Page 14 | ‘All women should be offered pain relief for coil fitting’

mrsgrealish69 · 2021-07-14T08:49:50+00:00

I’ve just read a news story about a lot of women finding coil fittings painful and traumatic (certainly was the case for me a decade ago) I think naga munchetty said on the radio or in an interview somewhere that it was an excruciating experience for her. I’ve seen an NHS response that apparently guidelines state women are offered appropriate pain relief for a fitting. Does anyone know what they mean by this? I was advised to take a paracetamol beforehand, is this what they are referring to?

TheSoapyFrog · 15/07/2021 09:28

I guess I've been lucky that I didn't experience any pain when I had the coil fitted (have had 3), although it was suggested to take some paracetamol beforehand.
The fact that so many women are having such horrific experiences means that they absolutely should be offering some decent painkillers.
And I thoroughly believe if it was men having this done, they'd be sedated up to the eyeballs.

MissMooMoo · 15/07/2021 10:49

I had one fitted in March. The DR fitting it used a numbing gel first. I honestly didn't even feel a thing. I also went during the first 5 days of my cycle which apparently makes it much easier for them to fit the coil.

musketeersmama · 15/07/2021 10:58

Thank goodness someone is finally talking about this!
My first coil was fitted in hospital 3months after I gave birth to DC2 (without pain relief) & the coil fitting was much worse than than childbirth, absolutely breathtakingly painful.
The second was by a gynaecologist who whipped it out & reinserted without ANY pain - I wasn’t even there to have that procedure done, I was actually having investigation into suspected endometriosis but he went ahead with the coil change as it was due.
Third was in hospital clinic again & toe curling lay sore. No pain relief offered and was cramping/bleeding for the rest of the day. That’s me now til menopause I hope! The reason I persevered with the coil was that I ceased to have any periods at all (previously had endo symptoms) so it felt worth it to me. It’s been bloody blissful (pun intended) to not have periods for a decade!!

wishawish91 · 15/07/2021 12:40

Mine was awful. My heart rate dropped to 37bpm and they had me laying down for 30 minutes sipping lucozade through a straw.

Sillyduckseverywhere · 15/07/2021 13:33

@minty133

Fitting a coil is just like bad period pains/cramps. Only lasts a few minutes and a bit of stomach ache afterwards. These posts could scare off women wanting effective contraception. The coil is fantastic and no more heavy periods! I had a broken leg and subsequent infections on an Ilazarov frame, you don't know what pain is if you think a coil is painful!

Really? I snapped my tibia and fibula, dislocated it and had to wait nearly a week for surgery to repair it. Was a walk in the park compared to my coil insertion. Stop minimising everyone's experiences. You sound like a fucking HCP

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 15/07/2021 14:58

@minty133

Fitting a coil is just like bad period pains/cramps. Only lasts a few minutes and a bit of stomach ache afterwards. These posts could scare off women wanting effective contraception. The coil is fantastic and no more heavy periods! I had a broken leg and subsequent infections on an Ilazarov frame, you don't know what pain is if you think a coil is painful!

I realise this is going to come as an awful shock to you, @minty133 - but every woman in the world is NOT the same, and just because YOU experienced coil insertion in a particular way does NOT mean every other woman will have the same experience as you.

Frankly, I should not be having to explain this to an adult.

A less skilful HCP doing the insertion can cause more pain than an experienced one. Different women will have different levels of sensitivity in their cervix. They may have different pain thresholds - and having a lower pain threshold is not a moral failing, it is a physical fact, and requires correct treatment/analgesia.

There are plenty of reasons why some women feel more pain during a coil insertion - and as the accounts on this thread clearly demonstrate, it is agonisingly painful for some women - and I believe them. I sincerely hope you are not calling them liars.

Moggymoggymogmogs · 15/07/2021 15:57

I've had 2 fitted, 12 years apart.

