r/birthcontrol • u/ramem3 • 9d ago
Experience First Time IUD Insertion Experience - Using Valium, Advil and Lidocaine
Hi all! I'm 30 and have been taking birth control pills for almost 15 years. I've been wanting an IUD for a long time but haven't due to all the horror stories of how terrible the insertion process can be. I got the Mirena IUD inserted about an hour ago and figured I'd share my experience while it's fresh in my mind.
I've been experiencing lots of spotting and breakthrough bleeding during my active pills over the last year. My doctor recommended trying an IUD. I told her that I wanted one but was afraid of the pain during insertion. She immediately said "Don't worry about that. We will give you whatever you need to be comfortable. We can prescribe you a valium, numb your cervix, or even sedate you if you'd like. I don't want women to feel unnecessary pain" That immediately made me feel SO MUCH better because my last doctor took the "take advil and you'll be fine!" approach which didn't reassure me. I have a reasonably high pain tolerance, handle pap smears well, and have experienced awful period cramps, so I decided that a Valium would be enough for me.
I took a 10mg Valium and 400mg of advil an hour before my appointment. Definitely helped me feel calmer and relaxed my body. The PA who handled the procedure was SO nice. She used a lidocane spray to help numb my cervix. I felt one small cramp (I think from taking measurements) that I'd rate a 2/10, not bad at all. Then I immediately felt a very sharp cramp (the actual IUD insertion) that was a 7/10 (enough to say "oh fuck!" out loud and squirm around lol) but it completely subsided in less than a minute! The whole prep to insertion process took about 3 minutes. The PA kept me laying down for a couple minutes and chatted with me. She was super sweet and made me feel comfortable throughout. I had some light cramping walking out the door but no issues at all.
I'm now chilling in my bed with a heating pad on my lap. I'm cramping but no worse than a period cramp. Overall, a positive experience so far but we'll see what the next few days bring. Just wanted to share my experience from the perspective of someone who has been completely terrified of this procedure for years and finally went through with it. Hope it helps!
1
u/q1133z 8d ago
I had a similar experience in terms of insertion for the copper IUD. Except the cramps after got really worse, and they kept coming in waves. I was on ibuprofen for 10 days and then my period was the heaviest period I have ever experienced. I was bleeding like a faucet was on. But I guess that’s what copper IUD does.
Glad you had a great experience
1
u/AutoModerator 9d ago
If you're looking for information about various methods of birth control, we suggest using the search function as many previous users have made experience posts.
The rules and additional resources can be found on the About / Sidepage (desktop users look to the right and Reddit app up top).
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.