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Lackadaisical posted:So after being on BC pills for almost a decade, I got the paragard inserted a little over two months ago. Sorry to hear about your relationship; the same thing happened to me except I was the one who ended it. My cramps haven't been so bad, so at least that's something. Are yours absolutely so bad you have to use vicodin, or would a higher dosage of ibuprofen work? Though that has its own risks. The Thermacare pads ilysespieces might work, or you could try something like IcyHot if you don't mind smelling like menthol half the day.
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Feb 2, 2011 22:41
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Geolicious posted:Good to know. I am also jobless and uninsured, but I have been in a long term stable relationship for the last 6 and half years. Hopefully they can help me out! Oh, Paragard also has a program in place for people who can't afford it, assuming you meet the qualifications. Here's a link to the brochure describing it.
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Feb 2, 2011 22:53
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Kerfuffle posted:It is a bit awkwardly worded isn't it? I'm just guessing here, but I think you'd be back at the perfect use effectiveness within a week or however long it takes when you first go on Depo.
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Mar 11, 2011 02:49
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Tigntink posted:Mine are curled up around my cervix but I have a super short vagina so I can feel them just fine. Yea, apparently vasovagal reactions aren't that uncommon. I had one about 20 minutes after my paragard insertion with full on vomiting and almost fainting, when I was trying to check out. Super exciting, especially since the insertion itself wasn't bad at all. The doctor almost took it out because I wasn't improving at first, but luckily I got better before she actually removed it.
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May 4, 2011 21:19
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Lixer posted:I probably shouldn't be googling the net, but I'm going to be switching from the nuvaring (6 year use?) to the Paragard next week and starting to be a nervous nelly about it. I'm going to miss having no period, but I'm looking forward to not having to pay for, or remember birth control, and having no added hormones! I sort of noticed weight gain, maybe, although I'd categorize it more as a shift in where I perceived my weight to be, which did center around my belly. I also think it was more due to changed eating habits; I was on an all you can eat meal plan with the dorm at my law school, so I was eating more than when I cook for myself. I got the Paragard back in October. I've noticed it seems to be dropping now, but it was also only a 5 lb gain or so. Sorry if this is a jumble, posting from my phone so it's difficult to make rearranging edits.
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Jun 17, 2011 17:24
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Skywriter posted:BigGayLogan, I'll be honest. What you are wanting really doesn't exist. It's usually the progesterone in BC that causes the weight gain, and that's present in pretty much every form of birth control out there. The Depo shot is straight progesterone, which is nice in terms of ending periods, but lovely for weight gain. Same with Implanon. The only option that will end your period without the risk of progesterone-related weight gain is the copper IUD. ? You mean the hormonal IUD? I don't think Paragard's really known for ending periods, unless maybe the increased cramping causes someone to just reach in and rip out her whole uterus. Not that Mirena doesn't have the risk of weight gain, I think, but I'd have to defer to the other posters. By the time I was considering IUDs I had sworn off hormones.
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Jul 19, 2011 03:23
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bobula posted:Thanks for the info! If anyone else has anything in particular to point out, let me know. I want to be prepared and ready for the aftermath with whatever meds/heating pads/whatever I need. More echoing on yes/no sex beforehand would be nice too. The worst part for me was right after; I'm prone to vasovagal reactions, and had one so bad the doctor wanted to take the Paragard out. It passed and I kept my little copper baby though. After I was able to walk the mile or so back home and even went to my afternoon class. (I probably shouldn't have walked it, but I can be a bit of an idiot about that sort of thing.) Otherwise what everyone else has said--regular ibuprofen should do it, heating pads are nice. The cramping was aggravating but didn't kill me.
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Aug 17, 2011 20:40
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evelynevvie posted:I wishI could find it at less than maximum strength! The way I understand it, the peroxide stuff at max strength is for teenagers, and is too harsh for adult skin. I haveexperienced personally that the acne got worse because it irritated the skin. I've heard of 2.5% peroxide creams but can't find any at that dose. Proactiv is 2.5% but overpriced; Wal-Mart has a generic version that I found worked fine. I think AcneFree is also 2.5% and has generally been working well for me. I went camping this weekend and didn't bring it along though, and now I've got the same sort of little bumps someone posted about earlier in the thread. Argh.
