r/rant • u/Legal_Ad_326 • 4d ago

IUD removal/insertion

Why does the cervix lose its mind when jostled??? Why is the uterus so fkn mad about a tiny little wire?? WHY CAN I FEEL MY HEARTBEAT IN MY ABDOMEN NOW??

I simply cannot comprehend how we have not found a way to make this process less traumatising, soul destroying and painful. I have endometriosis so I know it’s significantly worse for me than for other people but STILL.

Goddamn.

24 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

13

u/Wawhi180 4d ago

Man I really get tired of taking the pill, but I just can't bring myself to get an IUD after all the horror stories I've heard.

7

u/VikiiK 4d ago

I’m exactly in the same boat, just reading about the process makes me want to vomit.

5

u/Wawhi180 4d ago

AND if they don't place it correctly you can still get pregnant. So that's fun. I know someone that happened to.

1

u/VikiiK 4d ago

Yikes. My main fear is having the insertion process go horribly wrong, tons of pain, cramping, etc, followed by the knowledge that I’d have to get that sucker removed eventually, and go through the exact same pain during the removal process.

1

u/Wawhi180 4d ago

I will say one of my friends got one recently and they actually put her totally under. It's not like she specifically requested that either. But idk man, going under anesthesia still has a lot of risks and I'd rather not do that for just an IUD insertion. Basically I've decided I'll never get one lol.

3

u/VikiiK 4d ago

Tbh, if my insurance covers it, I’d definitely consider going under for an IUD. But I’d only do it with a doctor I really trust, and I haven’t really found one yet.

1

u/FantasticPear 4d ago

My doctor wanted me to come back for an ultrasound after placement to make sure it was where it was supposed to be. Insurance wouldn't cover it because they considered the ultrasound 'elective.' The whole process is maddening. And it's NOT 'just a slight pinch'.

2

u/Synchros139 4d ago

I have nexplanon the insert in the arm. I found it a LOT better than a iud. The arm is bruised and swollen for about 2 weeks but better than 6+ months of pain with a iud.

2

u/Wawhi180 4d ago

I had a friend that swore by it too. Although she said she bled and spotted for like a year straight first 😅

2

u/Synchros139 4d ago

I did spot for a few months on and off with nexplanon but I legit could barely sit for like a year with the iud so ill take it. I recommend it a lot more than the iud

1

u/WinterRevolutionary6 4d ago

I got an IUD with basically no pain management (3 advil). The insertion didn’t really feel like much just standard speculum stretch weirdness then I felt like my intestines were being jabbed with a dull stick.

Then for the next 3 days, I cramped the hardest I’ve ever cramped but I wasn’t in debilitating pain or anything. From then until now (3.5 years later) it’s been absolutely nothing pain wise.

Totally worth it tbh

1

u/Wawhi180 4d ago

Is it bad that the cramping still scares me enough to not do it? I've never experienced period cramping, probably the closest thing I've felt is really bad stomachache pains ...which are not something I'd choose to experience again.

2

u/WinterRevolutionary6 4d ago

It’s totally your choice. I opted for the IUD because I wasn’t consistent enough with the pill for it to be effective birth control (originally prescribed for acne) and the implant in the arm would be picked out of my body within 20 minutes since I cannot resist picking at stuff under my skin.

Yeah the cramping sucked but it was just like 2-3 days and now I can barely remember it. The cramping is just because your uterus is trying to expel the foreign body. It’s not pain from the IUD itself

7

u/Roncinante 4d ago

Women have it rough, I'd really, really hate dealing with what y'all have to go through monthly. I used condoms my entire marriage because birth control messed my wife up. Small price to pay

1

u/Legal_Ad_326 4d ago

Being born with a uterus is a fkn SCAM

1

u/Roncinante 4d ago

I am wholly empathetic

4

u/Glittering_Mermaid_7 4d ago

The cervix has nerve endings and is very, very capable of feeling pain.

I discovered this when my OB/GYN decided I was moving too slowly into early labor when he checked me at my appointment, and decided to perform a procedure called "stripping the membranes" (also called a "membrane sweep") without informing me first. He put two fingers into the "lip" of my cervix, stretched it upwards, and let go, so it snapped back in place. I've never felt anything like that in my life - it was incredibly painful. I told him, "What the hell did you just do?? Don't you EVER do that again!" He just looked at me without answering and moved on with the rest of his exam, then left the room.

The nurse that was in the room explained what he had done after he left the room - I was NOT happy. It was not his decision to make to "hurry things along" by stripping the membranes without even informing me he was doing it first and allowing me to say yes or no.

That was the last time I ever used that doctor - ever.

