An IUD? I want one dang it and they won't give me one!

disintegration · 12-30-2004, 02:21 AM

I am sick, sick, sick of BCP's its not even funny. I hate taking the pill more than anything in this world. Since I got a good mix of drugs and weightloss, my cycles are regulated but I need a good birth control because I am active and on Spiro.

I have been doing some research online and I found out about the copper IUD. No hormones. Last 5 years. No hormones. No hormones. Ugh I hate the hormones. I asked my gyno about it and she said since I have never had children that its not a good idea because of Pelvic Inflammatory Disese. So its not an option for me. How come??? Do any other cysters have a IUD? How do they work for you? Any info is appriciated! TIA!

snowbunny · 12-30-2004, 03:11 PM

I think your GYN is right. IUDs (even the new ones) are NOTORIOUS for contributing to PIDs. Also, there's no telling that you absolutely won't get pregnant ... remember it just irritates your uterus enough to make it inhospitable to a fetus.

I've had PID and I was in the WORST pain of my LIFE!!!!!!!!! I was lucky and they didn't admit me to the hospital (I begged and begged not to be admitted so that I could heal at home). I was out of work for a solid week and a half, laid up in my bed with all sorts of antibiotics and vicodin. It was excruciating. They still don't know what caused mine.

But, having experienced one, I would encourage women to NEVER do anything that could increase their risk! FYI: PID carries longterm fertility complications!

There are other options for birth control that do not involve hormones or insertions that are designed to IRRITATE your reproductive organs:
Natural Family Planning (Bonus: You get to keep track of your fertility and your progress with PCOS)
Barrier Methods
ETC

Ultimately it comes down to what you want for your body, and only you can make that decision.

Pattyannruss · 12-30-2004, 03:18 PM

I have to aggree with snowbunny.

IUD's are not as safe as some may think.
My SIL had to have a hysterectomy because it caused an infection and the dang thing GREW into her uteris!!
(Or I should say the uteris grew around it)

I would suggest you do some cross checking on dif sites to read up on the risks and how people deal with them.

I remember a time when the depro shots were so popular.
Until a coworker who had it done, only to find out she was preggers and they didn't test for it. She lost the baby.
She hasn't been able to have kids since.(She is also a PCOS canidate) It has been 10 years now.

CelticSpirit · 12-31-2004, 09:53 PM

I've heard so many horror stories about depo! Holy Cow! That stuff should be prohibited! I don't know a single soul who had a good experience with that.

I've heard good and bad about IUD's but I would never use one. Something about sticking something like that up into my uterus just gives me the heebie-jeebies.

TickledPink · 12-31-2004, 10:01 PM

Holy crap I have never really concidered one before, but from what I have read here I don't think I ever will *shiver*

Roses · 12-31-2004, 10:25 PM

I have had the same convos with docs...not that I would ever have an IUD for all the reasons mentioned above...but I also don't like the idea of something permanently up there...

ew.

What about a diaphram? Combined with charting? Although a woman that I worked with told me that once she got her diaphram in the right place, the last thing she felt like was sex.

For basically 10 months DH and I were using condoms + withdrawal at non fertile times. However, saying that, it was pretty risky method and done knowing that if an accident happened we would both be 100% ok with it.

Good luck...I feel your pain

Rosie1028 · 12-31-2004, 11:16 PM

I want to second the vote for the diaphram. I used one for a few years and I loved it. I would just put it in every night before bed and take it out and wash it in the morning. It isn't so bad after you get the hang of it.

Good luck!

sixstarz · 01-26-2005, 04:12 PM

HI,
I got an IUD for alll the reasons you said ...sick of hormones, always forgot my pills, able to be more spontanious (sp?) and so on.
While my son is now 4 and was conceived after only 18 month with the IUD. Not to mention I was still breast feeding my daughter when I had it put in so I was only cycling for maybe 1 yr till I was pg.
So I got my tubes tied!
Suzanne

lots_of_dots · 01-26-2005, 05:52 PM

Another reason they don't like to put IUD's in women who have not had children is because they tend to fall out more in those women.

My nephew's wife (she has had two children) had an IUD put in in Sept of last year. She is now 15 weeks pg with the IUD stuck in the right side of her uterus and it's causing her a ton of pain. She had a 50/50 shot of m/c'ing before 12 weeks which luckily she did not. Now she has a much higher risk of PROM and PTL.

