Paraguard or non-hormonal bc.

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

Long story really short, I have problems with HBC and will not be taking any more hormonal methods. I use condoms religiously in my long term relationship and don't really mind, but i am a little worried about the condom breaking for two reasons: 1, plan B is hormones, and I really want to avoid them! and 2, I've recently read that plan B will not prevent pregnancy if ovulation has taken place—is that wrong? It seems wrong to me, but i'm not very knowledgable.

I'm looking for experiences with the Copper IUD, both bad and good. Anyone?

Comments

[lorrainec.livejournal.com]

Plan B works primarily by delaying ovulation. It is unlikely to do you any good if you have already ovulated, unfortunately.

Check out the iud_divas community, it's a great resource for Paragard (and other IUD) questions. I had one for a while and loved it, and I would recommend them in general. However insertion does hurt (more for some women than others) and it can increase bleeding and cramping during your period. That wasn't a big deal for me, but if you already have heavy bleeding and painful cramping it could be bad for you. Your uterus needs to be a certain size, it can't be inserted in all women.

Don't let anyone tell you nulliparous people (if you are) can't have it, that's completely untrue. Your uterus may be smaller than that of a parous person, or your cervix more stubborn though. Some women have it expel for one reason or another. If you do decide to get it, go to someone who is experienced at inserting them. I've read that inserter experience is the best indicator of success with the IUD.

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of this!
When you go to iud_divas, I suggest spelunking through the following tags: polls/surveys (http://iud-divas.livejournal.com/tag/polls%2Fsurveys), faq (http://iud-divas.livejournal.com/tag/faq)s, and long term updates (http://iud-divas.livejournal.com/tag/long-term%20updates). Those will probably give you a broader picture of IUD experiences than the copper/paragard tag. That one would be more helpful after you've gotten a big picture, as it's full of adjustment stories and queries, and might scare you off. (It's the equivalent of learning more about a college by only interviewing students during finals week, right before they go take an exam.)

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I will check out that community. The fact that i'm balking at the responses, even those that say they loved their paraguard, says a whole lot. It's not really something that I want!

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

That's ok! It seemed squicky to me at first too.
Luckily, there are other options, though less effective and more prone to user error. (FAM, withdrawal, barrier methods, specifically.) Maybe Paragard will seem more palatable after using one or two of those for a while. Or maybe you'll be perfectly happy with the alternatives. And that's fine too! IUDs are not for everyone, just as HBC isn't for everyone.

A word on the other copper IUDs someone else mentioned: If you're in the US, Paragard is the only one that the FDA has approved. However, Canada (and many other countries) have smaller copper IUDs such as Flexi-T and Multiload. Vancouver BC (and I think the Netherlands or Belgium?) also has a copper IUD that's just a string of copper beads that affixes to the uterus. Smaller IUDs like these are supposed to have less side effects and be more easily accepted by a nulliparous uterus.

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

Just so you know, most pregnancies are from sex that occurs before ovulation, not after. During your fertile time of the month, sperm can survive several days inside you while the egg is only viable for about 24 hours. So Plan B does still prevent pregnancy most of the time even though it doesn't appear to have any effect after ovulation.

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's really good info to know. I can feel when i'm ovulating and i've always thought THAT was the day to worry about. I do have an app for my phone that estimates when i'm fertile, though, and it's always the 6 days before ovulation and one day after so that makes sense!

[svexsal.livejournal.com]

I LOVED my Paragard. I second the suggestion to check out iud_divas.

[evilnel.livejournal.com]

I had my Paragard placed at the beginning of June and I LOVE it. I feel so secure on it (getting pregnant before I'm married would ruin my career) and it's totally hassle free. I check the strings once (or twice if I'm feeling paranoid) a month to make sure all's well, but so far so good! Insertion was a little ugly. I didn't pass out or anything but I had the worst cramps I've ever experienced and actually threw up on my way home. The worst cramping was the first day but I experienced cramping for about 5 days. However my period sort of started itself prematurely so I'm not sure if that was just cramping from the Paragard or from my period or both. It was manageable with ibuprofen and a heating pad.

My periods have changed slightly but have not gotten what I would call "worse" just different. I used to have two moderate days with bad cramps followed by about 3 more days of light bleeding. Now I have about 3 days of pre-period discharge, a light day or two with cramping, 2-3 heavy days, and 1 light day. I think it is now slightly longer than before (6-7 compared to 4-5) but only slightly heavier, and my cramps are actually better than they were before! It hasn't affected sex at all. I asked my partner if he could feel the strings at all and he said occasionally they poke him but he's never stopped during sex so I assume not badly enough to cause a problem.

Insertion is the worst part of it, and it's over pretty quickly. Everybody is different and it's really easy for some and really difficult for others, but if you have an experienced practitioner and your periods aren't too wretched, I say go for it. I like still having my natural cycle intact and not putting any excess hormones into my body.

[vertbio.livejournal.com]

Well, I personally have the Mirena IUD, which DOES have a low does of hormones. I honestly can't say anything negative about it. I know you want hormone free, but I still encourage you to research Mirena if you haven't already. It's a very small dose of progesterone only and many people either do not have side effects at all from it, or the side effects they do get are not nearly as bad as the side effects from the much higher dose and estrogen containing pills. I have no ill side effects whatsoever, it's like it's not even there except my periods are only about a quarter of the bleeding I had pre-IUD, and pre-IUD my periods were quite light.

