Tuesday, January 27, 2009

You Wanna Put that WHERE?

Disclaimer: If you are of the faint of heart, against controlled family planning, or simply (to the one guy reader) don't want to talk about 'girly' issues...then this post is not for you.

I took a little trip to my Doc (I see one doc. for everything, no matter what...I am not the type of person who likes flaunting my junk all over the county for each and every doc. to scrutinize...no, I am a one doc. shop!)
Because I've felt strongly that we've been so graciously blessed to have Ruby, a darling beautiful baby girl, as our last...hm hm...(I mean, I hope to be our last) baby, I've decided one of us (me or my hubby) needed to put a stop on the ole' baby making factory. Since Mark is utterly convinced altering anything in his neck of the woods would deplete manhood, the ball was rolled to my court.

Ladies, (and one faithful guy reader) I went for it today and got the IUD! (I know, totally gross right? or are you thinking TOO MUCH INFO?) Either way, I just wanted a little feedback. I've never had one, so I am feeling a little leery about my choice.

ASK THE AUDIENCE: 1. Do you feel secure enough in your 'girly'-ness to share if you have an IUD or not? 2. If you have one, don't have one, heard of them, or haven't heard of them, can you please share what you know?

I would greatly appreciate your info tips. Luv, erin

26 SPLURTS:

Anonymous said...

Erin-
I read your posts, but I don't ever think I have commented. Weird that this topic would be the first.

I have had both kinds of IUDs. There are some great benefits and drawbacks to each. If you did well on the pill, you will probably love a Mirena. It gave me horrible acne and messed with me. I lost fifteen pounds the month after I had it taken out - but I still loved the benefits of it.

I'm new to the copper, since I just had my new little one four months ago. So far it is good, but I understand that it will cause heavier bleeding in the long run. Not too sure I'll be happy with that.

Kellie-n-Sterling said...

I have the copper 10 year Iud and swear by it... Periods aren't the greatest but there are no hormones that make you want to hurl when your man wants to touch you. I have heard from many of my friends that have the meriena(spelling?) that they have no libido, and they hate it. I have had mine in for a little over 5 years now.

I am a mother! said...

I have never had an IUD but if you do decide that it's not for you I really liked the Nuva Ring when I tried it.

Tyran, the Yeti Yogi said...

Ask my wife. No really, you should talk to her.

The Van Leeuwen Family said...

Erin -
I've been considering getting one myself since having baby #2 (I know he's not our last but I certainly am not in a hurry for #3). I'd love to hear your thoughts on it as I'm torn on whether to get one or not.

Rach said...

WHATEVER..."deplete manhood." HOw many times have you felt the RING OF FIRE?! How many times have you pushed a watermelon out of your crotch?! How many hours have you sacrificed in the night to feed the baby?! It is his court now!! And it does not deplete the manhood. We have many friends who have done it and say that nothing changes.

Anonymous said...

I have the Mirena and I love it. I have had it for 8 months now. No side effects at all. I have had friends that had problems with the copper IUD. My libido is much higher these days for unknown reasons. I totally forget about it, which is VERY nice. I will never take the pill again. I did try nuva ring for a year, too, and it was fine. Those are my top 2. I have tried quite a few.

The Gubler Family Blog! said...

I hope this isn't TMI but marty has gotten the "snip snip" and it was a outpatient thing, he recovered after a few days and EVERYTHING is the same. You don't even notice that it was done. I love not having to worry about birth control. Oh and the co-pay for it was only $40.00. Pretty nice if you ask me.

Kahilau said...

I do not have one, however I have quite a few friends that either currently have one or have had one in the past. I have only heard good things. I heard your periods are shorter and there are not as many PMS symptoms. I also have a friend how had one and decided she wanted to have another baby so she took it out and got pregnant very quickly. I thought that was a nice bonus for people who are not totally done just want to take a break. good luck with your decision.

Carterista said...

I sent you an email with something interesting in it. :)

i'm erin. said...

thanks Celia for the email...I totally appreciate it.

I went with the copper IUD because on everyother birthcontrol I have been on, the hormones at any level have really messed with my thyriod. And since I take thyroid medication, I have to becareful. The copper IUD has no hormones in it.

Just SO said...

I had never heard of the copper IUD and it sounds like you were smart to go that direction. I do love my merena, love it...but then I'm one of the 25% who have no bleeding or very, very light bleeding every few months because of it. LOVE IT!

Brooke said...

Good luck with your IUD! I'm lucky the ball stayed in Shane's court, yay! I will warn you I've had quite a few friends get pregnant with an IUD, one friend twice! I know that's rare, but that was the deciding factor that kept the ball in Shane's court! :)

Weight Family said...

Erin- I have had 2 and LOVE them. I have had with hormones and without and prefer without. My doctor loves them because they are safer than anything permanent and if you change your mind about the baby making factory... out it comes! From me, it comes highly recommended.

Bobbi said...

