I’ve had 2 Paragard IUDs. This is my story.
My first Paragard IUD was inserted in November 2016. This was MY choice. 100%. And I LOVED it! It really was the best birth control choice I had ever made.
Fast forward to March 2020: I slipped and fell on ice and landed on my left shoulder and left hip. And I fell HARD! It felt like I had been in a car accident and it took several weeks to recover from it. Two weeks after my fall, I had my period (right on schedule). This period was different and I had unbelievable cramping. I NEVER cramp during my period and I was very surprised to be feeling this much pain. But I just attributed it to stress since we were going through a global pandemic and assumed this was my body responding to pandemic stress.
Fast forward to April. Same thing. Excruciating menstrual cramps. Same thing happens in May. Each passing month and the cramps get worse. I feel like I am in labor. I don’t seek any medical attention because I don’t think my pain is important especially when my local hospitals are flooding over with COVID patients.
It’s not until June that I start to wonder if maybe my fall on ice back in March has caused my IUD to move in my uterus. I spend hours searching the internet and I can’t find a single case that an IUD can move after a bad fall. I figure my menstrual cramps are still stress induced and move on with my life.
Finally, after experiencing horrendous cramps in July, I call my gynecologist and explain what is happening. She tells me that it is highly unlikely that my IUD moved but she would schedule me for an ultrasound in August. The ultrasound confirms that the IUD had moved and became embedded in my uterus.
In late August, my 1st IUD is removed. My gynecologist asks me if I would like a new Paragard IUD inserted right after she removed the old one. I tell her yes. Despite this 1st IUD becoming embedded in my uterus (and almost perforating it), I still loved it and wanted to continue with it.
And that’s when things went downhill.
Paragard IUD #2 is inserted in late August 2020. I weighed 120lbs. My bust size is roughly around an A/B cup. By the end of September, I noticed that I had gained weight and was now 125lbs. And that my boobs hurt. A lot. But I shrugged it off.
Fast forward to late October. I am now 130lbs and my breasts are large and engorged (around a C/D cup). None of my bras fit. I can’t sleep on my stomach because it hurts too much. I have to buy new bras that are not only larger but also very loose because my breasts hurt so much.
By this time, I am quite bewildered that I had gained 10lbs in such a short amount of time. I am a long distance runner and I majored in Dietetics. I know a thing or two about fitness and nutrition. I had had absolutely NO change in my diet or fitness routine.
Fast forward to late November. I am now 135lbs. The breast pain continues. I can’t even hug my husband or child because my chest hurts so much. By the end of December, I am 140lbs. My breast size is around a DD/E cup.
I could not figure out why I had the sudden and large increase in weight gain and the sensitive breasts. While my weight has leveled off and is now 138lbs, I am still very frustrated and embarrassed by my size. I finally decided to really dig deep into the internet and search for more answers. And that’s where I found more information about how a copper IUD can affect a woman. And thus I started putting the pieces together. While the weight gain and breast pain is a new development, I had been experiencing a large influx of food sensitivities, dry skin, depression, and extreme fatigue since having it inserted in 2016.
I am having my IUD removed on February 17, 2020. Maybe it’s the cause of all this. Maybe it’s not. But there is only one way to find out. And I really hope that my body returns to it’s normal size and functions once it’s removed.
