♥♥Fakku Girls club♥♥ (girly boys also welcome)

I had the device inserted yesterday, along with my regular pap and checkup. I was told by the nurse I asked last time that they usually do it on the first day of the period so that the 1) cervix is already somewhat dilated, and 2) the protection starts working immediately. I was in the week after my period, but the nice doc over at PP said why wait another month when they can do it now? There weren't any other patients, since it was a weekday, so they had lots of time.

I re-grilled the doctor about both devices, and I could see she was both amused and impressed by my questions. Anyway, the gist of it is that Paragard works longer (12yrs), but it makes periods worse, so if you already have bad periods and/or are anaemic, this may not be a good choice. Plus, if you have copper allergies you should definitely not use it. The copper IUD is also slightly less effective than Mirena, but still, about as effective as the mini pill (98%). But the upside of it, which is what made my friend get the copper one, is that you don't get the weird side-effects of the hormonal methods, like mood swings or headaches.

With Mirena, you eventually get lighter periods or no period at all, but you'll get irregular bleeding for the first 3-6 months. It only lasts 5yrs, but I suppose that's fine--maybe by the time I'm 29, I will have changed my mind about kids and will want it out anyway. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOT LIKELY. Anyway, I asked about the bad hormonal side effects, and the doc said that it was usually the estrogen that causes many of the bad reactions, and it's also the hormone that is contraindicated for those with histories of hypertension and other heart ailments (I do have a history of that in my family, unfortunately). The progestrogen can cause headaches and mood changes, but not as much as when it is in combination with estrogen. The hormone levels are also much lower than in the pills, so there's that.

I told my doc, "periods suck, let's go with the Mirena."

They offered me some ibuprofen before the procedure, which I, with much stupid bravery, said no to. Bad idea. Take the damn pills. Or you can maybe ask your doc for a local anaesthetic, but I don't think it was as bad as to warrant that (the good people at PP didn't offer any anaesthetics. Budget cuts, and all). They first checked my blood hemoglobin levels, and did a quick STD test. Everything was ok, so we proceeded to the insertion.

There is definitely pain involved, but not as much as I thought. They did it after my regular pap smear, so I was already used to my cervix being poked and prodded. First, they inserted a thin wire into the cervix to measure it. That part felt weird and tickled a bit. The length was ok, so now they went to the most uncomfortable part--dilating the cervix. For me, it felt like bad period cramps--the kind I used to get before going on the pill. It was painful, but nothing that I couldn't go through. Then they put in the tube applicator and put in the IUD. The whole process took about 15mins, tops.

Afterwards, I still had the cramps, so they gave me the ibuprofen they offered earlier. Driving over bumps in the road made me cringe, so instead of going home, teh bf and I went to my favourite dimsum place down the street to cheer me up. I found that sitting down actually made the pain worse, so we finished up food quickly and just walked around the mall a bit. Or rather, he walked, and I waddled awkwardly. After about two hours, just a lingering soreness remained. We then went home and I went to sleep with a hot water bottle and a purring cat on my belly, which helped a lot.

Now, it just feels a bit weird, but the soreness has mostly subsided. There was some bleeding yesterday, which has continued on a bit today. Doc says nothing in my vag for around 3 days and no condomless sex for a week, just to make sure that everything gets settled in and works properly. Woe is me. But the upside is that I will not have to worry about birth control AT ALL for 5 years, so all in all, the pain and no sex is definitely worth it. I have a follow-up appointment in about a month just to see that everything is ok and in place, and after that--FREEDOM.