by Teena Kay

Created on: June 20, 2009

It is essential that you and your womb are healthy so even if you had the all clear from your latest smear test, your doctor may ask you to see the practice nurse to take some vaginal swabs to determine if there is an infection in your womb. As I never had children before I was told that my vagina and cervix were still neat and tidy, unlike women who have given birth where 'it can be a pretty messy down there' (my practice nurse's words not mine).

I had to make an appointment with the practice nurse to get this test done. It is best to have it done between periods as it takes a week or so for the results to come back.

It's best to fit it towards the end of your period simply because it is an additional insurance you are not pregnant, the opening to the cervix will be slightly enlarged (making the fitting easier and less uncomfortable) and it will also make sure that the device will start working straight away. The IUD can be fitted at any time but it might be an idea to continue with barrier contraception for a few days if you wait to have it fitted until later in the cycle. As the procedure takes a little longer than a normal doctor's appointment (in my practice a so called 'double appointment' I had decided to take the morning off work).

I had heard and read that fitting the IUD can be uncomfortable and very painful, some people likened it to giving birth. Information websites tell you to take pain relief in particular if you had not given birth before just to take the edge off.

I must say that I took these reports with a pinch of salt. I have a very high pain threshold and don't use pain relief until absolutely necessary so decided to stick it out.

My whole take on pain is the 'mind over matter' approach. If you expect something to be painful, it will be painful. If you relax and not think of pain, it will be easier and the actual pain you are experiencing will be so much lighter. It's not comfortable to have procedures done in a sensitive, private area of your body but it's not as nasty as some people make it out to be. The more experienced the person fitting the device, the less painful it is.

My doctor is one of two in the practice who is able/allowed/trained to fit IUDs. Before the fitting, we went again went through which one I wanted. After all, each has its advantages and disadvantages. I had chosen Mirena as I felt it was the best one for me, promising lighter and less painful periods. But it also meant that the device was slightly larger

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