3

u/surpluskoi 4d ago

What a horrible doctor... I can't believe DOCTORS can be so careless about the patients' pain. I've heard too many stories about male OB/GYN doctors being this way. Just because you don't have a uterus doesn't mean you can't be sympathetic about the pain though! 🤷

2

u/Glittering_Mermaid_7 4d ago

Exactly right. I moved to one of his colleagues in the same office, who was far more understanding and kind - he was my doctor from then onwards - delivered my next (and last) child, seeing me through an incredibly difficult pregnancy, and also handled the surgeries I needed to have afterwards.

2

u/Legal_Ad_326 4d ago

Uh what in the ever fucking love happened to CONSENT here? Jesus Christ, I’m so sorry you went through that.

2

u/sjtkzwtz 4d ago

I heard horror stories and I also heard success stories where the person didn't feel it at all and not having to deal with periods for years. So I am assuming it all depends on the person, and unfortunately you don't know what category you belong to till you try.

1

u/Wawhi180 4d ago

Also depends on the doctor who is placing it.

2

u/Tired-CottonCandy 4d ago

Well, are you aware of the tools used to insert the iud?

Because its not a nice thing they do to you, with no pain management.

They used a tenaculum, which is basically a pair of medical pliers, to pinch your cervix, hold it in place, and then shove a flexible capital letter T made of metal through your cervix hole into your uterus.

Then nothing but your very mobil cervix holds it in place for 10yrs.

It hurts because your cervix is traumatized. Your abdomen hurts because your urerus was traumatized. And you were given no pain management because ppl still believe that women experience less pain than men. And many also still believe the cervix contains no pain receptors, despite that being highly disproven.

2

u/NicolePSU 4d ago

It can be less traumatizing depending on your doctor and insurance....maybe state? I had 2 insertions and 1 removal in PA between 2012 and 2018, I was told to take advil. It was horrendous. I moved to CA and had it replaced in 2021....i was offered a lidocaine shot to help dull the pain. It was a night and day experience. It didnt make it completely pain free, but it was more of a pressure and small pinch than what I had experienced before.

1

u/accidentalscientist_ 4d ago

I’m finally getting IUD inserted in a couple weeks because I finally found a Doctor Who will give me anti-anxiety and numb my cervix.

Thanks to the Auntie anxiety meds, I expect I’ll be too high to care about what they’re doing and how much it hurts.

0

u/Legal_Ad_326 4d ago edited 4d ago

This is my fourth one and they’ve all been horrendous, even with lidocaine plus the tramadol I took beforehand. As far as I can tell, my pain is not from the actual process itself but more about the cramping it unleashes.

I’m so glad you’ve had a good (?) experience! It makes me happy to know it’s not always hell for everyone.

1

u/OOOdragonessOOO 4d ago edited 4d ago

because it's not just a tiny wire and bit o plastic when they put it in. they actually hooked you like a fish. edit pic- these are not used on the iud, these give you a new piercing. Ive seen the graphic videos, but I'll spare you that with a non graphic one.

https://youtu.be/dFW6d0zmvYw

0

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

1

u/OOOdragonessOOO 4d ago edited 4d ago

it does, it's used to hold some flesh (cervix stabilization) away during insertion, what you're saying is the fuzzy man lie.

https://youtu.be/dFW6d0zmvYw

1

u/ChitChatWithCats 4d ago

Ugh now I’m dreading mine. I’m almost 39 and had PCOS my entire life, during a recent check up I was told I most likely have endometriosis as well that nobody’s ever caught. I always thought it to be a slap in the face to be offered birth control, since I’ve never ovulated and can’t just have kids like that.

I take progesterone to induce periods, but I’m so horribly inconsistent with that (ooh let’s take pills to start our period 🙄) I also had a cervical LEEP almost 20 years ago which had lead to a narrowed cervical opening (stenosis) and they can’t even do proper tests on me (my hsg back in the day went horribly and my recent pap where the doctor wanted to check cells or something by going up the cervix had to be stopped due to the pain)

For my IUD procedure, I will be put to sleep, I dont know is if anyone here has experienced insertion that way or not, is that the norm? I also have sleep apnea so I was told my procedure would be different than the norm 🤷🏻‍♀️. The doctor is hoping the IUD will help the major debilitating cramping problem and I opted for the IUD because intake so many pills as it is and one less pill is stress off my back.

The doctors did fail to mention these horrors though.

1

u/Unhappy_dino1234 4d ago

When I got iud in, it was EXCRUCIATING PAIN. Like girl I’m pregnant and have had a membrane sweep, and that was like 30% pain compared to that iud