IUD birth control and being called "dramatic"

[FlowerTomb]

I’ve seen yet more posts (mainly on Tiktok, Twitter etc) about the pain involved in having IUD birth control coils fitted. I don’t have one and don’t plan on ever getting one, but I’m just absolutely gobsmacked that not that many doctors seem to be taking this seriously. I’ve seen time and time again that no pain medication is offered, that it’s being sold as “painless” and when spoken about with the doctor, the result is that you’re called “dramatic”.

I don’t actually know anyone (to my knowledge) that has one, so I’m just wondering about others’ opinions really. Is anyone else very shocked (and pissed off!) about this, or is this just part and parcel with women’s health not being taken seriously and this whole situation is very unsurprising to the majority?

Long term lurker and single time poster, just about the Mirina coil.

Having mine inserted was the most painful thing I've experienced up to date. I'd read up on the procedure but all the literature just spoke about "discomfort" and it certainly was more than that! I'm absolutely fine with smears, find them completely painless.

I actually loved my coil once it was in place. It didn't do its job effectively though - I am among the less than 1% who get pregnant with it still situ.

The removal was painless! Miracle baby is due in May.

I don't understand why gas and air isn't routinely offered for it - the pain levels vary so much it feels like the ideal situation for patient controlled short acting pain relief.

I've had three put in over the years and didn't have any pain with any of them being inserted. This was after having one child. However they were all rejected by my body. I got cramps and ejected them. I gave up after that.

I had the copper coil put in in my late 20s and it was honestly traumatic. I'd never had an issue with smears before but after I got it I kept putting off my next smear (did get it done eventually...) as I just couldn't bear the idea of any of it. It was so painful but the nurse putting it in rolled her eyes and said I was being dramatic. I bled all afternoon and was in tears from the pain. I only had it in a year as it got dislodged after a nasty bout of pneumonia with excessive coughing and I honestly cried from relief when it was gone. I didn't really have a good time with it anyway - debilitating painful cramps stopping me going to work (which I hadn't had before) and I bled an insane amount - around 3-4 menstrual cups a day for about 6 days. It's a shame because I'd gone for it as my last ditch attempt at contraception since every hormonal contraception I've ever tried has really messed with me. I appreciate that every woman is different but I would never recommend it because I don't think my experience is that rare and I just don't think it's worth risking what I went through.

I have had 2 and the insertion and removal were absolutely fine.

The first did however cause a lot of pain over the coming months. I kept being told they don't cause pain so it couldn't be that. A male doctor asked me why I was considering having it taken out as it seemed to be working so well

I don't have pain with my current one and it is a good option for me but yes when it comes to womens' pain it is very much dismissed

really interesting to hear about others having the severe cramps. No one would ever acknowledge mine were caused by the coil. It was really intense contractions, so bad I couldn't move during them.

So many scans and tests and nothing ever found wrong with me so I'm convinced it was the coil

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

I've had three put in over the years and didn't have any pain with any of them being inserted. This was after having one child. However they were all rejected by my body. I got cramps and ejected them. I gave up after that.

That’s what happened to me as well, @Shehasadiamondinthesky, not much trouble having them fitted, but the first started coming out after a Pilates class (!) and the second was ejected even faster. So my doctor said I clearly wasn’t suited to them.

I’ve asked a few times over the years about getting a coil but have always been dissuaded by nurses and doctor (all female) at my GP surgery as I’ve not given birth and they said it was very painful to put in.

Possibly if If pushed it they would have let me, but ever time I brought it up they said it would be better to look at alternatives.

I wonder how common it is that people are persuaded not to get it.

I've had 4 Mirena and never the pain you describe - and I've never been in labour or given birth (2 elective CS). It's not painless, but more of a crampy feeling IYSWIM. My NHS insertion experience was long ago but I do remember it being worse than the ones I had in the US, and certainly in the US I never had anything like the "clamp" that PP are describing - that sounds like a torture device. (I can't remember if they used that on me in the UK but surely I'd remember that!)

Even the relatively mild cramping pain did make me feel more vulnerable tbh - it's so different from having a pain caused on the outside of your body.

Im really good with pain, ive had fillings and root canals with no anesthetic for example, but having a coil put in hurt like hell and i bled like a stuck pig

Apparently i have a sensitive cervix

Damn thing was only in for a month!

Dd had a coil fitted recently but because she went private she was ‘numbed’

I’ve had three coils and always been told I can’t have pain relief. The most recent was two years ago, and two have been fitted in a hospital. The first time I assumed it wouldn’t hurt as there was no pain relief - a massive error! It wasn’t as bad as some posters but still very painful (recognise the clamp!), and I had painful cramps for a couple of weeks, then the first three-ish periods were unbearably painful. The other two times I’ve dosed myself up beforehand and it’s not been so bad although still taken the day off to recover, sometimes two.

I still have found the coils the best option overall though as hormonal contraception doesn’t agree with me at all. Even though some women find it fine, pain relief still should be offered as standard - it is definitely minimised and the first time was a horrible shock as I wasn’t expecting it, which I’m sure made the pain and recovery worse.

@timeFlyers

really interesting to hear about others having the severe cramps. No one would ever acknowledge mine were caused by the coil. It was really intense contractions, so bad I couldn't move during them.

So many scans and tests and nothing ever found wrong with me so I'm convinced it was the coil

I had cramps really badly the first time and was also treated with bemusement by the doctors. I was made to feel like there was something up with me for experiencing ongoing pain and cramps, rather than it being a obvious effect of my uterus adjusting to the presence of a foreign object.

