Copper IUD or hormonal: inconvénientsEn and benefits of contraception, there are two types of IUD: The copper IUD and the hormonal IUD. What are their indications, their advantages and disadvantages? Point with Dr. David Elia *.
What are the major differences between the copper IUD and the hormonal IUD?
Dr David Elia: The copper IUD is a small T-shaped, place it in the uterine cavity. It has a small copper wire, which, with the help of the plastic frame, causing a local inflammatory response mini limiting the fertilization of the ovum by the sperm and making the endometrium unsuitable for implantation.
Its possible disadvantage is represented by rules considered by users as too great. This disadvantage can occur in a small percentage of cases.
When this happens, simply remove the copper IUD and propose a hormonal IUD. The latter has the same form as the copper IUD, with ‘T’, but instead contain a copper wire wound on his arm vertically, it has a small reservoir that contains a hormone called levonorgestrel. It is a chemical copy find to progesterone, a hormone key manufactured by the ovaries during ovulation.
Levonorgestrel is spread on the walls of the uterus and prevent the uterine lining thickens not significantly, so that when the rules, bleeding is unobtrusive (if they persist).
The same principle is found with the pill classic under the influence of hormones in the pill, the lining does not develop a lot (to prevent the possible implantation of a fertilized egg), which can give rise to little bleeding in the rules.
With the hormonal IUD, some women have even more rules at all, they will be amenorrhea. Sometimes this is what motivates women to choose this type of IUD.
The advantage of this IUD is to reduce the rules too large coils with conventional or even halt the rules. As such, you can even use the hormonal IUD in situations where women have rules too important, regardless of any contraception.
As for the disadvantages of hormonal IUD, they remain low and few. Note that a few Levonorgestrel passes into the blood, which may be causing some possible side effects include acne-type or weight gain, but a small number of users are concerned. It is very rare that these effects justify the withdrawal of the IUD.
Note that the effectiveness of the hormonal IUD is slightly larger than the copper IUD. The hormonal IUD is changed every 5 years, the tank is empty after this time. By comparison, the copper IUD to be replaced after 5 to 10 years.
Finally, the hormonal IUD is more expensive but better paid than the copper IUD is considered a drug.
Can you fit an IUD accident pill? Can it be used as morning-after pill?
Dr David Elia: You can perfectly use the copper IUD as emergency contraception.
It is believed that the copper IUD is when the fertilized egg will be found in the uterine cavity, or 3 or 4 days after ovulation. There are therefore 3 or 4 days or 5 days max after sex to pose a risk to IUD as emergency contraception. By comparison, the morning after pill should be used 24, 48 hours or 72 hours after the report at risk.
The mechanism is not well known. Copper is also known to be spermicidal. But we also believe that the IUD increases the contractions of the fallopian tubes, disrupting the fertilized egg or preventing it. Thus, fertilization would take place but the egg would arrive too early in the uterine cavity due to overly rapid contractions of the fallopian tubes. Finally, we think that the coil makes the lining hostile to implantation of the egg by a mechanism of micro inflammation.
We particularly note that the installation of a copper IUD provides additional time in the implementation of emergency contraception.
