My experience of an IUD insertion: frozen with shock - no one was asking if I was OK

Summary

The following account has been shared with Patient Safety Learning anonymously. We’d like to thank the patient for sharing their experience to help raise awareness of the patient safety issues surrounding IUD procedures.

*Trigger warning: Some people may find the following account distressing to read. Please note that experiences of pain and the care given during gynaecological procedures vary greatly.

Content

I came across Patient Safety Learning's forum page about IUD experiences after having my first Mirena coil fitting. 

I felt unable to comprehend the sense of violation and trauma I had just experienced.

A suspected cancer referral

I was referred by my GP on the 'suspected cancer pathway' for some post menopausal bleeding. On a positive note, I cannot fault the system and the speed with which I was seen, but my treatment during the appointment was so awful I am actually shaking again as I write this.

Although this was an urgent referral, I was not particularly anxious as I felt the erratic bleeding I was experiencing was likely due to my hormone replacement therapy (HRT) regime. I was expecting a consultation and a scan, possibly a hysteroscopy; with a change in my HRT regime being the likely outcome.

Off to a bad start

The appointment started off on the wrong foot with the consultant asking if I thought there was actually any benefit in taking HRT, likening it to long term antidepressant usage. I explained that, as a runner, I was largely taking it for the well researched bone health benefits but I found his question rather belittling with its implied suggestion of menopause being all in the mind.

He went on to advise that a Mirena coil would be a better option for me for HRT which I agreed I would consider. He did not explain the procedure or the possible complications or risks. I will add here that I was sterilised at the age of 30 after my second child. Contraception wasn't something I'd had to consider for the past 23 years so it wasn't really something I'd chatted about with friends. I had heard rumours of bad experiences but took it with a pinch of salt - there are after all rumours of bad experiences in all walks of life. I could not have been more wrong.

The procedure - I was frozen with shock

I stripped to the waist, legs in stirrups and the consultant explained he would first perform a transvaginal ultrasound to check the thickness of the endometrium - this was reassuringly normal. 

Then without any warning, he told me he was just going to inject some anaesthetic into my cervix and fit a coil. I had no time to prepare myself at all for this - I didn't really feel I had consented but he and both nurses in the room were acting as though this was all very normal. The injections weren't pleasant in themselves, particularly as I wasn't expecting them. There was no pause at all before I felt awful searing pain and pulling sensations, nothing was being explained prior to it being performed. Something was said about my cervix needing to be dilated and it seemed to take forever.

I didn't shout out, I didn't ask him to stop, i just let the tears come. I felt absolutely frozen with shock throughout the whole procedure - no one was asking if I was OK so I assumed I was being a bit of a baby. He announced the coil was in place and I was sat up.

Lack of compassion 

Within seconds I was flooded with heat, I wanted to be sick and everything started to go black. The nurse laid me back down and I remember coming round with a fan on my face and my feet elevated on a stool. The nurse seemed very chilled about the whole thing and just said - oh you're a fainter! I am 53 and have only ever fainted once in my life and that was over 20 years ago. The consultant did not even look at me, let alone speak.

I actually felt embarrassed and just wanted to get out as fast as possible. I was slowly sat up and the nurse went and got my daughter from the waiting room. My daughter was told that I felt a little bit wobbly and suggested we go get a coffee from the hospital coffee shop, no one checked my pulse or blood pressure and they seemed keen to get on so we dutifully left.

I felt horrific. I couldn't make it to the coffee shop at first. I had to sit down with my head between my legs twice in the hospital corridor as I felt so faint, sick and hot. I've no idea how I dragged myself to the cafe as I continued to feel so awful. After 30 minutes of this my daughter went to get help. She was advised to get a wheelchair and take me back to the clinic which she did.

We were laughingly told by the receptionist that I wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last and that we were welcome to sit in a quiet room until I felt better. She brought me a cup of tea but no nurse checked on me at all.

It took almost an hour after the fitting before I could stand for long enough to get out to the car. We just sort of slunk out and that was it.

Later when I felt better, I checked my sports watch data. My heart rate had averaged 46 for over 30 minutes with the lowest reading being 38 beats per minute.

Left in disbelief but inspired to advocate for change

How is this happening in 2024? The thought of ever having another pelvic exam, smear test or anything else makes me feel sick and shaky. Where do people go for support with this? It's not ok. I work in Primary Care and often refer women on the same pathway I have just been through. I will absolutely be raising my concerns with the care provider involved.

I also have since spoken to a number of women of perimenopausal age and have been horrified to hear so many upsetting experiences from others. It does seem that there is an embedded culture within gynaecological care within which women are neither heard nor permitted agency over their own bodies.

Two weeks on and I am feeling far less traumatised, but incredibly inspired to help bring an end to this poor treatment of women. It can be easier to speak up in advocacy than solely for oneself.

Share your experience

Have you had a gynaecological procedure recently? Would like to share your experience - positive or negative? What makes the difference when it comes to feeling safe or unsafe when accessing these services? You can comment below (sign up first for free), or contact our editorial team at [email protected]. 

You can also add your experience of a hysteroscopy or IUD procedure to our community forum.

• Pain during IUD fitting
• Painful hysteroscopy

Related reading

• Pain experiences during intrauterine device procedures: a thematic analysis of tweets (11 June 2024)
• Failures of informed consent and the impact on women’s health: a Patient Safety Learning blog
• Gynecology has a pain problem Our discomfort is routine. What if it didn’t have to be? (1 June 2022) 
• Fitting coils: developing a safe and supportive service
• The ripples of trauma caused by severe pain during IUD procedures (BMJ Opinion, July 2021)