I had the same problem of heavy bleeding, so I had it removed. My period never went back to what it was before-- since then, it's always been extremely heavy.

I had my paraguard since October 2013 and so far my periods are really heavy. They are a little more
regular coming every 27-28 days which is better than every 19 days like it did the first month. I decided to switch to paraguard because I was having a lot of side effects from hormonal options including migraines and blood pressure issues. This is my third month and I am having very heavy periods and have to change my pad very often especially when going from a sitting position to standing. My period is also lasting a long time. Usually it will last 7 days go off on the 7th day and comes back on a few hours later for a couple more days. I have also been having back pain since having the IUD placed, it started out as sharp pains running up my legs and back but that went away after a few days. Now I just have a constant lower back pain. Its not horrible it just feels like I need to stretch all the time. My pain issues are the long period s and heavy bleeding. On a positive note I hardly cramp at all since getting the paraguard and I have always had pretty severe cramps my entire time since puberty. Anyone having similar issues and if so do they get better?

i have had my paragard now for almost 3 years. I have no issues with it except the bleeding also. it will literally gush out of me. especially when I go from sitting to standing. very gross. super plus tampons and pad and a line I will have to change within 2 hours. It has gotten shorter over time so that's a plus... ive had no cramping whatsoever. no hormone changes. which is good. what woman needs extra hormones... other than the bleeding I like paragard

I got my iud 3 months ago and had a short spotting period and it stopped but now I have Ben on my period for 45 days straight. Nothing heavy but more than spotting. Dd anyone else have a long period like this in the beginning? Other sites say it can happen for up to 90 days. I do t think I can last that long!!!!!

Anonymous wrote:IME it took about a year to calm down from this stage, then my periods got shorter. Every period did get better. By the end I'd still have a "heavy day" but not one of those "terrible cramps, soak through a super tampon and large pad in 2 hours" days like you're having now--just a normal heavy day, which I could plan for. I had my paragard for 12.5 years.

This was my experience almost to a T. I had quite a few accidents with overflowing tampons (gross, sorry), but after a year I'm back to a more normal flow. I do get bad cramps a week or so in advance of my period, which I find odd. Overall, I've been happy and opted for the non-hormone route.

OP, I am not sure how old your baby is but I would try to stick it out. I got a Paragard inserted probably 6-10 weeks postpartum. Heavy periods as you described but I was also nursing and my period didn't start until 9 months postpartum. Fast-forward, and it has almost been 10 years and time to get a new IUD. Everyone's different but I am very happy with my IUD.

OP here again, thanks to everyone for their insight. Except the pissy PP who said I should do research beforehand. Of course I did, and I discussed it in detail with my midwife but the information I received was not definitive and it was not clear how it might impact me.

I've had the IUD for six months now. My last period finally finished. It was 11 days long. I haven't had much cramping and I haven't had any spotting beyond the first month. But this is crazy so I'll be asking my doctor. 11 days of heavy bleeding is just too much. I can't switch to Mirena because I don't want to take hormones, particularly while breastfeeding.

Anonymous wrote:Are you serious? I didn't think it was that serious. I think I will have to go in the morning.

If anyone else can chime in please do!

OP here, I had fairly heavy bleeding for at least a week after insertion. It was like a period. I was told it was normal.

Can you do a hormonal IUD instead? If you'd rather have no period, go for a Mirena instead. My period is nonexistent since I went on mine a little over a year ago, and I have only had spotting once. No other side effects that I know of.

That said, my period was pretty light when I was on the pill and it got even lighter after I had my daughter at 36. So my experience may be atypical.

PP with bleeding after insertion.

The bleeding and cramps are gone. It started to slow once I got to the doctor and stopped completely last night. She said it was odd that it lasted so long and was heavy and instructed me to keep an eye out for pain, pressure, more blood etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PPs

I'm the PP who got hers on Friday evening. I had my period a week ago. My OB said I would have some spotting after insertion, and I did on Saturday, but today and late last night I have been soaking tampons continuously. Is this a period, or bleeding from the procedure? Idk I don't want to freak out, but the cramps have been ridiculous already!

Did you bleed for a long time after insertion?

No! I'd call your OB's office and leave a message for the on call dr.this doesn't sound normal to me since you just had your period. All I had after insertion was a teeny bit of spotting and some cramping, but no bleeding at all.

I agree about phoning the on-call doc and hope you have an appointment for today. This is not just spotting and it wasn't my experience, either (though I hated the Paragard in almost every other way.)

Please check back and let us know how it turned out for you!

PP, if you are still around, can you tell me a bit more about your experiences with migraine and Paraguard? I have chronic migraine and am considering Paraguard because it is hormone-free, but I am a little scared about the heavy periods since I already have heavy periods. Did it impact your number of migraines significantly? thanks.

PP here - yes, a significant impact on number of migraines. I think I've only had one since insertion; pre-insertion I could have as many as 3 per month in bad allergy months (allergies are one of my triggers). Stress is another trigger for me, though, and I also recently changed to a much less stressful job, so I'm not sure whether Paragard gets the credit for the reduced migraines . . .

I had heavy periods previously, and they have been heavy on paragard, but I do see some improvement with each period. I'm encouraged by one of the PPs who said that they continued to become lighter over the course of a year.

BTW, my doctor said that Mirena - although hormonal - is still better than BCP because of the lower dosage of hormones.

Are you serious? I didn't think it was that serious. I think I will have to go in the morning.

If anyone else can chime in please do!

Anonymous wrote:PPs

I'm the PP who got hers on Friday evening. I had my period a week ago. My OB said I would have some spotting after insertion, and I did on Saturday, but today and late last night I have been soaking tampons continuously. Is this a period, or bleeding from the procedure? Idk I don't want to freak out, but the cramps have been ridiculous already!

Did you bleed for a long time after insertion?

No! I'd call your OB's office and leave a message for the on call dr.this doesn't sound normal to me since you just had your period. All I had after insertion was a teeny bit of spotting and some cramping, but no bleeding at all.

I've had paragard for almost a year. My periods are slightly heavier - usually 1 really heavy day. I have more spotting between periods. I had spotting pre paragard but its more frequent now. The surprising thing is that my cramps are almost gone. I've always had bad cramps and had to take lots of Advil each month but I haven't had to take any at all in months. Which is odd because so many people say their cramps get worse with paragard. Overall I'm happy with it but the spotting is annoying.