Just wanted to share. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide!!

RunnerDuck · 01-27-2005, 03:36 PM

I really think the PID thing is not an issue with modern IUDs. The Dalcon Shield was a popular IUD in the 70s and it worked wonderfully EXCEPT they made the cord of a porous (sp) material which essentially wicked nasty stuff in to the uterus. By making the IUDs with a solid cord, this problem has been eliminated. Which is not to say ALL problems have been eliminated, but serious complications with the IUD are pretty unusual.

Like lots_of_dots said, the more common issue with women who have never had kids is they just don't tend to stay where they belong. No idea why. There's also this matter of "proving your fertility" which really amounts to not getting an IUD as a young woman, then having it removed, and not being able to have a kid, and wondering if the IUD is to blame (which is kind of funny, since it could still be to blame, but whatever...)

THAT said while some women do fine with the IUD a friend of mine just had her copper one removed after a year because it made her periods super long and heavy. Now she is a normal woman, I guess if you have PCOS and never have periods anyway this wouldn't be a problem, heh... I have heard the Mirena (which does have hormones, but low dose progesterin only) does not cause this problem, after a slight adjustment period. But again, no kids yet... moot points.

The diaphram is a wonderful option if you have no allergies to the components. (I am allergic to spermicide... the diaphram was a nasty experience for me...) You can put it in well ahead of sex so there is no interuption.

disintegration · 01-27-2005, 09:34 PM

Thanks for your responses all. I have problems with diaphrams because I have trouble erg sticking things up there...lol. I even have troubles with tampons. Also the DBF is allergic to spermacides which I have to admit would be kind of funny, I don't want to totally torture the man...

.

I contacted the company that makes the copper IUD and was kind of turned off from the idea of it falling out...I think I want more control than it falling out of me. Also, I want to have children someday and I don't want to ruin any fertility I do have. (With my PCOS, I could concieve but I dont have enough of a hormone to keep it in?) So I continue on my search for the perfect BCP, ya know the ones that don't make me ovulate and don't make me eat relish out of the jar.

Also, what happened with that male BCP? I remember reading something about that years ago...Government conspiricy I tell you...see that would be an answer to my prayers. God I would just love to tell Hayden "Honey, Did you take your pill?" just once....

CelticSpirit · 01-27-2005, 10:02 PM

Oh sweetie,

Don't even THINK of depending on a man to take a pill everyday! My husband can't remember to take his vitamins regularly! I wouldn't trust him to keep me from getting knocked up! HOLY COW!

That would be bad!

disintegration · 01-27-2005, 11:23 PM

Stacie, I realize that now...lol! Although I once asked him "Why don't you get snipped?" and he turned the most unsightly shade of green....

CelticSpirit · 01-28-2005, 11:12 AM

That's so funny!

Now that I'm pregnant with baby #3 and it's been high risk, my husband is walking around saying: "We're done! That's it! No more!" And, at one point he said to me that one of us is getting fixed, he didn't care who it was, but it was happening. I was just like: "OK! Have fun finding the doc for your surgery!"

guineapig · 02-04-2005, 12:45 PM

I hate it when docs dismiss young women for IUDs. I went through this for years and ruined my system with pills and depo. After which, I simply picked up the phone and called OB doctors right down the page: each office, I would ask specificially, "Will Dr. X give an IUD to an unmarried woman?" Finally one said yes, and I went to him. I had to pay all the costs out of pocket. He "measured" me for the IUD first, using a little oil "dipstick," (nonpainful at all) and then when I was found to be big enough, in it went! (somewhat painful). I've had it 6.5 years now without complications. Some women who have never had children are really too small in the uterus to hold an IUD, but they can measure you in 2 seconds painlessly to see that first. PID is a risk, but you could get that anyway--it's an STD for cripes sake. Along with HIV, herpes, all of them! There is a risk of perforation but my doctor said he could count on his hands the number of times he's seen it in his 25 years of practice. IMO it's worth a try IF the pills just aren't helping/working. I would rather walk on hot coals (or have AF every 2 weeks...hey, wait...) than go back on bcp.