I got my IUD place on March 1st of 2017 by the end of April I had lost somewhere between 15-20 lbs. we had just found out that our house that we were renting had sold and we were very stressed finding somewhere else to live. We were blessed with a friend who opened his home to us in this tight rental market and we stayed with him for about 4 and half months. We all thought my massive weight loss was due to stress and depression of the whole moving situation. I had went from 164 lbs to 123 lbs in a matter of 6 months. In September of 17 we found our new rental and moved in I thought with having our own home and privacy I would gain some weight. But that was not the case I could not gain no matter what I did or ate or how much I ate. I was eating carbs on carbs on carbs and tons of protein such as chicken and broccoli everyday! Practically force feeding myself protein.In December of 2017 I noticed some hair loss my hair became very dry and was having breakage on the ends of it. I assumed it was because I was using tea tree shampoo and conditioner every wash. I would see homeless people and druggie people walking down the side of the road and I would cry thinking why do these people have healthier bodies than me when I am doing all I can to regain my strength and health I’m taking all the vitamins and eating all the right food. In March I had my yearly check up for a pap and to check my iud placement. The results for my pap came back abnormal. I then went back in a few weeks later for a “hole punch” biopsy, the name fits the type of procedure and hurts as if one actually used a hole puncher.They sent the biopsy to the labs and it came back as moderate dysplasia. I then scheduled a leep procedure that was done in May of 2017. After finding out about the bad cells on my cervix I became more depressed and was having terrible anxiety and bad thoughts. Not necessarily suicidal thoughts but more just dark thoughts. Feeling like I was broken for some reason. I didn’t understand how the bad cells could form in just a year. I had the leep procedure done in May 2017 and it was an awful experience the doctor that performed the procedure was my doctor from when I had my daughter two years prior. If you are not aware of what a leep procedure is, it’s a type of procedure with a wire loop with an electric current going through it. That loop is then used to cut out the bad cells on the cervix buy burning them off. During the procedure I could feel everything happening on the left side of my cervix.. I just assumed it was supposed to hurt that bad. She noticed I had an iud and told me she was going to try not to cut the string but if she did it was normal and they would still be able to get it out. When the procedure was done my doctor kind of just left I didn’t get to ask any questions. There were two nurses in the room during the whole procedure and after the doctor left one of the nurses said “ you weren’t completely numb were you?” I then realized that is what happened. She told me if I had another baby to not have this particular doctor again. I thought after having this done my body would be on the mend. I scheduled a follow up post leep appointment for August with the same doctor that did the procedure. I had been doing my own investigating and google searching all summer. “Hair loss with IUD?”, “Weight loss with IUD?” , “Depression with iud?”. I found testimonials of all the symptoms, however none of them had multiple it was one or the other. Weight loss was not a popular one, mostly hair loss or depression. So I had decided that when I went to the follow up I was going to discuss different types of birth control with the doctor. I was very nervous and anxious all summer that the bad cells were going to be back. When my appointment came my doctor told me that new healthy cells had grown and everything bad was gone. I sat up on the table and she asked per usual if I had any questions. I asked her”if you were to recommend a birth control besides and IUD what would you recommend?” She almost surprised said “ you have an IUD?” This answer shocked me and she was just in that area supposedly really checking things out, yet failed to see my IUD. That scared me because If she couldn’t see the string how did I know that it was not embedded. I don’t expect the doctor to remember each of her patients birth control methods, but I felt as though it should have been noted on my charts and papers that the string was cut during my last appointment. She assured me that the IUD was the most effect birth control on the market. She did not even ask why I wanted to change. So I started telling her why I wanted to change. I explained the weight loss that I had already mentioned months prior in which she told me it was due to stress, I told her my hair was thin and falling out, I did not bring my depression up with this particular doctor because she once prescribed me anti depressants at a time I feel I didn’t need them and i never took them this was 3 year prior that she prescribed these. I just did not want them prescribed again. She said she would order a thyroid test and some other blood tests. I asked if they tested hormone levels because my friend had her levels tested and found out she has to high of a dosage on her IUD and she had it removed. The doctor told me I did not need to have my hormones tested. As she walked out of the room she turned to me and said “ I would make a follow up with your primary, usually people have a problem gaining weight not the other way around.” That was irritating to me because i had discussed with her I do not have a primary doctor and I was asking her for a couple tests I thought would help me figure it out and she was denying it. Fast forward about a month to my daughters 3rd birthday. We had her party on September 16th we had family and a few friends over. I hosted the party and as overwhelmed as I felt I also felt great and I was having a great time! I drank 2 frozen wine coolers and hung out. Around 7 o’clock I started feeling shaky and light headed.. I decided a shower would help, but it didn’t. We went to bed and the next day I woke up my hands were tingling like they were asleep. I drank a bunch of water and tried to rest but the tingling made it impossible. This started Saturday night and continued for several days.On Thursday I laid in the recliner and I fell asleep at 5 pm and I did not get up until 6 am the next day. I did wake up occasionally but felt like I could not move physically. I could not get off the chair. Thursday morning when my fiancé went to work I got up and got in the car to goto my grandmas because I felt I would not be able to do much for my daughter. I was so scared while I was driving I could not focus and felt like my voice was going in and out. My grandmas is 8 miles from my house. When we got there I told her I was going to take a bath. I took a warm bath not hot and not cold. But while I was laying in the bath I could tell something was wrong. My heart was pounding and I thought I was was going to pass out. I got out of the tub and threw some clothes on I immediately told my grandma I needed to goto the emergency