As for Paragard, my only experience with it comes from somebody close to me who had it. After 3 years, she got pregnant and also had pretty bad cramps from it and heavy bleeding even after the first year. Before the pregnancy occurred she was even looking into getting on the mini-pill (progesterone only birth control) just in an attempt to lighten the bleeding.

Just do research on both and talk to a doctor and try to figure out what's best for your body. I was going to go with the paragard because I wanted hormone free, but I'm actually really glad I went with Mirena. I have a feeling I would have had more side effects that I wouldn't have wanted to deal with from Paragard. Just keep in mind that everybody's body responds differently to these things, so while I have no negative effects from Mirena, others do. And my friend had issues with Paragard (ignoring the pregnancy since that should be a statistical freak accident) but others here have mentioned improved cramps rather than worse.

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. It's totally possible that the Mirena would be perfect for be and perfect for my body, but i'm never going to go there. After 2 years of agony—not just "what is this itchiness," actual full-out, extended leave-from-work, multiple-appointments-with-pelvic-pain-specialists, lydocaine-and-other useless-treatments pain—I will not be trying again. Well, who knows what will happen when menopause hits, but for now, no hormones for me!

[vertbio.livejournal.com]

Yikes, read your below story about your reaction to the HBC, that's no fun at all. I can't blame you for wanting to stay away from them entirely just in case.

Do you want kids in the future? If you don't, there's the Essure procedure. The procedure places coils into the fallopian tubes going through the cervix. Flesh then builds up around them and it creates a natural block.

If you do want kids, there are other copper IUDs besides Paragard if you want to go through the trouble of getting them. Some are smaller and there's one that doesn't have the arms. It's an option if your uterus happens to be too small for a Paragard, and I've heard that the smaller ones tend to be "nicer" in terms of side effects (though they only last 5 years rather than 12), and there's one that's less likely to expel. I think they're called the Flexi-T and Gyneflex or Gynefix. Somebody in iud divas actually did have one of those imported into the US from a different country. It was a challenge and they had some issues getting somebody to insert it (liability, not FDA approved etc), but they did succeed. It's unfortunate that here in the US we have such limited options as far as IUD's are concerned.

You can also try tracking your cycle. I'm sure some VP people have some good resources for that and info. But it does involve taking your temperature in the morning and charting it, along with paying attention to things like cervical mucus. You should be able to tell when you ovulate and abstain or be extra careful during that window of time, about 7 to 10 days being on the safe side, when you are fertile (the egg is only viable for a day or two, but sperm can live in your body for a while before ovulation).

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this response! I don't want to reputation of being pig-headed, but yeah. Hormones=not happening!

I do want kids (and, I fear what the change it hormones will do to me!!!), so Essure is out for now.

That's good info to know about the other types of copper IUDs. I think, at the moment, I want to continue on using condoms. I do a good job of tracking my cycle without taking my temperature (I am very in tune with my body, can tell exactly when I'm ovulating, can see the discharge, and am aware of the egg preparing to release and can tell a few days before which side it's coming from! It's really cool, except for the actually day of ovulation when I am nauseous and have to lay down for about an hour, and it feels like one of my sides is on fire). Maybe I'll start tracking my temperature too!

[dkwgdk.livejournal.com]

Seconding the suggestions re: iud-divas and thinking about the Mirena. Oral contraceptives are extremely triggering for both my migraines and my mood disorder, but I needed a way to cope with my dangerously heavy periods. I've had the Mirena for about 18 months and it's been great! I haven't had any of the side effects I got from oral contraceptives (even low-dose ones) any my periods are much easier to manage. Of course, it's totally up to you and what you feel comfortable with, but if heavy periods are at all an issue for you, the Mirena might be worth considering.

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's an issue because I do have heavy periods, but i'm not going on hormones of any kind (even if they would be perfect, i'm not trying it!!!). I wish my symptoms had been migraines and mood disorders. This was screaming, hospital-visit-inducing agony. I've never heard of anything like it, and i wouldn't even know who to ask. All the doctors were stumped, though I've found a few who completely agree it is the hormones. No one knows why my vagina reacted like that, and why birth control was ok for me a few years back. I'm really curious, actually, but I tried to post on the birth_control community and they rejected the post. I posted here a year ago when I suspected it was the low dose (it was any dose, actually), and had the majority of people responding that i maybe had a yeast infection or something like that. Anyway, that's another kind of rant. I will definitely check out iud-divas!

[dkwgdk.livejournal.com]

I wonder if you have an allergy to synthetic hormones. I think there was a poster here recently who described a severe reaction to hormonal birth control, maybe archangelbeth remembers.

I've been hospitalized (not screaming, but crying pretty hysterically) for my mood disorder, but I think I get what you mean about your reaction to oral contraceptives being of a different nature.

[helpme11111.livejournal.com]

Ah, that was insensitive of me. Of course I would have preferred the run-of-the-mill emotional affects, even if they were above and beyond the norm, to what happened to me. But absolutely not a separate, hospital-worthy issue!

I have done some googling of hormone allergies, but no reactions like my own. Maybe I should be studied in a lab somewhere. But I will never take the drugs for them!