Kinda OT- BC after birth/ Copper iud

Just a question though - was your friend formerly on the pill?

What I found was that when I was on the pill, it made my periods much
lighter, and I was on it so long, I kind of forgot what the real deal
was like. So when I had the IUD and had the old heavy kind come back,
it was a bit of surprise. It wasn't really that the periods were made
heavier by the IUD, it was just that I wasn't exposed to any hormones
that would suppress it a bit.

Mary G.

I had a copper T from Oct to June, I was getting very heavy flows with cramping
that wouldn't go away even when I wasn't flowing. Some months it would go as
long as 2 weeks some as little as a week. I hated it. Now my only problem is
I can't take any hormones(even mirena) do to hormonal based migraines.
Additional hormones trigger my migraines which can lead to a stroke. Anyway if
you are going to do an IUD don't do a Copper T they are horrible and oh don't
stand to close to a microwave if you get one also I did that and at my mom's
and could feel my insides pop. But that might only be me.


Jennifer
Ariana 8/17/03

"HOWA476" wrote in message
...

you are going to do an IUD don't do a Copper T they are horrible and oh
don't
stand to close to a microwave if you get one also I did that and at my
mom's
and could feel my insides pop. But that might only be me.

LOL...sorry but that's bizarre. I can't see how that would happen unless you
were inside a microwave. I mean, what about people with ear piercings?
Tongue studs? Hip replacements? Maybe your mother needs her microwave
checked :-)

"Mary Gordon" wrote in message
m...
Just a question though - was your friend formerly on the pill?

What I found was that when I was on the pill, it made my periods much
lighter, and I was on it so long, I kind of forgot what the real deal
was like. So when I had the IUD and had the old heavy kind come back,
it was a bit of surprise. It wasn't really that the periods were made
heavier by the IUD, it was just that I wasn't exposed to any hormones
that would suppress it a bit.

Yes, she has been on the pill or TTC her whole reproductive life aside from
the IUD after her dd's birth.
Jenrose

a week after that happened the microwave stopped working


jennifer
Ariana 8/17/03

Oh wow...leaking radiation perhaps? That's scary. Unless your IUD caused it
to break down ;-)

"HOWA476" wrote in message
...
a week after that happened the microwave stopped working


jennifer
Ariana 8/17/03

In message , Rob and Jami
writes
My OB asked us about birth control after baby, at my last visit. I cannot
take "the pill" because I have a blood clotting risk (factor V) I tried
taking depo about 2 years ago and it was HORRIBLE. I'm not sure if it was
the progestin that made me so sick, but if it was that leaves out the
mini-pill and the hormonal iud. My husband wants to "get fixed" and,
although we will have 2 kids... we're only 22... I think we're too young to
rule out more kids. Anyway, my question is.. has anyone had the copper IUD?
What were your experiences? I just can't imagine an experience like I had
with the depo. TIA.

No personal experience, but I do have a diploma in family planning, if
that's any help, so here are the pros & cons of the IUCD generally:

_Pros_

Effective contraceptive. Not quite as much so as the pill, but
definitely the most effective alternative option if hormones are out for
you.

Low-maintenance. It's a good idea to check it every month after your
period to check it hasn't fallen out (I know, I know, you wouldn't think
it was possible for an IUCD to fall out unnoticed, but it's been known
to happen and women have got pregnant as a result) but, once it's in and
you've had your first check-up, that's really _all_ you need to do about
it. And most of the time you could get away without even doing that -
after all, unless you're one of the tiny minority of women in whom it
does fall out unnoticed, checking isn't going to make a difference. So,
you don't have to remember to take a pill every day or come in to the
doctor's office for an injection every twelve weeks or put in a
diaphragm every time you have sex, and because you don't always have to
be remembering to do something in order for the contraceptive to work,
it's less likely to fail. Hence, it's good for people with poor
memories. ;-)

Long-lasting. IUCDs can stay in for 5 years, and at least one make can
stay in for up to 10 yrs. So once it's in, that's your contraception
sorted for that long.

Easily reversible. Not quite as much as the pill, since reversing it
does require going to your doctor's, but a few minutes on the doctor's
couch and it's out of there. Major improvement on Depo-Provera, which
you're basically stuck with for twelve weeks once it's in.


