Today I got my Skyla IUD inserted. It is a small hormone releasing device that gets inserted into your uterus and releases the hormone progestin. It works by affecting the sperm and makes them unable to reach the egg. Some women may not even ovulate at all with an IUD. 

I just wanted to put my experience here for girls who are considering getting the Skyla (or any IUD). I'm 20 years old, in college, and have never had a baby. I've never been on birth control before but considering I'm in a relationship and felt like condoms weren't enough (for me) I decided to meet with a nurse practitioner at my local Planned Parenthood. We discussed 2 methods (I had done prior research), the pill and the Skyla IUD. She loves the IUD and reccomends them to a lot of women. We chose Skyla because it is meant for women who have not had children.  

She temporarily put me on the pill while we waited for my period/when I was ready for the IUD. I hated the pill for the couple weeks I was on it. That's when I knew the IUD was for me. 

1 hour before my appointment I took 800mg of ibuprofen and got it inserted on the 4th day of my period. Make sure you eat beforehand or you might get dizzy. It's not necessary to get it inserted on your period or take ibuprofen but it does make a BIG difference in what you feel. (According to my Doctor) 

Here is what my doctor did:

1) Used the speculum to open my vagina. To me this was the worst part. It feels close to having penetration without any foreplay and it pinched me a bit.

2) She cleaned my cervix and clamped it open

3) Measured the depth of my uterus. You'll feel period cramps during this. To me, it didn't feel worse than normal cramps.

4) Inserted the IUD

5) Cut the strings and removed the speculum. Once she removed the speculum all the pain was gone. I just really didn't like the feeling of the speculum! 

The cramping pain during insertion wasn't bad, it was the same pain I feel every month on the first day of my period! Totally manageable! In fact the insertion cramps only lasted for 10 seconds at a time. The entire process took about 5 minutes. I was in the waiting room longer! 

If you are considering birth control, I highly reccomend talking to your doctor about getting an IUD. I wanted to post my experience because I couldn't find much when I was looking for what to expect. I will continue to update my symptoms. Right now I'm just laying on the couch with a heating pad while catching up on OITNB!

Please share your IUD experience in the comments! I hope this helps!