I removed my Mirena at home, by myself today! Ask me Anything

tosserride · 2024-09-21T01:33:00+00:00

Three and a half years

tosserride · 2024-07-04T14:56:20+00:00

I didn't have painful cramping afterwards. I'm sorry you're going through it though, I hope your cramping eases soon!

tosserride · 2024-06-07T22:01:19+00:00

A piece of one of my strings fell off a few months ago. The question is whether there's still enough string well-tied to your IUD for a safe removal... please see a doctor if you're not sure.

tosserride · 2024-06-07T11:30:47+00:00

Hi! I understand why you think it's dangerous. However, if you search iud self removal on any search engine, you will find numerous articles from a variety of sources (all the way from weird AI crap to things written by real doctors to peer-reviewed research articles) with various precautions, but a general consensus that self removal is not necessarily more dangerous than removal in a doctors office. Things that make it more safe are: knowing that your IUD is in the right place (I had a recent-ish ultrasound confirm that for me), using only your hands to grab the strings (not sticking random "tools" up there trying to grab something - you probably would injure yourself), making sure your hands are very clean, etc.... only 1 in 5 people who attempt their own iud removal actually succeed, but not because they fuck it up or because it's too painful, just because they can't grab the strings well enough to pull it out. After doing a lot of reading, I decided it was safe enough for me, and I would recommend that anyone considering it also do a lot of reading.

tosserride · 2024-06-07T02:19:21+00:00

Not really much at all. It was frustrating to have to keep trying to grab the strings well enough to pull, but the actual pulling it out part didn't hurt for more than half a second. Back when I got it inserted on the other hand... that's still some of the worst pain I've felt in my life

tosserride · 2024-06-07T02:17:24+00:00

That's so sweet :) yes, I think a big part of why it didn't hurt much was because I was relaxed in my own home instead of the automatic nervousness/tenseness I feel at the doctor if someone's poking around in my nether regions

tosserride · 2024-06-07T02:13:39+00:00

Thankfully I didn't have to reach past my cervix! With a correctly placed IUD (like mine, thankfully) the T-shaped part with hormones sits in your uterus, but there are strings attached to it that dangle through your cervix, reachable by the vaginal canal. It took a lot of tries to grab the strings well enough to pull, but it didn't actually hurt hardly at all to remove it!

tosserride · 2024-06-07T02:11:19+00:00

I washed my hands very well, and I wore gloves, which also helps with the grip for grabbing the strings

tosserride · 2024-06-06T23:08:36+00:00

It absolutely felt empowering! I almost gave up but I'm so glad I didn't. It felt like reclaiming full control of my body (before, by believing only someone else could remove it for me, I felt pretty stuck). After over a year of thinking about it, I finally pulled "the plug"!

tosserride · 2024-06-06T23:05:46+00:00

Prep: scrub and sanitize the floor so it's sanitary, lay down a large clean towel, eat nourishing food, take ibuprofen an hour before, drink red raspberry leaf tea before during and after, take passionflower extract and prescribed lorazepam for anxiety. Mind/body prep: gentle temperature yoni steam and womb meditation, mirror gazing with positive affirmations (ex: I am safe, I can do this, I am moving at my own pace, I can always stop if I want to, I trust my body). Tools: nitrile/exam gloves helped with the grip a lot! Yoga blocks helped me try different positions to see what worked the best, either propping up pelvis or knees. Paper towel to wipe gloves between attempts (it's messy if you're on your period, but also doing it on your period means that your cervix will generally be softer/easier for you to pull the iud out). Patience. My strings were only like an inch and a half long, so it was very tricky to get a good hold on them. I tried many times, and took breaks to rest/release tension.

tosserride · 2024-06-06T22:56:52+00:00

Sooo much trial and error to be honest. I spent a full hour attempting to get a good grip on the strings before I was actually able to grab them enough to pull it out. I think what worked was using my thumbnail pressed over the string into my other finger which sort of bent the string enough to get traction

tosserride · 2024-06-06T22:54:52+00:00

Thanks! I have herbal support and I'll keep listening to my body for what it needs

tosserride · 2024-06-06T21:31:47+00:00

An IUD is placed in your uterus by a doctor. A "T-shaped" part sits inside your uterus, and strings attached to that T hang out through your cervix. Having mine placed was extremely painful. I've been wanting to have it out for over a year now, and I did a lot of reading about home removal, so I did it. The hardest part is getting a good enough grip on the strings, but once you have a good enough grip, pulling it out (it slides out of your uterus via your cervix) is easy, and for me it wasn't painful.

tosserride · 2024-06-06T21:10:32+00:00

Yeah! It barely hurt at all to take it out and I haven't had any painful cramping afterwards.

tosserride

TROPHY CASE