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

[mrsgrealish69]

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?

@ThatOtherPoster

Oh no. I’ve got one (put in under GA as part of an ablation procedure) and am due to have it changed soonish.

I’ve never had a vaginal birth - cervix has never even dilated! Does that mean it’s more likely to be painful?

I've had two, no vaginal birth. 1st one hurt, not going to lie. 2nd one much better. Speak to GP about pain relief before you go but I took paracetamol and neurofen each time. If it hurts you can ask them to stop. I think they are getting much more aware of it now.

I was advised to have it fitted immediately after coming off my period. Asked for local anaesthetic gel which was given although the consultant doing the fitting said there isn't much evidence for its efficacy.

It hurt for me like a strong deep period cramp, ibuprofen etc wouldn't touch the pain which thankfully for me was very short.

Mine was horrendously painful, this was about 15 years ago

Dd had one fitted in a private hospital recently and had a local anaesthetic

I was told to take paracetamol. It hurt. I wont ever have it again.

I hope to god they mean gas and air! I've had two coils in my life and both the fitting and removal was horrible. After the second one I had contraction pains for a couple of days. To the point where I should be having the second one replaced, but I can't bear the thought of it. Will probably just leave it and go on the mini pill 😳 And this is despite having had four children (three VBACs)!

Is this where we are? Berating those who didn’t have a negative experience?

sandgrown
I don’t remember it hurting much . Maybe it depends on the skill of the fitter ?

You are part of the problem.

Cheers for this thread. I'm on the waiting list for one. Having second thoughts now!!

I have a high pain threshold and I found it a horrible experience and thought I was going to be sick or faint. I can totally see why a lot of women would want the option of some sort of pain relief. I was given gas and air for a local anaesthetic for a single stitch after my dd’s birth and that was nothing! Literally felt like a tiny scratch.
If gas and air is offered for a small injection why not for an IUD fitting?

@Yellow85

Is this where we are? Berating those who didn’t have a negative experience?

sandgrown
I don’t remember it hurting much . Maybe it depends on the skill of the fitter ?

You are part of the problem.

Ah, you misread my meaning.

The thread is about pain relief and coil fittings. Someone coming in to say they didn't have a problem just goes to further compound the issue. When we are fighting for something so very basic in terms of women's healthcare we absolutely do not need a woman coming along to minimise the problem.

I also haven't had any issues but I am intelligent enough to recognise this thread isn't about whether our own personal fitting is painful or not, it's about standing up and fighting for basic pain medication for a procedure which may or may be sore - depending on the person fitting and the person recovering.

We should be on the same page here, irrespective of our personal experience.

@Iggly

It’s the sweeping “it doesn’t hurt” attitude which is disgraceful when women are saying it does.

Agree.

Just another way of gaslighting women into thinking that anything gynae related is magic and perfect and pain free

I was told to take Ibuprofen an hour beforehand with my current IUS (I’ve had three insertions). Obviously not having NOT taken it, I can’t say whether it worked. Yes I felt it, but I was 4 months post-partum so chances are I wouldn’t have felt much. I felt the slight cramping, and very hot and sweaty but that was it. It was over quickly.

My first was a copper IUD when I was only 21 and had no kids. That insertion was really painful but I wouldn’t have needed a GA or anything, it wasn’t that bad. The experience was made so much worse by the completely unsympathetic (and frankly nasty) practice nurse, which I think increased my perception of the pain.

I think codeine could possibly be prescribed in advance for some women, or the offer of a spinal block in hospital. Unfortunately women don’t know how they’re going to respond to the fitting until the time, if it’s their first IUD/IUS. Some women can also get a significant drop in BP with cervical/uterine stimulation, causing flushing, fainting, or vomiting.

It’s no picnic for a lot of women, but for many it’s also quite straightforward and a really decent form of long-term contraception. I’d agree that better analgesia should at least be available, and HCP’s need to be open with women about options.

@Hallyup6

Cheers for this thread. I'm on the waiting list for one. Having second thoughts now!!

