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This is probably our last child, and I'm looking at birth control options. I've gotten pregnant on the pill,s o there is no way I'm trusting the mini pill, which is the only one that you can take while breastfeeding. DH no longer trusts FAM, as I got a bit lax and this baby was made 4 days before ovulation, with no cervical mucus. It is looking like our options are do something permanent or iud. My biggest fear with the IUD is that I would get pregnant anyway and then miscarry.

 

Any stories would be helpful. Please, no posts on how it works, abortion, etc.

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:bigear:

I am considering Mirena after this baby as well. DH does not want anymore children, but I am not ready for anything permanent. We havent used BC until now, so I am thinking the IUD would be a good compromise. I have friends who love Paraguard, but I need the hormone dosage.

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I don't have one, nor do I know anyone who has used one in recent years, so take this with a grain of salt. My MIL had one in '75. She got pregnant with DH while using it, didn't know for several months that she was pg, had it removed at 4 months (I think, she told me this story when we first married, I just know she was fairly far along) and almost lost him several times.

 

After hearing *that* story, even with it being 20+ years prior at that point, I decided to never use an IUD. Are you saying that you do not want a permanent solution? If so, in your situation, and with my particular fear of IUDs, I'd probably rely on prophylactics.

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I don't have one, nor do I know anyone who has used one in recent years, so take this with a grain of salt. My MIL had one in '75. She got pregnant with DH while using it, didn't know for several months that she was pg, had it removed at 4 months (I think, she told me this story when we first married, I just know she was fairly far along) and almost lost him several times.

 

After hearing *that* story, even with it being 20+ years prior at that point, I decided to never use an IUD. Are you saying that you do not want a permanent solution? If so, in your situation, and with my particular fear of IUDs, I'd probably rely on prophylactics.

 

Yeah, that's my fear. As for prphylactics, if you mean condoms, I've had them break several times. Even with proper use. We must be more "vigorous" than the average user, lol. and yes, we were using them properly...I was a peer educator in college and had to take courses on this stuff so I could teach it.

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Paraguard made my periods awful. I had it removed after a year.

 

I got pregnant with the Mirena after a year, which is very rare. Possibly twins, b/c I expeienced typical mc events, followed by an uptick in hcg, a confirmed ectopic, and a rupture.

 

Still, I have to say I loved it while it worked. I do recommend it, but always advise people to keep pg tests around, since periods are often eliminated. (Mine wasn't, so I knew something was wrong when I was late.)

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Yeah, that's my fear. As for prphylactics, if you mean condoms, I've had them break several times. Even with proper use. We must be more "vigorous" than the average user, lol. and yes, we were using them properly...I was a peer educator in college and had to take courses on this stuff so I could teach it.

 

 

That kind of made me laugh. Yeah, I meant condoms ;) Hmm, could you double up and use a condom with a diaphram for back up? I don't know...I had a hysterectomy because my uterus fell on my left kidney and caused it to shut down, so that kind of took the birth control issue off the table for us by about 1000 % (DH had a vasectomy several years prior to that, we joke that if we get pregnant we will be RICH, RICH, RICH between the lawsuits and selling our story to the tabloids LOL)

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I had a Mirena put in a month or so after I had my youngest (he's now 4). At first, it was fine, but after I had had it in for about a year, I ended up in the emergency room with some of the worst pain of my life. They handed me narcotics (I detest pain meds and will avoid them whenever I can, but totally took them that time), and told me it looked like my IUD had moved position. I went to my doc a day later, who confirmed it and removed it for me (after warning me I might get pregnant if I did...um, thanks, I think I realize that!).

 

So, no, I wouldn't advise you to get one because it can be horrible if it doesn't stay in place. Around the same time, I had a friend who actually had to have surgery because hers had moved so much they couldn't just pull it out like with mine.

 

Also, my moods were really messed up with it. I thought I had postpartum depression, which I didn't have any issue with with my oldest, but about a week or two after having it out, I realized my mood issues were clearing up in a dramatic way. I didn't expect that at all - since the Mirena has such a low does of hormones than other types of birth control I've used in the past (I've done the patch and the shot), I really didn't think it would affect me like that, but it definitely did.

 

I do know people who have had IUDs and liked them, which is why I had mine put in, but I just cannot in good conscience tell anyone to get one after my really bad experience with one. It's really, really crappy if you are the statistic where it goes wrong.