I just started taking "the pill" for the first time a month ago. It's the first kind of prescription contraceptive I've ever used. I've never wanted to take any kind of hormones because I get nervous about the side effects, but so far the pill has been okay. I've been very curious about the IUD's, particularly because they are supposed to use little or no hormones. I get nervous about having any kind of foreign object in my body, though...especially anything made of metal. Also, I know that there is a bit of an ethical debate about the copper IUD causing fertilized eggs to abort. Since they don't use hormones to stop ovulation, you still ovulate every month, and eggs can still be fertilized, but the copper causes your uterine lining to shed anyway, thus, "aborting" the newly fertilized egg. Whether or not a newly fertilized egg really constitutes a "baby" is disputable. I do have a friend that refuses to go with the copper IUD for that exact reason. I'm still undecided about the whole thing. I think it's just one of those things that everyone has to decide for themselves. Anyway...I think it's ridiculous that our hubbies seem to think that their "manhood" is at stake when it comes to shutting down the baby factory on their end of things. Justin is the same way and I think he needs to get over it. I mean...after all we've put our bodies through to bring these little spirits into the world, the least they could do is have a little snip-snip done, right? Good luck with your decision!!! I wish I could know for sure that we were done having babies. I think we still have one more to come....then we'll definitely be looking into shutting down the factory ourselves!

Honey and Hotstuff said...

I have heard of more and more women going with an IUD and have heard nothing but great things! I have done the pill (you name it, I have probably taken it) and the shot (which, by the way, did not work!). But for me personally (don't worry I will spare the world all of the problems I have) using a contraceptive is a neccesity. Just like taking my daily vitamin. 3 Months of problems, two ovarian cyst that ruptured (the second one ruptured while I was getting my IUD placed) and $6000 in medical bills later, I closed up shop! I got my mirena 9 days ago and the side effects I have had so far are exactly like the ones I had on the pill. Moral of the story: everyones bodies are different and you have to do what is right and feels right. Don't worry mark isn't alone in his "MANHOOD" problem... hotstuff is the same way along with many other men.

Ipo said...

My husband did the "Manly" thing and took one for the team (I'm not saying Mark isn't manly). I realize it is really hard for men to even let anyone look at, or heaven forbid, touch their "manhood" but the procedure and recovery are quite short. I tried the IUD (mirena) a few years back and really didn't like it at all. I guess my hormones are too sensitive as well.

Testing said...

Thanks for the interesting comments- this is one I've been thinking about too for after we're done with kids. JP has already had a hernia operation, so not a good candidate for the V. He doesn't like the idea of getting "tubed tied" either, so this could work for us with long-term. Do they tell you to "check" it at all?

Queen Mommy said...

I also appreciate the comments. I've always taken the pill, and had no problems with it, but I don't like to take pills, and was thinking about an IUD. Hubby thinks this one is the last one, but feels the same way Mark does about his "manhood" and I'm not sure we're done... I am not doing anything irreversible to myself until I'm sure. I wish it was an easier decision. I need some super strong, clear vision, or voice or something! ;)
I've heard that it is really hard to lose weight with an IUD, but I think that must have been the one with hormones, I've never heard of the copper ones. Sounds like I need to do a little more research. :)

PS. This is off topic, but I've been meaning to ask you a question. My family asked me to start a get fit challenge, and it is going pretty well, but I wanted to know how you got your prizes when you did your challenge. I could use some ideas in that department if you don't mind sharing. :)

i'm erin. said...

Hi Queen Mommy, when I did the first challenge, people just donated the prizes...which was great. You could send an email out to everyone you know and see if they are interested in donating prizes. I think you will be surprised with the return!

i'm erin. said...

Oh,and Bobbi, thanks for your input, I had no idea. there are so many things to think about when it comes to birth control.

Miranda said...

Hi Erin! I have a copper IUD and LOVE it- I never think about it and I have had it for over 5 years with no side effects so far. I'm very sensitive to hormones in my body- get depressed etc..., but not with the copper IUD.-

Fullmer Family said...

I love your posts erin! Never a dull moment! :) Well, I don't have one, God has blessed me with natural birth control...to some a blessing, others a curse I guess! :) We're going on 2.5 years without any protection and baby number 2 still isn't here, so...I guess that's one department I don't have to worry about later...Like I said - to some a blessing, others a curse... :) Good luck! I loved all the comments too, nice read.

Ticklemedana said...

talk to Beki...she's had both copper and I believe she has the other kind of IUD now...I remember she was have kidney pain or what she thought was kidney pain when she had the copper in, had it removed to get rid of the pain and then she got pregnant with Isley...anyway, she's a great person to ask on the subject!

big8smiley said...

I thought about getting one after our "last", but then I thought - what the heck!! I've done enough to my body! It's HIS turn! I had my husband deplete his "manhood" and get snipped. Surgery for him was a stinking 10 minutes, he walked out of there, and was partially down for the weekend. I'm so grateful I took that route and it's been good for both of us. :) I'm sure Mark could handle it whenever you are done messing with your body.

JoMamma said...

I go on vacation and I miss all the fun.


You probably won't read this, but I'll post anyway. I can't go on the pill because of my likelihood of getting a blood clot; therefore my birth control options are very limited. After Kai was born we tried condoms, but it was not as nice for all parties involved (oh Poor Toby). So I thought I was taking one for the team when I went ahead and got the copper IUD. I really liked it, so after I had Koen I wanted another IUD. My doctor who will not put me on the pill said the hormones are so low in the other type that I would be alright with it. I love this one even more than my first one. I don't notice if I'm more moody. However my periods are so light. I would recommend one to anyone.