I can barely feel my IUD strings

[IUDpain]

Hello

I have made a post in the past about my IUD and have an appointment in two days to get it removed howver I checked today for strings and I could barely feel them. In the past the strings felt like it was curled and they were hard and felt like many but today I checked and had to really push up there and I could barely feel a little hard part. It was barely there and I don't even know %100 if they were the strings.

I'm on the verge of panic. This has been a living nightmare with this thing and I really didnt want them to have to open up my cervix to remove it as the first time I almost passed out from the pain. I dont even know if it's in my uterus at this point. Yesterday I bent down and got a sharp pain through out my back and hips and the intense pain continued for about 10 mins.

I'm freaking out. I just want it out but now I dont even know if it's in place. I never had to search that high up for it before and now it's barely there.

HELP

[Heather]

It's normal for the strings to soften in pretty short order after insertion: they're supposed to. As well, current practice guidelines with IUDs don't advise self-checks anymore with strings, so they are often cut short enough that those checks may be difficult or even not possible.

Truly, you keep reporting severe pain, so the only right place to report that is to your healthcare providers. As the bottom of every page of our site states, we just can't be a stand-in for healthcare, and it would be highly irresponsible for us to even try to be, especially when someone is reporting severe and ongoing pain. I strongly advise you make a call into your doctor as these pain issues clearly are continuing for you. You may also want to report all the anxiety and fear you keep having around them: they may be able to prescribe you an anti-anxiety medication that can help you until whatever is the cause of this pain is medically identified and resolved.

Just so you know, an IUD removal or insertion will not involve "opening up" the cervix as a surgical procedure, so that isn't something you need to worry about, period.

[IUDpain]

It's normal for the strings to soften in pretty short order after insertion: they're supposed to. As well, current practice guidelines with IUDs don't advise self-checks anymore with strings, so they are often cut short enough that those checks may be difficult or even not possible.

Truly, you keep reporting severe pain, so the only right place to report that is to your healthcare providers. As the bottom of every page of our site states, we just can't be a stand-in for healthcare, and it would be highly irresponsible for us to even try to be, especially when someone is reporting severe and ongoing pain. I strongly advise you make a call into your doctor as these pain issues clearly are continuing for you. You may also want to report all the anxiety and fear you keep having around them: they may be able to prescribe you an anti-anxiety medication that can help you until whatever is the cause of this pain is medically identified and resolved.

Just so you know, an IUD removal or insertion will not involve "opening up" the cervix as a surgical procedure, so that isn't something you need to worry about, period.

I cant get to an appointment until Monday as that when I had one ready.
Is it normal that I cant feel it anymore? I was told to feel for it . It's barely there.
I thought that the insertion opens up the cervix or pushes through that . I just dont want them to do that again. I dont think I can handle the pain.

[Heather]

IUDs are not something someone with them in should be able to feel when placed properly, period, after the first few days or so, and again, strings are currently usually cut short now, so as the IUD settles in, yes, it's normal not to be able to feel them.

To do an insertion, the cervix is just gently and slightly softened: "opened up" isn't an accurate way of describing this, because unlike with, say, a second-trimester abortion procedure, it isn't dilated through procedures that do that. And the size of the IUD when it is inserted, as well as when a provider schedules and insertion, is designed to be appropriate and safe -- and should not actually be highly painful, though if someone has a very low pain tolerance, they may experience it as more painful than others will -- for the cervical opening.

But again, as you keep reporting severe fear and pain, what we need to do to work within what are responsible practices is to again refer you to seek out healthcare from a healthcare provider. That's both about legal issues as well as us simply being responsible as a helping organization with a focus on people's health. So, if you continue to have concerns and severe pain, and your general doctor cannot or will not see you now, then your next step is to go back to the ER.