room. I called my fiancé and he rushed from work to drive me there. When admitted I immediately felt that they were not looking into anything. I asked them to check if I was dehydrated( because that was my first thought) they told me I wasn’t, they did an ekg and everything looked fine. They took my blood pressure laying, sitting, and standing and every time my hand started cramping in. This had never happened to me before and I told them. They disregarded it. Eventually the doctor came in and told me that I was having a reaction to the stress from my leep procedure (that was done in May.. it is now September) and that it was my “first” stressful experience in life and that as I get older and experience more things in life my body will learn to react different. I began to cry out of anger because once again I was being told I was having a physical reaction to a mental problem. I knew this wasn’t the issue. I was discharged. I went home and for about a week and a half I tried to to “de stress” in whatever ways I could but I could not shake that something was still happening to my body. On October 1st I stumbled across a post on a local moms group of a girl asking everyone which birth control they preferred. One of the comments was from a mom saying she had a copper iud and it had made her very sick. She said she had lost 25 lbs that she didn’t have to lose she also had a lot of bleeding which was not a symptom of mine but I needed to know more about her weight loss so I commented and questioned “was you weight loss from throwing up?” Her response”no not throwing up I ate like normal and was losing weight like crazy, I wasn’t able to put any weight on no matter what or how much I ate.. and lost that 25 lbs in 2 months. I was dangerously thin and starting to have organ issues dude to malnutrition” this was the comment I had been searching for. The validation that it had happened to someone else. She then said “I went through so many tests come to find out it was the copper in my iud” in another comment on the same thread a girl expressed she experienced hair loss with her iud. This was enough proof for me I called the next day and set up at appointment at my doctors office to have my Skyla iud removed. They got me in the day after I called. I was very worried about the removal since nobody had actually confirmed the placement of my string since it was cut in my leep procedure 5 months prior. When I went to have it removed the same doctor that placed my iud removed it. I cannot explain exactly the conversation that took place that day before she removed the iud but she was giving me very mixed signals. Telling me the iud was the lowest hormone iud in the market and she didn’t believe it was the cause of my issues. However agreed it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have it removed and see how I did without it. I told her I was sure I wanted it out and maybe he back in a few months for a different birth control method. She told me I would not be eligible through my insurance to get another iud because I did not keep my iud in long enough. I told her that was fine. She had no issues removing the iud. But the strange part was a woman came in with the doctor whom I had never met before in the office and was not my doctor normal medical assistant. They showed me the iud once it was removed and the string was indeed cut short. They placed the iud in a bag that the sterile tool for the removal had come out of. The doctor wished me luck and they left the room… with my iud. I found that very odd as there were hazardous waste baskets in the room. This was October the 5th. By November 5th I had gained a healthy 22lbs and my energy was returning. By December 5 my hair had grown at least 3 inches. My depression and bad thought were gone and my anxiety was gone. I am certain this iud caused some very serious and severe side effects within my body and if I had not taken action to have it removed it may have taken my life eventually. I found out on December 26th I was pregnant. Very unplanned as I wanted to give my body time to full recover. We used condoms every time but I still some how got pregnant. I switched from the doctor that did my leep procedure and had delivered my daughter to a different highly recommended doctor in he same office. In my first appointment which was a nurse intake I told the nurse of my concerns with my body carrying this baby what I have been through in the past year. She kind of brushed off try accusations of the iud causing it all and once again said “ stress can do crazy things to our bodies” I didn’t take offense to it because I used to the response by now. My doctor confirmed in my next appointment that my cervix was fine length even after the leep and I should have no concerns in that area. On 2/18/19 I had another routine appointment just to check baby’s heart rate and my doctor was out of the office for the week so I was scheduled with the doctor who removed my iud. I was actually excited to show her my health progress, hair growth and weight gain. When the nurse took me back it was a new nurse that I had not met before. She asked if I had any concerns I told her I had been having dizzy spells this last week or so and I was worried because this happened to me when I had my iud in. She told me make sure I’m taking my prenatals, and eating enough protein, and drinking lots of water. I told her I’m a worry wart because ( I then summarized my experience with the iud and the issues I had” she then said “ okay I have to whisper because the doctors do not want to hear us telling patients this. They say with an iud the hormones are supposed to stay down here(motioned in her uterus area) but I know that in some cases they carry throughout the body and can cause some serious issues” this nurse may not know this but what she said was so incredibly important to even though I’m on the mend to a healthier body. To have confirmation from someone in a medical position and to not be excused or brushed off meant the world. She then told me she had just had her iud removed because it was embedded in her uterus and that she doesn’t trust the iuds 100% because they are so new to the birth control industry. She hugged me and told me she is so sorry for what I had gone through and that she is happy I’m getting better. When the doctor came in she introduced herself to me. I have seen this doctor multiple times. She simply didn’t not recognize me. After looked at my charts again she said “ I’ve seen you before…” I said “I have gained 23 lbs back since my iud removal and my hair has begun to grow back healthier, thicker, and faster” she smiled and said” I’m so glad” if anything comes from someone reading my testimony, I hope and pray that you don’t give up on what you believe is happening to you. I hold no ill feelings or grudges towards the doctors I came in contact with. Okay maybe one. But they are doctors and they simply see so many patients every single day all year.So follow your gut and stick to your guns. You and only you know your body completely.
Submitted on July 14, 2020
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