A case for the Intrauterine device (IUD)

I’m here today to highlight something that has genuinely made a drastic impact on my life.

I got my first period when I was 12 years old. As if having boobs in elementary school wasn’t bad enough, I was also one of the lucky ones to experience a lot of pain whenever Aunt Flo visited each month.

Spending years relying solely on Advil and Father time to resolve my pain, this cycle of insanity went on for years before I made the daunting leap and started taking the pill in high school.

While I found birth control pills to decrease my pain by a measure, I remained steadfast in my dread for the inevitable monthly fate of my gender.

It wasn’t until my second year of university that a classmate at Western University explained the IUD to me. While I hadn’t heard a thing about this clever contraption from my white, middle-aged male doctor, it was during a complex project for my Canadian Literature course that I learned information that could have possibly altered the trajectory of my life.

Following a long chat with the women in my project group, an extensive Google search explained that an intrauterine device is a small plastic T-shaped device used for birth control inserted into the uterus (womb) to prevent pregnancy. The two types available are the copper IUD and the hormonal IUD, and there are different varieties that last different amounts of time, with the one I chose lasting up to five years.

After conducting the research and asking questions to those with first-hand experience, I received quite a mixed bag of reviews.

Some people I spoke with experienced no pain upon the initial insertion of the IUD, while others couldn’t tolerate the pain and had the IUD removed immediately or a few weeks later. Others who expressed interest in the IUD ultimately chose not to get it due to fears that it would impact their future fertility, although this has been scientifically disproven.

Another friend of mine, who I initially persuaded to get the IUD over 10 years ago (after making the decision to get mine and loving it!) and is now on their second one.

She had a varied experience due to her decision to get the non-hormonal copper IUD, and explained that she chose the copper IUD because she was unhappy with her body’s response to hormones back when she took hormonal birth control pills.

The copper IUD allowed her to still get her monthly period, and despite experiencing bad cramps for the first few months during her period after initially being inserted, she defended her decision and stated that the over 4 ½ years of menstrual bliss following minor pain was worthwhile.

While I personally experienced a lot of pain at the inception of my IUD and for about a week afterwards, that was the extent of my discomfort. I’ll agree that it is a large amount of pain, and some people will be unable to handle it, but to that, I say, ‘no pain, no gain’.

I also say the pain of an IUD is likely no match for the pain of giving birth, although I haven’t yet had the pleasure myself. Suffice it to say, what I got out of the IUD was well worth the pain I had to endure to get it.

I ultimately decided to receive a partly hormonal IUD from Mirena. A decision that came with five years of very minimal bleeding or pain, and I got to save money on feminine hygiene products. This became especially helpful upon uprooting my life from Canada to Vietnam, where finding a tampon became equally as challenging as finding authentic poutine made with real cheese curds.

After the initial five years, I coupled a trip home to visit family with a doctor’s appointment to have my old IUD removed and a new one put in it's place. I debated for a long-time whether I should wait a few weeks or months between IUDs but was assured by my doctor that it didn’t make a difference either way.

The second time around, I was pleasantly surprised with minimal pain upon insertion, and I am now back to cruising along period free. I assume it’s kind of like what being a must feel like man.

And when the time comes for my husband and I to start trying for a baby, I will simply make an appointment with my doctor, free of charge (thanks Canada!) and have my IUD removed.

As an experience that has, quite literally, metamorphosed my period experience and drastically reduced my relationship with blood, pain, and tears, I cannot express enough how glad I am that I made this decision almost 8 years ago.

As such, while the decision to get an IUD is an intimate choice that should be made between you and your doctor (and perhaps your partner as well), I hope that sharing my experience will give you a better idea of what can happen if you decide to go down that path.