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Sometimes, when you’re going through the IUD recovery process, it helps to read about other people’s experiences. Here are some of the posts about IUDs that, excuse the melodrama, made me feel that I wasn’t alone in what I was going through.

Ashleyovershares’ My IUD: After The Procedure

I’ve been allowing my body to get comfortable with its new pregnancy-defending friend. I want to again remind everyone that I’m describing this experience as someone who has never really suffered from cramping before – yes, I’m very lucky – so my level of discomfort and pain may be totally different from the next gal’s.

She also posted this hilarious tweet:

tumblr_inline_niouckfvRd1s1bxg3Jenna Sauer’s User’s Guide to Getting an IUD (Jezebel)

For hormone-free birth control, this is all well worth it. Actually, it kind of has to be worth it, because the IUD is my only choice to stay baby-free without a cocktail of artificial hormones coursing through my system (unless and until science improves upon the options). But right now, with my insertion experience fast becoming another victory for memory repression, and the device’s removal a very distant proposition, I’m feeling pretty damn good about it.

Valerie Tarico’s Pamper, pamper, pamper– plus 9 other tips for falling in love with your IUD

If you’re tired of remembering (or forgetting) pills or worrying about condoms or timing your cycle–if you’re tired of missing classes or work or simply feeling bloated and achy for one week each month–maybe it’s time to pick up the phone.

Mccarpentier’s My IUD: How I Learned To Stop Pill-Popping & Love My Cramps (Jezebel)

I’m not going to beat around the bush here — having it installed was not pleasant. Your doctor puts it in when you’re on the rag because your cervix is already dilated, which is messy, and s/he “clamps” your cervix to hold it still, which I think was actually more uncomfortable than a colposcopy. Since I got one of the non-hormone varieties (the ones that release hormones last up to 5 years), I don’t have to have it taken out for 10 years — and I really don’t plan to have that clamp thing inside me again until completely necessary. I was supposed to be able to go back to work afterwards (and maybe I could have, if my doctor had been of the variety that uses local anesthesia), but I went home to a hot pack, some Advil and a bottle of wine.

I definitely related to all of these stories and made me calm down during the worst of it. Almost two months post-procedure and sometimes I forget I even have an IUD. Of course on some days I still feel slight cramping, usually on my left side. I just take a walk when that happens.

I’m looking forward to hassle-free contraception for the next 10 years. If you have questions about how to get an IUD in the Philippines as an unmarried woman who’s never had kids, feel free to comment below.