What birth control options are available?

Barrier methods. Examples include male and female condoms, as well as the diaphragm, cervical cap and contraceptive sponge. Short-acting hormonal methods. ... Long-acting hormonal methods. ... Sterilization. ... Spermicide or vaginal gel. ... Fertility awareness methods.

My experience : 10-year Copper IUD replacement experience

I had my copper IUD for 10 years (never had kids, never got pregnant on first IUD). I loved it so much that when it expired, I opted to replace it with the same model of IUD. Here's my experience:

My clinician recommended me to schedule the replacement for the heaviest day of my period.

She also instructed me to take misoprostol the night before and morning of the procedure in order to soften the cervix. Since I was on my period at the time, the misoprostol made me slightly crampier than usual, but nothing too bad. I noticed that my flow was also a little heavier. No other side effects from the drug.

The morning of the replacement, I was super anxious. First, the clinician began the removal process. This was the worst part-- she tugged on the strings for a few minutes, but the IUD wouldn't budge. The tugging felt very strange and hurt somewhat-- It seriously felt like someone was pulling down on my internal organs using a fish hook. By this point, I was in tears. The clinician left to get another instrument that would give her a better grasp on the IUD. With this instrument, she was able to remove the IUD (I believe she used forceps that reached up through the cervix to grab the IUD directly). The problem was that my cervix was too tight, and is a little curved, which made it tough to remove the IUD using the strings. I felt a strong cramp as the IUD came out. She gave me a heating pad to calm the cramp.

Next came the cervical numbing. Since I was so freaked out at the removal process, the clinician offered to numb my cervix. This consisted of 2 injections. The injections hurt like hell-- I screamed during each one. The numbing effect took 10 minutes to kick in.

Finally, the insertion of the new IUD: this was the easiest part of the whole process! By now, my cervix was numb. The clinician opened up my cervix using 2 dilators. Then, she measured the uterus as before. Finally, she inserted the IUD. Since I was numb, this part was a lot easier than before!! I felt several cramps, and then everything calmed down.

I laid on the table for 3 minutes, and then I was fine driving myself home.

Now it's several days afterward, and I'm noticeably more crampy, with heavy bleeding (similar to the experience after the first insertion), but the pain is diminishing. Ibuprofen helps. It's a lot easier this time around since I know what to expect.

I'm not gonna lie, it was about 30 minutes of torture. But I like the copper IUD so much that it was so very worth it!!

TL;DR: The replacement process was traumatic, but since I have had such a good long-term experience with the copper IUD, totally worth it IMO. Looking forward to another 10 years!

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Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.