I had my IUD removed

Last Tuesday, I had my IUD removed. I’d had it in for 14 years which is 4 years longer than recommended for the ParaGard. When I had it inserted, the Dr told me that it was good for 10 years but that by the time I was ready to have it removed, it may be approved for longer. Well, it hasn’t been approved for longer so, I took the advice of my new Gynecologist and had her remove it.

Having the device inserted was a bit traumatic. In fact, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to endure the procedure because it was so uncomfortable. Eventually, with the help of my Dr., I got through it. For about 4 days afterwards, I remember feeling angry and especially emotional. For the following week or so, sex was a hard NO. That being said, my emotions eventually subsided and afterwards I felt so much relief in knowing that the likelihood of me getting pregnant were very, very low. The reason why I opted for this particular type of birth control is because it contains no hormones and, therefore, it wouldn’t mess with the sex hormone controlled functions in my body. Over the past 14 years, I’ve been very happy with my decision and have no regrets or complaints about it.

Recently, I established with a new Gynecologist who, because of how long I’d had it in, gently encouraged me to have the IUD removed. I decided to take her advice. During the weeks leading up to the appointment, I was a little bit nervous about it because of my experience having the IUD inserted. My Dr assured me that having it removed is a much easier procedure and typically, doesn’t cause any discomfort. She was right. The procedure took about 45 seconds and was completely painless.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever used or considered using an IUD?