POSITIVE ! One year anniversary of NOVA T 380

this is my first ever reddit post but i thought it was important to share my positive experience with the copper IUD. Feel free to comment/message (?) me any questions !

For some background: I am in my early 20s living in the UK, where we have sexual health clinics that you can access for free through the NHS.

I previously had a really negative experience with hormonal birth control so was very nervous about getting the copper coil. Speaking to the practitioners at the clinic, reading online, hearing all of the horror stories about getting an IUD, I was just getting so anxious before my appointment. It felt like everywhere I looked was just another awful experience. Literally the few days before my appointment my friend told me that hers fell out a week after she got it. Like ????
Pretty much every woman, or person with a uterus I know has had some form of horrific healthcare, experience with birth control or the medical system in general. This is part of the reason i believe it is important to share mine, as it is rarer to hear about positive stories.

The doctor was lovely, she explained the procedure whilst showing me all the instruments she would be using, and assured me that at any point we could stop if I was uncomfortable or in too much pain. I was recommended to take two paracetamol before the appointment but they also offered local anaesthetic spray which definitely helped. The forceps felt uncomfortable but not painful. I was genuinely terrified of the pain that so many people say is excruciating. But i barely felt anything. When she measured my uterus, i felt a sort of ache a bit deeper than a normal period cramp but it was not even as painful as when i have cramped in the past. I did not feel the actual IUD. I will say i do have a pretty high pain tolerance (i’ve had both my nipples pierced twice and that was definitely more painful than the IUD). The procedure was really quick and pretty pain free.

Immediately afterwards, i felt absolutely fine, walked home from the clinic, had a shower, took some paracetamol and got into bed. About four hours after, i started to get some mild cramps, but nothing that bad. The next day i went to work (i am a sport coach so my job is very physical) taking painkillers every few hours but honestly i probably didn’t need to. I worked again the next day without painkillers and was fine ! The only thing i noticed is i was definitely more tired/ muscles ached more than normal.

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE YEAR
- I get slightly more discharge before and after my period than i did pre IUD
- my periods were a bit heavier for the first 3-4 months but then went back to normal ( i do have very easy periods generally though, no cramps and only a few days long, so maybe take this one with a pinch of salt)
- i can’t always feel the strings. You’re supposed to check the strings after your period each month however sometimes i just can’t find the strings. Luckily, the doctor who inserted my IUD explained to both me and my partner how the strings are sitting and what they should feel like, so if I can’t find them, my partner checks for me.
- sometimes rougher sex can be painful. This is honestly the only ‘issue’ in my experience. I was told to expect some pain the first few times post-insertion which did happen. Through the year i’ve had my IUD the pain subsided and a year on it’s only certain positions that can be uncomfortable, or i just experience mild cramping post sex.

Overall, I’ve had a really positive, painless experience, the copper IUD works really well for me and 99% of the time i forget i have it.

TLDR: insertion procedure was more uncomfortable than painful, it has had minimal impact on my life and it works really well for me !