My IUD Almost Killed Me

by Lauren Lomsdale
April 26, 2019
edited by Moderator April 29, 2019

”I have known women who have had both the non-hormonal and the hormonal versions of an IUD with great success. They have barely noticed that it existed and they felt no symptoms from it. This, however, was not my case.”

“Within a week after getting the Paragard inserted, I found myself uncontrollably angry. I'm talking Hulk-style rage. The dog would walk by with her nails on our hardwood and I would want to lose it. The baby would be crying and I would feel nothing except contempt at having to get up to get her. My other two children saw the full-effects of me hating every little thing around me, including them, as my oldest (then only 4-years-old) would shuffle my 17-month-old daughter as I cried and yelled at everything.”

“I started to have thoughts of self-harm and suicidal ideation. My husband had to hide my keys from me more than once so I wouldn't drive off upset and end up hurting myself. He threw out any and all pills from our home, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen. He begged me to see a therapist but given his job, I was afraid it would affect his career. Then one day he said, "I think you need to get that IUD taken out. You have changed since it inserted, and you're going to die if it's not removed."

I thought he was crazy. How could something as simple and as small as an IUD, that had no hormones in it, be affecting me this much? I was convinced it was PPD and that things would get better over time. They always did. But he was fearful for my life. He was scared to go to work. He would text me several times per day just to check in. He would have my mom and my neighbors check on us. After about a month of him telling me to go to the doctor, I finally complied, but more so to prove him wrong than anything else.

Fewer than 24 hours after the removal of the IUD, I literally felt as if a fog had been lifted from my brain. I realized that for the previous two months that I felt heavy, confused, and almost as if I was underwater- the world, quite literally, looked unclear and foggy. But after a full day with the IUD removed, I was able to laugh again, and I realized I hadn't done that in months. I made a witty comment back to my mom about something and she looked at me with utter surprise because that's who I was before the IUD.

I can't fully put into words the experience I had the IUD removed. I have never felt such a relief. It was as if the weight of the world was taken off my shoulders almost completely. “

After that I started looking at the effects of the copper IUD and I found that I had several classifications of copper toxicity such as:

• ruminating negative thoughts

• manic mood swings

• depression

• panic attacks

• brain fog

• anxiety

• mind racing

• confusion and paranoia

“These are all things that did not affect me before the copper IUD and all of the symptoms ceased or significantly decreased after having the IUD removed (I mean, what sleep-deprived mom doesn't have confusion, right?).

I have also come to find that I am sensitive to any copper. My body has a high level at a base, so any additional copper additives, like the Paragard, raised my copper levels significantly, causing a toxic reaction to my mental state. I am completely convinced that if I had continued to use the IUD that I would have caused serious harm to myself.”

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