_Cons_

The main one is that your periods are likely to get heavier and/or more
painful. For a lot of women this effect simply isn't pronounced enough
to be a problem, but you never know until you try how it's going to work
for you. It's not a method I'd recommend for women who have horrendous
periods, and even some women who have ordinary periods find they become
horrendous with an IUCD in. Some women also get more pelvic pain
between periods. However, plenty of other women find that their period
just gets a bit longer/heavier/more painful & is easily manageable with
some over-the-counter medication. You don't know until you try.

A much rarer side-effect is that it can make its way through the wall of
your uterus and require an operation to retrieve it. To keep this in
persepctive, I must stress that it really is rare, and usually doesn't
cause any permanent damage if it does happen, but it's pretty unpleasant
if you're the one it happens to. And, in _really_ rare cases, it _can_
cause internal damage.

Another vanishingly rare side-effect is allergy to copper, which can
cause quite a lot of discomfort. However, that's fairly easily treated
by taking the IUCD out.

If you have a chlamydia or gonorrhoea infection lurking unnoticed in
your cervix, having the IUCD inserted can push the infection up into
your pelvis, with all the unpleasant long-term side-effects that _that_
can cause (infertility, chronic pain, period problems). And bear in
mind that these things can lie dormant for years, and you don't know
whether a previous sexual partner of yours or your husband's might have
had something undesirable - undesirable infections do _not_ happen only
to undesirable people. If there is the remotest risk of you or your
husband having picked up something like this before your relationship,
then even if you don't have any symptoms, you should get tested for
these infections before having the IUCD inserted. However, this isn't
actually a contra-indication as such, more just a piece of advice - if
there's any risk of you having an asymptomatic infection you should be
getting tested regardless of whether or not you're having an IUCD put
in, and once such an infection has been successfully treated it doesn't
prevent you having an IUCD in the future.

The actual insertion isn't very pleasant. Some women are as lucky as
the poster who told you she barely felt it being put in, but her
experience was pretty atypical - most women do get some bad cramps when
it's inserted. However, it isn't normally horrendous, just unpleasant,
and only lasts a few minutes, so if you've read all the other stuff
about the IUCD & feel it might suit you, I wouldn't let thoughts of the
insertion experience put you off. (BTW, since the same poster also
mentioned that she had a very easy time having it taken out, I should
tell you that that part of her experience _was_ typical - having it
taken out is normally much easier than having it put in. So if you have
a bad time having one put in, don't assume it's going to be bad coming
out as well.)


One final point: You may not need to rule out other forms of progestagen
contraception just because you had a bad experience with the Depo. The
other forms of progestagen contraceptives use different types of
progestagens, and don't have the initial big peak of hormone that you
get with Depo, and either or both of those factors could affect the way
you react.

So, you could try the mini-pill and see how you got on, since it's so
easy to stop it if you don't like it. The Mirena (hormonal coil) and
Implanon (progestagen implant - though I don't know whether that one's
available in the US) would also be possible options, particularly the
Mirena as the hormone dose is so low. However, both of those would
require a doctor's appointment to get them reversed, plus they're pretty
expensive - good value for money if they stay in for the full term (five
years for Mirena, three for Implanon) but probably not the best thing to
try if you think there's a good chance you'll want them taken out
quickly.


All the best,

Sarah

--
"I once requested an urgent admission for a homeopath who had become depressed
and taken a massive underdose" - Phil Peverley

In message , HOWA476
writes
I had a copper T from Oct to June, I was getting very heavy flows with
cramping that wouldn't go away even when I wasn't flowing. Some months
it would go as long as 2 weeks some as little as a week. I hated it.
Now my only problem is I can't take any hormones(even mirena) do to
hormonal based migraines. Additional hormones trigger my migraines
which can lead to a stroke.

You could try non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers, which are
very good for period pains & also reduce the flow to some extent.
Diclofenac (Voltarol) is an effective one, but I don't know whether it
goes under the same name in the US. Another possible option is
tranexamic acid, which doesn't help the pain but is even better for
reducing flow than the anti-inflammatories, and isn't contraindicated in
focal migraine as far as I know.


All the best,

Sarah

--
"I once requested an urgent admission for a homeopath who had become depressed
and taken a massive underdose" - Phil Peverley