IUD -Pros and Cons - Modesto,CA

I got pregnant with my son (now 5 months old) with Mirena in place. Then, the doctor talked me into it a second time, and while playing with the kids it fell out. Pregnancy scare is no fun. Not my cup of tea, but lots of people have great results with it!

I'm considering an IUD when after my next child. I looked into it after my first because I'm no longer able to take the regular birth control pill. Of course, my insurance didn't cover it, and they are pretty expensive, however, if you spread the cost over 5 years (for the Mirena), I would have spent just as much each month on the pill. The 10 year IUD would be even less, I'm guessing.

The topic of IUDs has come up on Mamasource before. You might check some of the old posts, too. I learned a lot about them.

I have the mirena iud. I LOVE the no hormone side effects and I don't have to worry about missing a pill (or 3!), but I have spotty "periods" that last for 1-3 days, just show up whenever. It's inconvenient, but not as inconvenient as a surprise pregnancy.

I have an iud, got it 7 months ago after the birth of my second son. I am like you and did not want any hormonal birth control but did not want another baby for a while, so I do like it, and would recommend it. It hurt just slightly putting it in, and I bled lightly for just a day or 2. I was a little sore after sex for the first few times and it does take time to get used to, like the "string" needs to soften so my husband did not feel it, I think it will only get better as I and my body get more used to it being inside of my uterus. I have had no infections only awareness of it being there. Mine was covered by insurance and will last 10 years. It is nice to have sex and not to mess around with condoms and to ensure that I do not get pregnant.

Well I love my IUD. My husband on the other hand can feel the string at certain times of the month. But he is willing to put up with this and we have found it to be a positional issue that was easily solved.

Anyway I didn't have any pain having mine put in. I am not up for a new one so I don't have any experience with having it removed. I do however have the Mirena and I love that I only have occasional spotting once a month!

Some health insurances cover the IUD and some don't. I had Kaiser and they covered it. I have a friend who has a PPO and it isn't covered by her insurance.

The best way to find out if it is covered by your insurance is to call them. As far as your questions about infections and the such you will get your best answers from your OBGYN or researching them on the web, such as you are.

I have been very happy with my non-hormone IUD(10yrs). I also can not tolerate hormones. My insurance did not cover it Blue Cross PPO. I just recently had an ultrasound and the IUD was in the perfect place...3.5 yrs now, no pain, no unusual periods. One of the lucky ones I guess.

HI Laura,

I had an IUD after the birth of my first child and I didn't like it. They say that you aren't supposed to feel it, but I did. I also didn't have a period, but had all of the pre-period stuff. A period would have been a relief!! It didn't hurt to have it removed, and I can't speak about putting it in, because they did that after I had my daughter so everything hurt in there!

Mine was covered by health insurance just like my bc's.

Good luck!

Maybe you should consider a diaphram... I have been using a diaphram for the past 2 years and have been very happy with all aspects of it. It takes a few months to get used to the insertion/removal but stick with it - once you learn how to do it, it's very easy. The effectiveness rate is about 85% so I would'nt use it if you 100% could not manage an unplanned pregnancy. We have a 4 yr. old daughter and are unsure if we want to go for another so we are okay with the effectiveness... Good luck!

I have the Mirena but I'm assuming the insertion part is the same. It didn't really hurt, felt like getting a pap. I took Advil prior and had a little bit of cramping afterward. I had bleeding on the day I had it put in and then about 8 weeks of light spotting. Mine was not covered by my insurance but SIL got one and hers was, so it just depends on your insurance.

As far as liking it, the spotting was getting really annoying but now that it has stopped all is good. I'm so far very happy with my choice.

Due to insurance issuses I changed my OB/Gyn doctor to have my IUD put in. (My doctor's office wanted prepayment of the IUD then would remburse me when the insurance paid, the new doctor accepted the insurance directly.)

I was not as comfortable with the new doctor. She was "new" to the practice and to the procedure too, I found out later. The procedure was a little uncomfortable. All in all I was happy. Then, I was having pain. Long story short, the new doctor did not place the IUD properly. It wasn't life threatening or anything like that, but an ultrasound showed it to be ineffective. I had it imeadiatly removed.

I would make sure the person has had a lot of insertions before having the procedure. The company websites often have list of providers with the numbers of procedures. Just ask, and feel comfortable before your procedure.

Good Luck

I have had my IUD (the non-hormonal one) in for almost 10 years and have not had any problems with it at all. It did hurt when they put it in, but I have had no side effects since. The IUD was pretty much my last option because my body could not tolerate anything with hormones. Its safe and effective and my insurance company (I have Kaiser) covered it, but you might want to call your plan administrator and verify. I hope some of my answers helped, and if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask :-)

Just another vote FOR the non-hormonal IUD. I love mine!