Here to encourage you on your own bold pursuit of intentional living as I live out my own. I’m passionate about running, spending time doing what I love and cheering others on to approach running with joy.
Back in April, I shared on my stories that I was going to my obgyn to get the Copper IUD. I was shocked at how many people responded and wanted to hear about how my experience was and how I decided on that for my choice of birth control. Someone asked if I would write a blog post sharing my experience and I’m always open to doing that, especially if it helps someone else, so that’s why I’m writing this post today! Before I really dive in, I want to make two things really clear:
With all that being said, I started to look into different options at the beginning of the year because I had a feeling Dom would propose sometime in the spring and I wanted to be somewhat prepared haha! I try to be pretty intentional about what is going both on and in my body, so truthfully, I was pretty anxious about the thought of birth control. I’d heard about the copper IUD and the pill, but that was about it. I looked into all the options and honestly, the only one I ever felt peace about was the Copper IUD. I hated the thought of taking a form of birth control containing hormones that could have a long term negative effect on my body. I don’t think this is anything I need to go on and on about, but if this is something you’re interested in learning more about, I recommend reading WomanCode and This is Your Brain on Birth Control. The point isn’t to take a fear-based approach, but to actually understand what you’re taking (no matter what option you choose) and the effects it has on your body.
I had you all submit questions on Instagram to see what you all were interested in knowing and received a lot of the same ones!
A: It was pretty painful, I’m not going to lie. I don’t want to freak anyone out, but I wish someone had better prepared me haha. Obviously it’s different for everyone, but I was at the doctor’s office for several hours after I was in so much pain. After 24 hours, I was completely back to normal, though! :)
A: I don’t know about that, unfortunately. I’d talk to your doctor about what you can and can’t take, such as tylenol. However, a few things I do wish I’d done are: eaten a bigger breakfast, had someone else drive me or be available to pick me up to drive me home and taken the whole day off of work. I also ran to Target after to get a heating pad because I didn’t have one and used it the rest of the day, so I’d recommend that too!
A: I was not! I’ve never been on any type of birth control before, so this is my only experience. However, there are a lot of resources available for transitioning off of the pill that I’ve seen people talk about and recommend! The one I’ve heard mentioned the most (and raved about!) is called Beyond the Pill.
A: Yes. So really the only “con” my doctor mentioned was that my periods would be longer and heavier. She was very very right lol. I used to have extremely short periods and now they last 7 days and it is way heavier than it’s ever been. I’ve heard some people say this only lasted a few months for them and then it went back to normal, so I’m hopeful that could happen with me haha!
A: My cramps haven’t changed!
A: The only side effects (at least that I have) is what I mentioned above - the heavier bleeding and longer lasting period. Besides that, nothing has changed.
A: I’d recommend doing whatever feels right for you and talking to your doctor about your options! :) Knowledge is power though, so certainly research all your options thoroughly!
It was certainly painful as heck when I got it, but I am so glad this is the option I went with! If there are any questions I didn’t answer hear that you have, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram!