IUD information please :)

So I've been researching IUDs and such, mainly because I'm just tired of being paranoid about taking the pill +/- 2 hrs from my 'goal' time of 9am.   Also I just want to see if some of my headaches and other weird things with my body are a result of the hormones in the pills.

I've currently been on Yaz since September of '06, so about 1.5 years so far, if that information helps any.

I basically just want to know how the IUD really works, about how much it costs, etc.  The main thing that kind of freaks me out about it is that it's just chillin' up there with the little string hanging down...does one (girl or guy) ever feel the string hanging down in there?  If you're currently using an IUD, do you prefer that over pills?  etc...any information is appreciated!  thanks :)

As a benefits administrator, I just made a call for one of my employees last week.  The IUD she was investigating (Mirena) costs about $500 and the insertion fee was about $125.  Our insurance covers it with just a Dr's visit co-pay of $20 and then the rest is at 100%.

 If you have insurance, check with them to see how it is covered, if you don't have insurance, call your GYN and ask them if they have discounts for cash-pay patients.

My understanding is that the IUD keeps the egg from implanting on the uterus but I have never had one so I can't speak to the specifics.  I would go to the website to do some investigation of your own.  The website is http://www.mirena-us.com/faq.html?C=&c=S1

 According to the website, mirena does the following

How does Mirena work?  Q. How does Mirena work?  A. There is no single explanation of how Mirena works. Mirena may:

• Block sperm from reaching or fertilizing your egg
• Make the lining of your uterus thin (this may also result in benefits like less menstrual bleeding over time)
• Stop the release of your egg from your ovary (but this may not be the way it works in most cases)

It is believed that all 3 of these actions may work together to prevent pregnancy.

 Hope this helps.

I had a Mirena. The insertion feels like the cramp of passing a clot & it's over before the pain really registers.

I had to go in twice after insertion to clip my strings shorter & my husband & I could still.... feel it... if you know what I mean. It wasn't painful, it just felt like a copper wire poking out of my cervix (i.e. not sexy). I had it removed after giving it a go.

It's worth a try! They're easy to remove & most effective!

I have the Mirena IUS, had it put in over a year ago.  I also had surgery at the same time so didn't feel the insertion.  I had one awful period the first month after I got it and since then pretty much no periods, just some spotting once a month.  No more awful painful cramps like I was having.  My doctor recommended it because of my horrible Endometriosis, the slow release synthetic hormones help slow the growth. 

I have not had any side effects like you will read about online.  No weight gain, no acne and no painful periods.  I love it! 

I also have mirena and it is great.  I have very light periods and no other issues. I do not feel it and it has kept me from conceiving for over a year now.  It does not scrape the uterus and is shaped like a T.  Hope this helps.

I am interested in getting an IUD as well!  I don't like the hormones from the pill or the ring.  I've been hearing a lot about mirena, but it still has hormones!  I'm planing on talking to my dr about it when I see her again in April!

Good luck with your choice!  And by the way, why is it that us women always have to deal with the bc? haha

I have a mirena now. Honestly, it really hurt when it was inserted and I had a lot of cramping for the first month (I've never had kids). But now, 4 months after it was inserted, I love it! I haven't really had any periods - just very minimal spotting each month (so minimal it doesn't even reach a pantyliner if I wear one).

It's very hard for me to feel the string, but can if I poke around a bit :) My boyfriend cannot feel it at all.

I have been on birth control pills, depo, the patch and NuvaRing - I prefer 100% over any of those other options. The only regret I have with it is not getting it put in sooner!

Oh, and, after my insurance it only cost me $25 dollars! 

I had the IUD, and just like carleyrapp, had mine taken out because my husband felt it.  It wasn't painful for me, but it wasn't great for him.  Another option is the Nuva Ring which you wear for 3 weeks and then take out for your period, but there are still hormones in that.  I am back to being on the pill because it seems to be the only thing you can't feel during sex!

I did have quite a bit of cramping when they put the IUD in, but once it was in I was okay the next day.  I had it for a year before I finally had it removed.  Good luck!

.

I have the non-hormonal IUD - forget what it's called - it's been in there for nearly 9 years now; has to come out in another year. I went on it because i was having nasty migraines that eventually led to a mini-stroke. So I can't take hormones at all. Ever. Again.

On the plus side, ever since getting my IUD, I have not had a single migraine. It's even rare that I get headaches (though I have one now, because I'm sick).

