Having a Coil Fitted

TSR Wiki > Life > Health and Relationships > General Health > Sexual Health > Having a Coil Fitted

One Person's Experiences

I booked myself into a hospital clinic nearby as I am away from home/everyone ;_;. The nurse took me in to discuss my options and I was told that if I'd wanted a coil I couldn't have one because they don't have the time/staff, but when I told her my ENTIRE history she reconsidered this. She steered me off Depo [which I'm grateful for; I never REALLY wanted it] for the simple reason that if something goes tits up with it, I can't "take it out" like I can anything else. And since I'm already the owner of an unruly womb, there's no point in risking that.

So, the coil. A consultant took over and explained the risks, the benefits, the pros the cons and the ins and outs, all of which I was pretty up on, but I listened and went through the health questionnaire for contraindications etc etc. They also want to know what day of a period you are on because things "flow" a little easier when you're on, but a heavy period can mean you dislodge the bloody thing, so a balance has to be struck.

One important point to note here is that they wanted to know when my last STI test was, and not just that, but my partner's. Because, during the first week or so of having got it, you are more vulnerable to infection which could be complicated - so no matter how "clean" I am, if I were to go letting someone of questionable sexual health go messing around up there, I would be a) a very silly bunny and b) very possibly infected soon after.

So, if you are, in the immortal words of Nelly Furtado, a promiscuous girl - this is not for you. They recommend this measure for the more stable relationships, and for that I don't really blame them. You can't be too careful.

After getting me to take off the lower half [in private] and lie down, an army of people trotted in. I don't think this is the norm, but there was a studenty/apprentice type, the consultant and a female chaperon/nurse there in the room with me. Good job I'm not shy, because the apprentice type took up a pew right in the front seat and switched a lamp on. Nice.

First of all the consultant washed up, gloved up, KYed and did a quick internal to figure out which way the womb lies. Not uncomfortable, I must say. Quick palpation of belly in addition to [well, y'know]. Then, a metal tool was put in to widen and make access easier. It was cold, but not in the slightest bit uncomfortable. I was nervous [I told them so]. There's no shame in being nervous, and it's better if you tell them that.. Then the not so nice bit. Local anaesthetic gel was pushed in. It felt so weird. I can only really liken it to having someone hit you a little too hard in the throes of passion. It felt harder than just gel, and it was weird. That, however was not the worst.

To measure how long the strings need to be, the doctor needed to measure the size of the uterus itself. [he made me do a cough. I dunno why. By this point I didn't care enough to ask]

Now, this comes easier to those of you who have had kiddliwinks, but I obviously haven't. So the next bit hurt like..well, like having a white stick shoved where it shouldn't be. It felt like hot period pain, but it got sharp and intense and I knew EXACTLY what was happening. I cried. I kept getting told to breathe, and yes, breathing does make it better but when someone has a STICK up your wrong end it's hard to relax those knees, resist punching them in the face, least of all breathe through tears.

What a knob I felt. But I'm sure they've had worse performances. I was on my own. The nurse came and held my hand and I grabbed it, scrunched it and sweated all over her. This was without a doubt the worst part.

After that the coil itself was whacked up there. Once again, hot searing stick of crampy agony followed by me sobbing away like a tit. Whatever, if you were reverse giving birth to a stick you'd probably cry too :p; BUT it was over now.

The doctors/nurses all left me to it after that. They told me I was very brave [haha], but sadly I did not get a lollipop. Something about them not being funded for the NHS. They told me to take as long as I wanted and gave me a box of tissues.

I sat in the room and cried for a good five minutes.

They saw what a state I was in, and rushed to get me some water when I came out of the room. They gave me a sanitary towel to use instead of a tampon/mooncup till I got home. I hate sanitary towels but I can't face putting anything internally right now. I get the feeling that my lady parts would bite anything else that went up there tonight. I have to use condoms for 7 days after [infection risk etc etc] but AS IF I'm even thinking about sex right now.

I have to go for a check [for movement etc] in 6 weeks, but I was told how to check it myself and all that jazz. My friends with Mirena seem quite impressed with it. But for the meantime, we'll see.

