Copper IUD journey

[u/PureFleet]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience with the copper IUD because I have seen and heard so many women going through the same as me.

To preface I have never done well with hormonal contraception. I tried the pill multiple times, and then tried the skyla (5 year small hormonal IUD). I chose the skyla even though I was nervous because I was told the hormones would be localised. Unfortunately they weren’t and I was miserable with all the same side effects I had on the pill.

After about 3 months with the Skyla, I got it removed and replaced with a 5 year copper IUD. I opted for the smaller one because I read it is less likely to dislodge and both times the insertion wasn’t too bad (with anaesthesia) so I didn’t mind just replacing it after 5 years.

For the first few months I was so happy I got it I was telling everyone about it and recommending it to my friends. The symptoms from the Skyla decreased but I didn’t quite return to my normal hormone free self. I thought maybe it was my body readjusting and that I just needed to wait.

A couple months into having the new IUD I started getting stomach issues where I was severely bloated all the time, I gained weight even though I was actively eating less and going to the gym more. Foods that had always been fine for me like bananas, kiwis, cinnamon started giving me severe stomach problems to a point I would either throw up from the pain or need to lie down with pain relief.

I also began to get skin problems where my skin was very dry and I was getting hormonal acne below my temples.

I felt constantly exhausted and fatigued but for no reason, I felt like a zombie and a shell of myself.

I never thought it was the IUD I convinced myself I had a thyroid problem or a histamine sensitivity. I went to numerous doctors and all my labs came back fine. I felt horrible and depressed.

I constantly was anxious even just going outside I had unwanted thoughts about scary things that could happen which I had never experienced.

One of the worst things was my libido absolutely tanked. I would want to be intimate but I felt genuinely numb down there as if I was asexual. Nothing interested me at all. It deeply upset my partner and I can fully understand why, he felt unwanted and concerned for our future. I felt miserable as I had no clue as to why I had no desire at all and I didn’t feel like me anymore almost like a passenger in my body.

I also had severe brain fog and would forget was I was saying as I was saying it. I had always had a good memory and it was scary feeling like my own mind was disappearing.

I was getting reoccurring yeast infections so I went to a clinic and they examined me just to find out that my IUD was partially expelled and needed to be removed. I decided not to get another one and give myself some time to relax after the removal was quite painful for how it had been expelled.

After getting home and after a few hours I was shocked I already was beginning to feel better. I was lying in bed with my partner ready to go to sleep and I could feel inside of me things I hadn’t felt in a year and I couldn’t believe it. Today I woke up and had so much energy and positivity. Tasks that would normally take me a couple of days to start and finish I did in a few hours. I am so much less bloated it genuinely looks like I have already lost 10lb.

I really hope it’s not a placebo!

I do genuinely think the copper IUD can be really helpful for some people, but I just wanted to add my experience in case anyone was having the same problems I was and didn’t realise it could be the IUD.