It’s not painful for everyone and it is quickly over but it is good to be informed as I was told it didn’t hurt at all before I had mine!!!

It was worth it for me though. I now have no periods and no horrible hormonal side effects that I had with the injection and pill.

@Hallyup6

Cheers for this thread. I'm on the waiting list for one. Having second thoughts now!!

Mine were absolutely worth it but obviously individual experiences vary.

I had a failed coil fitting a few years ago at my GP. I have since learned that this isn't a good idea as you're meant to go somewhere where they fit them all the time, ie a deviated centre with nurses.

It was made worse by the fact that there was so little time that the doctor actually jogged down the corridor to get to the room where it was being done, and the nurse didn't bother to knock on the door or introduce herself. The whole thing was rushed, there were no stirrups so a nurse had to hold my (shaking) legs up and open, and the whole thing was incredibly painful and traumatic. After about 20 mins they gave up. The doctor said it was because my cervix was too hard/soft (can't remember which) because I have never given birth, which to my traumatised ears sounded a little bit too much like condemnation.

Afterwards I got straight into my car and burst into tears. I was bleeding gritty blood for a few days afterwards.

Needless to say I never reattempted it. Why they thought they could basically put a bulldog clip on my cervix without any pain relief is beyond me. I normally try to remain stoic in medical situations but I am not exaggerating when I say I was mooing with the pain!

I tried to have one fitted. But the pain made me cry and the professional abandoned the procedure without asking me if I wanted to stop or continue. I would have liked them to finish the job but I can see why they didn’t. I don’t usually cry with pain, I don’t know what came over me!

I didn’t try again, I went for a different contraceptive instead.

At the end of my menopause I had horrific bleeding - I mean so bad I couldn't sit for longer than 20 mins before changing tampon and thick pad - absolutely drenched
Norethisterone stopped it, but weaning me off started it again, so I was prescribed to have a mirena coil
I had it inserted in gynae hospital clinic
Painful, so local injection - kept trying, more local injections until they had given me the most I could have
They weren't waiting for the local to take which angered me
I was shivering and in a cold sweat
Finally inserted with doctor/nurse very irritated with me - bled a bit and given paracetamol on way out
I was terrified when time to have it taken out - GP!! Sod that!
Anyway I had it in much longer as nobody trained at GP - senior nurse had retired
Was having my smear test and they just pulled it out - midway she said that she was going to take it out and already had hold of strings - I said not really could I make another appt but she had pulled it out by then - thankfully the pain wasn't too bad
No bleeding after that thank heaven

I of course meant dedicated centre, not deviated, though the whole thing felt pretty deviant to me

This thread just goes to show there's no one-size-fits-all approach, and a range of pain relief options should be offered.

I'm on my 2nd coil now, never given birth and both fittings were very painful but over quickly. I was told to take paracetamol beforehand and had the numbing gel, no idea whether that actually made a difference. It hasn't put me off doing it all again. Clearly, this isn't the experience of many others on this thread.

Pre-coil, my period pains were debilitating. Prescription painkillers didn't touch them and it had reached the point where I couldn't leave the house on the first day of my period. So the difference my coil has made is life-changing, in a small way. Lack of adequate pain relief is robbing other women of the same opportunity.

Men wouldn't be expected to put up with this. It's like the women who boast about a pain-free birth (and I mean the ones who genuinely seem to think they are higher species or something not a woman just saying she had one). If anyone boasted about having a tooth removed without anaesthesia you would think they are mad!

I almost threw up because of the pain. This needs looking into ASAP.

I refuse to have one because of how painful I’ve heard it is

I am a totally wuss when it comes to pain but having a coil fitted was no more than a bit pinchy and even then not for long. It really didn't hurt.
But mine was installed by a very experienced female GP who specializes in women's health.

I asked if it would hurt, doctor said, ‘well you have had a natural birth in the past so you will cope’!!!!

It was horrendous, very painful

What @Chiantina said.

I would imagine it has everything to do with the skill of the fitter. Same with xmear tests. They can be very painful if not carried out properly or by an inexperienced person.