Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with paragard

Essure, Paragard, or other?

waving — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:36:56 -0800

Considering long-term, permanent birth control options. I'm a woman in my mid-40s considering Essure or Paragard. Essure is permanent but requires nickel coils to be inserted in the Fallopian tubes permanently. I have read that some women experience crampy and heavier periods, but of course many don't. Paragard is a copper IUD, which induces an inflammation of the uterine lining, thus making it inhospitable to pregnancy. This can also lead to heavier periods.

I am nervous about the Essure due to reports of the coils coming out as well as possible nickel allergy issue. I do get very inflamed due to contact with "cheap" metal jewelry. I've seen quite a few web sites devoted to horror stories but question whether these are isolated events getting a lot of attention. I've had very, very bad experience with Cymbalta (memory loss, fatigue, weight gain). Also, I have tried the Mirena and had very bad restless leg syndrome and weight gain, likely due to the hormones. So, while I am wary of using the drug company's information as a reliable indicator of what to expect, I haven't had problems with other drugs I have taken and therefore am considering these options.

Does anyone have good or bad experience with either of these devices that they can share, or alternatives?

The Paragard is good for you, right?

Be cool, sodapop — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:50:32 -0800

I'm getting a copper IUD next week, yay! I did a little too much background reading about it and am now totally psyching myself out, boo! Can you talk me back into being excited, or at least calm, about this decision? I'm in my mid-20s, nulliparious, and in a long-term monogamous relationship. I've never been on the pill because I can barely remember to take my antidepressants every day, and the only hormonal birth control I've ever tried is Depo Provera. Depo was a total mess. Not only did I have mood swings and breakthrough bleeding the entire 3 months I was on it, but I continued to spot almost every day for about 10 months after the shot supposedly wore off. Sucked.

I did a bunch of research about my options, asked my gyno about the Mirena, and was told that it would probably have a similar effect on me as the Depo. He recommended the Paragard instead, saying only that it might result in heavier periods and cramps. Since my periods aren't particularly bad to begin with and I get annoying-but-not-debilitating cramps for the first day or two, I figured that wouldn't be a big deal. I have no abnormal piping that I know of (apart from a sensitive cervix, whatever that means) and am not prone to UTIs or other similar problems.

Well, the actual procedure is next week, and I've done far too much reading in the intervening time on AskMe and Livejournal about all the things that can go wrong with a Paragard. The stories about cramping so much you had to lie down for 4 days after the procedure, of heavier and heavier periods for months until it was just removed altogether, of the possibility of copper poisoning and pain during sex and weight gain and anemia and AHHHHHHHH.

Back in the good old days when I was rational, I (and my doctor) clearly thought this was the best decision for me, but now I'm so anxious that I'm tempted to call and cancel my appointment altogether. I know people who are happy with their experience don't tend to speak up as much as people who really hated their experience, so there must be more happy stories about the Paragard out there. Please, tell me about how awesome my life is going to be.

Alternatively, if YANMD but are convinced that I'm making the biggest mistake of my reproductive life, feel free to tell me that, too.

I also HATE using tampons, pads leak, and menstrual cups freak me out with an IUD

c'mon sea legs — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 13:45:23 -0800

Oh wise Metafilter IUD users, please tell me your experiences switching from a Paragard to a Mirena. I work in family planning and (like everyone in fp, it feels) have an IUD--specifically, a Paragard that I got five years ago. I love it, I love not worrying about a method, I really appreciate the no-hormones side of it, I have awesome sex/sex drive with little fear of pregnancy. Hormonal birth control (pills and Nuvaring) seemed to make me very emotional when I took them, but I was also a teenager and, like many teenagers, kind of an emotional mess regardless.

However, I get wicked periods and PMS: this is one of very few months in 5 years that I haven't thrown up or needed/wanted to spend all day in bed with cramps. Most obnoxious to me is the PMS: I feel the urge to cry recreationally, I get depressed and/or very irritable (to a point where I can't focus @ work or need to go home "sick") at least one day a month, my energy sinks precipitously before and throughout my period. I will start to feel these symptoms sometimes a week before my actual period. I'm trying to figure out if switching to a Mirena will help regulate my hormones and knock out some of the days that I spend mildly incapacitated by hormones/cramps/bleeding, but I also don't want to screw up a good thing by taking out my Paragard if it's not going to help or will make things worse.

I'm looking for anecdata: how did your switch from Mirena to Paragard go? Were you successful with hormonal bc before that? How did switching to Mirena affect your periods/PMS/energy levels/sex drive? I know the downsides of adding artificial hormones, to expect irregular bleeding, etc.

If folks have other ideas for moderating crazymaking and painmaking hormones, I'd welcome that too. Acupuncture worked once, it's just a hassle to arrange for me.

What is causing my pelvic pain?

Anonymous — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:35:05 -0800

I'm having pelvic pain. You are not my doctor. I have an appointment next week, but would like to go prepared. Can you help? Starting in October 2011, I started noticing a great deal of lower abdominal pain during my period. This pain occurs:
- While straining during a bowel movement
- While emptying a full bladder
- While moving around or being jostled (like driving on bumpy roads)
- While pressing on my lower abdomen
- During certain deeply penetrative sex positions

I saw my OB/Gyn about this, and she ordered a transvaginal ultrasound and blood tests and nothing unusual was noted. She diagnosed me with endometritis (PID), as I had switched from a Mirena IUD to a Paragard IUD in August and had a yeast infection not long after, which she said might have climbed the strings.

Over Thanksgiving, the pain was just as bad, if not worse. The doctor on call prescribed another round of antibiotics for me. The next week I went back to see my regular OB/Gyn, who told me there was no reason for my pain and asked me what I wanted her to do about it (as a sidenote, this left me stunned!). According to her, something like endometriosis would have shown up years earlier, and she ridiculed me when I asked about cancer. She removed my Paragard at this time to rule out all possible causes (RIP, little friend).

The pain remains. When I do not have my period, pressing on my lower abdomen causes mild pain (1-2 on a scale of 10) and is generally uncomfortable on the left side. When I have my period, my entire lower abdomen is tender and painful to pressure (5-7 on a scale of 10). The pain has decreased somewhat, perhaps 1-2 notches on the scale since removing the Paragard, but is still quite significant. I generally don't get pain with elimination when I'm not having my period unless I have a very full bladder.

I have an appointment with a new doctor next week, but would like opinions and knowledge to bring to the table. Any ideas on what's going on with me?

43 year old woman, 2 pregnancies/2 kids, both over 10 years old.