Sex & Romance
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Anyone have Paragard?
I am thinking of switching my Mirena IUD out for Paragard. I've had a lot of bloating an cramping lately with no sex drive at all so I think maybe going to no-hormone route might be better. Pls share your experiences with Paragard 
Re: Anyone have Paragard?
I have a Mirena, too, but I love it. However, I work at an OB-GYN office. I would say we see a lot more complaints with Paragard users than we do with Mirena users. Many end up switching for a Mirena. The side-effects of cramping, bloating, general discomfort are higher with Paragard. When a patient complains of cramps, etc. with a Paragard, the first thing our doctor advises is that the Paragard is known for causing these issues. In fact, our doctor almost never inserts Paragards, and our patients who come in with them complaining often got them elsewhere and we switch them out.
Every body is different, though. Not to say it wouldn't work for you, just some info
!
Kristi and Kerry June 21,2008
I've had Paragard since September and so far its been good. My period is a lot heavier and lasts the full 7 days now, compared to a really light period and 4 days on BCP. I do not have a problem with cramps. My main reason for getting the Paragard was that I did not want to have any hormones in my body and just wanted to be "me". (If that makes sense). I was having a lot of problems with headaches and was having some mental "fuzziness" with the BCP and that has since cleared up. As for sex drive with paragard, that is not an issue at all. Although, my sex drive was pretty healthy with BCP.
I just had a Paragard inserted, about a month ago. I had my first period w/ it last week and it was not pleasant, to say the least. Massive bloating, heavy bleeding, cramps - my period has never been like that, even before BCP. Thankfully it didn't last too long - about 6 days, with 3-4 days being the worst of it.
I actually went in to my Dr because I was worried something was wrong, however it's just the way my body is responding, which she said was pretty typical (especially for someone w/o kids). She also said to give it a good 3-6 months for my body to regulate a bit before deciding to take it out, unless things are absolutely horrible.
I guess what I'm saying is, I doubt the bloating and cramping will go away w/ a Paragard. There are no hormones though, so that may increase your sex drive.
I've have had Paragard since August 2010. I love it! I've taken several varieties of pills and tried depo. All the hormones really messed me up; weight gain, mood swings, acne, no sex drive...I wasn't the real me.
Before I made the decision to get Paragard, I did a lot of research. The information packet tells you that bad cramping and heavier periods is common for the first 3 to 6 months. Honestly, the first three months were pretty rough in terms of cramping. I used a lot of naproxen and was able to get through it. Now I've had it 5 months and have no complaints at all. Bad cramps are gone. Normal periods. Full bc coverage and I can be all me! :0)