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Para Gard?
Hi, I am considering using the IUD para gard which is hormone free, and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with it? Thanks for any info!
Am thinking of inserting paragard just worried about the heavy bleeding of period (long period)and am also scared of adding weight.pls I need advice.thanks
Hello I had my IUD put in about a month ago. I thought it would be the best thing to use for BC because I am going to have the gastric bypass surgery and I can't get pregnant for awhile. At first there was a little pain but it soon went away. I had spotting and a lot of discharge up until I had my period again. Now I am currently on my period and it is very heavy. The part that kinda stinks is my doctor told me not to wear a tampon with the first two cycles so even with a overnight pad on it still is making a huge mess. I am scared to go into public because once I sit or stand up blood flows heavy and fast. I have also noticed that I have more face acne than I usually do. I have been using apricot face scrub and it seems to be helping. I am starting to wonder if I should get it taken out. I need to be on a BC but so far bleeding heavy is getting on my nerves. I also have two kids. I am bleeding more than I did after I went through labor. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should do? My poor husband is getting worried also.
did you end up having the paragard taken out? I am on my 5th month and have similar side affects. Heavy 2 week periods that bleed like nothing I could've imagined, nasty discharge and I have depression so bad that my sex drive is the least of my worries. I have suicidal thoughts. Because Paragard is hormone free, I hadn't even considered it to be a cause. I also hadn't considered my lightheaded and dizzy days to be related until reading your post. I want to feel better, but I don't want to have the Paragard removed only to find out that depression wasn't related and if I had given the paragard a couple more months, my side affects would get better.
Hi, I'm reading all these comments about paragard and I'm considering getting it despite the horrible symptoms hoping that after a year or two they'll stabilize. However, I keep on reading that mucus comes out even after 5, 6, 8 years. I'd be ok with that mucus, but if it doesn't smell, so would you be able to tell me if yours smells, because if I'm going to have mucus coming out that smells then that defeats the purpose of having more confident sex...
I had Paraguard inserted 6 weeks after my second son was born in 2009. It, in my opinion, has caused me many problems. I too was told that after the first 3-6 months the bleeding would level out and I'd have regular periods, but possibly heavier. Lets put it this way.... I've gained nearly 30 lbs, have little to no sex drive anymore, have much heavier periods and way more often.... I'm talking bleeding 3 out of the 4 weeks. Right when I think it's over, it starts up again. I'll have no blood for 2-3 days and intercourse seems to trigger the bleeding to start back up. No pain, no cramping... usually...... just constant bleeding. I will say that when I have had cramps, they are so severe they bring me to my knees and put me in tears, but they're rare occurances for me personally. Sometimes the bleeding is light and is a brownish color for a week or so, then goes to bright red, then back to brown before ceasing for a couple days at most then resuming again... I've also had low back issues. I don't know if everything is all tied together because docs and Paraguard insist there's little to no side effects, but I will say it is VERY coincidental that so many people are struggling with the same or similar issues and these issues didn't arise until inserting the Paraguard. It's a love hate relationship with Paraguard. It has made life easier as far as preventing pregnancy goes but everything else is quite burdensome and is making me strongly consider having it removed. I feel gross and like a freak of nature always bleeding. The smell is horrible, lots of clear discharge.... not sexy at all!!!! And yes, my fiance can feel the strings from time to time and they sometimes hurt. I can feel the strings, nothing feels out of place, I can't feel it inside me other than the strings, and I have no other conditions that would cause these symptoms (ex: STD's). Everyone's body is different and you may or may not have these symptoms happen to you, but I would STRONGLY suggest you do your research thoroughly prior to having it inserted. With so many of us having these issues with this supposed "ideal" BC method, it can't, or shouldn't, be overlooked. We can't ALL be wrong!! Proceed with caution and good luck!
I had my IUD placed in mid-October (it is now mid-January) and I am fairly happy overall. My period is about two weeks late so far this month but I have been under tremendous stress. I do spot quite a bit, but I saw over at IUD Divas that there is some thing with taking Vitamin E that helps, and last month I took an E supplement every few days and the spotting stopped.
Insertion was unpleasant but not incredibly bad. I'm 28, no kids, single, 5'8" and 160 lbs. I work out daily, ski and hike, am very active and muscular, I haven't gained any weight, maybe a pound or two around the holidays but it'll come off this week or next. I might be different because stress generally turns off my appetite and I have not been eating very much lately; I had heard that it was more common to lose weight once quitting hormonal methods.
I will say I DO feel different in that section of my body. I have a dull pain in my uterus pretty much every morning when I wake up, but I check the strings (mine has curled around my cervix so I can only just graze it with my finger). No insane cramping, but I have dealt with a little more nausea around ovulation; when I was taking birth control I just wasn't aware of it. I took Estrostep FE for 10 years and just was sick of putting chemicals into my body.