Cost: I forget - maybe $300?? That's a guess! I do recall that mine was NOT covered by my insurance. But, considering it will have had me covered for 10 years, it was truly a bargain.

String: Yes, there's a string. I'll be honest... my bf at the time claimed he could feel the string. So the doctor snipped mine. Unfortunately he snipped too much. So now I have to go in every now and then and have an ultrasound to check that it's still in there. But not so much in recent years: this was more in the first year, when it is more likely to expel.

Also because there's no string, when I have to get it out next year, it'll involve minor surgery. On the plus side, my doctor says that we can get this covered by insurance. Heh, go figure.

Incidentally, turned out that that particular bf was just being whiney... he had problems with the fact I went on the IUD. He had no children of his own, had it in his mind we'd get married and I'd have a few children with him, even though I had told him I did NOT want anymore. I had to go on the IUD due to the mini-stroke... you'd think he'd be understanding, but ummm... no. He was a jerk about it. We ended up breaking up. Which is fine, because a few months later I meant my current hubby. Anyway.... this is just to say: make sure your guy (if you have a particular one)  is on-board. Some guys are funny about it.

Preference: VASTLY prefer the IUD. There's no pill to take. No worries about migraines and mini-strokes. It's nearly perfect b.c. I have all the kids I want... this is like having my tubes tied without the operation.

The only downsides:

If you go the nonhormonal route (which I'm assuming you are considering, since you have concerns here), expect heavier and crampier periods. I went from barely-there periods with little cramping, to heavy, long periods. Last a week.

Also, I had a rough adjustment period. Not everyone does, but I did. The first 6 months were rough - I almost had it taken out because it was so painful and the periods were so heavy... and esp the first few months, seemingly endless. My doctor told me to give it one year, so I sucked it up... and I am glad I did!!

Would I do it again? yeah, I would. Even with the painful adjustment. Although this time around, I'm hoping I can talk my DH into a vasectomy instead. ;-)

Your age and whether you've ever had children are significant factors in getting an IUD. In my late 30s, and never having had children, I tried to get an IUD. It was an absolute, excruciating failure. They tried on two separate occasions and simply could not insert it. Apparently, the cervix becomes less pliable as we age, and if we've never had any kids, the opening (called the os) is pretty tight. My experience was a nightmare, and I am so disappointed it didn't work out for me because I really wanted one.

Pasha, are you from the US?

After I got mine, I did some researching... and discovered that IUD is more commonly used in other countries, not so much in the US. IUD is prescribed with no problems to young women who've never had children - even women who plan to one day do so.

But in the US, we're weird about the IUD (I think because the conservatives question how it works - the whole pro-life thing; because you do conceive, the embryo just doesn't implant), so it's not as popular and there are all these myths around it. Also - and this is important - very few doctors are trained in the procedure, because it's not as popular they don't get as much practice. It could very well be that you had a doctor who didn't know what he was doing!!

So to the OP or anyone in the US contemplating this method, a good tip is to ask the doctor how many of these insertions he's performed. You do want someone skilled.

I was 33 when I got mine and already had two children, I had zero problems with insertion. It was quick and painless. It was the first few months, as it gets settled in there, that were my issue. Not everyone has that sort of adjustment problem (severe cramping, very heavy bleeding)  though. It is a risk, but apparently a small one. The risk can be avoided by using a hormonal IUD.

I am a husband of a wife who has an IUD. She got it while I was away on business to surprise me with us no longer having to use protection during sex to protect against pregnancy. She wasn't going to tell me before I got home, but did to kind of warn me due to the strings, but said that I shouldn't feel them. She told me all about it and I was game until we had sex. Every time we have sex I get poked in the head of my penis no matter if we move or change positions and having sex with her on top was painful to her to the point of where she is no longer comfortable with it. It hurts my penis and has even left marks on my head afterward. After a while of trying different things I found that the only way we can have sex without feeling it was by me not completely inserting my penis inside of her. She had an appointment with her gyno who checked the IUD and said that it is in place and that I could not or should not be feeling it. So again we have tried and again I am forced to not completely entering or being poked when we do have sex. This coupled with her worrying about the spotting and strings have caused my interest in intimate relations to dwindle because there is no more spontaneity and it kills the mood for me. It is distracting and it has gotten to the point of it killing the mood during sex and for having sex for me.  Is anyone else having this problem? We are restricted to this, the pullout method or condoms because hormonal options cannot be used. What else is there?

Your wife needs to speak with another physician. I was told both times I had an IUD inserted that if my husband was able to feel the strings or  was poked by one they could trim them.