A few years ago, I was lucky enough to be approved for a Mirena IUD by my doctor. (It is ridiculously hard to get any kind of long-term birth control, especially for women and especially-especially for women under thirty. For reasons that make me rage too violently to want to take the time to explain now.) An IUD--intrauterine device--is a type of internal contraceptive that lasts several years and doesn't require you to remember to do anything special, like remove or replace a vaginal ring or a sticky patch or take a pill. Which I could never remember to do because I am incredibly absentminded.
The progesterone IUD I have, Mirena, lasts five years. Copper IUDs last ten, but also do things like make your menstrual period worse and heavier and last longer and your cramps are more painful, which is exactly what I was trying to stop from happening. Mirena also comes with the perk of occasionally stopping a woman's period completely. Which mine did. I haven't really had a period--at least not like what I used to--since 2009. I do get a very short and light one that lasts just a few days and is mainly just mild cramps and spotting, but I only get that about once every fifteen months or so. So it really doesn't count and isn't anything I have to worry about.
Except that sometimes I do.
Whenever it happens I feel miserable. It's not anywhere near as bad as my pre-BC menstrual days (I had to go on the pill at sixteen to control my erratic, debilitating periods), so I always feel kind of like a wimp. I used to weather worse than this all the time! Why am I so miserable now??
I have no idea how I put up with this shit before I discovered how wonderful birth control was.
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