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I had Mirena for roughly 6 yrs after my youngest.

 

I had mild to severe depression during most of that time as well, which only started to lift once the hormone in the Mirena started to run out, and only went away completely when the Mirena was taken out.

 

BUT I cannot say for sure that the depression was because of the Mirena. My youngest was 9 wks premature with a 7 wk NICU stay 1.5 hrs from our home, then he came home on an apnea monitor (which he kept for several months) and then he didn't sleep.

 

He woke to nurse at least once/night for the entire 3+ years that he nursed, so I was very sleep deprived. And he continued to crawl into bed with me in the middle of the night after that, so the sleep deprivation didn't stop when he quit nursing.

 

And he had in-home therapies for the first 2 yrs, then we moved from the US to Brazil.

 

All of which put together would maybe be enough stress to account for the depression, and the timing of the lifting of the depression could just be coincidental.

 

Aside from that, I liked the Mirena immensely. I had very light (to non-existent) periods while on it, no physical side effects from it, no discomfort, etc. If I was certain that the depression was unrelated, i would have replaced it. The timing of the depression lifting was too suspicious for me, though, so I opted against getting another one.

 

In all other ways though I loved it.

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I'm not sure what brand mine was but it wasn't Mirena, it was one with no hormones, and I never had any issues with it. My periods were the same as they'd always been. I didn't have any pregnancies by accident with it. I loved that when we decided we wanted another child it was easy to have it removed and we actually conceived just a month later. When I was on the pill (it wasn't the mini ones they have now) it took me 6 months after I stopped for things to go back to normal and then another 2 months to get PG. I had also tried the DEPO shots before the IUD and those were the worst. I wasn't eating any more than usual but gained 20lbs in a month.

 

After our 3rd child my dh went for the big snip, so I no longer have to worry about it, but if we'd decided not to go with a permanent route I would have gone with an IUD without a doubt.

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I have a Paraguard because I didn't want the hormones. This is my third Paraguard... I've had one in between each of my pregnancies after ds14, and now I've had this one for 6-1/2 years. I am normally very fertile, and we've never had any problems with surprises. Each time we decided TTC, we were able to conceive within 2 months of having it pulled.

 

We are finished having children, so we are thinking about moving on to a more permanent solution for dh.

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My friend (single and no "activity") just got one for medical issues. The doctor though warned her that conception was still possible with it and that it interfered with the implantation so if you want to avoid conception, this might not be a good option for you.

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I got one about 8 weeks after my DS was born and my uterus expelled it about 6 weeks later. I was taking a shower and poof! There it was! I got Implanon (same hormones, small rod in the inner arm) instead of getting a second Mirena. That is working great for me now.

 

I have lots of friends who have them and most really love them. Some do have irregular bleeding (random spotting) for a while, but that is a stated side effect. I also had a friend who had pain and thought hers had moved or perforated her uterus, but it hadn't. The pain was unexplained.

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I had the Paraguard one after the twins. My periods were horrible for the few months before it failed and I got pregnant with my youngest. It was a high risk pregnancy through the first trimester after they pulled the iud out. Fastest response time I ever had from an ob was the day I POAS and called about the iud being in place. They saw me immediately.

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I'm not sure what brand mine was but it wasn't Mirena, it was one with no hormones, and I never had any issues with it. My periods were the same as they'd always been. I didn't have any pregnancies by accident with it. I loved that when we decided we wanted another child it was easy to have it removed and we actually conceived just a month later. When I was on the pill (it wasn't the mini ones they have now) it took me 6 months after I stopped for things to go back to normal and then another 2 months to get PG. I had also tried the DEPO shots before the IUD and those were the worst. I wasn't eating any more than usual but gained 20lbs in a month.

 

After our 3rd child my dh went for the big snip, so I no longer have to worry about it, but if we'd decided not to go with a permanent route I would have gone with an IUD without a doubt.

This was my experience with the Paraguard, as well, with the addition that I am very short so the retrieval tails had to be snipped a bit.

 

But I had it removed, we had three more children, then my husband made things permanent after we decided we were done. I would have gotten another one if there was any lingering question.

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I used the Mirena after my first. Lets see...I gained 30lbs in 6 months, had extreme anxiety issues. When I went to have it removed for the above reasons, it was discovered that it had embedded itself and was a hair's breath away from exiting. No cool, but pretty rare. One of the nice effects from the Mirena was the complete lack of cycles for 2 years.

