i probably won’t get another one after this one expires in 4-6ish years because i’ve been on birth control forever and am ready to give my body a break lol but i’ve loved having it!! i’m excited for you!! my IUD has made my life SO much easier in terms of lack of period (and no PMS!!!) and no crazy birth control side effects and not having to worry about condoms or other stuff with sex. with what has happened with roe i bought a big box of those little medical grade pregnancy tests just to have in case and i just take one if my stomach starts feeling some kinda way or my boobs are sore for a little too long lol. the IUD has such a high efficacy rate i never really worry about pregnancy, i also only have one partner so it’s less stressful with that too.
however i will say it has messed with my skin a lot, it definitely induces some acne but acne is treatable and i decided it was worth it especially for me (i’m going to be in med school for the next 4 years so BUSY and not having to deal with a period during that will be amazing). i had no discharge after my second one and no period again (total blessing!!!). the discharge for the first 3-6 months sucks ass but then you have years of no period and it’s literally the best thing ever.
for my first IUD i only really had cramping the day of and the day after and then it subsided. some people experience a lot more pain than others so it’ll depend - my experience wasn’t terrible. I’m on my second one! definitely take some ibuprofen (i’d recommend 400-800 mg) beforehand, mine was painful for like a second and then it was gone. i’m sure you’re going to be amazing, congrats on making it so far!! also, she continued to learn and read from new articles and would even explain new developments to patients it affected and didn’t have this “i’m an expert i know everything” attitude that some older attending have which partially is a result of being fresh out of residency but something i think is important to preserve throughout a career. it was refreshing to see her really focus on her quality of patient care. she involved them in the process and explained things very thoroughly - she never did things especially procedures like biopsies without educating and asking permission (i’ve seen a derm just say “i’m going to do this now and just slice off a chunk of skin - patients are like wtf) she was a great role model, obviously not perfect in all aspects, but in a field like derm i’ve seen many patients go through super quick visits and still be lost or feel like they got inadequate care because there’s such a high volume of patients a lot of the time. She was genuinely interested in helping her patients (something i didn’t see too often in derm) she took her time with them and didn’t do the super quick in and out visits that leave patients unhappy, she would handwrite diagnoses and treatment plans so the patients would actually remember what to do (and they LOVED this bc most patients forget what happens as soon as they walk out the door) and look things up if they wanted, she was very kind and really listened to her patients - she was never arrogant in the “i know more than you” way even if she did - she had a lot of patience and always made patients feel heard and wouldn’t leave until they actually understood what was going on. I realised then that I want to be that doctor for other people, and that’s why I want to be a doctor. I remember her name, her face, everything about her and I will never forget how whole those tiny acts of kindness made me feel in that moment. That was the first time I ever felt seen and genuinely cared for by a doctor.
I had been through absolute fucking hell at that time in my life, especially with doctors. She gently gave me sips of water and jelly beans while the ultrasound was being done and stroked my hair. The doctor came in and asked me in the calmest voice “what kind of jelly beans are your favourite?” Through tears I told her “the white ones.” She left the room for a few minutes and when she came back, she had some tissues and two cups, one with water and one with all the white jelly beans she said she had picked out from the jar. The ultrasound was painful, I had a lot of fibrosis tissue so I started crying and hyperventilating. I’d been sexually assaulted, so I was incredibly frightened. When I was 16 I had to get a transvaginal ultrasound.