All that remains to say is that I'm in horrible pain right now, doped up on paracetamol and ibuprofen. [to their credit, they're working].

A Second Person's Experiences

Oooh the coil. Prescribed only rarely to people who have never given birth, and for very good reason! I booked myself an appointment with my Doctor, and went on the last day of my period- apparently the perfect time to have a coil...but I don't think there actually is one! I had the copper coil (IUD) which works by killing all the sperm (they really don't like copper apparently).

So I start with an appointment discussing my choice of contraception- this is the one finally decided on. I am booked in with the nurse for a swab to check for infection and STI's etc. I'm told to make a double appointment when get on my period.

My period starts the next day (wouldn't you know it) and I call up. Get my appointment and off I toddle five days later.

I arrive at the surgery. My doctor appears a tad more nervous than me- but as I'm really chilled that's OK. I advise anyone going to be calm- even if that involves Rescue Remedy or Kalms or something. The doctor potters around getting everything she needs and getting gloves and stuff.

So, up goes the metal thing...but I have a high cervix, so she needs a longer one. It's cold, but OK, and not really uncomfortable as I was really relaxed about it. So then some pinchy thing goes up there- imagine a pretty bad period and you're about right. I just dug my nails into my hands but was OK. She showed me the coil- it's really tiny! Then she tried putting the coil up...but the first one wouldn't stay. So I had to go through it all again! (Motto being: If you have a tendancy to be at all awkward during health things, as am I, don't have this). I managed to let out nothing more than one slight squeak, which I am proud of!

Finally the second coil is put up there, and the threads are cut. Well, I say cut. She couldn't do it. Me being awkward again. At this point, I don't really give a damn what she is doing, I just want her to finish. I stand up and the cramps are just like a normal period- definitely liveable. Eventually it's cut, and she asks me if I can stand. I carefully do so, and get my undies and trousies back on, pad included because, as the first coil editor suggests, there is NO WAY anything else is going up there for a good few days.

She gives me all the details on checking it, and when to get another appointment with her, but I wasn't really listening.

I go out with my boyfriend (who I am coldly treating as if it is all his fault I am in pain as if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be getting long term contraception at all, and he'd BETTER love me for this) and sit down at BK. I'm not particularly hungry (usual for me...you guys might be), and sit and watch him eat. Half way through the pain (which has been getting slowly worse) overtakes me and I demand he drives me home with no concern for anyone who we should be picking up.

Painkillers and bed. So don't organise anything else later that day (I stupidly had an appointment with my course tutor and a poker night to be dealing with). The cramps last for a couple of days or so, but here is a hint- don't wait for the pain to start before you take more medication, take it every three or four hours for at least two days.

All in all, it's a good form of contraception, and worth it in the end as you don't need another one for ten years. But it's painful.

A Third Person's Experiences

I had my coil fitted this evening. Before I had it done, I had to have a STI test, and then got told to take painkillers half an hour beforehand (paracetamol, ibruprofen, and codine if you have it!) I had to wait for half an hour, and then spent another 20 minutes talking to the doctor about what it was etc. I have the coil because I can't take hormonal contraception, and because my weird injections I have to have got mucked up, they also made me take a pregnancy test. I was told that there is an increased risk of STDs if you have the coil, and also that if you do fall pregnant, there is a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy.

Now, I know you're all just dying to know what it felt like, so basically, I was told to take my pants off, lie on a bed with a cloth convering me, and then they came in. First came the measuring, which involved something like a large speculum (and, thankfully, anesthetic jelly), at the beginning, it felt sort of uncomfortable, so we discussed iPhones for a while, whilst she was staring at my insides with a lamp pointed towards that area. Thankfully, I had my iPhone on me, so I managed to Facebook people at the same time and hold a text conversation. The real pain felt like an incredibly bad period pain stroke having something very uncomfortable prodding your uterus, I screamed a little bit, but it wasn't something that bad. Though I did text something along the lines 'I am never having kids!'