 

A year after my last baby we were fully confident that our family was complete and I underwent a tubal (which went really well, no regrets).

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I've had Mirena for 3 years. Since putting it in, I've gained weight that I've been unable to lose, I've been dealing with mild to moderate depression, I have little to no desire to drink teA, and my periods are painful and irregular-- some months I have 2, some months I have none.

 

My doctor wants to start me on mood stabilizers before we remove it because sometimes the depression reportedly gets worse right after removal.

 

That said, most people seem to love it. It just wasn't right for me. If I weren't on blood thinners, I would probably try Paraguard, but the copper can cause heavier bleeding with periods... And that's too risky with me.

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This was my experience with the Paraguard, as well, with the addition that I am very short so the retrieval tails had to be snipped a bit.

 

But I had it removed, we had three more children, then my husband made things permanent after we decided we were done. I would have gotten another one if there was any lingering question.

 

I'm pretty short too, so I had to have the tails clipped quite a bit a well.

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I had a mirena and hated it. It was great for the first three months or so, my periods stopped and there were no side effects. After that I started to feel off and began spotting regularly, especially after tea.

 

My significant other didn't like it either as he could feel it during tea.

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I had one without the hormones for a few years and it worked fine. It did make my periods worse, but when I removed it after my dh had a vasectomy, the nurse practioner warned me that my periods may have been worse just because they change after childbirth. She seems to have been right, because they didn't really get any better once it was removed.

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I've only had my Mirena for a few weeks. I was nervous about insertion but it was really only a little uncomfortable. Some cramping that night but all better by the next morning.

 

Prior to getting it I was on Aviane (generic for Alesse) and that was horrible for me. Terrible mood swings, crying fits, etc. I started spotting two weeks before my period was due, every month. It was pretty heavy spotting too, I often needed a pad instead of a pantiliner.

 

Anyway, back to Mirena, so far so good. Compared with the mood swings I had on the pill I've been very stable and feel more like myself again. I know it's still pretty early for me to draw any conclusions but I'm liking it so far. I've had some spotting but less than on the pill. My period almost came to a complete stop the day I had it inserted, so that was cool.

 

I don't normally have a big appetite for tea (antidpressants), but I would say I been more in the mood since switching to the IUD.

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I got the Mirena when Chuck was about 6 weeks old. I was so worried but figured it was the best option.

 

It didn't hurt getting put in (I'd had Chuck at home). I think I cramped a day or two. TeA was really painful and dry until my cycle started up again. We used coconut oil since KY and the other stuff burned. Worked fine. It did help lighten my periods and make them hurt less, but I do still have them. They seem to take longer, but I don't mind that.

 

Since I don't worry about getting pregnant or have the buzz kill of c*ndoms, TeA is a LOT more fun and spontaneous.

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I had the Mirena put in. The insertion wasn't horrible, but not something I would want to do every month. Every 5 years, fine. But after it was in, it was AWFUL. I had the worst cramping ever, that they even gave me percocets after a week of severe cramping. I finally had so much pain I ended up in the ER Christmas night and begged them to take it out. No way would I ever get that thing again. But everyone is different. It lasted all of two weeks. Nope.

 

If it doesn't work out, you can just have it removed.

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I don't have one, nor do I know anyone who has used one in recent years, so take this with a grain of salt. My MIL had one in '75. She got pregnant with DH while using it, didn't know for several months that she was pg, had it removed at 4 months (I think, she told me this story when we first married, I just know she was fairly far along) and almost lost him several times.

 

After hearing *that* story, even with it being 20+ years prior at that point, I decided to never use an IUD. Are you saying that you do not want a permanent solution? If so, in your situation, and with my particular fear of IUDs, I'd probably rely on prophylactics.

 

LOL Maybe they just sucked in '75.. My BIL was conceived with an IUD in also.. I'm not sure I would trust them even after all these years but that's just me.

 

For more recent experience... my BFF had one put in and bled for a month straight before she had it taken out.

 

I've had lots of friends get pregnant using every form of bc there is.. (even one who got pg a year after getting her tubes tied but that was before they started cutting them and they were VERY fertile=D)

 

I decided that the only way to be 100% sure was to get my tubes tied.. which I did. Even after being scared out of my mind from reading the threads of all the people who had problems (hormonal and otherwise) after a tubal. One thing I will say is that even my lactation consultant said that it can affect your milk supply but being as I am almost 38 and hypothyroid, I wasn't expecting to be able to EBF this time like the first 2.

