i posted this in the pregnancy forum but got no replies. So i'm posting it here:

i'm not sexually active right now nor do i have intentions of becoming so anytime soon, but someday between now and my menopausal years i'll likely wish to change my stance.

hormonal methods scare me after my last experience (depoprovera) and condoms are annoying, so i've been considering other options. the IUD seems to be the only one that i'm comfortable with.

does anyone currently use one? what are side effects like? risks? discuss.

There are two different types of IUD's. One that is made of copper and one that is plastic and uses progesterone for its effectiveness. You should research what type you are interested in and then talk to your doctor. Some won't insert an IUD unless you've had a baby (with a vaginal delivery), and some other doctors don't mind. I believe there is higher risk of puncturing your uterus if you haven't had a vaginal delivery, but again you want to research those risks yourself.

I didn't want to use another hormonal method, so I had the copper one a couple of years ago. The unfortunate side affect some people have is really heavy periods. I had such an experience.

It's one thing to have heavy periods naturally, you just deal. This made me afraid every month! I would have to use the super-huge heavy flow pads and would need to change it every HOUR. Seriously. Even then I would almost bleed through. Nighttime was the worst - I had to sleep on a towel because I invariably would bleed through. I was afraid to walk around too much lest it slide up the back and leave a stain on my pants (omg, I was horrified that this might happen). Sorry to be so personal, but it's the truth. And it was awful.

It's not to say that everyone has this experience, but I sure did. I waited a few months to see if my body would adjust, it didn't so I had it taken out.

I have some friends that LOVE having them and don't experience any serious side affects that I know of. Another friend of mine is using the hormone kind right now and she says she feels a little crazy, like she's back on the pill or something.

It really just depends on the person, you'll have to try it and see if it works for you.

Good luck!

My gyn keeps pushing me to get one. I DO NOT KNOW WHY. I am not really a good candidate. I read the brochure. I mean, I'm not monogamous, I have cysts AND fibroids. augh.

I wish they would lay the fuck off. They say "You won't have to remember to take that pesky pill!" But I just set an alarm on my phone and it's no problem. I have been taking meds for other things for 9 years now I mean it's no big deal.

I would totally get one if I thought I was a better candidate, but I am on the pill and I use condoms. I like it this way. I feel safer.

<<It's one thing to have heavy periods naturally, you just deal. This made me afraid every month! I would have to use the super-huge heavy flow pads and would need to change it every HOUR. Seriously. Even then I would almost bleed through. Nighttime was the worst - I had to sleep on a towel because I invariably would bleed through. I was afraid to walk around too much lest it slide up the back and leave a stain on my pants (omg, I was horrified that this might happen). Sorry to be so personal, but it's the truth. And it was awful.>>

:shock: you bled through the heavy ones every hour? oh man! thanks for the heads up!

<<My gyn keeps pushing me to get one. I DO NOT KNOW WHY. I am not really a good candidate. I read the brochure. I mean, I'm not monogamous, I have cysts AND fibroids. augh. >>

See, that's why I'm getting opinions from people who use them and doing my own research--because my doctor still keeps pushing hormonal birth control on me even though she is fully aware of what happened to me last time she prescribed birth control to me. Like I'll go in for bronchitus and the first thing she asks me is, "Are you sexually active? No? Well here, why don't you get on the pill anyway" And a gynecologist I went to in Kansas actually gave me two prescriptions for the morning after pill although I was again, not sexually active nor intending to become so (of course I kept the prescription just in case, though, until it expired). They are so pushy about this stuff, I wonder what kind of kickbacks they recieve from these companies?