Thankfully, the guyfriend was very understanding and promised me banana pancakes when I next saw him. The pain was over in about two minutes, which was longer than normal, because apparently I have an unusually shaped vagina (take that how you will.) Then it was all done, and I lay there for maybe thirty seconds before getting dressed again. Then I got given a patient information leaflet and wandered on to get a bus. The walk was slightly painful (think mild period cramps) and the bus ride was hellish (damn bumpy roads!) but it was nothing I was crying over. Then I visited an awesome friend who made me tea, lay me on her bed and fed me chocolate, though I felt quite sick so I didn't have so much. I bled a little bit, and now the pain's all gone. All in all, it's going to last me 12 years, and so the pain was so worth it!

A Fourth Person's Experiences

I had a Mirena coil fitted six weeks ago. I'd done a lot of research online beforehand and I have to say - if you're considering going down the coil route, don't be put off too much by other people's experiences. I've read stories of near-painless fittings and stories of women who have an absolutely horrible time of it. This is completely down to your own body and how it reacts to the procedure - no-one can predict how your body will cope with the insertion and the recovery period, but there are things you can do to make it easier.

My experience was very positive. The process started a week previously, with a STI screening. This is because if you have an infection already, the coil can make it worse and lead to potentially serious complications, so it was established that I was disease-free and sensible about keeping things that way. I was also given two strong painkiller tablets - one to take two hours before the appointment, one for if I needed it afterwards. Some doctors will recommend over-the-counter pain medication instead, but it's worth asking if you're not recommended anything.

The appointment itself started with a 10-minute chat with the doctor to discuss the sort of coil I wanted. The Mirena delivers a small amount of hormone directly into your uterus, thinning the lining and eventually making your periods very light if you have them at all. The copper coil works because the copper acts as a spermicide (and in both cases the fact that there's a foreign body in the uterus acts to prevent pregnancy - but it's all on the NHS website!) I went for the Mirena, and was told that because the copper coil is slightly smaller, I could be given that instead if there were any problems on insertion. After signing a declaration form, I was taken through to another room where I was told to undress from the waist down and make myself comfortable on the couch. When I was ready, the doctor came back in with the nurse who'd be helping her out. First came an internal examination, where the doctor pressed down on my abdomen with one hand while feeling inside with the other, to make sure my uterus was the right shape. Then a metal speculum was inserted and I was cleaned up, then what I believe was a local anaesethetic gel was inserted. Up to this point it had been painless, but the nurse grabbed my hand at this point so I knew it was about to start. I felt a sharp pinch as the doctor clamped my cervix open, and I winced a bit but it was completely bearable (a bit like a piercing) and over in a couple of seconds. Then the doctor measured my uterus, as it has to be a certain size to be suitable for the Mirena. This was a tiny bit crampy but hardly noticeable. Then the tube containing the coil was inserted - again, a tiny bit of cramping - then everything was taken out and I was left to get dressed. I put my easy insertion down to expecting absolute agony and being pleasantly surprised (yay pessimism!), and the fact that we were chatting all through the procedure which really put me at my ease.

I'd taken the rest of the day off, but really didn't need to - I was a little bit crampy on and off for about a week but it was miles better than the periods I had before going on birth control. Six weeks on and I've been spotting on an almost daily basis, which is annoying, but I was told to expect it as my uterus got used to its new roommate and it's certainly not unbearable. I don't feel it. I don't know it's there. I cramped on the first day of my (very, very light) period then that was it. I'm very happy with it, especially seeing as all the horrible emotional side-effects I had on the Pill are completely gone.

To anyone considering having a coil fitted: 1. Like I said, don't be too worried by all the scare stories you read online - people are far more likely to write comments on internet forums because they have a problem or a bad experience, you're not going to come across that many people who get online to write 'yep, no problems, everything's going fine!' It's completely down to your body how well the insertion and recovery period goes, and no-one can tell you how your body will react. 2. Your doctor should either give you some industrial-strength painkillers to take before and after, or recommend something you can use. If not, ask. 3. Stock up on hot water bottles, tea/chocolate/comfort food of your choice, and pain killers - just make sure you know what any medication your doctor prescribed is, so you don't accidently overdose. Take the rest of the day off and plan something nice with sympathetic friends. Hopefully you won't need it, but either way, pampering is a good plan. 4. Relax as much as you can during the procedure. Chat to the doctor/nurse, let them know if you're feeling anxious.