Why do doctors accept the horrific pain of IUD insertion?
May 7, 2013 12:46 PM   Subscribe

What is the rationale behind allowing IUD insertions to be excruciatingly painful, when there could seemingly be a much better system in place than 'take a couple of Advil beforehand'? It seems barbaric, sexist, and absurd to me. There must be some reason why an appointment for an IUD insertion does not come with a prescription for a few pills of serious prescription-strength pain relievers. I would assume that since there would be preliminary exams and medical history imparted beforehand, doctors would able to safely, as a matter of course, be able to prescribe a humane level of pain relief. I'm not a doctor, so hopefully I am missing something obvious.

I ask this sincerely, because I can't believe how many people I've personally spoken to who have given birth without medication, been through terrible accidents and medical procedures, and yet they count this as the most pain they have been through in their lives, to the point of throwing up during and after the procedure, blacking out, needing an hour to be able to stand up afterward. etc. I can't think of any comparable medical procedure where people are expected to suck up this kind of pain. Are there legitimate medical reasons behind this? Simply bureaucratic reasons?
posted by thegreatfleecircus to Science & Nature (5 answers total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Heya, this is framed kind of like a rant which is not such a good way to go with askme. If you reframe this as more of a straight-up question, that'd be okay, but you might also check this recent IUD/pain-relief question. -- cortex

 
I totally agree with you. My doctor gave me local anesthetic, and it was wonderful. I don't know why every doctor doesn't do that.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:47 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Maybe because it's not always that painful? I'm not saying that's a good reason, though.
posted by pyjammy at 12:53 PM on May 7, 2013


It's really, really, not that bad for many patients. It takes about five minutes. Those "serious" drugs are not risk free. The people who find it horrifyingly painful might possibly talk about it more. There are people who pass out and throw up when faced with all kinds of other stuff too, like having blood drawn.
posted by steinwald at 12:54 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: I also meant to mention the fact that many women have horrific cramps for weeks afterward, and this is also something one is expected to put up with in exchange for the benefit of having an IUD. Not to mention the fact that many women are not even warned about the pain in advance. Also, I have of course considered that people with bad experiences might be more vocal, but it's been years of reading and speaking about the subject, and I have heard very few stories that didn't involve serious pain. Lastly, in the past, women who hadn't had babies were told they couldn't have an IUD inserted because it would be too 'painful.' It just seems like there is more to the subject than 'most people do not experience extreme pain' and the rest are outliers.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 12:55 PM on May 7, 2013


Even local anesthetics aren't entirely risk-free, but I must say I'm with you on the relative benefits there. For general reference on what doctors do use, see this recent Ask on IUD insertion pain management.
posted by asperity at 1:00 PM on May 7, 2013


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