Newbie: My Unique Case and a Question : Is Anyone Combining FAM w/IUD?
Hey guys, I'm totally new to this, so here's my situation:
I used hormonal BC for 9 years but with terrible side effects, finally, this past September I got the courage to get a Paragard IUD and get off hormones for good. Unfortunately, the Paragard lodged partially in my cervix during insertion, rendering it less effective. My gyno and I decided it was a fluke, so we decided to give it another go once the first one was paid off.
Fast forward to last week. I go in for my second insertion and whaddayaknow? The IUD lodges in the exact spot. The doctor was shocked and while I was exceptionally upset, I was also determined to find out why the IUD wasn't going fully in. So, this week I went to another doctor for a second opinion (with the IUD still in me).
As it turns out, I'm one of the 1-3% of all women with a uterine septum -- a deformity that occurred while I was a fetus when the two sides of my wombs developed and merged. Rather than the barrier between them dissolving, I was left with part of the dividing wall, giving me a heart-shaped uterus and 1.5-1.8 CM septum running down the center from the fundus (top of womb). As a result, when I eventually do try to conceive I will face 75% miscarriage rates and 15% infertility rates (until I have surgery), but for now, it means that the IUD can't go 100% into my uterus.
The good news is, the doctor informed me that since nothing is protruding out of my cervix and since the vast majority of the copper is exposed to my womb, I am still getting protection. However, it's not as good as it would be were the IUD perfectly placed. To bring this rate of protection up to par, he suggested I combine it with FAM -- especially since my cycles are fairly regular (only a day or two of variation here and there).
So, my question is, how many of you have done this with an IUD and have done so successfully? Have any of you done FAM with the aid of thermal devices like LadyComp (which I'm looking into)? And lastly, how many infertile days might I expect on average within a 32-day cycle?
Any info you guys have will be a great help. This is a whole new world for me since leaving hormones, and though I feel tons better without them in my system, I want to have similar confidence in my levels of contraceptive protection.
I used hormonal BC for 9 years but with terrible side effects, finally, this past September I got the courage to get a Paragard IUD and get off hormones for good. Unfortunately, the Paragard lodged partially in my cervix during insertion, rendering it less effective. My gyno and I decided it was a fluke, so we decided to give it another go once the first one was paid off.
Fast forward to last week. I go in for my second insertion and whaddayaknow? The IUD lodges in the exact spot. The doctor was shocked and while I was exceptionally upset, I was also determined to find out why the IUD wasn't going fully in. So, this week I went to another doctor for a second opinion (with the IUD still in me).
As it turns out, I'm one of the 1-3% of all women with a uterine septum -- a deformity that occurred while I was a fetus when the two sides of my wombs developed and merged. Rather than the barrier between them dissolving, I was left with part of the dividing wall, giving me a heart-shaped uterus and 1.5-1.8 CM septum running down the center from the fundus (top of womb). As a result, when I eventually do try to conceive I will face 75% miscarriage rates and 15% infertility rates (until I have surgery), but for now, it means that the IUD can't go 100% into my uterus.
The good news is, the doctor informed me that since nothing is protruding out of my cervix and since the vast majority of the copper is exposed to my womb, I am still getting protection. However, it's not as good as it would be were the IUD perfectly placed. To bring this rate of protection up to par, he suggested I combine it with FAM -- especially since my cycles are fairly regular (only a day or two of variation here and there).
So, my question is, how many of you have done this with an IUD and have done so successfully? Have any of you done FAM with the aid of thermal devices like LadyComp (which I'm looking into)? And lastly, how many infertile days might I expect on average within a 32-day cycle?
Any info you guys have will be a great help. This is a whole new world for me since leaving hormones, and though I feel tons better without them in my system, I want to have similar confidence in my levels of contraceptive protection.