# non-hormone IUD after 6 weeks post partum



## Taradactyl3 (Jun 9, 2006)

Anyone have anything, good or bad, to say about the non-hormone IUD? My MW suggested it for anytime after 6 weeks postpartum. I can't handle hormones and don't want either of us to get surgery.

TIA,
Tara


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## DoomaYula (Aug 22, 2006)

I had a Paragard placed 6w pp and loved it -- I removed it after 2y because we wanted to ttc and I got pregnant within a few weeks! I will definitely get another after this baby is born, I thought it was great.

I did notice that my af was heavy, but mine has always been heavy so it didn't really bother me. Heavy for 1-2d, then normal/light for 3-4d. Never had any problems with cramps or pain.


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## purple3198 (Aug 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *YumaDoula* 
I had a Paragard placed 6w pp and loved it -- I removed it after 2y because we wanted to ttc and I got pregnant within a few weeks! I will definitely get another after this baby is born, I thought it was great.

I did notice that my af was heavy, but mine has always been heavy so it didn't really bother me. Heavy for 1-2d, then normal/light for 3-4d. Never had any problems with cramps or pain.

I had mine at 8 weeks postpartum and my story is the same as above with af flow.I did have cramps but not anything worse than befor.My husband would get poked by the string once in a great while but he did not care to much.I had mine removed a few weeks back and we are trying for number 3.


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## AKmoose (Jul 25, 2003)

I too had the paraguard around 6-8 wks pp (can't remember exactly). I loved it as birth control, though my AF was really heavy (as in, I sometimes soaked a "super plus" tampon in an hour...). I had mine removed after 2 years in order to ttc dc3...I won't get another, as I want one more baby then we'll do something permanent. However, I still recommend the paraguard as long as you can deal with really heavy AF.


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## pixiepunk (Mar 11, 2003)

i was looking into this option when i got pg







i definitely think i'm going to get one pretty soon post partum, though the earliest i've ever gotten my cycles back is 10 months, and after DS it was 15 months, so i don't think i'll do it at 6 weeks pp... maybe 6 months when baby starts on solids. but i'm definitely going to give it a try. i hate thinking about birth control, and hate hormones even more, so this seems like a reasonable option to me.


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## pamamidwife (May 7, 2003)

I have since stopped recommending the copper IUD as a blanket whole and really am leaning towards the Mirena. The hormones in it are low and they usually don't affect you emotionally like birth control pills do.

My reasoning is that the copper IUDs tend to create heavy flow, but some women don't mind.


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## PPK (Feb 15, 2007)

I loved mine when I had it, but did get slightly heavier flow and sometimes more cramping. Dh only felt the strings once in a great while, but didn't mind, just make sure the mw trims the strings to an appropriate length, sometimes if they're way too long, you can have her trim them again later. Better to be generous with the length than get too short-that'd definately get pokey for your partner. I would get one again (I'm 2 weeks pp), but we're thinking dh is going to get a vasectomy instead, we really only ever wanted one child.


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## LemonPie (Sep 18, 2006)

I had a Paragard inserted 4 months postpartum after my second child. I LOVED it, and I will use this method next time. The mini-pill gave me _horrific_ headaches, so my doc recommended this instead of the Mirena. I'm allergic to spermicide, so my options are pretty limited. I didn't really notice much of an increase in flow or crampiness. I understand that this particular side effect seems to settle down after about 6 months or so for a lot of women. I didn't get AF until 14 months postpartum, so I don't know if I just missed that "window" or if it just really didn't affect me that way.
Jen


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## Novella (Nov 8, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pamamidwife* 
I have since stopped recommending the copper IUD as a blanket whole and really am leaning towards the Mirena. The hormones in it are low and they usually don't affect you emotionally like birth control pills do.

My reasoning is that the copper IUDs tend to create heavy flow, but some women don't mind.

Hmmm. . . "the hormones in it are low". . . tell us more. Do you mean the hormones in the Mirena are lower than in a BCP or mini-pill?

We're having a hard time deciding. Although I previously used BCP for about 7 years with absolutely no problems, I didn't really want to go back to hormonal birth control long-term now that it looks like we done having kids. But the heavy flow/cramping commonly found with Paraguard didn't excite me too much.

(And we've ruled out vasectomy for the time being. Surgical alteration just seems like a really big step. Fertility is a pretty valuable aspect of health and neither of us are certain we're ready to toss it to the wind).

I'm particularly interested in your thoughts on this, pamamidwife, because I trust your "natural" leanings on so many other things!


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## DoomaYula (Aug 22, 2006)

:

I'm irrationally jealous of the women whose dh has hit the strings. I don't think my dh has ever gotten NEAR them.







:


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## AlexisT (May 6, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pamamidwife* 
I have since stopped recommending the copper IUD as a blanket whole and really am leaning towards the Mirena. The hormones in it are low and they usually don't affect you emotionally like birth control pills do.

My reasoning is that the copper IUDs tend to create heavy flow, but some women don't mind.

I have a copper coil (not Paragard but similar--I'm in Europe). For women who can't have hormonal BC (I'm one of them--both combined and progesterone-only contradicted for different reasons) it's a good option IF you don't already have a very heavy flow. The IUD works by irritating the uterine lining, so it worsens periods. If you have a very heavy flow, the increase may be too much.

If you can tolerate a small amount of hormones (mirena is progesterone only, a much lower dose than Depo or the minipill) the Mirena will make your periods much lighter. Since it doesn't have estrogen it doesn't interfere with milk supply. It may cause spotting, though.


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## touka (Oct 5, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *YumaDoula* 
I did notice that my af was heavy, but mine has always been heavy so it didn't really bother me. Heavy for 1-2d, then normal/light for 3-4d. Never had any problems with cramps or pain.

This has been my experience as well and I've had mine in for 4 years (I can't speak to the PP factor though, I do not currently have children).

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pamamidwife* 
I have since stopped recommending the copper IUD as a blanket whole and really am leaning towards the Mirena. The hormones in it are low and they usually don't affect you emotionally like birth control pills do.

My reasoning is that the copper IUDs tend to create heavy flow, but some women don't mind.

The hormones in Mirena are one of the reasons I would not choose it for myself. I have not been put off by the change in my cycle at all and for most of the women I've spoken too it hasn't been an issue. On the flip side with Mirena, a woman can end up with constant or frequent break through bleeding. It's kind of 6 one, half dozen....









Quote:


Originally Posted by *Novella* 
Hmmm. . . "the hormones in it are low". . . tell us more. Do you mean the hormones in the Mirena are lower than in a BCP or mini-pill?

I'm not *pamamidwife* but I think I can answer your question a little bit as to how Mirena works. Mirena is a very low dose of synthetic progesterone that is _localized_ to the uterus, therefore most (def. not all) women avoid some of the common side effects of traditional OCs (which are systemic). Additionally, because of the way the progesterone affects the uterus, many women may actually stop bleeding (much like skipping the placebos in your BCP pack).

I can't speak to the "natural" part of all that since I really prefer to avoid artificial hormones as much as possible to due very bad past reactions to them.


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