Hello all, I'm a long time lurker here. I've recently gone through some changes with my birth control/overall health and wanted to talk about it.

So I had an iud for around 7 years and recently got it removed. I've been completely gaslit by health care providers and other women about my experience with the mirena iud.

I've been told numerous times that iuds don't hurt and have no side effects. Birth control pills really haven't worked for me in the past so I was ready to try something new. When I first got it inserted years ago the insertion did not go smoothly. It was painful and took a long time. Immediately after I started getting weird cramps in my lower abdomen that were similar to period cramps, but hurt so much worse. I would also occasionally get sharp pains randomly if I sat down a certain way sometimes. I called the office and told the doctor about this. I was told it needed time to settle in. Months pass and it doesn't get better. I come into the office and they make sure it's in place property. I was told there was nothing wrong.

At this point I just accept that I have to be in pain in order to be child free. I was a student and my only priority was to finish and start a career. Pregnancy was way too risky for me at the time. I dealt with the occasional pains.

Years later I'm due to replace it. This went infinitely worse. It took well over an hour and by the time I left the chair I was in was covered in blood. It was so incredibly painful and borderline traumatic. I mentioned my concerns again about the pains I had and the doctor insisted it was something else.

Fast-forward to about a month or so ago, my "normal" iud pains get way worse. I'm taking pain meds everyday just to get through the day. I schedule my iud removal. I'm not 100% sure that it is the iud, but I'm ready to address this issue.

Side note, some of the folks I talked to about this we're super understanding, and some weren't. My friends and boyfriend supported me completely. However, my mom's first words were "what about your boyfriend, is he ok with this?" Really?

I show up to my appointment and I get the whole "this isn't the iud, this must be a different issue" shtick. I just say I understand, but I'm ready to go through with this. They try to reschedule so they can do an ultrasound to make 100% sure it's the iud. They mention that insurance really prefers people to get "full use" out of an iud so they just want to make sure. I stand firm. We compromise and do a quick exam. They feel around and it's quite painful, however the doctor notices something. "Hey, has anyone mentioned to you that you have a tilted uterus before?"

Apparently, those with a retroverted uterus have more complications with an iud. No one mentioned this in both insertions and the exams I've had before. He tells me this and agrees it's time to take it out. I get it removed and to no one's surprise those pains go away.

The only reason I had the confidence to go through with the removal and challenge my diagnosis was seeing other women on reddit talk about their experiences with iuds and how it isn't always a walk in the park for everyone.

I've reached a point in my journey that my health matters more than pleasing others. I refuse to be in pain half the time for an act that I only experience less that 1% of the time. We will be using condoms or not having sex, I won't bear the burden of bc anymore.

So, for anyone who needs to hear this, you don't have to deal with birth control as a woman. If you have side effects, don't let other folks gaslight you. If you want to go off of bc, you 100% can.

Tldr: My iud was causing me a lot of pain for 7 years. Everyone told me I was wrong. I got it removed anyway and the pain magically disappeared.