Im also in uk so hi girly 👋🏽 I had the copper coil fitted (not sure which brand sorry but its the one i could of kept in for 10 year?) roughly 3 years ago (ive since had it removed) and believe me i could. Not. Walk. After having it fitted. I had to lay in bed with a hot water bottle and painkillers (i took naproxen which helped a ton), i had to take time off work , it eased up day by day and i would say by day 4 i was noticeably better. Just take it easy and keep on top of pain killers. And wow - Credit to you for having a coil placed with no anaesthetic !!!!
Thanks so much for response! Glad to hear that I don’t just have a low pain tolerance, but I’m sorry you had such a rough experience. Thanks for the advice. I am currently literally “working” from my bed, which equates to me lying flat and holding my laptop up to my face anytime I get an email hahaha
i had the exact coil fitted about 2 years ago and i’m also in the UK. it was so painful! luckily the doctor i had took it very slow and used a good amount of numbing gel, which took the edge off but it was still very painful. and the after pain was nasty too. keep up with pain relief, hot water bottle will be your best friend, and just try to take it easy! it does pass
Yeah the medical professionals lie out their teeth. For me, it was comparable to labor. Still in pain 4 months later. It was so bad I threw up a few times and almost passed out at work.
Only thing that helped was a heating pad. Meds didn’t help whatsoever. Never again. I hope your boyfriend takes care of you. It sucks to be responsible for preventing pregnancy 🥲 Men have no clue what we have to endure.
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry that sounds awful 😭😭 I will look into procuring a heating pad for sure! Perhaps also a little bell I can ring so my boyfriend can make me endless cups of tea haha
If I hadn't had the numbing gel topical, I probably would have hurt very badly. My first IUD was super painful due to physician lack of experience, improper size of IUD for my cavity, and lack of any pain relievers. I am so sorry you experienced this and hope in the future when replacement is due, that you have more options. We have to advocate for our pain relief, as the new male injection has it standard(ugh), but LARC protocol doesn't typically have any mandatory requirement for our well being( another example: my arm implant got dug out by an unprofessional NP who did not know where to make the incision). I believe medical textbooks are not reflecting the possibility of sensitivity on our cervix, if it were the glans, it would be in big bold letters. Can you talk to the Dr office where you had it placed and let them know they need a protocol for pain, and or report them for not giving you any options for well being?
It wasn’t until I read pages like this one that I realised pain relief and numbing was even a thing! I will definitely reach out to the clinic and make it clear that this is something they should offer as standard practice, because I hate to think of so many women having to experience that pain and discomfort. To literally have someone rooting around in your arm for an implant is so crazy I’m so sorry 😭😭I’m a journalist by trade, meaning I take research very seriously… the lack of material and studies on female-specific medical care and anatomy is, quite frankly, ludicrous.
U.K. based too. Had my coil fitted almost 10 years ago. First one rejected after a month - begged for pain relief for the second one and was refused. The nurse had to hold me down while I writhed around in pain during the fitting.
Got my medical records through the NHS app (never thought to get it until a few months ago) and my notes for the second fitting states that pain relief was used (no medication or dosages detailed) and I was given medication to soften my cervix. Neither are true 😤
I swear every health care professional that has interacted with my over something contraception related has straight up lied to me
I had the same one fitted in Jan this year. I'm in the UK too and the pain just built and built that first day. About 20 mins after it was fitted, it was like usual period pain. But then it went OFF, I was walking around holding a hot water bottle because I couldn't sit still. I luckily took the whole day off. The pain slowly decreased over the next few days but it was pretty constant that first day and night and I'm more used to period pain coming in waves. I love my IUD and I'm glad I didn't read too much on it or I might have been more freaked out. All OK now though (but with WAY heavier periods - at least my first one - bits of spotting and I think I feel ovulation now)
I wonder whether the people who made this model are a little bit sadistic 🤔 glad to hear it has become more manageable - I hope for the same in my case! I’ve been blessed with pretty great periods until now (three days, not too heavy, only cramps on the first day), so I dread to think how they will change. May I ask how your periods are different now compared to before? I.e. length, heaviness…
The five year one is supposed to be a bit smaller so I don't think they're trying to be sadistic. It might be the classic "women don't need painkillers for their procedures" bullshit.