The first one was absolutely horrific. Getting it fitted was one of the most painful things ever experienced and because it wasn't fitted properly my body kept on trying to expel it. Think labour cramps. In the end I pulled it out myself because my then GP wouldn't remove it and told me I needed to give it time to settle. Fuck that.

Second one was a completely different experience. Because I was well aware how much the first one hurt I went to the appointment stoned to the wide on prescription hard-core painkillers. Unsurprisingly it didn't hurtprobably because I was on a different planet I had to get DH to drive because I could barely walk in a straight line, let alone drive.

People's pain is subjective though and women should be listened to and given appropriate pain relief. Just because one person has a coil fitted and it doesn't hurt doesn't mean this goes for all people. And if it wasn't for the oramorph I took, which on the face of it sounds like overkill then I fully expect that round 2 would have been just as painful as round 1.

Oramorph wasn't prescribed for the coil fitting by the way, I have it for a totally different reason.

ShitPoetryClub · 15/07/2021 16:03

I have a high pain threshold (3 big babies all born without pain relief and I never bother with anaesthetic for dentistry).
But OMG, the pain of having that coil fitted was the worst in my life. Good luck to Naga for speaking out.

luxright · 15/07/2021 16:34

My experience having a coil fitted was simply horrendous. I asked several times were they sure they knew what they were doing because the pain was so intense only to be told to calm down and I was 'working myself up' and 'If a baby will come out, a coil will go in!' . I have a reputation for being hard as nails. I have skied down a mountain with a broken arm, had a tooth extraction without anesthetic and merrily hobbled around for a few days on a snapped achilles tendon...NONE of these compared to the coil fitting. Really glad Naga has spoken out, the standard of care for women when it comes to birth and contraception appears to be stuck in the dark ages.

Laufeythejust · 15/07/2021 16:50

My experience of having it fitted wasn’t too bad, mine hurt but only for a few seconds. It was afterwards that the pain really kicked in- I had to pull over and be sick on the drive home. I really wasn’t expecting it.
I could feel it all the time, sex was terrible and I wanted it out immediately. I was advised to let it settle for about 3 months. I got to the end of my tether and pulled it out myself (wouldn’t advise!).

wetfloor · 15/07/2021 18:06

I had no pain at all when I had mine fitted. It was a complete breeze. I took painkillers just in case. But I felt fine!
Trying to get it out was a totally different story. It didn't hurt but was uncomfortable and I kept nearly passing out. Had to go to hospital in the end in case something happened. Scary.

stayathomer · 15/07/2021 18:21

There's some very angry people on here venting that everyone's experience is different and just because they had an ok experience this needs to be aired. But then you have to let the people who didn't have bad experiences speak too to give people both sides

NotMyCat · 15/07/2021 18:24

@stayathomer yes - but this isn't about that
If you haven't had a bad experience, cool, and you're not affected by being offered pain relief. You can decline and crack on
But the people who have had bad experiences are affected

stayathomer · 15/07/2021 18:32

Notmycat totally, it was just a few people got hopped on when they said their experience was fine, that's all, I totally agree with offering pain relief!

DeRigueurMortis · 15/07/2021 18:37

Having it put in fine.

Having it removed I passed out screaming in agony (to find they'd fitted another that I would not have consented to). Yes I'd taken strong pain killers a hour before. Didn't touch it.

I bled for 2 weeks - fresh blood - the coil having sliced my cervix and vagina raw.

I'm peri and have put off having my current coil removed.

The pain was akin to having razor blades pulled out of me.

PandasCatsWolves · 15/07/2021 21:39

This has turned into a horrible thread.

evtheria · 15/07/2021 21:42

@Laufeythejust You WHAT

TheVampiresWife · 15/07/2021 22:35

I have one that's been in for five years this month, so needs replacing. It's my fifth and each has been absolute, appalling agony to have inserted, and I have a very high pain threshold. The last time I had it replaced it started to fall out the following day and was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced. I had to wait until the Monday with it half in, half out of my cervix (it was Friday evening, of course) before I could get it fully removed and I ended up with an infection.

