Intro Post

[h0rsegurrrl.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone,
My name is Melanie and I'm a lurker, first-time poster.  I'm 18, in college, and in an awesome monogamous relationship.  I've heard only good things about this community so I thought I'd come to you girls with a question.

First, some background:  I've never really gotten bad period cramps.  Don't get me wrong, I've gotten cramps, but not the crippling, I-can't-move kind of cramps.  More like take-some-Advil-and-lie-down-on-a-heating-pad-and-I'll-be-fine kind of cramps.  I started using NuvaRing in September of 2005 with no problems.  What little cramps I did get were completely eliminated when I started the Ring.

Fast-forward to October of 2006: I got a stomach flu that morphed into acid reflux and an inflamed stomach lining, I lost 15 pounds, and long story short, I was wondering in the NuvaRing perhaps was making the nausea and general belly pain worse.  My gyno said that she didn't think the two were related, but the only way to know for sure is if I stop using the NuvaRing for a little while to see if I feel better.  So, after my last period ended on October 28th, I didn't restart the NuvaRing.

Fast-forward again to last night, November 11th:  I got some HORRIBLE cramps, but I didn't know what it was.  My roommate is often crippled by period cramps, so I asked her what they feel like, and described what I was feeling, and she said yeah, they sounded like period cramps.  The pain was a dull ache in the area below my bellybutton, behind my bladder but in front of my bowels (I have IBS so I know bowel pain quite well).  The only cramps I remember having were the few that I had before the Ring, but they were nothing like the ones I had last night.  I sort of wanted to tear my uterus out of my body.  They weren't crippling, per se, but they were certainly uncomfortable and baffling.  I took some Advil, lied down on a heating pad, ate some soup and watched a movie to get my mind off of it, and after about an hour the cramps were pretty much gone.  I'm perfectly fine now.

I haven't started my period, and I have no idea when to expect my period since coming off birth control.  I don't know when to expect my period, but it'll be the average 28 days on November 25th, which is still a good two weeks off (if that made sense).

The only sexual contact I've had since my last period was during my period, my boyfriend was wearing a condom, he penetrated and then I immediately got off because it was too bloody (I know it's gross but hey, I don't get to see my boyfriend much so I take what I can get, haha)  so it's highly, highly unlikely that I'm pregnant.

I was thinking about getting an IUD, but man, if I could barely handle the cramps last night, I don't know how I'm going to handle cramps from an IUD.

Here's my question:  are bad cramps a normal occurence after coming off hormonal birth control?!  Have those bad cramps happened to anyone else after coming off HBC?  Were the cramps I had normal, and should I see someone about it?

Sorry this post is so long - I'm just a little shaken up by the whole thing.  Thanks ladies :-)

Comments

[br0ken_dolly]

ouchie.

i'm wondering if you had ovulation cramps... you'd technically be ovulating now if you're on a regular cycle (you lucky gal, you! heh), and some gals do get those. perhaps these were bad just because you haven't ovulated in awhile, but i'm just speculating.

i suspect as long as they don't come back, that was probably it, and as long as you're not in pain any more, i'd probably wait it out (and see if your period comes when you expect it to, which would confirm the whole ovulation thing).

good luck though. i hate cramps.

[fauxme.livejournal.com]

I just went off the pill a few months ago, and I got pretty crippling ovulation pains during my first cycle off (they were in exactly the same place where I remembered getting ovulation twinges of pain before). Now I'm back to just getting little twinges of pain. If they were located more off to the side in the area below her belly button, then yeah, I'd especially be willing to bet that's what it was (although I was sorta crampy all over because my body was like, "Wait, you expect me to do all this hormonal stuff on my own?")

[br0ken_dolly]

ugh, this is good to know. i *just* finished my last pack of pills a week or so ago... i guess i should brace myself, too, if this is a *common* thing! yick.

[h0rsegurrrl.livejournal.com]

It wasn't off to the side, though, it was pretty even on both sides. I supposed I could be ovulating from both sides, though, especially if the HBC was suppressing my ovulation for a while. Hm. So it sounds relatively normal and not something I should spaz about. Thank you!

[thebohomama.livejournal.com]

When I stopped hbc, my cramps were immediately deathly. They kind of alternate now. Some periods are no big deal, others I'm laying in bed whimpering with a heat pad... hbc was really really controlling them for me.

[bit-bit.livejournal.com]

An IUD will not necessarily give you worse cramps than you had without it. I have a Mirena, and although there were mild cramps when it was inserted (no worse than my period cramps on HBC), I haven't had any since. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I no longer get periods (had spotting the first couple cycles, and now nothing for over six months).

This site (http://www.americanpregnancy.org/preventingpregnancy/iud.html) lists cramping as a side effect of copper IUDs, but you should talk to your doctor and/or owners of copper IUDs for more substantial information on them.

[h0rsegurrrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've researched all the IUD stuff (and I'm a member of iud_divas), and I don't really want a Mirena because I don't want to stop getting my period (I like my period. I know I'm crazy. I know) so I'd prefer a ParaGard, but after last night's cramping I don't know if I can handle it. Plus, if I stopped getting my period then I wouldn't know if I was pregnant, and I'd freak myself out every month wondering if I was pregnant wasting money on pregnancy tests. It's not enough for me to know that a Mirena is more effective than sterilization - the proof is in the period, lol.

[bit-bit.livejournal.com]

You're not crazy at all for wanting to have a period, many women like that peace of mind. I just wanted to make sure you knew what options were available with IUDs.