This is an article for anyone considering changing to a non hormonal IUD. This is my experience from someone who felt stuck on the pill while unhappy with putting hormones in my body that are not necessarily needed, while still needing a contraceptive method. The pill works wonders for some, and can help with lots of medical conditions I was lucky enough not to have or experience. The main reason for writing this article is to put one more positive IUD experience online, given the stigmatism and horror stories surrounding it specifically.
This is my experience changing from the combined pill to a non hormonal IUD.
I took my first pill in February 2019. I had no issue with with pill at first, once I got over the uneasy feeling towards the increased risk to cancer, I think I had a quick adjustment to it. I was told by the doctors to take it continuously, and only to stop if I had what was known as a ‘breakthrough bleed’. I had one of these bleeds for three months straight before I realised what it was and came off it for five days, which immediately fixed the problem and from there it was smooth sailing. Looking back, on the pill I became anxious and insecure, I had more regular breakouts, bloating and definitely a tendency towards negative emotions.
Over the past six months I became increasingly more annoyed at having to take it every day. I felt uncomfortable at the thought of putting hormones in my body like that, and of missing my normal period. I started to notice how unhappy I was taking the pill and somewhere along the lines the risks of cancer and blood clots started to haunt my thoughts again. I started taking gaps in my pill to have a period, and during these I felt a lot more aware of my emotions and how much better my body felt off the pill. Even through the period pains I felt more alive and in touch with myself that I had in months. At the end of the seven days I would feel sad at the thought of going back on it. Having tried two different pills over the course of three years (Gedarel and Rigevidon to name names) and not trusting in condoms to be the first line of defence, I decided to look into an alternative.
So after looking up different options (and refusing to consider an IUD/coil situation out of fear) I found nothing that brought down the risk or the side effects I was trying to avoid. Every patch, pill or injection I looked at had the same scary side effects list I was currently dealing with, and felt uncomfortable about.
That left me with no option but to actually read the link about the IUD, and lead to me spotting the non hormonal version. Reading the page felt like a dream come true and then some; no hormones, no increased risk of seizures or cancers or clots, no migraines, no weight gain/loss or links to depression, my normal cycle back and ten YEARS of protection. The exchange? Slightly heavier and longer periods in the first couple months and a doctors appointment that would apparently be the worst day of my entire life.
After booking the appointment for the following Monday I was a wreck. I thought about it all weekend. I read hundreds of stories, most of them terrifying. To the point that my TikTok algorithm was bringing me videos straight out my nightmares- doctors with big pincers demonstrating how it gets put in, girls with IUDs needing surgery to remove them because it’s gone wrong, or (and by far the worst to me at the time) stories of the IUD coming out/being taken out forcefully. All enough to make me want to cancel the appointment and throw up.
An actual helpful tip I will pass on is to start by looking at stories and experiences off of social media, and just on the web. The traumatic, once in a trillion chance stories will be posted 30x over on Instagram, compared to the NHS website. I’ve linked a Clue article below which was by far the most informative and honest one I found, which shows that my experiences match up with the heavy majority.
The only reason I went in the end was a conversation with my mum, who at some point in her life has gone on the hormonal IUD, and swears it was the best thing she ever done. I thought at this point she would be honest with me if she’d had the worst day ever, and I stuck with it.
I was told beforehand that I was to take two ibuprofens half an hour before my appointment, and in the name of being truthful I took one every fifteen minutes in the hour leading up to my appointment out of pure fear it wouldn’t work in time.
And despite everything I’ve said already, when I laid down on the bed to begin the appointment, the only thought that went through my head was ‘I wish Scott was here to hold my hand’ and the tears started. The doctor calmed me down, and explained again that the horror stories were just that- stories. I lay down again, the doctor put the speculum in (yes, it was cold) and used it put numbing jelly on the area the IUD would sit. She then put the IUD in place through the speculum.
I felt nothing. You know when you get your ears pierced and they tell you it’s not going to hurt, and it’s not as bad as you imagine but there’s still definitely a feeling? It wasn’t even like that. I was completely numb to it. The doctor told me she was cutting the strings to size (a way to get the IUD out when the time comes to reverse it) and I asked in complete shock if it was actually in -it was- and the relief I felt made me dizzy. I think I laughed. The doctor handed me a card, which had my name and the date on it and told me I was protected until 2032, and then I left. And that was it.
By afternoon the numbing jelly had worn off and I started to feel the cramps I was told to expect. These were slightly-worse-than-day-two cramps, ‘needs neurofen and a heat patch at all times’ cramps. They lasted the rest of the day and on and off the next morning. I spent most of this time sitting on the floor in the bathroom, but once medication kicked in I could go about as normal.
Sixteen days later and all I can report is a slightly longer period (~9 days), during which I ate the equivalent of a family of four for every meal. Outside of this my appetite feels more settled than it has in years. I’ve felt noticeably happier and less anxious every day, and waking up in the mornings feels a lot easier (that last one could also be the days getting longer). I know I made the absolute best decision I could for myself and it has lead to me feeling a lot more secure and comfortable in my own body than I could have imagined.
If you read this and resonated with how I was feeling in relation to the pill, or if your emotions towards your pill can be described as feeling ‘stuck on it’ then you should consider speaking to a doctor about an IUD. Life is too short to feel uncomfortable with something you have to actively take daily, and one fifteen minute appointment and a day of cramps is worth ten years of peace of mind. I wish I could go back and tell myself how it went, because I have never felt the fear I felt that day in relation to an appointment in my life.
It wouldn’t be right for me to sit here feeling so relieved at the way my appointment actually went compared to what is pushed online and not share my own experience. And in line with that my social media is at the bottom of there anything brought up that you would like elaborated on. If one person was to read this and feel a little bit more at ease with their appointment or actually consider the IUD as an option, then it’s served it’s purpose.
Informative Links:
By Lauren Kilcullen