waited for a couple of minutes until the nurse called me back into the room. I was so nervous!! She weighed me and took my blood pressure. She noted that it was high and asked me if I was nervous. I, of course, said yes. She then told me I was going to be fine and told me about her experiences. She made a good point of saying she wouldn’t be getting her third one if it were that bad of an experience. I mean, it makes sense. If you couldn’t handle it the first time, why would you go a second or third time?

Then, the dreaded moment. My nurse practitioner walked in. I was almost in tears just seeing her walk-in because I was so nervous and scared. She then asked me what I was most scared about, so I told her I was scared of the amount of pain. She then walked me step by step through the procedure, showing me each instrument and explaining what it does and what I would feel. It was at that moment that I was so thankful I found her as my nurse practitioner. She put on some music and asked me to lay back and relax, which of course, was IMPOSSIBLE!

The Insertion

After I was lying down with my feet in the stirrups, she began with the preparations. The first step was determining which way my uterus is tilted, to the front or back. (Mine tilts to the front, in case you were curious). Then she put the devices on to keep my lady parts open during the process.

The first of these is the same device used during your Pap Smear. The second was a different one. She called it the pincher because it pinches when it does what it’s supposed to do. It wasn’t painful, but it was definitely uncomfortable. She then cleaned off the blood since I was on my period. I definitely felt that because my cervix was particularly sensitive that morning. She then put an antiseptic on my cervix to keep any yucky things from entering and giving me an infection. Again. I felt her doing that. And that was the easy part.

Next came the first painful part and the last step of the preparations. My nurse practitioner inserted this measuring “straw” to see how deep my uterus was. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. I’m not going to say it was the worse pain I’ve ever felt. It felt like extreme menstrual cramping. The cramps went away within a couple of minutes. However, I started freaking out again. It was so sudden, and it, in a way, shocked me. I won’t lie; it hurt. But, my nurse practitioner waited for me to calm down before continuing with the insertion because she wanted to keep me as comfortable as possible.

Now, the actual insertion. The IUD goes down into an inserter. It’s kind of like how a tampon comes in an applicator. The IUD is inside the inserter with the two “arms” folded upward. She then inserted the inserter into my uterus, which caused more of those extreme cramps.

This was probably the most challenging part of the whole thing because you had to stay still. Your instinct is, “this is hurting me. I need to get away,” but you need to remain still to prevent going through it a second time. This is also the longest step in the whole process. Once the inserter is in the uterus, the arms of the IUD need to be opened up, which takes about 10 seconds. This is THE LONGEST 10 seconds of your life. Your uterus is contracting because it senses the foreign object, and you have to stay still and breathe through the pain. My nurse practitioner even told me not to scream because I needed to breathe. It sounded like I was giving birth because nothing I could do to make it feel better.

After the 10 seconds were up, she pulled the inserter out and cut the strings a little shorter. She removed all the devices, and just like that, the insertion was over.

Post-insertion

However, just because the insertion was over didn’t mean I was free to go. Because I drove myself, my nurse practitioner wanted me to be feeling as close to 100% before allowing me to leave for my own safety. This is where the experience turned me off of ever getting another IUD.

Immediately after the insertion, I was a little pale, so was I was instructed to drink some water to rehydrate. So, I drank the water. The nurse who had gotten my appointment started came back in to see how I was doing. My nurse practitioner told me how great I did. She said I was probably one of her better insertions. After letting me know how well I did, the nurses left, and I laid on my back for a while. I felt a lot of cramps, both from the tension during the insertion and from the IUD itself.

I was beginning to feel like myself, so I decided to sit up. So, I sat up and drank my water. I noticed my cramps were still occurring, but I figured it was normal. However, I started to get warm. And then dizzy. I got anxious because I knew I was moments away from passing out. As I laid back down, I called for the nurse. She came in and immediately grabbed some water and started asking me if I was okay. I told them I was getting dizzy and warm, so they put some cool paper towels on my neck and forehead to cool me off. Honestly, I think I just sat up too fast, and then my anxiety just pushed me over the edge. But because of that little episode, I had to lay back down until further notice.

Now, those beds are not the most comfortable thing in the world to lay on. But when you’re in as much pain as I was, you don’t care. My cramps were increasingly getting worse, to the point where my nurse practitioner was telling me I was basically having contractions. If I learned anything from this experience, I would survive childbirth when I get to that point in my life.

However, my body was exhausting itself, and I found myself wanting to sleep in the exam room. I’m not sure how normal this is, but I feel like it should be normal. I mean, you’re putting something where it doesn’t naturally belong, and your body is just trying to protect you. I rolled to my side and laid in a fetal position. This not only felt more comfortable, but it also helped when I was cramping.

Not long after I rolled over, my cramps were calming down, and I was feeling better. My nurse practitioner came in and let me sit up and then stand to get my clothes on. She then told me to sit in the chair for a little longer. I sat for a little bit until the nurse came in and asked if I was ready to go. So I made my follow-up appointment and then headed home. I was there for a total of 2 hours, primarily because of how my body reacted.

After the Appointment

The Same Day as Insertion

After leaving my appointment, I had to run home to throw on my scrubs and head to work. I’m not superwoman or anything, I swear! I just started my new job at the beginning of September, and I couldn’t request the day off because other people were on vacation that week. So I threw on my scrubs and headed into work. I was moving slower than usual. My head also felt cloudy, like I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing. I had some mild cramping compared to what I had experienced earlier, so I took some medicine on my break. I’m proud to say I made it through that 8-hour shift. I went home and went right to bed after work. My body had been through hell and back, so I was exhausted.

The Next Few Weeks

Because life got hectic, I’m finishing up writing this post two weeks after my insertion. The cramps come and go, but nothing like it was that first day. The first week I only had cramps at night, but I think it was more mind over matter at that point. There is still some spotting that comes and goes. This week is my ovulation week, so I wonder if that may have something to do with the increase in spotting.

The only time I get bad cramping is after I exert myself too much. I was running late, so I jogged a short distance (maybe a quarter-mile), and by the time I got to work, I had some awful cramping. This was not even a week after the insertion, so I think it was just too much too soon.

Everything has gone back to pretty much normal. My acne flared up about a week after the insertion, but it’s finally settling back down to my usual.

My Overall IUD Experience

I think I had a pretty good experience with the whole process. I’m glad this is going to last me five years. By the end of that five years, I should be done with pharmacy school, and I’ll finally be ready to start the adventure of having a family. I definitely don’t think an IUD is for everyone. My IUD experience is different than anyone else’s IUD experience. I think it’s something that you shouldn’t be rushed into or pressured to do. Your doctor will know what’s best for your health, but you also need to think of what you can handle. I went into this experience preparing for the worse but hoping for the best. I’m happy to say my IUD experience was somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

Wrapping Things Up

If you have your own IUD experience and would like to share it with me, please reach out to me or post about it in the comments. Talking about these things is the first step to making them less taboo.

As always, if you like this post and want to stay up to date, follow me on Instagram (@averylivinglife) and Pinterest (username: averylivinglife) for news and updates on my adventures!