Mind you, not as bad as when I tried the Mirena which gave me intense and scary mental health symptoms every luteal phase, and which more than one doctor point blank refused to believe was happening to me. Disappeared as soon as it came out, I was definitely right. A different GP later told me they get taught the amount of hormone is too small to make a difference to mood etc- and so what I was experiencing contradicts the training.

Think this happens a lot with women’s health- it’s badly researched, women’s pain is minimised, and then our actual experiences are not believed or taken seriously because they contradict the training.

Mind you, not as bad as when I tried the Mirena which gave me intense and scary mental health symptoms every luteal phase, and which more than one doctor point blank refused to believe was happening to me. Disappeared as soon as it came out, I was definitely right. A different GP later told me they get taught the amount of hormone is too small to make a difference to mood etc- and so what I was experiencing contradicts the training.

I think this is a common issue related to the types of thinking certain people are accustomed to.

There are good doctors who are aware that what the research or whatever says may be wrong, and will listen to what patients say and take it seriously. They can draw a balance between learning from books and experience.

But there are plenty who are very enamoured of the idea that they get "the truth" from research and when a patient seems to contradict that it's just some chance anecdotal incident they should not pay attention to. They don't notice and ask questions that will allow them at some point to say "gee, i hear this quite often, maybe there is something to it."

I really try to avoid the second type of person, I don't think they make good doctors though they tend to do well in their education.

In my experience it matters who is doing the procedure, I've had two mirenas . First was done by my gp who was very heavy handed and was of a mind that no pain relief was required and I should grin and bear it, I've never had a vaginal birth just c section so have a very closed cervix and my god it hurt like hell, I had to lie down for 15 minutes afterwards because I almost fainted.

For the replacement 4 years later I went to a sexual health clinic and it couldn't have been more different, the removal and replacement was done by a consultant gyne who was really gentle and used loads of local anaesthetic and apart from a little pressure I didn't feel a thing. He also offered local anaesthetic injections if I needed it.

I have had 3 coils now and none of them worse than a smear. I acknowledge this is just luck.

The nurses that did it at the GPS explained everything, so did the ones at the sexual health clinic. They recommended pain relief after if I had any cramping and told me to come back or go to A&E if I had concerns.

The procedure should be explained and pain relief offered if women want it. Now I know I'm OK with the fitting, I wouldn't bother. But there needs to be a solution for all women.

I help fit them. We never say it will be painless, I usually advise taking paracetamol and ibuprofen beforehand and the GP puts numbing gel on (not sure that does much). It's uncomfortable, definitely. Some parts of the process are downright pinchy/painful but they're short and afterwards some women find they have cramping pains. Occasionally women faint, but that's often more anxiety and anticipation of pain combined with the cramping.

I was in agony after mine, but it had a D&C at the same time so could have been that.

@MangyInseam

Mind you, not as bad as when I tried the Mirena which gave me intense and scary mental health symptoms every luteal phase, and which more than one doctor point blank refused to believe was happening to me. Disappeared as soon as it came out, I was definitely right. A different GP later told me they get taught the amount of hormone is too small to make a difference to mood etc- and so what I was experiencing contradicts the training.

I think this is a common issue related to the types of thinking certain people are accustomed to.

There are good doctors who are aware that what the research or whatever says may be wrong, and will listen to what patients say and take it seriously. They can draw a balance between learning from books and experience.

But there are plenty who are very enamoured of the idea that they get "the truth" from research and when a patient seems to contradict that it's just some chance anecdotal incident they should not pay attention to. They don't notice and ask questions that will allow them at some point to say "gee, i hear this quite often, maybe there is something to it."

I really try to avoid the second type of person, I don't think they make good doctors though they tend to do well in their education.

Excellent post. I used to be very 'research and evidence' based and tell my patients why they were wrong. Experience has taught me the opposite.

I’ve had five or six coils over the years, never had any pain on insertion or removal. If it suits you, it’s a fantastic method of contraception.
But any women having any vaginal exam or procedure has the right to say ‘STOP’ and be listened to.

I've got one, wasn't painful at all being fitted, a tad awkward like smears are but no pain. I didn't have pain relief, I was offered it though.

Just slight discomfort here, but then it expelled itself (painlessly) and I handed it back to the doctor on my next visit! I do feel that the experience is not seriously painful for by far the majority of women and we only hear about the exceptions.

I had one fitted 4 years ago. I have a tilted cervix and was told I needed a general to have it fitted but another nurse wanted 'a go' at trying. I passed out from the pain. I've had 2 unmedicated births and was fine with the pain. I have had no periods but have cysts so my dh is having the snip in a couple of weeks and I will have it removed. Hopefully my cysts improve as the coil is the only contraception I've got on with and can't have another fitted

I've had two, didn't bother me but understand other people may find it harder

It wasn't insertion that was an issue for me, but the week or two after. I had labour intensity contractions and heavy bleeding. The nurse at the sexual health clinic told me I was just tired because my son had chicken pox at the time.

I had to threaten to remove it myself before they'd listen and help.

I used to have one. The insertion was a little painful but also having it in was uncomfortable and itchy. I raised my concerns with the nurse and she told me confidently that I could not feel the IUD.

She was very cross with me when I had the horrible thing taken out a few weeks later.

Women’s gynae healthcare is shit, and I have scars to prove it.