Emergency copper coil fitting

[Merrychrimble]

I had a condom break on Christmas Day night.
I got the morning after pill 9am Boxing Day.
Through googling it seems it might not work if I've ovulated. I don't don't know if I have I am day 18 on my cycle which is usually 35 days. I've only had two periods after stoping breastfeeding so no pattern yet but I do tend to have a long cycle.

Anyway I'm interested in getting the emergency coil fitted as if done within 5 days it is more than 99% effective in preventing pregnancy.
However it's worst timing. Yesterday was Boxing Day, now Sunday, and I think most places closed 2moro. I'm getting desperate. I have until Wednesday to get this done but I'm guessing if I ring GP Tuesday I won't get an appointment. I've also tried all sexual health clinics in the three nearby cities and all closed but very busy when open. Any ideas?

Hi Merry

If Christmas Day was day 16 of your cycle (based on what you've written above) , you have quite a bit more time to get the emergency IUD fitted. The rules are that the IUD can be fitted as emergency contraception in either of these two situations:

1. Up to 5 days after the first episode of unprotected sex in the cycle (so for you, this rule would mean up to the end of Wed 30th, as you've worked out....OR....

2. Up to 5 days after the earliest predicted date of ovulation, based on usual cycle length. If your cycle is usually 35 days, this would mean you expect ovulation around day 21 (it's calculated as 14 days before the next expected period). So you probably hadn't already ovulated when you took emergency contraception, if your cycle length was quite consistent before pregnancy/breastfeeding. But by law an emergency IUD could be fitted "in good faith" up to day 26 of your cycle ie. 10 days after Christmas Day.

Any sexual health clinic will try to fit you in as an emergency if you're requesting an emergency IUD. Feel free to message me if you want to discuss further!

Thank you for responding mini. I've always had a long cycle so hopefully my body is falling back into that pattern, before previous pregnancies was 34-36 days consistently. I managed to ring a sexual health clinic this morning which is open today for emergencies only but this doesn't include coil fitting. They have agreed to see me 2moro morning and said as you have that they will fit if not past 5 days past ovulation.

Feeling much better now. Hopefully coil will be not too bad and will work.

Thank you for replying.

Good luck Merry!
Tomorrow morning, it would help if you had something to eat and drink before your appointment, and perhaps take some painkillers before you set off (ibuprofen is good, as long as there's no medical reason why you can't take it, and is widely available).
All the best

Thanks for advice about pain relief, coil fitting was uncomfortable but not painful. Glad it's all done. Although they said they were not supposed to do after day 19, even when I said I did not have typical 28 day cycle. Anyhow they did it but made me sign something else to say I take full responsibility for anything that goes wrong related to it been put in late in my cycle. Just hope it works. She did also say the morning after pill ella one I think it's called is more effective than the one I took.

You seem really knowledgable about all this, is pregnancy very very unlikely now with coil in place?

Glad you didn't find it too bad Merry.

Even if you're past day 19, you're still within five days of the first unprotected sex in the cycle (rule 1 above!), so I'm not sure why you had to sign the disclaimer....the rules are there to ensure that there is no possibility of a fertilised egg already having implanted at the time of IUD (coil) fitting. In studies of female physiology, the shortest possible time between fertilisation and implantation is 6 days (and in some women it's as long as 18 days) so that is where the "5 day rule" comes from - it's taking the worst case scenario and basing the rule on that. Also, in a fairly recent study of 1000 women in Edinburgh who used the IUD for emergency contraception, there were absolutely no pregnancies at follow up.

Sorry for rambling, but just trying demonstrate that pregnancy is now vanishingly unlikely - the only scenario in which it's really possible is if you were already pregnant from a burst condom or other unprotected sex earlier in the cycle, and your cycle this month was unusually short.

Finally, yes Ella One (ulipristal acetate) is more effective than Levonelle (which I presume you took) especially if taken around or after ovulation. It's a newer drug and is not yet available over the counter.

Best wishes

Mini

Thank you so much for your advice.