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Sep 7, 2011 20:24
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JustinMorgan posted:Copper IUD is awesome. Yes, it hurts like hell to put it in. Yes, my periods are longer, crampier, and heavier than ever before. But it's so worth it to not have to remember to take a pill, to not gain crazy amounts of weight, to be spontaneous, to not go from hormonal crying mess to hormonal angry psycho chick. Totally worth it. This. I tended to have very irregular, fairly light periods before unless I was on the pill. They're more regular and heavier now, but it's worth it to me. And in theory if I were getting any, the spontaneity & lack of need for condoms would be great. Also, that bit about how they're only for women who have had kids isn't really true, but they were only approved for those women for a while and a lot of doctors won't insert them into nulliparous women. A lot of doctors will, though.
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Sep 16, 2011 00:06
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2508084 posted:Is paraguard copper around plastic? I hope this isn't a dumb question because I thought copper IUD's were.. entirely made of copper. I feel so dumb about birth control It's copper around plastic, yea. I guess the plastic is more flexible for insertion/removal? Or maybe it's just cheaper that way, I don't know.
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Oct 5, 2011 02:06
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BigGayLogan posted:I'm still on my parents' insurance, and my Mirena was covered through them. I paid a total of around $35, including the copay. Even though IUDs are meant to last for several years and require minor surgery, for lack of a better term, I'm somewhat surprised at what some of you had to pay even with insurance! That's just not right... I'm still on my parents' insurance too. Paragard would have been covered completely, with me only paying $25 copay for the visit, but the student health center here doesn't take my insurance so I had to go to the hospital's OB-GYN clinic. I suppose I could have looked for a non-hospital doctor, but I knew the clinic would be super happy about giving my nulliparous 23-year-old self an IUD. Unfortunately I had to pay hospital billing, which ended up about $350.
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Jan 24, 2012 18:49
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NaturalLow posted:Yeah, like I said earlier I didn't mean to sound dismissive of people who actually did experience a lot of pain. Everyone feels it differently, has different tolerances, different anatomy etc. It may have also helped that I had a lot of stomach issues as a teen so I may be a little more tolerant of abdominal pain/cramps by now, I don't know. I had just gotten home when I wrote that and I was really genuinely surprised after the horror stories I'd read, which is why I kept talking about it so much. I think it might also be that people who don't have problems are less likely to post about it. When I got my Paragard, the insertion itself was fine; I'd taken some tylenol (all I had) before I went to the doctor and they gave me some ibuprofen right before, but it wasn't too bad. I did have a vasovagal reaction about 15 minutes after the insertion, when I was trying to check out, but I have a bit of a history of them so that's that. I actually walked home from the doctor and went to class later that afternoon no problem. You'll get used to it after a while. I was worried for a few weeks that I'd expel it, then I calmed down until I started using a menstrual cup about a year later, and now it's over a year with cups and I only ever think about it when I'm explaining it to a new partner or evangelizing to friends.
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Jan 11, 2013 07:00
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The FDA's approved a new hormonal IUD called Skyla.  It's only supposed to last for 3 years and apparently will be marketed towards younger women.
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Jan 15, 2013 20:29
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GoodBee posted:From what I've heard, there has not been enough/any research/study on cups with IUDs so no one can make a qualified statement on how much a cup can effect expulsion. I actually started using a cup a year after I got my Paragard, so I've been using them together a year and a half now. I haven't had any worries, but the way I take it out pretty much ensures the seal breaks (and that I get blood all over my hand if it's full, but it's a price I'll pay). poo poo can happen, but that's true of anything.
