IUD and Early Pregnancy Symptoms: What to Know

Question
I have the IUD Paraguard, since February this year.  This month my period was shorter than other months, usually i spend 7 days with heavy bleeding, but this time there were 4 days with moderated bleeding.  Last Friday I started having horrible dizziness and nausea, almost vomited.  That including mood swings and killer headaches.  Today I found pink spots when I went to the bathroom.  My question is, could I got pregnant before my period was supposed to arrive and still had it?  Is it recommendable to get a pregnancy test this soon?

Answer
Dear Sol,

Heavy periods would be expected with IUD use, as is some spotting in between periods. Sometimes this will taper off with time.

The symptoms you describe seem to be hormonal in nature, but Paraguard is not a hormone-releasing IUD, so a hormone surge causing those symptoms would be related to your own cycle. You didn't specify when your period actually was, so it's hard to say whether you may have been ovulating and had an increase in your estrogen level around last Friday. The symptoms also could have been viral in nature.

IUDs in general are very effective (>99%) as a birth control method. It's unlikely that you conceived. I would be more concerned if you were late or missed your period completely. I would suggest that you wait and see what kind of a period you get next month. If your symptoms persist over the next couple of weeks and you remain concerned, then you most certainly can take a HPT to make sure it comes out negative. A test this early may or may not be accurate - it's hard to say because you did actually have a period. Regardless of a test result, if those symptoms do continue or worsen, you should call or see your doctor to determine a cause.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. Please don't hesitate to write again with additional questions. I hope you have a happy Christmas season.

Brenda