A little trip down IUD lane

One year ago I decided to give up the pill, after almost 15 years of doggedly taking one every morning. Not having an employer-supported health care plan, I am a regular at the Options for Sexual Health Clinic (http://www.optionsforsexualhealth.org/) at Vancouver Women's Hospital, where you can get birth control at discounted prices.  Bless their volunteer souls, they make you sit through a 1/2 hour long discussion where they show you a huge range of options for birth control when you sign up for the program. I scoffed at this in my head, but ended up being fascinated by the interview! It turned out that sexual health 'technology' or whatever you call it had significantly progressed since my last Sex Ed class in 1996!!
I was interested in IUDs, but was a bit skeptical about them - because as someone else on this blog put it, wombs and metal seem like a disgusting combo at first thought. After talking to the nurse at Options, I decided to switch to the plain-jane copper IUD, for many reasons. First, because it does not tamper with my natural hormone balance (I will get to the cramping, etc. later), and I wanted experience myself as naturally as possible after over a decade on the pill. Second, because it was cheaper ($80 through Options), Third, because I figured that paying $80 for 3 years of birth control lends LESS financial support the the pharmaceutical industry. Fourth because I don't have to remember to take it every day! Fifth because the odds of getting pregnant with an IUD in are very low - although it does happen. I have actually heard of a baby that was born with an IUD stuck to its head...ok, it was a friend of a friend's baby so I'm not sure if that is true...but that mental image has stuck with me...

Getting the IUD inserted was very painful, but not for long. It was a weird feeling, one that I had never experienced and I liken to giving birth to a very very tiny baby!!!! I was surprised at the amount of bleeding that occurred for the next 3-4 days. Everyone told me it was 'natural' to bleed that much after getting an IUD inserted, but that didn't stop me from freaking out a bit and calling the nurses hotline to get further reassurance. My uterus felt 'strange' for about a week afterwards, but soon the bleeding stopped and I was ready to rock!
Until my first period after insertion. I had some light cramping during my pre-IUD periods, but the new cramping was very painful. I had to get a special prescription painkiller to deal with them for the first two or three months, but after that I think my body got used to the damned thing and now I have no more cramping...it's all but disappeared.
So....all of that sounds like a bit of a horror story - but now, one year in, I LOVE MY IUD. For real, I love it. I no longer get worse-than-usual cramping, although my periods are a day or two longer than before. I rarely if ever think about it, have my natural hormone balance, and don't pay a cent for birth control. If you can deal with a bit of discomfort it's well worth trying out! I also highly recommend a visit to Options if you are interested in new-fangled birth control practices...there's a lot out there to choose from!