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Gyn recommends backup with IUD?
Well, my first IUD lasted till 2 weeks after my first post-partum AF -
five months after I had it put in. It wandered out of position, and I was experiencing signs of infection. We've moved, so I went to a different ob/gyn than the one who put the IUD in. The new one tells me that the strings were cut way too short, and that my old ob/gyn should have been checking the position of the IUD with ultrasound every month, then two months, then 3, then 6 . . . etc, in the first year. I was pleased that my new ob/gyn was so thorough and takes such precautions. She told me it's the preferred form of birth control of her patients, and she's never had a complaint. So, when my next AF came, I went in to get a new IUD put in. After she put it in - quickly and painlessly - we were talking and she asked if I was still breastfeeding. I said yes, my toddler. She made a face, as if to say, "wow, that's a long time to be breastfeeding," and then said that by now I was likely ovulating. I said could be, but that my cycles continue to be very inconsistent. As she was ushering me out the door, she said, "the breastfeeding isn't working as a contraceptive now. I want you to use alternate protection *as if you didn't have an IUD in* for the next SIX MONTHS, till we know for sure that it's settled in properly." I was in a hurry, had to pick up my eldest from school, and sort of said, "okay, thanks, by, see you in a month." Six months? If I have to use condoms for the next six months, why did I get this thing put in?!? My old ob/gyn told me the IUD was effective from the moment it's put in, and everything I've read corroborates that. I'm just totally confused. I'll ask her to clear this up, but I just wanted to check in here and ask if anyone else has heard advice like this after getting an IUD put in? TIA, 99 |
#2
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Gyn recommends backup with IUD?
"agent99" wrote in message ups.com... My old ob/gyn told me the IUD was effective from the moment it's put in, and everything I've read corroborates that. I'm just totally confused. I'll ask her to clear this up, but I just wanted to check in here and ask if anyone else has heard advice like this after getting an IUD put in? Nope. I was told it was effective that day, see you in a month and call me if you have any problems. Of course, he drilled me in what to look for, but still. Jess |
#3
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Gyn recommends backup with IUD?
On 2006-10-03 02:18:17 +0800, "agent99" said:
Six months? If I have to use condoms for the next six months, why did I get this thing put in?!? My old ob/gyn told me the IUD was effective from the moment it's put in, and everything I've read corroborates that. I'm just totally confused. I'll ask her to clear this up, but I just wanted to check in here and ask if anyone else has heard advice like this after getting an IUD put in? TIA, 99 Maybe it was because your other one wasn't in the right spot or something? As in, she's making sure this stays put before trusting it? I don't know much about those - I'd rather use condoms! Jo -- Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife |
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Gyn recommends backup with IUD?
Notchalk wrote: On 2006-10-03 02:18:17 +0800, "agent99" said: Six months? If I have to use condoms for the next six months, why did I get this thing put in?!? My old ob/gyn told me the IUD was effective from the moment it's put in, and everything I've read corroborates that. I'm just totally confused. I'll ask her to clear this up, but I just wanted to check in here and ask if anyone else has heard advice like this after getting an IUD put in? TIA, 99 Maybe it was because your other one wasn't in the right spot or something? As in, she's making sure this stays put before trusting it? I don't know much about those - I'd rather use condoms! Jo Well, I just called their office, and spoke with her assistant. She says that because the IUD is most likely to wander out of place in the first six months of placement, they recommend that you use a condom during that time. Because if it's out of place, you can get pregnant. But it seems as though this is their standard approach, not something special for me because my first one did wander. So I said, well if I have to keep using condoms for the next six months anyway, why did I just shell out for the stupid IUD? Her response was that I should probably just use condoms when I'm likely to be ovulating. Except, of course, that I'm still nursing and my cycles are not consistent, and I have no idea when or even if I'm ovulating. I left it that I would discuss it further with the doctor when I go in for my one-month check. Of course, when I tell her that my old ob/gyn and everything I've ever read tells me the IUD is effective from the minute it's put in, she'll point out that my last one left its position after my first post-partum period. But I didn't get pregnant. And the IUD moving was caused not by unprotected intercourse, but by the period. I'm sensitive to latex and *I* can't stand using condoms. DH puts up with them, but obviously they're not his favorite either. They totally kill our sex life. If she really doesn't trust the IUD for the next six months, I think I'm going to have to totally reassess our birth control method. DH plans to get a vasectomy someday, not that far away, but we're still pretty young and I'm hesitant to see him make such a drastic move. I guess in the final analysis it's up to us whether we take the risk or not. Thanks for the feedback, 99 |
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Gyn recommends backup with IUD?