I've more or less come to grips with the fact that my period will never be on time again; I was never regular before and I will probably not be regular after. Periods are very heavy... frighteningly heavy. I have never had such heavy bleeding. In the meantime, I'm still waiting for my period at this point, I am not going to bother with a pregnancy test as there is scarcely a chance I could be. I will probably call my doctor this week just to let him know I have yet to actually have my period, despite a lot of spotting.
There are a lot of horror stories on the internet... I know a lot of people in real life that have IUDs and love them and would never think about posting something online. The people who post on here are primarily the people with bad experiences, much like anything else (restaurants, attractions, etc). Overall I'm glad I did this, though my insurance only covered a portion of the cost. Go to a good doctor to have it placed, someone who will talk to you and listen to your concerns, not a quack who just wants your money.
That said, I've had it for three months, I am going to tough it out and see what happens. Nothing unexpected has happened. I see from these comments and such that a lot of people give up, and have it removed, I am waiting at LEAST 6 months before I even CONSIDER removing it... this is much better than taking pills and much less expensive.
Keep in mind that when you see comment after comment of people who got pregnant, or x or y or z, that the people here while being helpful in sharing their experiences are mostly the people who have negative ones to share. I know a lot of people who are really happy with their IUDs, you can be yourself, you don't have to pump yourself with synthetic hormones. Also, IUDs are the most common form of birth control worldwide; there is just a huge stigma about them in the US because of the Dalkon Shield stuff a few decades back and now they have a bad rep.
I miss the predictability of birth control, but I don't miss the doubt I harbored about filling my body with synthetic estrogen. I wanted to know who I was, what it was really like to feel like ME without hormones, and now I can feel that way. I feel really good. Eat right and exercise and be aware of stress and whatever and if it works it works, if it doesn't, a lot of other people have said it right -- one single form of birth control can't make everyone happy. What works for me might not work for you. These devices are extremely popular all over the world... there is a reason for that.
Insertion was unpleasant but not incredibly bad. I'm 28, no kids, single, 5'8" and 160 lbs. I work out daily, ski and hike, am very active and muscular, I haven't gained any weight, maybe a pound or two around the holidays but it'll come off this week or next. I might be different because stress generally turns off my appetite and I have not been eating very much lately; I had heard that it was more common to lose weight once quitting hormonal methods.
I will say I DO feel different in that section of my body. I have a dull pain in my uterus pretty much every morning when I wake up, but I check the strings (mine has curled around my cervix so I can only just graze it with my finger). No insane cramping, but I have dealt with a little more nausea around ovulation; when I was taking birth control I just wasn't aware of it. I took Estrostep FE for 10 years and just was sick of putting chemicals into my body.
I've more or less come to grips with the fact that my period will never be on time again; I was never regular before and I will probably not be regular after. Periods are very heavy... frighteningly heavy. I have never had such heavy bleeding. In the meantime, I'm still waiting for my period at this point, I am not going to bother with a pregnancy test as there is scarcely a chance I could be. I will probably call my doctor this week just to let him know I have yet to actually have my period, despite a lot of spotting.
There are a lot of horror stories on the internet... I know a lot of people in real life that have IUDs and love them and would never think about posting something online. The people who post on here are primarily the people with bad experiences, much like anything else (restaurants, attractions, etc). Overall I'm glad I did this, though my insurance only covered a portion of the cost. Go to a good doctor to have it placed, someone who will talk to you and listen to your concerns, not a quack who just wants your money.
That said, I've had it for three months, I am going to tough it out and see what happens. Nothing unexpected has happened. I see from these comments and such that a lot of people give up, and have it removed, I am waiting at LEAST 6 months before I even CONSIDER removing it... this is much better than taking pills and much less expensive.
Keep in mind that when you see comment after comment of people who got pregnant, or x or y or z, that the people here while being helpful in sharing their experiences are mostly the people who have negative ones to share. I know a lot of people who are really happy with their IUDs, you can be yourself, you don't have to pump yourself with synthetic hormones. Also, IUDs are the most common form of birth control worldwide; there is just a huge stigma about them in the US because of the Dalkon Shield stuff a few decades back and now they have a bad rep.
I miss the predictability of birth control, but I don't miss the doubt I harbored about filling my body with synthetic estrogen. I wanted to know who I was, what it was really like to feel like ME without hormones, and now I can feel that way. I feel really good. Eat right and exercise and be aware of stress and whatever and if it works it works, if it doesn't, a lot of other people have said it right -- one single form of birth control can't make everyone happy. What works for me might not work for you. These devices are extremely popular all over the world... there is a reason for that.
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