Still have ptsd flashbacks over the insertion, like being impaled as medieval torture. now scared to get it removed . pain is excruciating and the whole process horrifying. had no idea. they acted like it was as simple as inserting a tampon. and it was a female doctor. wtf

I had some MIrena IUDs years ago but moreso for fibroids. Because of the fibroids, my body rejected all of them, so we moved on to the next level of medical intervention which was successful, but I never had any pain, and I always credited this to my physician at the time who was a very experienced OBGYN practitioner - and a woman. So I hear all these terrible experiences, but it doesn't have to be that way, and it may have to do with the training and experience of the doctors.

@2 FWIW, she was an MD with lots of OBGYN (she'd delivered many babies) but she also had more of the mindset of very highly skilled midwives. IOW, she wasn't this total establishment-doctor-type; she was more holistic minded. So, that kind of background might have something to do with it if you're shopping around.

@3 I remember her as very supportive, too.

I've known people who had problems with the earlier IUDs, but I didn't know about this horrendous pain for so many, and with today's advancements. I never had any issues with that.

I do know, however, through my own journey dealing with fibroids and a variety of physicians, there's a tremendous and actually shocking amount of ignorance out there even among gynecologists. So, I guess it's not such a stretch to think there "might" be quite a number of them who don't even know how to correctly place an IUD inside a woman without hurting her.

Thought-provoking article. Takes me down memory lane.