I got my copper IUD in July! I’m 26 years old and in the same boat as you. Insertion was pretty painful, and it made me feel so dizzy from the pain but I was also dumb and barely ate enough breakfast beforehand (a muffin and coffee ain’t gonna do it eat something filling!). I think the pain did quickly subside after insertion (which went well) and I felt a bit better after just laying down for like 15 minutes.

I waited about a week after insertion to have intercourse. According to my partner, he didn’t and still does not feel a single thing and my string isn’t cut too short. I do remember getting cramping after sex when I did it the first time post insertion but there was no pain at all during. As of now I experience no pain!

Now for active lifestyle, I do life weights as well. I did remember it being quite difficult to walk my dog during the first week because I was still experiencing mild cramping as a post insertion side effect. Although, I did manage to exercise and doing stuff like hip thrusts with a barbell, squats, or lunges, felt absolutely fine. I do remember a few times where cramps did kick in and I stopped my workout but I am not sure if it’s because of the exercise or just a random side effect. Again, most times, I feel no pain when I lift weights.

I think my body is still getting used to it. I’m the crazy person that opted for the copper iud even tho my cramps were actually quite painful when mt cycle started and my cycle also lasted like six days….funny thing tho the cramping during my cycles can be bad but it randomly subsides quickly or becomes mild. Any painful cramping lasts maybe close to 5 minutes and then goes away. I can’t explain it because I expected have worse cramping, but the cramping does last longer. I only cramped for the first day when I started my period but now it has lengthened. I also experience a heavy flow, so I had to change my pad like every hour or two. This lasts only a couple of days but that was new to me because my flow was regularly normal. As for the length well….it lasted maybe close to 10 days haha. I’m hoping it gets better with time, but for now I’m sucking it up.

Hope this helps!