IUD Birth Control | Types, Benefits, Side Effects, Etc.

Mirena, Kyleena, Skyla, those are all super popular hormonal IUDs. They have a synthetic progestin in them, just like the depo shot and the nexplanon rod. It gets slowly released day after day. The difference is that with the iud, your synthetic progestin is getting released inside the uterus where that lining is. And the companies will tell you that it only works locally on the uterus to prevent that lining from growing. And so hopefully, you either have super light periods or no periods, because you're not growing any lining to shed. The problem with that is your ovaries are literally 1 to 2 inches away with a big fat artery connecting them. And so that synthetic progestin goes into the bloodstream and goes directly to the ovary, and it tells the ovary, wow, we have a lot of progestin in here. You don't need to make any more hormones. And so it's really common for those IUDs to actually shut down that HPO axis I was telling you about, and you stop making your hormones. Most women notice that they make less testosterone. They have no libido, they're not interested in sex. Same thing when you're on a birth control pill, that testosterone production goes in the tank, and so you don't have any libido. I just want you to keep that in mind, because a lot of gynecologists tell patients that IUDs are not absorbed systemically. They don't have any effects on your mood, on your weight or anything. And that's simply not the case. So here's the deal. The mirena IUD has 52 milligrams of progestin. The Kyleena has 19 and a half. The Skyla has 13 and a half. So sometimes, you know, women, they love the idea of the IUD because it is 99% effective. It's like the most effective reversible birth control out there. So if you want to make sure you don't get pregnant, that's a great option. But if you're not handling the hormone aspect of it very well, say you get a Mirena IUD put in and you are feeling super depressed or you're gaining weight or you're getting acne, then sometimes switching that out for a lower dose IUD like a Skyla, which only has 13 and a half milligrams, can. Can make a difference for you. I know personally myself, I could not handle a Mirena iud. It made me actually suicidal. That's how strong it was for me. Personally, and I have seen that with my patients time and time again. On the flip side, I've seen a lot of women feel amazing on their Mirena iud. It all depends on where you were when you started and how much it's affecting your HPO axis and your thyroid and your adrenal function. So everybody's an individual. And what I want to just get across to you is that as long as you know the truth, you know the risks, the benefits, the alternatives, you should be able to sign up for whatever you want to sign up for, right? If you want to Marina IUD every 5 years for 15 years, that's your prerogative. Just know that it might be causing you issues that your doctor isn't necessarily putting two and two together and relating to you. So if you are struggling with things that seem hormonal, but you're being dismissed, then you need to question and consider other options. So there's another iud, there's the Paragard. The paraguard is a non hormonal, it's made of copper and it simply blocks the sperm from ever reaching the egg. It makes a hostile environment in the uterus. So the sperm dies off. It never makes it to the tube where the egg is hanging out. They never meet and never implants. None of that. So that one, you're not going to have any potential hormonal side effects. The most common complaint from a copper IUD, the ParaGard, is that it causes heavy, painful periods. Here's the key, ladies. Those heavy, painful periods are usually from a hormone imbalance. So usually you're already dealing with estrogen dominance or lack of progesterone to keep that estrogen balanced. There are some women that get the IUD placed. They had great periods before that. They get the Paragard, and it does get worse because you are creating a hostile environment with this foreign object inside your uterus. Some of us have more reactive, stronger immune responses than others. You get a lot of immune reaction. Your immune system is like, hey, that's a foreign object in here. Let's attack. Some women's bodies never stop that attack. That can create a lot of cytokine production and prostaglandin production. And those feel good. Those cause cramping. They make the period heavier. So it's not for everybody, but there are so many women who absolutely love it because it is the most effective birth control. That's reversible. Like I said, 99%. It doesn't affect your hormones. Once it's in, you can leave it in up to 10 years. It's pretty awesome. I mean, honestly, probably leave it in forever, but the company says 10 years, that is a really great option for a lot of women. There is some talk about copper toxicity. I think that's a very uncommon issue for women. You can measure your serum copper levels. Sometimes that can cause your estrogens to go up, although I have not seen it that often, you know, and I've been doing this for almost 20 years, so that's another issue.