IUD Insertion and Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

[descent2madness.livejournal.com]

Hello all!

I was wondering if anyone had used red raspberry leaf tea prior to an IUD insertion to help with cramping? I FINALLY have my consultation two weeks from tomorrow (I've been very anxiously waiting since February) and I've been thinking about picking up some RRL tea at the health food store tomorrow to start drinking leading up to my period/insertion that will HOPEFULLY (everyone cross your fingers) be this May. I'm a tea lover and from what I've read, RRL tastes pretty much like regular old black tea so I'm contemplating substituting it in for my usual morning tea and then bringing an iced bottle of it to drink through the day.

Anyone know how much I should drink in a day to help with cramping? I've never tried it before and I've read anywhere from 3-8 cups a day online! Also, has anyone ever mixed it with another tea? I have some other black/green/herbal loose leafs hanging out in my cupboard that I might mix in just for flavour/caffeine content but I wondered if that would reduce the efficacy of the RRL tea. Thanks for the input!

x-posted to iud_divas

Edit: also, mods, feel free to add tags as my internet browsers are being uncooperative and won't allow me to at the moment.

Comments

[spicytoys.livejournal.com]

I drink it for cramps and it tastes nothing like black tea to me. The only thing I can compare it too is artichoke. But if you add some honey, it's not that bad.

I drink a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening. Make sure to steep it for 10-15 minutes for the full strength. Medicinal teas need to steep longer.

[descent2madness.livejournal.com]

Hm you're the second person who's said it doesn't taste like black tea (the other person said less bitter green tea). I think I'll definitely add some honey or agave before I try to drink it...thanks!

[papermoonriver.livejournal.com]

I drank a ton of it before and kept drinking it post insertion. I felt it really helped, as I wasn't in any kind of the pain I expected to be. But of course, I can't really know what it would have felt like if I hadn't drank any.

Really though, I just raspberry leaf tea and maybe two ibuprofen, and my cramping didn't feel like anything more than a particularly crampy period (I'm not prone to severe cramps at all, knock on wood).

[descent2madness.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a plan. I was going to drink a ton of the tea and take some ibuprofen before the insertion as pre-birth control I did have pretty decent cramps (nothing debilitating but requiring some sort of analgesia nonetheless!) Thanks!

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Hello!
Okay, I wasn't even sure if I should post this because it's not scientific at all, but here goes. I got pregnant with my IUD, and my homeopath recommend that I drink massive amounts of raspberry leaf tea, because she thought it would induce a miscarriage. I'm not sure where she got this idea because I haven't really heard anything else about it, but there are rumours that it can help with labour, so maybe she thought the same mechanism would work? It did not cause a miscarriage. However, after 8 weeks of no bleeding at all (which it how I knew I was pregnant), I suddenly started having some bleeding. Soon after the bleeding started, my IUD expelled. All that to say, although it was probably just a coincidence, I personally would not take raspberry leaf tea if I had an IUD.

Also, since you're interested in herbal remedies for cramping, I just want to say that I've recently tried cramp bark and it worked super well. It didn't taste good though (but I don't like tea). You can find it at herbal stores, it's an actual bark, not a tea. I mixed it with ginger, I think. I have a herbal medicine book that I got it from. If you're interested I can give you the specific proportions/recipe, though I'm sure a herb store would be able to give you some suggestions. The store I went to also had a tea blend they recommend for cramps, so you could try that if you wanted something that likely tastes better than cramp bark.

[descent2madness.livejournal.com]

Hm red raspberry leaf tea is highly recommended for pregnant women as it helps strengthen the uterine and pelvic muscle tone to aid in delivery so I can't imagine why your homeopath would think it would induce a miscarriage. It is often used throughout pregnancy by women (the only precaution I've seen is to wait until the second trimester if you've had previous miscarriages). I have a feeling your IUD was expelled because of the fetus, not the RRL tea (just my semi-medical opinion).

I've read about cramp bark but as I'm a tea lover (and someone who has trouble swallowing things that taste bad) I think I'll probably start with the raspberry leaf. Thanks for your input though!

[chipie.livejournal.com]

Yes, like I said, I have doubts that it was actually related, but I personally wouldn't feel comfortable taking the raspberry leaf tea! (But I should add that, were I to get another IUD, I would be extra paranoid anyway, since I got pregnant with my first one.)

I just looked up raspberry leaf tea and miscarriage and it's interesting, some people claim that it avoids miscarriages and some that it causes them. I haven't looked in detail though and I haven't looked at academic research, but there does seem to be some controversy..

Good luck!