 

Good luck in your decision!!

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I got the Mirena after my 3rd. The insertion was tolerable but somewhat painful. I had it in for about six months and then I had them take it out again. I loved that my periods were practically non-existent while I had it, but I did not love the spotting that went on pretty much all month long. I also feel like it made me moody/irritable. My sister has one though and she swears by it.

 

We decided to have a 4th, and after that dh had a vasectomy. Much easier that way!

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I've used the copper iud for ten years. It made my period heavier, but shorter, so I'm happy with the trade off. No issues. I love this thing and I'm bummed that it's time to switch it out.

 

Same here, the paraguard, I just had it removed this summer, shy of 10 years and had my tubes tied. It was either that, or put another one in and possibly need to replace it again in 10 years. We knew we were done. I would have had it replaced in a heartbeat though. I've not had any problems with my tubal either.

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I've had a Mirena for over 5 years. Some stubborn weight gain, but nothing that can't be explained by getting older. Aunt Flo hasn't visited in years. :) I am getting it replaced with a new one on Monday. :) I have no hesitation recommending it.

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I love my Mirena. I'm on my second one and I will continue to have one as long as I need to to keep any unwelcome monthly visitors away. ;) The down side is that my strings have migrated so when this one needs to be removed it will be a bit of an issue. It's still worth it!

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Lady Comp is one of the choices that I'm hoping my (married) children will look at using. I had a friend who used it, and she said it worked perfectly for them.

 

I saw that once before, but didn't really read up on it. Just now I did and that may actually be an option, if we can afford it. My engineer husband would probably like that it is all math based. I tend to be kind of flakey, which is why our FAM didn't work like it should.

 

To bad insurance doesn't cover it!!!!

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Had the Mirena in for around a year. Insertion was ok, slight cramping for a few days. Eventually had super light periods, which was wonderful. Downside: weight gain. Like constant weight gain that didn't stop until I had the Mirena removed 20 lbs later. My whole body composition changed; it was terrible. Tried losing the weight after removal, but got pg instead. :P Dh got snipped after IW's birth. :) I'm still struggling with the excess weight.

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I got a Mirena when my DD was 6 weeks old. Insertion was painful, but manageable. Heavy bleeding at first.

 

I had a m/c about 6 months ago. I bleed irregularly. I have no appetite in the bedroom. I have depression/anxiety issues (on top of my already known depression/anxiety issues).

 

But, it is either Mirena, Paraguard, or condoms. So, we are trying Mirena.

 

FWIW, I just had mine checked (even with all the issues above) and the Dr. found nothing wrong. It's in the right position, strings are okay, and everything. She even took a swab to check for infection and that came back clear. So, hormones. I think next time I will try Paraguard!!

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Well here's an IUD horror story for you. I can't do estrogen b.c. (gives me migraines), so we tried the Paragard after ds2 was born. But I can't tell you what it was like having it in long term...b/c the doc put it right through the wall of my uterus. Yup--you read that right. The whole thing just disappeared, strings and all, after which the doc asked me if I had an "abnormally large uterus." :001_huh: Um, no??

 

They had me rush to the hospital after he did an ultrasound in the office that showed it wasn't where it should be. Turns out the IUD was floating in my abdominal cavity, and I had to have emergency laprascopic surgery to remove it before it perforated an intestine or something.

 

'Nuff said.

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Hi Katie,

 

I have a Mirena and had it placed when my twins were 10 months old and I was still breastfeeding them. I knew we were done having kids but I wasn't quite ready to have my dh get a vasectomy.

 

I had very light periods on it in the beginning but also had them for 2 weeks on, then 2 weeks off, repeat. They eventually started spacing out and became more regular but still extremely light.

 

Almost 1 1/2 years ago I did notice my strings were missing and I guess they migrated into my uterus. So now getting it out may be somewhat of an ordeal but it is in place so I'll worry about it at the 5 year mark :tongue_smilie:.

 

No birth-control method is perfect and some people are going to have unwanted side effects. Like many things you aren't going to know how your body reacts until you try it.

 

Overall, it is a very reliable form of birth control if you or your husband don't want to do anything permanent :001_smile:.

 

Marisa

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I'm on my third Mirena. I've been very happy with them: I don't have periods, just wear a panty liner for occasional spotting. I have the strings cut short - so we can't feel them - which means that they tend to disappear up inside the uterus, which can make getting it back out again a little difficult. It's only once every five years though, so I'm more-than-happy to deal with that in return for the peace of mind.

