This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at USF chapter.

Look up information about the IUD form of birth control. What will you find? It’s the “best decision ever”, “hormone-free”, and, sadly, “painful”. The latter was the number one thing I noticed when I read all of the different forums and comments on getting an IUD inserted.

I had been on a hormonal pill form of birth control since I was 19 years old. I didn’t want it for acne or period control, I just wanted my boobs to grow and to have worry-free sex with my boyfriend. Five years later, slightly overweight, period-less, no desire for sex, and medicated for my depression and anxiety, I wanted a change. I had heard many things about the IUD: it lasted up to 10 years and it was something I didn’t have to remember to take every day. What sold me was that it was hormone-free. What didn’t sell me, making me put off the insertion, was the pain that a lot of women discussed and ranted about.

melting red popsicle — Photo by Erol Ahmed from Unsplash

I had read countless forums and had asked countless women who had undergone the procedure about the pain. A majority of them said it hurt. The only person who downplayed the pain was my gynecologist. She stated it was because pain tolerance differed in every person she put it in; she must have thought I was a warrior. I decided to bite the bullet and set up my appointment.

I got to my doctor’s office, and as soon as I sat down she asked me all sorts of questions and addressed my concerns. She recommended that I still use protection when switching partners, that getting tested is still necessary for my vaginal health, and that if I wanted to freeze my eggs, the IUD would have to be removed. After a few minutes of additional information, I stripped, and she began the procedure. She talked me through the whole process and explained what she was doing with each step. She encouraged me to tell her to stop as soon as I was in pain. As soon as she began to dilate my cervix, which is needed to insert the IUD, I started to feel some uncomfortable cramping. She then told me that she was going to begin inserting the IUD and I have to say, the pain was pretty awful. She gave me water and ice, and I told her to continue. The cramps lasted about ten minutes, which was how long the entire procedure took. For about a week following the procedure, I felt some pretty large pains in my abdomen and bled heavily.

Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash

It has now been one month since I had my IUD inserted. However, two weeks after my procedure, I had a serious case of depression, one I hadn’t had since I first started birth control. I laid in bed and cried that entire week, wanting to give up on everything.

But then I started to feel more energized. I started losing a little bit of weight and wanted to work out, and my skin looked young and healthy again. I would say that the pain I felt for the first few days was completely worth it. It feels weird not taking a pill every day, but having my libido back and feeling sexy again would make me do that procedure over and over again.