I'm absolutely terrified to get this one replaced and have pretty much convinced myself that because I'm almost 49, it can just stay there (if anyone can reassure me that this is true I will love you forever).

TheVampiresWife · 15/07/2021 22:38

@minty133

Fitting a coil is just like bad period pains/cramps. Only lasts a few minutes and a bit of stomach ache afterwards. These posts could scare off women wanting effective contraception. The coil is fantastic and no more heavy periods! I had a broken leg and subsequent infections on an Ilazarov frame, you don't know what pain is if you think a coil is painful!

I have trigeminal neuralgia (it's not called 'the suicide disease' for nothing) and rheumatoid arthritis which has totally fucked my feet so I know all about pain, thanks. And my coil fittings have been sheer, exquisite agony. Every single one.

OnTheBoardwalk · 15/07/2021 22:44

Do Drs get a fee for inserting coils or is that a daily fail myth?

I went to Dr for repeat of mini pill to control life impacting heavy bleeding. No issues with mini pill or health issues, been seen at hospital etc so no other issues so was recommended mini pill not bled for years

I spent 20 mins arguing with the Dr on why he didn’t want to prescribe me the mini pill but a coil instead.

It started out with mini pill working so why change to me saying I don’t like the thought of something in me. He told me I was wrong and I should have it anyway. It felt really uncomfortable

Torvean · 15/07/2021 22:48

@OhGiveUp

I was advised to take two ibuprofen 30 minutes prior to removal and fitting a new one. I ended up having an epidural for it. The pain was horrendous! Yet, the first one I had fitted was uncomfortable, but not painful. All women should be offered the choice of pain relief. It's bloody disgusting in the UK that they aren't.

If the pain is so bad that gas and air/epidurals or hospitals are needed for insertion.

Is it not time for a different contraceptive? And I'm not putting it all on women to be responsible.

RickiTarr · 15/07/2021 22:54

Do Drs get a fee for inserting coils or is that a daily fail myth?

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/146546/gp-incentive-scheme-increases-long-term-reversible/

MessOfEyelinerAndSpraypaint · 16/07/2021 01:45

Women are yet again sold the lie that we are weak, when it comes to contraception. When my coil was pretty much forced on me, I was told "9 out of 10 women have no trouble", so of course the agony I experienced & the foul attitude of the male fitting it-assisted by a woman who'd for sure be a Gilead 'Aunt' - made me feel like a problem &, a nuisance. I was begging them to leave it let me go.
No, he seemed to take it personally.
They sprayed my vagina /cervix with something implying it was pain relief.
It wasn't.
I fainted.
And still he forced it in.
They had to pay for a taxi home as I was with my daughter in a pram.
So traumatic was it, I swore off sex & was too frightened to have it taken out until a few years ago, whereupon it's removal triggered an aggressive & accelerated menopause out of the blue.
I'm grateful to be able to tell you this and have spent a long time reading accounts here, you all have my sympathy.
We must lobby harder to change this contemptuous attitude medical practices have inbuilt towards us.

AryaStarkWolf · 16/07/2021 10:42

@Secondbellini

Why do women want the coil given the potential for pain as well as all the complications and side effects that can ensue?

Somebody already asked this but I'll give my answer again anyway, I got the coil not for contraception but as a treatment for Endometriosis, it was what the gynecologist recommended as pretty much the only treatment for it

OhGiveUp · 16/07/2021 13:15

@Secondbellini I had it fitted to help with ridiculously heavy periods. I had been sterilised years before, so didn't need it as contraception.
Glad to say it did the trick, hence I gladly had it replaced..... although I wasn't prepared for the level of pain when I did, unlike the literally pain free first fitted one.
If I'm completely honest, it's worth the pain for years worth of being period free, but that's just me, obviously it's not for every woman.