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Paragard Users
Hello everyone, I'm looking for some opinions/reviews on your experience with Paragard.
My Mirena is almost 5 years old so it's time to get it removed & get another IUD. I'm thinking about getting a Paragard this time around, for a few reasons:
1) I like that it has no hormones at all (no matter how low Mirena is)
2) I like that it lasts 10 years and
3) Even though heavier, I still think I'd rather have a regular cycle vs. not knowing when I may spot/have a cycle (which is pretty much what I have with Mirena)
The 'major' question I have is how much heavier did your cycle get with Paragard vs. what you used to experience before you got it (I've always had super light, minimal cramping cycles (please don?t hate me)) I understand Paragard will most likely change that I'm just wondering how drastic the change is. I'm sure everyone has a different experience with it but I'd like to hear some of yours experiences to help make my decision.
As of right now a heavier/longer period is the only downside to me (which isn't enough of a downside to make up for the hormone free/10 year/regular cycle option)
TIA
Re: Paragard Users
Hi. I don't post here anymore ( I'm on pro boards) but I happened to see your post.
I've had the paragard for four years now. Umm.. let's just say, it's a love hate relationship.
I love that it has no hormones ( I can not be on any hormonal BC hence why I don't have Mirena) and I love that it lasts for 10 yrs but that is where the love ends.
I have majorly bad cramps for two days of my 5 day period. My periods pretty much run like this: first day real light ( no tampon needed just a panty liner, second and third days are so heavy that I go through a super plus tampon in 2-4hrs ( I've got my own little CSI crime scene going on) day 4 is finally normal and day 5 goes from normal to light then ends between days 5-6.
I should also mention that my periods are NOT on a normal cycle ( they where before any type of BC). They range from standard 28 day all the way to 35 day with no rhym or reason. Real pita when trying to plan trips!
Every woman I have met who has the paragard has the extrem heavy bleeding but not all have the extrem fluxuation in periods(most have said they are off a few days here and there). I should note: I'm 36 and bodies change with age so the extreme irregular periods could just be my aging body
I would love the mirena and no or light periods but again, I can't take hormonal BC. I've got 6 more yrs with the paragard then it's DH's turn...snip snip : )
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
Thanks for the info monkeygirl18. If you don't mind saying, how heavy were your periods before you got the Paragard?
I think I could handle a 28-35 day swing (if that happened to me) right now with Mirena I can go 20 days, maybe 45 days, maybe 28, maybe 38... it's really all over the place so it's impossible to plan around. I ALWAYS have to have tampons with me.
I've been on some form of BC for so long I don't even really remember what my cycle was like before it (but I think normal?)
If we were 100% sure about not having kids I might think about having my hubby do something but we're only 29 & still on the fence. And my hairdresser (who never wanted kids) is expecting a baby Oct. 26th from a man who had a vasectomy...We all thought it was "impossible" when we found out she was expecting but after a little research it turns out they reverse a fair amount of the time, so be careful!
Thanks again for the info!
Before paragard I had been on BCP for 15yrs. My periods were normal (regular tampon,change every 8hrs or so). Prior to BCP my periods were the same way that they were on BCP.
As for vasectomies, the failure rate is actually less than that of tubal ligation and is generally caused by sex to soon after the procedure (the rare vas deferentia recanalization does occur though).
" The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists state there is a generally agreed upon rate of failure of about 1 in 2000 vasectomies which is considerably better than tubal ligations for which there is one failure in every 200 to 300 cases."
All I know, this paragard has got to go in 6yrs and I WILL NOT be getting another on.
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
I know this post is several weeks old but I thought my input may help the OP.
I was on BCP for several years before the paragard so I don't really remember exact details but BCP made the cramping less severe and the flow lighter/shorter. After I got paragard, my periods were extremely heavy (pad + super tampon on the first 2-3 days), and last 7 days. My cramps are worse and not comfortable but just a smidge worse than when I wasn't on BCP.
TMI: When I'm sleeping, I don't wake up to go to the bathroom (I hold it until time to get up, it's a natural thing I do that I'm trying to break) and I've woken up with my bed having blood on it from where I needed to change my tampon during that time period but didn't wake up for it.
Overall, I like the paragard. I look at it as I'm supposed to have cramps, so this almost makes me feel normal (as opposed to how crappy my body felt on BCP). Every month when I may think "OMG, I hate cramps!" I remember the debilitating migraines I used to get with BCP and the awful mood swings I would have and the cramping is a nice alternative.
ETA: I should add how long I've had it: I got it in May of 2012.
I've had mine for almost three years now.
LOVE IT.
The first few months were kind of crappy, but once you know to take some ibuprofen before your cramps start, you're fine. I've had a bit more flow, but it's nothing to be worried about.
One thing: I had a LEEP scheduled. I switched OB/GYNs and the new one realized that I could get electrocuted during the procedure (since it's copper..) and instead performed a cold-knife biopsy. No big deal, but just a heads up.
I've had my paragard for um... 6 months? Its gotten progressively more awesome the longer i've had it.
My period heaviness didn't really change much, at least that i've noticed. Its still the same amount of days (4-5) as always. I may have 1 day where it seems heavier than It used to be, but nothing horrific.
The cramps however, were vastly different. I guess I always had very easy ones, in fact I thought that girls who stayed home from school and whined about their cramps were being babies. From the day I got it put in, I had 3 days of the most horrific cramps i've ever had in my life. I also spotted every single day that month until my next cycle started.
Months 2-3, each day of the month, I cramped a lot between 2pm and 5pm. every day. It was bizarre. I'm a massage therapist, and I thought maybe the physical activity was causing it (my shift started at 2). Then I would begin to have painful cramps about 6 days before my period actually started. So it was pretty much 10-11 days of either death-cramps or bleeding each month. I was even cramping every time I had an orgasm. wtf.
Since then, its evened out. I no longer have a week of cramping. hell, this month I didn't cramp at all before hand, except for the day it started, and it has been very normal feeling (although it did start a week early, which is totally unusual for me. I'm usually on point to the date every month. My grandfather passed away last week and its been a very stressful month, bought a house, changed jobs etc, so i'm chalking it up to all of that).
Overall I love my paragard. They told me it'd take 6 months to a year for my body to adjust to it and stop trying to reject it, and so far its been 6 months and the weirdly painful cramps have been less and less.