Copper IUD (Non- hormal 'Paleo' BC) Experience and advice page

[lucyewok]

Hi

i have been posting on here since December of 2011 asking for help, advice and experiences of hormanal and non-hormonal BC (Birth Control). I had been on hormonal birth control since the age of 17 so almost 10 years until this week when i had my mirena coil changed for the more primal copper coil, which contains no hormones.

My experience with the mirena was terrible, i had acne, mood swings, sore swollen breasts, it wasnt fun. i also felt tired all the time, head achey and would have feelings of rising tension and dread about nothing! all of these things were noticeable because i had 3 months hormone free before i had it fitted after coming off the mini pill which was also a physchological nightmare for me! the experience of having it fitted was also terrible, very painful and it seemed to take a long time, also i have never had children and it was so so painful!

anyway, i decided in february that enough was enough, i had the mirena 4 months and wanted to be off hormones completely and be more primal but still needed a method of BC i could rely on rather than condoms. The dr this time sent me to the hospital (i live in the UK and all of this treatment is free). The dr's and nurses there were amazing and i had a numbing injection (inside) which really helped and i felt nothing, and it was over in about 30 seconds, a vast improvement on the first time!

anyway after i had some very bad cramping for about 24 hours after which did get less and less over this time. i had a little bit of spotting and bleeding afterwards also, but nothing major. It has been about 36 hours now since my fitting and i feel fine, i feel more chatty and positive, i dont know what it is but no hormones is really feeling.....GREAT!! I am anxious about my first period as i have been told it might be a lot worse and they will get better over time, i just feel great being off hormones and cant wait to see how it effects my mission of getting some bodt fat off for summer.

i found that there was little or no REAL life experiences and information on BC, especially non hormonal. i felt like if you didnt want hormones you have very few choices and it is a very secretive world and no one speaks about it.

i managed to speak to a number of women at work who had had the copper coil, but had it removed as it caused their periods to become almost unbareable (all of these women are not paleo which does help to lessen heavy periods and had quite heavy periods before hand as well).

i ended up posting a number of threads on here and had a massive response from the female paleo world! it has been amazing! i would never have gone through with the copper one had it not been for the amazing ladies on here!

i am going to post of a few more threads about my experience with the copper coil (i have the T-safe, seems to be the one they opt for here in the UK) how my periods go etc etc, just so some more ladies can benefit for the knowledge and real life information about non hormonal BC.

i think mark should do a big post on non hormonal contraception and get a specialist to give us all some information, because for me, i dont know about anyone else, but going primal and getting my hormones sorting out and my mind has been a real big deal to me.

hope this helps some one and feel free to ask quesrtions or post your own experiences on here too

Lucy

[faithy22]

Hey Lucy-

I've posted before about my Paragard (it's the US form of the copper IUD). I had it inserted 7 weeks ago and everything has been great so far. My first period, though, was crazy insanely heavy for about 2 days (6 days total), and the cramps were pretty bad those 2 days as well.

When I was researching IUDs, I came across a forum where women kept talking about using menstrual cups instead of tampons. I was intrigued by the concept and decided to buy one (Diva Cup). If I had been using tampons, I wouldn't have been able to go to work those 2 days where my period was very heavy. I was bleeding so heavily, but with the cup, it was barely noticible. With tampons, I probably would have been changing them every 30 min and still bleeding through. If you haven't looked into using a menstrual cup, I HIGHLY recommend you do.

I'm expecting to get my period again in the next week or so, and I'm interested to see how it will go. I'm hoping that over the next several months, both the heaviness and cramping decrease.

It does seem like people only post their horror stories online. I'm sure there are thousands of women who are happy with their IUD.

Good luck with yours!

[L8F]

Two books on hormones and understanding one's cycle that I think could REALLY help guide you are:

Taking Charge of Your Fertility (bad name, great book)
One of two books by Uzzi Reiss, MD: The Natural Superwoman or Natural Hormone Balance for Women.

Check them out...
Both are amazing resources as you try to understand all of this cycle stuff, and how to interpret the symptoms etc.
I think the people I know with IUDs have had variable experiences. Sorry I can't help you there...

[lucyewok]

@faithy22

wow!! really!?!? i am very interested in this, anything to make the old 'monthly visitor' more bareable. i had mine 8 days ago, i bled a little and cramps were bad but i'm okay now. i am nervous about my first period!
i hope yours get better!!

thanks so so so so much for the advice i am going to buy one for sure!!

[Corvidae]

The group IUD Divas on Livejournal is also an astoundingly valuable resource for all your questions: IUD Divas

[Pamsc]

I used a diaphram all my reproductive life--a great form of non-hormonal birth control if your life is settled enough that having it handy and putting it in isn't a problem (and you aren't sensitive to the spermacide). I've got a Mirena hormone releasing IUD now for treatment of post-menopausal bleeding and I wish I had known about it sooner as a solution for heavy periods. I'm sensitive to medications and I don't notice any systemic effects of the hormones. Then again my uterus is probably pretty impervious--I've got a big calcified fibroid and the lining was too thick.

[SimplyComplex85]

I found nothing but horror stories about the copper IUD, and since my non-bc period was really heavy, and they said it would just end up worse, I went for the Mirena. A few issues with it but ok so far... its only been like 3 weeks though.