 

Laura

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Katie,

 

I have not read all the posts, but please be aware that there are IUDs and IUS's. And IUD is just a coil that damages the lining so a fertilized egg cannot implant. It increases your period and can lead to infection (because you have the string hanging down). An IUS (like the Mirina) is an IUD with hormone that releases every day. This hormone reduces the lining in your uterus to near zero so that your periods are much less and often stop. The hormone also plugs up your cervix, stopping infection. IUSs are more expensive and only last 5 years because the hormone runs out. The stats are MUCH better for an IUS.

 

I am on my second Mirina, and I have only good things to say about it.

 

Ruth in NZ

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I have been using Merena the past 5 years and will be putting in a new one soon. I have no problems, whatsoever with it. Loved it!

 

Julia

 

:iagree: I had this before and plan on getting another one. I had some of the mentioned side effects, like spotty, light periods that were irregular at best, but none of the depression, weight gain or cramping. In fact, I haven't had it for the last 6 months (dh was supposed to get snipped) and switched to using a diaphram. My periods and cramping got worse as did my moodiness. Plus dh hasn't manned up yet for his V and I HATE the diaphram. So, I'll be getting a new Merena.

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i have the regular old copper IUD no hormones. i haven't had any issues with it at all. my periods are the same as they have always been and i haven't had any other issues. i have had mine for a couple of months. i switched from the mini pill.

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I used Mirena for a while after my 6 y/o son was born. They told me after the initial spotting and so on I'd end up with lighter periods and that some women never got them at all anymore.

 

My "initial spotting" lasted months and months. Way longer than they said it would. When it finally stopped, I did indeed get lighter periods. However, I got them more frequently, like every two weeks.

 

I finally got sick of the almost non-stop bleeding (even though it was very light) and had them remove it.

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My Mirena is going to be coming out after a year. For about six months it worked as advertised but I've had horribly painful ovarian cysts twice now and a month of breakthrough non stop bleeding and sore bOOks for a solid month.

 

Right now the side effects are not worth the relief from heavy periods it's given me. It wasn't until this thread that I was able to put together all the aches and pains and such I've been having and found they were connected to the Mirena.

 

For some women it works great and it did for me about six months.

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Well here's an IUD horror story for you. I can't do estrogen b.c. (gives me migraines), so we tried the Paragard after ds2 was born. But I can't tell you what it was like having it in long term...b/c the doc put it right through the wall of my uterus. Yup--you read that right. The whole thing just disappeared, strings and all, after which the doc asked me if I had an "abnormally large uterus." :001_huh: Um, no??

 

They had me rush to the hospital after he did an ultrasound in the office that showed it wasn't where it should be. Turns out the IUD was floating in my abdominal cavity, and I had to have emergency laprascopic surgery to remove it before it perforated an intestine or something.

 

'Nuff said.

 

That sounds awful! But in all honesty, it sounds like the doctor screwed up, not the Mirena.

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had the mirena and had good results--it really shortened/lightened my periods-went from using double packs of overnights all the time to liners.....had to have it taken out when I had a cyst on ovary that would NOT go away-we knew we couldn't have anymore kids due to my health issues so we went ahead and had tubal plus ablation which the ablation has even lightened/shortened my periods more-I'm very happy......

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Well here's an IUD horror story for you. I can't do estrogen b.c. (gives me migraines), so we tried the Paragard after ds2 was born. But I can't tell you what it was like having it in long term...b/c the doc put it right through the wall of my uterus. Yup--you read that right. The whole thing just disappeared, strings and all, after which the doc asked me if I had an "abnormally large uterus." :001_huh: Um, no??

 

They had me rush to the hospital after he did an ultrasound in the office that showed it wasn't where it should be. Turns out the IUD was floating in my abdominal cavity, and I had to have emergency laprascopic surgery to remove it before it perforated an intestine or something.

 

'Nuff said.

 

That's horrible! One of the first steps in the insertion procedure is "sounding" your uterus with a straw-like instrument to see how large/deep it is so they know when they have inserted it far enough, or if they insert it too far. Yikes! Sounds like your doctor missed a step??

 

I have heard that doctors have very different rates of perforation, as scary as that is. In our family practice office, there is one doctor who apparently has perforated a few uteri. Scary.

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