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Mar 24, 2013 15:38
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Kerfuffle posted:This thread changes my mind about IUDs constantly. Having my one nuvaring nausea risk day a month can be tiresome, but at least it's predictable. Well, it's different for everyone too. I've had my Paragard for 2.5 years now (hard to believe it's been that long), and it's super predictable: some cramping a few days before my period, a day or two of spotting, two-three days of heavy bleeding (emptying my large meluna every two-three hours), then four days or so of it tapering off, with some light cramping during the heavier days. My brand of menstrual problem pre-Paragard was amenorrhea, though, and when I did have periods they were pretty light. My body just hates me above the waist.  But yea, while an IUD could be unpredictable for you, it could also be very predictable. There's really no way to know unless you try. It's just good to know if you do give it a shot and weird poo poo happens, you're not alone and it's totally ok (probably, unless you accidentally expel it or snag the strings on a vibe or something happens, but we're still here for ya, as is probably your doctor).
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Apr 13, 2013 23:36
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Tigntink posted:Another voice for the paragard support - I went through a whole mess of versions of the pill and I was depressed and gaining weight and had lovely acne and nothing was good for me. I tried going to nuvaring because it was lower hormone, just to see how it would work. I got happier and my acne got less. Logical conclusion a year later was to try no hormones. The only reservation I had is before I started birth control my periods were like a waterfall. The pill was originally for my hosed up periods but women in my family told me when I got older they would generally get better so I took the dive into IUD ville. BEST DECISION EVER. Consultation and insertion was a 30 minute appointment. I scheduled it on my period. They still ran a pregnancy/STI test which is what took the longest. Got it inserted, walked out, boyfriend drove me home, took a day off for cramps, back to work the next day and all was awesome. I spotted for about a week more and then my periods went back to normal. I also use a cup with it and that has worked out very well. I got mine in november of 2010 so coming up on 3 years hormone free. Lost over 30lbs since then. My skin has cleared up almost all the way and my chronic depression is well controlled through diet and exercise. High five on the almost-three-years with Paragard club; got mine inserted October 2010, less than a month after starting law school. I actually walked to my appointment (alone), took an ibuprofen there that they gave me, and was in and out of the insertion itself in about 20 minutes. There was a resident shadowing the doctor doing the insertion that day, and I guess his fiancee had just recently finished law school, so he and I just talked about that the entire time and I barely noticed a thing. Like Grape Soda though, I did have a vasovagal reaction, which was annoying, but it happened as I was trying to check out so they just put me in a room to keep an eye on me until it passed. I'd had them before and once it was over I was able to walk back home and made it to class that afternoon no problem. It's been amazing; the only good side effects I ever had from the pill were predictable periods and clear skin, but they came with a heaping plate of emotional problems that I'm more than happy to go without.
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Sep 4, 2013 19:43
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Tigntink posted:Eh everyone is different. My paragard placement just felt like a worse than average cramp for about 20 seconds but I really don't fault anyone who has a vasovagal reaction or legit worse pain they've ever had. Hell, it's possible to think the insertion is fine and still have a vasovagal reaction. Happened to me with my paragard, but I was still ok to walk home once I recovered from that and too stubborn not to.
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Mar 12, 2014 23:49
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Kimmalah posted:I got an IUD because I was fed up with hormonal side-effects and that was basically the only option reliable enough for me. Most of the horror stories you hear about IUDs really aren't that common and the internet just tends to skew towards the negative. Same on all fronts with my paragard, other than getting a little card. Plus I like the fact that it's approved for longer, mostly because I'm lazy. A mirena would have needed replacing last year, but my paragard will last until I expect I'm likely to be getting on that babymakin' train.
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Jan 7, 2016 15:56
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Etuni posted:Thank you for all your help, this is useful info. I've been reading about a number of women who found their sex drive dropped dramatically or completely disappeared on Nexplanon, which makes me nervous about that method. Although, the same can be said for some women on IUDs... It's hard to make this decision when you can't know what side effects, if any, you'll get until you try! I use a cup with my iud, and I know some others in here do too. It's definitely possible if you don't break the seal, but I don't think it's all that common. I wouldn't let that be a deterrent, you just have to make sure you break the seal on your cup when taking it out. I think it did happen to someone in here though.
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Jan 7, 2016 21:56
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