I wonder how we can adequately address this. The dismissal of women and minorities (especially woman minorities) has been well studied for literally decades and we haven’t put a dent in it. Why? Wtf is going on?
> Passed out during IUD insertion[1]
> Today I went in to get the Mirena IUD inserted in me, and instead, I passed the fuck out and started having a seizure and had to be taken to the ER.[2]
> I had my copper IUD inserted an hour and a half ago, it was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.[3]
> Passed out from IUD.[4]
Contrast this with studies and the routine practice of IUD insertion[5].
> After an IUD insertion procedure, the researchers compared the pain scores of the participants. The pain scores were significantly lower in the group that received the lidocaine treatment, compared to the group that didn’t.
> In general, doctors don’t routinely offer lidocaine injection because the injection itself can be uncomfortable.
I don't know about you, but there seems to be a discrepancy.
Perhaps the cervix is an outlier, but in my experience, all injections are a bit uncomfortable. Still, we don't require patients to ask for lidocaine before getting stitches, biopsies, or dental work. Local anesthesia before potentially painful procedures is a sensible default.
Note: I'd like to get better sources than Reddit for first-hand accounts of IUD insertion, but sometimes we have to work with the data we have, not the data we want.
1. https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/znda0k/passed...
2. https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/15i90r/so_...
3. https://www.reddit.com/r/birthcontrol/comments/ysapvs/normal...
4. https://www.reddit.com/r/Endo/comments/b96wry/passed_out_fro...
5. https://www.healthline.com/health/birth-control/is-iud-painf...