IUD

On June 21st, I went to my doctor and had a copper IUD (Paragard) inserted. It was one of the best decisions I've made.

I was able to pay for it because I had saved a large chunk of money while I was still in college, and because my health insurance was able to cover half of the device. I paid for the other half out of pocket, and for the price of the procedure. Overall, it would've been $700, plus the cost of the insertion/office visit. But I ended up paying about $280.

As a young adult who has decided not to have any children, it was the best contraceptive option next to sterilization. After using "the pill" for years, I wanted something hassle-free, very long-term, and yes, hormone-free. I knew that no doctor would sterilize me at a young age -- because there is a double-standard in this country about reproductive choice (nobody questions a woman making the permanent decision to have a child, but everybody questions a woman making the permanent decision to be sterilized.) So, I will keep my copper IUD for the full 10 years, and by then, I hope to be taken seriously when I ask for Essure or a tubal ligation.

The insertion procedure itself started out like a regular gynecological examination, but then became very painful when my doctor had to open the cervix. I was told to prepare for this by taking 800mg of ibuprofen and misoprostol (to soften the cervix). In truth, I think they should have offered me a numbing agent, because it was about 3 or 4 minutes of extremely painful cramping that radiated throughout my entire abdomen, which left me sweaty and shaking. When I think about it, though, they probably didn't want to dull the pain too much, so that they would know that the IUD was inserted correctly. My doctor asked me if it was "sharp pain" or "cramping pain" -- sharp pain is a very bad sign, it could mean that the device had punctured the uterus; whereas cramping pain is actually a good sign, it means that it had been placed normally. Fortunately, I didn't feel any sharp pain and there were zero complications, although I was just as glad for the atrocious cramps to be over with. I can only imagine what it would have felt like without the ibuprofen or misoprostol!

After it was all finished, I was able to leave the office and drive home. I was even able to go out and submit a quick job application. But afterward, I decided that the rest of the day would be better spent in bed until the pain subsided. Haha.

In summary, everything went exactly as I expected it to go. Even with the longer periods and the cramping and the painful insertion, I would STILL highly recommend the copper IUD to my friends. After all, it's a small sacrifice considering how cost-effective this device is and how long I'll be able to keep it, especially in comparison to birth control pills.

And finally, I can't even begin to describe how relieved and how free I feel now that I have this. My mind is totally at ease, knowing that my IUD is 99% effective at preventing pregnancy, and knowing that I won't make a "mistake" by forgetting to take a pill. I can breathe easier now, knowing that I have secured my choice.

I only wish that other women were able to access the benefits of reliable contraception. Ideally, insurance companies should have a zero co-pay policy for ALL contraceptive services! This would make choice accessible for women of all economic backgrounds, not just middle-class people like me. Fortunately, the IOM (Institute of Medicine) has recommended that contraception should be included among other preventative medicines for women. I believe that this advancement in health care is just around the corner-- after all, 99% of Americans use birth control, including Catholics and Evangelicals. It is also worth mentioning that encouraging safe sex (protecting against unwanted pregnancy & STD's with birth control) should be common ground among reproductive justice advocates and the saner, less misogynistic of the anti-choice crowd: Contraception use prevents unwanted pregnancy, which in turn prevents abortion.
The extremist anti-choicers, though, don't care about preventing pregnancy or preventing abortion - what they want is forced birth, because they thrive on human suffering. And if they can't force women to give birth, they will stigmatize and undermine legal abortion services as much as possible until there is a return to women dying from back alley abortion (because even they know that it is not possible to entirely eliminate abortion either from practice or from the collective consciousness). To them, "good" women do their "duty" and martyr themselves, and the "bad" women who resist deserve to die.

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In the spirit of ensuring abortion & contraception access for women of all economic backgrounds, I recently donated to Dr. Carhart's Abortion Access Fund. You can, too! Many people have donated to a fund in honor of the Summer Celebration of Choice/Trust happening in Germantown, Maryland. You can also find local funds here.

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The beginning of this post concerns my personal experience & thoughts about the copper IUD. There is a wealth of information out there that I did not put in this post, but you are free to research on your own. Here are some good places to start:
Planned Parenthood IUD
Wikipedia IUD quick, general info
IUD Divas! for more experiences, stories, polls, and questions