agent99 wrote:
[...] Well, I just called their office, and spoke with her assistant. She says that because the IUD is most likely to wander out of place in the first six months of placement, they recommend that you use a condom during that time. [...] Never heard this advice before in my life, and I have a diploma in family planning. I've just checked out a couple of good sources ("Contraception - Your Questions Answered" by Guillebaud, which is pretty much the contraceptive bible for family planning doctors, and the most recent review of IUCDs in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Medicine) and couldn't find any mention of this advice. Sounds like waaaaay overkill. Ask her what, specifically, the figures are. The risk of an IUCD wandering out of place at _any_ time is very low, so, although I don't have actual figures for the first six months compared with any other time, I wouldn't have thought the figures could be that high. I did manage to find out that the overall failure rate in the first year is less than 1%, according to the WHO 2000 review. So even if the entire failure rate of the first year was happening in the first six months, that would still be a very low overall failure rate. Of course, risks are going to vary from one type to another, but it still sounds like a very low risk to me. I wouldn't bother with condoms, at that risk level, unless I really felt pregnancy would be an out-and-out disaster (in which case, I would be using them anyway regardless of how long the IUCD had been in, because there is no such thing as a foolproof method of contraception). HTH. All the best, Sarah -- http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com "That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell |
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Gyn recommends backup with IUD?
Sarah Vaughan wrote: agent99 wrote: [...] Well, I just called their office, and spoke with her assistant. She says that because the IUD is most likely to wander out of place in the first six months of placement, they recommend that you use a condom during that time. [...] Never heard this advice before in my life, and I have a diploma in family planning. snip Sounds like waaaaay overkill. Ask her what, specifically, the figures are. The risk of an IUCD wandering out of place at _any_ time is very low, so, although I don't have actual figures for the first six months compared with any other time, I wouldn't have thought the figures could be that high. snip I wouldn't bother with condoms, at that risk level, unless I really felt pregnancy would be an out-and-out disaster (in which case, I would be using them anyway regardless of how long the IUCD had been in, because there is no such thing as a foolproof method of contraception). HTH. All the best, Sarah Thanks! Yes, I think it's being far too cautious. She also has me on antibiotics for three days now, which apparently she does with all patients to reduce the risk of infection. She seems extremely, extremely cautious - I'd never heard of an ob/gyn doing monthly ultrasounds for the first six months to make sure the thing was still in position!! My old ob/gyn just told me to check the strings once a month. Of course, my first IUD didn't come out on its own - I was having a heavy feeling in my abdomen, a lot of backache and inner thigh ache, strange bloody discharge, and fever and chills. When I checked for the strings, they were gone. So, I found a new ob/gyn here, who came highly recommended by a friend. She checked with the ultrasound, said the IUD was "way out of place" (I now think I should have asked specifically where), and removed it. She told me I should never check the strings myself, because I could inadvertently push them further up (not easy for me - I'm a self cervix checker, from fertility tracking to dilation to . . . ). And she gave me antibiotics then, to counter the infection. Maybe she's thinking I'm more at risk for another infection? But then, condoms or not wouldn't make a difference . . . and I'd think I would be *less* likely to get pregnant with a uterine infection, not more so. Grrr. I got the IUD so I could *stop* worrying about birth control. Hah. thanks again, 99 |
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