I Got an IUD. Why Didn’t Doctors Prepare Me for the Searing Pain?

By Gina Tron - Rewire News Group
April 7, 2021

I assumed getting an intrauterine device inserted for the first time would be uncomfortable. But I wasn’t prepared for it to be the worst physical pain of my life.

I consider myself to have a somewhat high pain tolerance: I’ve gotten several tattoos, I’ve had a double mastectomy, and, as a child, I underwent a spinal tap when I had spinal meningitis. I hate Pap smears and wince during them; I had a cervical biopsy once and winced through the cramping. But it was all tolerable. At least, tolerable enough not to make me scream like a child, even when I was still a child.

I thought the pain of IUD placement would be comparable to the cervical biopsy I had: a pinch and uncomfortable cramping. After all, that’s how IUD insertion is often characterized: as discomfort and three notable cramps.

As the doctor began placing my copper Paragard IUD, I waited for those cramping feelings. Instead, it felt like I was being stabbed. I suddenly morphed into a child, or perhaps even an animal. I felt myself hyperventilating, my legs shaking, my back and neck immediately sweating profusely, and—worst of all—uncontrollable sobbing while screaming out, “I’m sorry for being such a baby.”
”The doctor said my reaction was normal, but I felt humiliated and embarrassed for having what I thought was such an out-of-character experience. I feared the doctor thought I was being dramatic. As I walked out of the medical center, I nearly threw up and my legs shook for a couple of hours. The actual cramps—not the sharp pains I was feeling—came later and they continued for weeks.

What was this barbaric procedure I underwent? If painkillers and numbing cream exist, surely this would be the time to administer them, right? Was I being too dramatic?

I started asking around and sharing my experience. After talking to others who’ve also gotten an IUD, I learned that my experience was not uncommon.”

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