“My doctor totally and completely dismissed ALL of my physical and psychological symptoms”. Malorey’s Story

So I got my Skyla about 14 months ago (June 2019). The insertion was just about the worst pain I’ve ever experienced… until the debilitating, now chronic, low back pain set in. The cramping was godawful for many days/weeks/months after, but I kept telling myself my body just needed to adjust. About 5 months after insertion, during which I had horrific, stabbing, hot-lava like cramps at least 2 weeks/month, I had a particularly bad cramp episode that cause me to almost wreck my car. The next day I was UNABLE TO WALK due to extreme pain and spasms in my lower back. I was unable to walk for 4 days, missed 3+ weeks of work, and was essentially mostly bedridden for that time. I ran out of leave and had to start suffering through work. I do stretches and strengthening exercises every day prescribed by the ortho doc (x rays are totally clear, no apparent disc problems, etc.) but really it isn’t improved much from the initial recovery from the “acute” stage. I continue to have chronic lower back, sciatic, and hip pain CONSTANTLY, which is noticeable worse around my period. I had an ultrasound to check placement and according to my gyn “everything is fine” and my symptoms are “not related to the iud” even tho the FIRST thing I said after insertion was “wow my back hurts” (not to mention I almost fainted and vomited from the insertion).

In addition to the debilitating back pain, other side effects include:

– cramps pretty much half the month or more
– I feel like I can kinda feel it sitting there or whatever a lot of the time???
– horrible painful cystic acne all over my back and some on my face
– my (head) hair fell out in huge clumps for months after the insertion (also pretty sure I lost eyelashes)
– growth of weird random course hair all over my chin and like… under-butt area
– I have been extremely irritable, depressed and occasionally suicidal
– my ADHD has been exponentially worse
– swollen lymph nodes pretty much constantly
– libido has completely tanked; like what’s the point of BC if I don’t want to have sex ever?
– persistent weight gain that will not go away (I work out literally like 5-6 days/week, outside, POURING sweat; eat prob 75% plant based and have lost maybe 5lbs in 6 months)
– pretty sure it has actually changed my face shape/jawline (for the worse)
– read recently that tinnitus is a side effect and was like “oh that’s why my ears have been ringing for months on end!”
– I just KNOW something is not right, I KNOW it’s the IUD, clearly my body is rejecting it; I have never once in my life incorrectly self-diagnosed and this is one of the strongest gut feelings I’ve ever had

My doctor totally and completely dismissed ALL of my physical and psychological symptoms as “not related to the IUD” which is just kind of unbelievable, especially with the back pain since I have a retroverted uterus… like I know a lot of doctors suck but are you kidding me?

Story submission 08/25/2020

Malorey