Can't figure out my IUD?
Question:
But should it be this hard to find them? Do you think its worth it to pay out of pocket to have my OB/GYN teach me?
Answers:
First of all my follow up visit was included in the price of having the IUD inserted. It isn't really that hard to find them. Sit on the toilet and put your finger inside your vagina. Feel around for the cervix and you should feel two strings like fishing line sticking out. If you can't find them have your partner give it a try. If neither one of you can find them definitely go see the Dr....it may have come out and you take a chance of getting pregnant!
Honestly, I didn't know people still used IUD's. They are quite dangerous no matter what anyone tells you. Infection, etc., not to mention that the egg and sperm have already come together and you have "conceived", and the IUD just stops the baby from implanting and growing. I consider it a form of abortion.
If you cannot find your strings, one of 3 things might have happened:
(1) the strings were trimmed too short, so you could never find them, no matter how hard you try;
(2) the IUD shifted and the strings were retracted into the uterine cavity, so you can't find them;
(3) your IUD fell out ... it DOES happen ... and so you don't have an IUD string to feel.
I urge you to go to a clinic or Planned Parenthood if you cannot afford insurance or a doctor's visit. In any of the above cases after a vaginal inspection, an ultrasound would be necessary to determine if the IUD is in place, out of place, or gone entirely. In any case, use back up birth control just to be safe.
Do not have unprotected sex while you can't find them! There is a chance you expelled it without noticing.
Try making a gyn appointment with your local sliding scale clinic (Planned Parenthood or a large hospital) in your area.
If that's not an option...well, I hope you're really comfortable with your body. There are some women's health alliances online that sell disposable plastic speculums; use this and a mirror and you should be able to examine your own cervix. The strings, if they were cut short, are going to be right at your cervix. In order to feel them, you may need to squat, or use one of the positions they suggest in tampon instructions.
You should be able to check this yourself.
1. Wash your hands
2. Insert your index or middle finger in the vagina and feel for a string (do NOT pull on it)
3. Remove finger - wash hands - that's it!
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