I used oral hormonal birth control for years and after a while I realized the hormones were causing extreme mood swings, depression and who knows what else. After I stopped taking the birth control a lot of the behavioral side effects went away. A few years afterwards I found the copper IUD and thought it would be a good alternative even though I had reservations about a foreign object being placed in my body.
Within 2-3 months of inserting the copper IUD, I started to experience mild depression and kind of a brain fog. I didn’t connect the two and over the next three of years, the depression, numbness and brain frog became increasingly pronounced. During the three year period I started a new relationship and was unable to feel deeply but I thought I was just going through something.
At the end of the three year period, my IUD started rejecting and I had to get it removed. Within a month of removal, I started to notice a new engagement in my environment. It’s like a minor fog was lifted and I started to see everything in HD, colors were more vibrant and I had a general sunnier disposition. After 4 months I felt deeper in love with my partner, a deeper sense of joy, and the return of my sharp sense of focus.
I couldn’t figure out why I had this dark cloud hanging over me for years but I can’t deny how pronounced the changes were around the time of removal and insertion. If my body handn’t rejected the IUD naturally, I’d probably still have it and wouldn’t have been able to embrace the driven ambitious person that I am. I felt out-of-control and it was taking a toll on my career.
I am not usually a sharer of my personal stories but doctors or mainstream media are not aware of these intangible side-effects. I feel the full-spectrum of my emotions again and I hope my story helps other women find some answers or guidance.
Submitted on October 12, 2020
