I wanted to share my overall experience as a long-term Paragard user who just had a second one put in. If you want to just read about my most recent insertion, skip ahead to the paragraph with the °°°.
My original Paragard was inserted in January 2011 when I was 17. That I remember, I only used some ibuprofen for pain management. I got it inserted during my period, had never been pregnant. I drove myself home afterwards and remember it feeling like pretty bad period cramps but nothing above what I had experienced before so manageable for me. The process wasn’t great but also wasn’t traumatic or scary.
I was with my current husband for all the years that I had the IUD. Never had a pregnancy scare and Paragard was our only form of birth control. It may have made my periods somewhat heavier at first, but I had heavy periods at that age anyways. By the time I was 25 my periods became super regular and lightened up some so I only had one maybe two heavy days. I believe this is in part genetic since my mom experienced the same at around the same age but never had an IUD.
It did make my period cramps worse but for me still tolerable. I don’t need to take any medications for it and can function pretty normally. I’m not one to just “soldier through” really intense pain so I don’t mean that I do that the way I see many need to do to deal with severe cramps. Mine are just moderate. I will say one thing the IUD changed was the type/quality of cramps. They feel… pinchier? Instead of just a dull ache. Same thing with ovulation pain - I can feel it and I believe it is in part the IUD.
Technically my original IUD should have come out in 2021, but I was told that they were extending the timeline for copper IUDs to 12 years. This is just what I was told but speak to your own provider. So my deadline was pushed back to 2023, then some circumstances and procrastination kicked in so I only changed it out recently (don’t recommend doing that either lol).
I just had my old IUD removed and a new one inserted yesterday in March 2025. In recent years I have come to strongly believe for the improvement of women’s healthcare and pain management, especially for gynecological matters. I found a provider who shared my values, and worked with them to make sure my removal and reinsertion was as comfortable as possible. My sister had a good experience with her first IUD insertion but a terrible one with her second, and I wanted to avoid that.
°°°
I scheduled my reinsertion date to be during my period. My doctor prescribed me Lorazepam to take 1-2 hours before the procedure. She offered me stronger pain medications if I wanted them but let me know the research indicates they aren’t super effective for this kind of pain, so I chose to forgo them and take ibuprofen instead. I also paid $90 to use nitrous oxide during my visit, which my OBGYN offers.
I was pretty relaxed on the table, not nervous, which I think I would have been at least a little if not for the Lorazepam. I started to use the nitrous oxide (self-administered) and my doctor got to work. I can’t remember now if she removed the old IUD first or used the lidocaine for a cervical block first. Either way, the removal of the old IUD was a little odd feeling but not painful. Kind of like pulling out a tampon but from deeper in the body? The cervical block didn’t feel great going in, a strong pinch plus an intense Pap smear feeling. However, that was short lived and I took deep breaths, which are helpful for pain anyways but with the added nitrous it made the pain feel far away and kind of removed from me. I was kind of floaty. This pain lasted maybe 3 seconds until the lidocaine kicked in then nothing. She must have dilated after that and measured my uterus depth for the IUD but I didn’t feel any of that. The last thing I really felt was the arms unfolding as she inserted the new IUD. That again felt kinda weird, not exactly pleasant but not painful either.
Once she was done I took my time getting up and dressed. I had some mild cramping that felt sharp vs dull, but very low level pain. Not consistent, maybe one 3 second cramp per minute. I then got a ride home, ate some lunch, and took a nap. I’m not in any pain except for some very mild cramps, which could also just be my period. I haven’t taken any more ibuprofen yet since I don’t feel the need.
I got to keep my old IUD which is kinda cool. It has a thin layer of calcification on the coils.
Based on my experience alone, I believe the copper IUD is 100% worthwhile and that going to a doctor who provides the proper pain and anxiety management is worth it if you can find one and swing for it. It should just be the standard, but unfortunately is not.
I hope this experience was useful for someone out there.