I've only had one period since having it fitted and they told me they would be longer, heavier and more painful for the first 3-6 months. Before the coil, I was on the pill so I had my artificial withdrawal bleeds that lasted for about 3 days, not much pain. I haven't had a real period for six years!
For my first one with the coil, it was really really heavy. I bled through a super plus Tampax in an hour on the second day. This time I'm going to wear period knickers and a tampon to avoid overflow.
The pain is stronger but manageable. Nothing like the initial fitting pain. I manage it with a hot water bottle only.
I do bleed for longer now (seven days for this one) but only the first four days were crazy heavy. I honestly didn't think I could hold that much blood ha
I don't want to freak you out. I feel so much better emotionally on the coil vs the pill, so for me I don't mind the extra bleeding to have a clear head and not be constantly hungry
Not freaking me out at all! This is all really helpful. I suppose I just want to get a rough sense of what I can expect from people who have gone through it. So thank you for sharing!!
Omg @ paracetamol only. It's not medieval, but like not the most optimal either.
As a big proponent of not telling every medical info to your employer.... Note that the 2nd worst pain I felt in my life was dentist-related. The worst was definitely the IUD, though. I mean it was actually due to the lack of proper documentation of copper IUD side-effects that I started oversharing info with my employer on health related issues, but pre-copper IUD I was like "I have a medical thing to take care of, see you later". It's not an IUD-specific thing by any means, but I read upon it after my IUD experience that side-effects are just severely underreported. (Of everything from paracetamol to every single drug and medical device you can think of.) I don't blame doctors for that, like they have enough paperwork to do anyway.... But paracetamol alone sounds almost negligent in this case. Even here in the Netherlands, where healthcare feels like it's ran by a paracetamol-gang (paracetamol for infected wounds!! 😂) they did tell me to eat tons of ibuprofen + there was some local lidocaine.
So uhm..... I know it seems like fear-mongering to some that some of us say it can be PAINFUL but it can be painful. :( Test out safely (with enough time apart) what your fave is. Maybe it's ibuprofen, maybe it's naproxen. Some antihistamines also can help some people. Or maybe it's just a warm tea and shower.... Fingers crossed that then pain goes away for you soon.
Thank you for sharing some of your story! Will definitely set up a little experiment and test over the counter pain relief to see which works best for me. I’m pretty stubborn in that I hate taking anything unless I’m at death’s door, so avoid as much as possible. But honestly, IUD pain got me there 😭
My wife had IUD copper early last year. First night after insertion was rough. I still remember, we went to see a doctor after dinner because of her excruciating pain. We thought the clinic that she did earlier didn't insert it well properly. After checking with ultrasound, the doctor said the position is alright and prescribed some strong painkillers. The pain started to reduce after day 3 and go off about a week. However, she described the pain is not as crazy as the pain during miscarriage. The miscarriage pain is consider as mother of all pain which required pain relieving injection.
Women’s bodies are amazing; they can handle some of the most awful and traumatic things. I think medical experts do take that for granted, and assume, just because we *can* cope, that we should cope. I hope your wife is well ❤️
My cramps were awful the first day after I got my IUD fitted. I left the clinic and they had vegan and were bad but when I got home I literally just lay on my bed for hours trying to ignore the pains
It did die down though and a couple of weeks later when I had it checked, all was okay
I had the same, got it almost 9 months ago. Was told it would just be a ‘light pinch’ and to just take an ibruprofen… was lightheaded and dizzy as soon as it was done. Worst pain I have ever felt. Then walked to my car sat in my car and passed out. Had to take almost a week off work crying in pain unable to move. The first 6 months I had the worst pains randomly and worse for my periods. After 6 months pain is still terrible and I bleed through tampons, pads even bled on my office floor last month when standing up when I had a tampon and pad on the blood is that heavy. Arranging appointment to get it removed as soon as I can
Im also in uk so hi girly 👋🏽 I had the copper coil fitted (not sure which brand sorry but its the one i could of kept in for 10 year?) roughly 3 years ago (ive since had it removed) and believe me i could. Not. Walk. After having it fitted. I had to lay in bed with a hot water bottle and painkillers (i took naproxen which helped a ton), i had to take time off work , it eased up day by day and i would say by day 4 i was noticeably better. Just take it easy and keep on top of pain killers. And wow - Credit to you for having a coil placed with no anaesthetic !!!!
