It has occurred to me by doing research that a lot of women do not know all the risks involved in having an IUD. I didn't. I thought since my doctor recommended it, then it couldn't be wrong. Wow, was i ever wrong. I'm not telling you all of this to scare you away from IUDs. i just want to make sure that all of the pros and con's are out there for you.
After I had my twins, my husband and i decided that we didn't want to have another baby right away. we weren't sure if we wanted more, so my doctor and i started talking about birth control. I'm terrible at remembering to take medication, let alone birth control pills. the doctor recommended and IUD. He told me that it would be in place for five years so that i wouldn't have to worry about remembering to take a pill everyday.
The doctor put in the IUD at my six week appointment. Everything was fine. I bled for about a month as my uterus got used to the IUD. After that I rarely had a normal menstrual cycle. which was really nice. Until about two years after i had gotten it put in. Because of my irregular menstrual cycle i did not know that i was pregnant.
I was at work and i started having cramps. They gradually got worse, mostly on my right side. I went home early because by lunch i was in so much pain that i couldn't stand up straight. I kept pushing off going to the hospital. I was trying to convince myself that it was just gas and that it would pass. I finally decided to go to the hospital after i started spotting blood. While my husband and i were waiting for his mom to get there to watch the kids the pain got really sharp and i felt a "pop" in my right abdominal area. We got to the hospital and they did tests on me and i came back pregnant. they rushed me in to get an ultrasound. At this point i already knew what was going on. the doctor confirmed what i suspected. i had an ectopic pregnancy and my tube had ruptured. i was headed for the operating room.
I was cool and calm before going into surgery. I felt I had to keep it together for my husband, who seemed to be on the verge of panic. But after i became conscious, the severity of what happened hit me. I was pregnant, i lost the baby and could have lost my life.
A few days after i got home, the doctor called me and told me that they had not found the pregnancy in the part of tube the removed. so they wanted me to get blood work done to make sure the pregnancy was going away. They were afraid of it getting attached to another organ, which would create another slew of problems. Secretly i wished it had. I was so torn up about losing a baby and i felt it was my fault. the blood work came back that i was no longer pregnant. i was constantly thinking what if. What if i hadn't gotten the IUD? Was it a girl or a boy? What could i have done differently? I realized i wanted another baby.
Three months later I found out i was pregnant. I was so happy and it helped me start to heal from losing the other baby. i had a healthy baby boy.
After doing some research about the topic i found out a lot of things i didn't know before. Since i already had a c-section before this, the shape of my uterus could have changed shape and made the IUD not fit as it was meant to.
The IUD had allowed the sperm to go into the tube and did not allow the fertilized egg to travel to the womb. so it attached itself to my tube. here are the pros and cons to having an IUD:
After I had my twins, my husband and i decided that we didn't want to have another baby right away. we weren't sure if we wanted more, so my doctor and i started talking about birth control. I'm terrible at remembering to take medication, let alone birth control pills. the doctor recommended and IUD. He told me that it would be in place for five years so that i wouldn't have to worry about remembering to take a pill everyday.
The doctor put in the IUD at my six week appointment. Everything was fine. I bled for about a month as my uterus got used to the IUD. After that I rarely had a normal menstrual cycle. which was really nice. Until about two years after i had gotten it put in. Because of my irregular menstrual cycle i did not know that i was pregnant.
I was at work and i started having cramps. They gradually got worse, mostly on my right side. I went home early because by lunch i was in so much pain that i couldn't stand up straight. I kept pushing off going to the hospital. I was trying to convince myself that it was just gas and that it would pass. I finally decided to go to the hospital after i started spotting blood. While my husband and i were waiting for his mom to get there to watch the kids the pain got really sharp and i felt a "pop" in my right abdominal area. We got to the hospital and they did tests on me and i came back pregnant. they rushed me in to get an ultrasound. At this point i already knew what was going on. the doctor confirmed what i suspected. i had an ectopic pregnancy and my tube had ruptured. i was headed for the operating room.
I was cool and calm before going into surgery. I felt I had to keep it together for my husband, who seemed to be on the verge of panic. But after i became conscious, the severity of what happened hit me. I was pregnant, i lost the baby and could have lost my life.
A few days after i got home, the doctor called me and told me that they had not found the pregnancy in the part of tube the removed. so they wanted me to get blood work done to make sure the pregnancy was going away. They were afraid of it getting attached to another organ, which would create another slew of problems. Secretly i wished it had. I was so torn up about losing a baby and i felt it was my fault. the blood work came back that i was no longer pregnant. i was constantly thinking what if. What if i hadn't gotten the IUD? Was it a girl or a boy? What could i have done differently? I realized i wanted another baby.
Three months later I found out i was pregnant. I was so happy and it helped me start to heal from losing the other baby. i had a healthy baby boy.
After doing some research about the topic i found out a lot of things i didn't know before. Since i already had a c-section before this, the shape of my uterus could have changed shape and made the IUD not fit as it was meant to.
The IUD had allowed the sperm to go into the tube and did not allow the fertilized egg to travel to the womb. so it attached itself to my tube. here are the pros and cons to having an IUD:
pros
- they are more effective than tubal ligation. Tubal ligation is 99.5% effective while an IUD is 99.9% effective.
- 1 in 1,000 women can get pregnant compared to to the mini pill (which can be taken while breastfeeding) 1 in 20 women can get pregnant while taking the mini pill.
- it can be used while breastfeeding
- and IUD has a 5 year life (so no having to remember to take pills or deal with shots)
- you doctor can take it out any time you decide to try to have another baby
- FDA approved, they have been around for 16 years and have been used by 12 million women
- periods may become lighter or will disappear
- it has low hormone levels
cons
- the cost without insurance is about $700 up front
- you need to check it once a month to make sure it is still in place
- the first few months your periods my be irregular or heavier or you may bleed consistently until it lightens
risks
- ectopic pregnancy- in clinical trials 1 in 1,000 women get pregnant while using an IUD. up to half of all pregnancies are ectopic
- Intrauterine pregnancy
- sepsis
- pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- irregular bleeding and Ammorrhea
- Embedment - IUD may become embedded in the uterine wall
- Ovarian cysts
- Breast cancer- breast cancer is a hormone sensitive tumor
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