Hey guys, gals, and nonbinary pals. Long time reader, first time poster. This is a long one, so please, bear with me. So I’m having some personal issues with my current contraceptive situation and it’s led to some concerns and even worse, a bit of insecurity and shame unfortunately. I’ve been on birth control since Oct. 2017 and the option I went with out of everything was and still is the hormonal IUD. Initially, I specifically had the brand Mirena inserted, and despite some minor complications, I kept that in until just this past February, when after speaking with my newly found OB-GYN (which is the first time I’m officially having one, I’m almost 20 and got the initial BC inserted at my high school clinic my junior year and never got it checked up on), I got it removed and replaced with the brand Kyleena instead because its smaller size seemed to better suit me, according to my doctor. In the first experience, I went through the three-month period they tell you about where you’ll likely have an irregular period while your body adjusts, however, my body just never did. Like, irregular periods became the regular for me unfortunately and I just got used to it, but I was reasonably never satisfied with it. Now that I’ve been a young adult for a while and I’m more independent, I decided a few months ago that I wanted to take better care of my health and I finally got myself various doctors to treat various issues for my own self-care, from a chiropractor to a dermatologist to the OB-GYN I mentioned. Anyway, today makes seven weeks since I got the Mirena removed and Kyleena inserted, and not to sound dramatic, but I feel like I’ve been going through a personal hell (which has been greatly impacted by being stuck inside and my mental health taking a toll as a result). At first I was experiencing sudden extreme cramps for like a week straight, like nothing I had ever felt before, but it did eventually go away, and now for a while I’ve noticed that there’s a smell down there. It’s not fishy or rotten, but it’s definitely not pleasant either, and before anyone asks or draws conclusions, I already thought of everything. I take proper care of my hygiene and clean myself properly, and when I finally went back to my clinic for the 6-week checkup and voiced all my concerns, the nurse practitioner (who albeit wasn’t the initial head doctor I spoke with back in January but I don’t think that matters much, I trust her judgement and knowledge and she was the one who performed the procedure) validated my worries but assured me that all that was normal. She checked the string and confirmed that the device hadn’t shifted out of place, and she ran tests that I got the results for a few days later letting me know that I tested negative for bacterial vaginosis, as well as STDs/STIs. My period just finished a day or two ago, and it definitely has been irregular as expected, with a longer menstruation, sometimes heavy bleeding, often times what comes out being a light or dark brown color as if it were old blood (even when it’s not). It doesn’t burn when I pee, I’m not experiencing any itching either. Maybe a smidge or discomfort just from the friction of wearing pads frequently which is normal and I make sure to change them often enough. I still have about another month and a half to go before things are supposed to “settle down” so to speak, and I’m already 1/3 or 1/2 of the way there so I don’t wanna take it out and waste my own time, on top of the fact that I wanna avoid more unnecessary trips out with what’s currently going on in the world and also, no other birth control really works for me and my lifestyle. I don’t wanna think the doctor could be wrong and overlooked something, but I can’t help but still wonder and worry, because the smell won’t go away and it’s quite frankly really embarrassing. It’ll go away when I shower but then come back shortly after, light and hardly noticeable at first and then gradually stronger till I shower again. I’m pretty certain it’s not bad enough that someone standing in front of me could smell it, just me when I’m using the bathroom. I wonder if maybe it’s a UTI or yeast infection? After doing some googling and researching yesterday I’ve also considered maybe it is normal and maybe the IUD has just thrown my PH balance off while it’s adjusting. (Oh, and if it matters, I am iron-deficient anemic, but I try to take an iron pill at least once a day or every other day.) But I don’t know. I don’t know if those would require separate tests that the NP didn’t think to do or if the tests she did do covered that. It’s also not too huge of a problem right now considering I’m inside everyday and I’m in a long-distance relationship, but just the thought of how worse I would feel in this scenario if my boyfriend was around and if he were to try to initiate sex makes me upset. So I guess I just want the insight of others who understand and have been in my position or maybe know more than me and have any ideas. Is my doctor right in saying that this is completely normal and that I should just bear through it and expect it to go away in due time? Or could there maybe be something else wrong? Is there anything else I can do to treat and prevent the issue? Please, let me know. Feel free to leave a comment or message me directly. Thanks!