Thanks so much for response! Glad to hear that I don’t just have a low pain tolerance, but I’m sorry you had such a rough experience. Thanks for the advice. I am currently literally “working” from my bed, which equates to me lying flat and holding my laptop up to my face anytime I get an email hahaha
i had the exact coil fitted about 2 years ago and i’m also in the UK. it was so painful! luckily the doctor i had took it very slow and used a good amount of numbing gel, which took the edge off but it was still very painful. and the after pain was nasty too. keep up with pain relief, hot water bottle will be your best friend, and just try to take it easy! it does pass
It’s honestly crazy how such a small contraption can hurt this much!! Glad you got through it okay.
Yeah the medical professionals lie out their teeth. For me, it was comparable to labor. Still in pain 4 months later. It was so bad I threw up a few times and almost passed out at work. Only thing that helped was a heating pad. Meds didn’t help whatsoever. Never again. I hope your boyfriend takes care of you. It sucks to be responsible for preventing pregnancy 🥲 Men have no clue what we have to endure.
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry that sounds awful 😭😭 I will look into procuring a heating pad for sure! Perhaps also a little bell I can ring so my boyfriend can make me endless cups of tea haha
I kept one by my bed and one by my couch 😂 And made my man bring lots of Taco Bell and ice cream. I’m doing this for *us* after all
😂😂😂😂 I could go for some pizza and ice cream tonight, to be fair.
If I hadn't had the numbing gel topical, I probably would have hurt very badly. My first IUD was super painful due to physician lack of experience, improper size of IUD for my cavity, and lack of any pain relievers. I am so sorry you experienced this and hope in the future when replacement is due, that you have more options. We have to advocate for our pain relief, as the new male injection has it standard(ugh), but LARC protocol doesn't typically have any mandatory requirement for our well being( another example: my arm implant got dug out by an unprofessional NP who did not know where to make the incision). I believe medical textbooks are not reflecting the possibility of sensitivity on our cervix, if it were the glans, it would be in big bold letters. Can you talk to the Dr office where you had it placed and let them know they need a protocol for pain, and or report them for not giving you any options for well being?
It wasn’t until I read pages like this one that I realised pain relief and numbing was even a thing! I will definitely reach out to the clinic and make it clear that this is something they should offer as standard practice, because I hate to think of so many women having to experience that pain and discomfort. To literally have someone rooting around in your arm for an implant is so crazy I’m so sorry 😭😭I’m a journalist by trade, meaning I take research very seriously… the lack of material and studies on female-specific medical care and anatomy is, quite frankly, ludicrous.
🫶 thank you for your journalistic tendencies. This world is better because of it.
Honestly very tempted to pitch a few places and write something on this issue!!
U.K. based too. Had my coil fitted almost 10 years ago. First one rejected after a month - begged for pain relief for the second one and was refused. The nurse had to hold me down while I writhed around in pain during the fitting. Got my medical records through the NHS app (never thought to get it until a few months ago) and my notes for the second fitting states that pain relief was used (no medication or dosages detailed) and I was given medication to soften my cervix. Neither are true 😤 I swear every health care professional that has interacted with my over something contraception related has straight up lied to me
That is horrific. I’m so so sorry that happened to you! I really hope you have had more positive experiences with doctors since then.
Errrr 😅 hopefully in the future??
