Disclaimer: this is my personal experience with getting an IUD and should not be considered medical information. Definitely get in touch with your lady doc before making any decisions about your reproductive health!!
First things first, being a girl can really be difficult. I could write a whole book about it - but as I’ve gotten older (my wise old age of 23, lol) I also see the power in owning your womanhood. I think this starts with owning your reproductive health. I am not going to get into the politics of this issue, though there is a lot to say about that, but rather my personal experience with this topic.
I got an IUD almost a year ago (and yes, I still have the expiration card in my wallet, you never know when you are going to need it!) and it has been the best thing that ever happened. I went on birth control is high school, partly to clear up my skin and lighten my periods, but mainly because I had a boyfriend and wanted to get it all sorted out before I left for college. At this time, IUDs weren’t very common and if you had asked me to put a piece of plastic or copper in my uterus, I would’ve cringed, blushed, and looked at you as if you were crazy. And mainly because you would’ve said the word uterus and my 17-year self was incapable of having open conversations about sexual health / sexuality in general. Safe to say I have come a long way.
Fast forward to 2018, I am still on birth control. Traveling for work every week and then taking trips on the weekend makes it incredibly difficult to refill prescriptions or go to the doctor to continue with this program. After talking to my sister, my friends, my doctor, and consulting numerous online resources, I bit the bullet and decided to get an IUD. After hearing my sister’s account and helping my roommate through getting hers, I was scared shitless about the kind of pain I would experience. That alone almost deterred me from going through with the appointment. But I am here today, almost one year later, and the biggest advocate of IUDs. A few things that I wanted to share with anyone considering it:
Explore your options: I have the Kyleena, which is the smallest, lowest dose hormone IUD, and it has been great. I had really heavy periods and breakouts before going on birth control, so I opted to continue having hormones. You may be someone who can handle the copper ones or someone who needs more than the lowest dose of hormones. Do your research & talk to your doc to find out what will likely be the best fit.
Talk to your sexual partner: I may be the worst at this, so if I did it, so can you. Tell them what you are doing and why. Explain that you might have spotting for up to 2 months, that you might be nervous to have sex for a few days after. Open conversations about protection with your partner are a must, and if they aren’t supportive of your choice, you might want to reevaluate the relationship.
Figure out how you’re getting to and from your appointment: Take your mom, your friend, your boyfriend, your sister, etc. I would’ve been fine to drive after my appointment, but I felt a lot more comfortable knowing I didn’t have to and it was reassuring to have someone in the room with me. My stepmom came with me, and she is also a doctor, which made me feel a lot better.
Advil, advil, advil: Take advil ~30 minutes before your appointment. I cannot stress this enough. You will at the bare minimum feel wildly uncomfortable when the little guy is placed and some people have extreme pain. Advil is your friend. Take Advil before and take Advil after.
Take off work: I feel like this should be a given, but get a morning appointment and take the rest of the day off. You don’t need to be dialing into your client conference call or team touchpoint after just getting something put in your uterus. Enough said.
Eat ice cream (or your comfort food of choice): This is scientifically proven to help, all doctors will confirm. I am obviously full of shit, but the nice person who accompanied you to your appointment? Make them get you some yummies for what you just endured. I probably consumed an entire jar of peanut butter in one day.
The moral of the story is that IUDs are a great option for women of any age and are nothing to be afraid of. If you are sick of birth control, not planning on being pregnant for at least 3-5 years, newly sexually active, or just curious about your options, I highly recommend talking to your doctor about an IUD! It was the best thing I did for myself in 2018.
Are you an advocate for IUDs? Are you terrified of the thought of putting something in your uterus?? We would love to hear other gals’ experiences, good & bad, about IUDs and reproductive health in general!