When Sophie Gibson, 26, went to her doctor for the routine removal of her copper IUD , she never expected to leave with it embedded in her uterus and requiring surgery to take out. But when she rang her insurance provider to request cover for the operation, she was told she would have to fund it herself, leaving her frustrated and facing a $7000 bill for private surgery. Gibson, an HR coordinator based in Queenstown, had a copper IUD - a non-hormonal form of birth control - inserted in 2018 at her GP’s suggestion as she had experienced “punishing” symptoms on the pill and the hormone-releasing implant Jadelle.
Six years later, she was due to have it removed and replaced with a new one, but the removal, usually a brief and relatively painless procedure, quickly began to cause her discomfort and pain. “My strings had been cut short, something I knew from when I first had it inserted, so I was told that removal may be more difficult but not to worry,” she tells the NZ Herald . However, it soon became apparent that something was wrong.
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