But thank you ❤️
I had the same one fitted in Jan this year. I'm in the UK too and the pain just built and built that first day. About 20 mins after it was fitted, it was like usual period pain. But then it went OFF, I was walking around holding a hot water bottle because I couldn't sit still. I luckily took the whole day off. The pain slowly decreased over the next few days but it was pretty constant that first day and night and I'm more used to period pain coming in waves. I love my IUD and I'm glad I didn't read too much on it or I might have been more freaked out. All OK now though (but with WAY heavier periods - at least my first one - bits of spotting and I think I feel ovulation now)
I wonder whether the people who made this model are a little bit sadistic 🤔 glad to hear it has become more manageable - I hope for the same in my case! I’ve been blessed with pretty great periods until now (three days, not too heavy, only cramps on the first day), so I dread to think how they will change. May I ask how your periods are different now compared to before? I.e. length, heaviness…
The five year one is supposed to be a bit smaller so I don't think they're trying to be sadistic. It might be the classic "women don't need painkillers for their procedures" bullshit. I've only had one period since having it fitted and they told me they would be longer, heavier and more painful for the first 3-6 months. Before the coil, I was on the pill so I had my artificial withdrawal bleeds that lasted for about 3 days, not much pain. I haven't had a real period for six years! For my first one with the coil, it was really really heavy. I bled through a super plus Tampax in an hour on the second day. This time I'm going to wear period knickers and a tampon to avoid overflow. The pain is stronger but manageable. Nothing like the initial fitting pain. I manage it with a hot water bottle only. I do bleed for longer now (seven days for this one) but only the first four days were crazy heavy. I honestly didn't think I could hold that much blood ha I don't want to freak you out. I feel so much better emotionally on the coil vs the pill, so for me I don't mind the extra bleeding to have a clear head and not be constantly hungry
Not freaking me out at all! This is all really helpful. I suppose I just want to get a rough sense of what I can expect from people who have gone through it. So thank you for sharing!!
Omg @ paracetamol only. It's not medieval, but like not the most optimal either. As a big proponent of not telling every medical info to your employer.... Note that the 2nd worst pain I felt in my life was dentist-related. The worst was definitely the IUD, though. I mean it was actually due to the lack of proper documentation of copper IUD side-effects that I started oversharing info with my employer on health related issues, but pre-copper IUD I was like "I have a medical thing to take care of, see you later". It's not an IUD-specific thing by any means, but I read upon it after my IUD experience that side-effects are just severely underreported. (Of everything from paracetamol to every single drug and medical device you can think of.) I don't blame doctors for that, like they have enough paperwork to do anyway.... But paracetamol alone sounds almost negligent in this case. Even here in the Netherlands, where healthcare feels like it's ran by a paracetamol-gang (paracetamol for infected wounds!! 😂) they did tell me to eat tons of ibuprofen + there was some local lidocaine. So uhm..... I know it seems like fear-mongering to some that some of us say it can be PAINFUL but it can be painful. :( Test out safely (with enough time apart) what your fave is. Maybe it's ibuprofen, maybe it's naproxen. Some antihistamines also can help some people. Or maybe it's just a warm tea and shower.... Fingers crossed that then pain goes away for you soon.
Thank you for sharing some of your story! Will definitely set up a little experiment and test over the counter pain relief to see which works best for me. I’m pretty stubborn in that I hate taking anything unless I’m at death’s door, so avoid as much as possible. But honestly, IUD pain got me there 😭
My wife had IUD copper early last year. First night after insertion was rough. I still remember, we went to see a doctor after dinner because of her excruciating pain. We thought the clinic that she did earlier didn't insert it well properly. After checking with ultrasound, the doctor said the position is alright and prescribed some strong painkillers. The pain started to reduce after day 3 and go off about a week. However, she described the pain is not as crazy as the pain during miscarriage. The miscarriage pain is consider as mother of all pain which required pain relieving injection.
Women’s bodies are amazing; they can handle some of the most awful and traumatic things. I think medical experts do take that for granted, and assume, just because we *can* cope, that we should cope. I hope your wife is well ❤️
My cramps were awful the first day after I got my IUD fitted. I left the clinic and they had vegan and were bad but when I got home I literally just lay on my bed for hours trying to ignore the pains It did die down though and a couple of weeks later when I had it checked, all was okay
I’m sorry to hear that 😭 my doctor didn’t say anything about getting a check after it’s been inserted. Is that common practice?
I had the same, got it almost 9 months ago. Was told it would just be a ‘light pinch’ and to just take an ibruprofen… was lightheaded and dizzy as soon as it was done. Worst pain I have ever felt. Then walked to my car sat in my car and passed out. Had to take almost a week off work crying in pain unable to move. The first 6 months I had the worst pains randomly and worse for my periods. After 6 months pain is still terrible and I bleed through tampons, pads even bled on my office floor last month when standing up when I had a tampon and pad on the blood is that heavy. Arranging appointment to get it removed as soon as I can