OK, I know that H/A isn't a replacement for my GYN... I have an appt. with her set up for this next week. I'm hoping that some of the ladies (or even the gents with experiences with their ladyfriends) have some anecdotal advice or some sort of reassurance regarding this. I'm really hoping that I'm just being paranoid and hypersensitive.
I'll keep it brief, but I'll certainly give details if asked.
I had an IUD (mirena) placed this last week and while I was fine the following day, I've still been having some minor cramping on and off for the past couple days (Thurs & Fri, but pain/cramp free on Sat. and now some minor cramps today/Sun.). I've read the brochure about the device and looked up info on complications or reactions online, and they all state to call your doc if you have
severe abdominal pain and/or cramping... which this is definitely not severe... It's maybe a 1 or 1.5 on a scale of 1-10. And I don't have any other "symptoms" of complications like severe pain, fever/chills/, itching, swelling, etc.
I'm currently still on my cycle which makes me wonder if it's just "typical" menstrual cramps vs. something more serious. Obviously, my GYN is going to be able to get a better handle on this, but again, if anyone has had a similar situation or has any experience they can share, I'd appreciate it.
Posts
This place might be of interest to you, there's a lot of good info and helpful people:
http://community.livejournal.com/iud_divas/
It takes your body about 3-6 months to get used to the IUD, although Mirena supposedly takes a little less time due to the inclusion of hormones.
The Best in Terms of Pants on JCCC3
Seriously, this may just be my guy-ness coming out, but when I was 17 I figured an IUD was probably, like, the size of my thumb nail or something. Then my wife showed me a picture demonstrating how large it actually is. Who wouldn't get cramps from having something that large inserted through her cervix?
Anyway, your GYN will be able to verify and ask more specific questions, so you should definitely keep that appointment, but I didn't really see anything in the OP that sounded different from what my wife experienced.
Unless you're bleeding abnormally or in severe pain I wouldn't worry. I had some weird cramps and I worried my Mirena was falling out. It wasn't I was just paranoid because this is my first time with an IUD and I didn't know what to expect. So I completely understand your worry. Take some advil, get cozy with a heating pad and unless the pain increases 10 fold or you start gushing blood don't worry about it.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
My doc reassured me that I may have some minor cramping for the next couple months and my period might be a little irregular until my body gets used to the hormones, but to definitely keep an eye on things.
Also during the visit she let me know my pap came back as being slightly abnormal and they want to do a colposcopy next week...this opens a whole new can of worms. I've never really had health or medical issues before, so it ought to be interesting to see what's going on.
Anyways, thanks again for sharing your experiences, it helped me calm down quite a bit before my appt.