An Australian woman lived out one of the scariest nightmares imaginable, after the contraceptive device inserted into her caused uncontrollable bleeding. Shannon Hubbard from Bundaberg got a common hormone-releasing contraceptive named Mirena fitted into her uterus after the birth of her son. The device is a T-shaped contraption, capable of preventing 99 percent of pregnancies for six years.
While some amount of light bleeding is seen in women who get IUDs such as the copper T inserted, Shannon’s case was exceptionally dangerous. She panicked when her maternity-sized sanitary pad was soaked within no time, requiring changing after every 30 minutes. She told Bundaberg News Mail, “When I was losing that much blood with large clots, I knew something was wrong.”
She was wheeled into the emergency room and by the time she was transferred to a ward and onto a bed, she bled through her maternity pad and her pants. The wheelchair in which she was brought in was also soaked in her blood. Even after removing the IUD, Shannon’s condition was far from better. The doctors had to insert a balloon catheter to keep from from bleeding to death. She went cold and started shaking due to the extreme blood loss or haemorrhagic shock. ‘”I was worried that my eight-week old baby won’t remember me if I died,” she said.
Two failed surgeries later, her doctors noticed a large haematoma and a 4cm-large tear. Shannon required 17 blood bags to make up for the blood she had lost. But in the end, they were able to save her. Unfortunately, Shannon cannot risk her life with another pregnancy because there’s a big chance that her uterus may rupture.
What are the side effects of Copper T or the Coil?
An IUD like copper T can cause minor side efe anaemia, backache, pain during sexual intercourse, inflammation in the vagina and discharge. Some menstrual symptoms like bleeding, cramping, etc. can worsen. The hormone progestin in the IUD can also cause lighter periods, acne, breast tenderness, headache, nausea and ovarian cysts.
Bleeding is among the serious side effects of IUD. Apart from that, there is also a risk of contracting bacterial infection from insertion of the coil, although such risks are rare. Sometimes, the uterus itself can also spontaneous expel the coil.
Usually, you experience intense pain in the abdomen, accompanied by cramping, fever, chills and pain during sex in case something has gone wrong with the IUD.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 09, 2018 12:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).