A desperate mum says she was forced to pull out her own contraceptive coil because her GP surgery 'didn't have the cash for the two-second procedure'.
Kierra Platt had the IUD fitted at her surgery in September 2023 after a nurse at her endometriosis clinic suggested it would help minimise painful symptoms. But when she began to experience continual bleeding, pain, depression and 'constant rage' after just three weeks of being on it, the 27-year-old asked for it to be removed.
Kierra says her GP told her she needed to wait six months for her body to adjust to the contraception, but instead of calming down she says the side effects worsened over time. The mum-of-two returned to her GP another five times to complain about her coil side effects. During her final visit in April 2024 she begged them to remove it as she said she had developed painful ovarian cysts caused by the contraception.
Despite her GP agreeing to remove it, Kierra says she was told it wasn't possible to have it extracted at her medical centre due to funding being unavailable for family planning services. The stay-at-home mum says she was given the option to either have it taken out at A&E or to wait three months to have it removed at a sexual health clinic.
Kierra turned down the option of A&E as she didn't want to 'waste emergency services' time' on a procedure she claims her doctor could do in 'two seconds'. Feeling like she couldn't endure the three-month wait time for a clinic appointment, Kierra decided to take matters into her own hands and whipped it out herself.
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Kierra's removed contraceptive coil (Kennedy News/@ladiesfirstxox)Shocking photos shared on social media show her holding up her hormonal coil minutes after removing it with her bare hands. Kierra says she's 'not glorifying' DIY coil removals, a procedure recommended only being done by healthcare professionals, but that she was left with 'no choice' due to the long waiting time.
Kierra, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said: "Within three weeks of being on the coil, I noticed my mood changing. I continued to bleed and spot and I found myself constantly in a rage. I was having to take myself outside and take a minute and I was crying constantly. I just thought I needed to give it some time to settle and I thought I'd be okay.
"Every now and again, after starting to experience these symptoms, I'd tell the GP that something didn't feel right and I told them I thought it was because of the coil. I told them I thought my symptoms were linked to the coil but the doctor told me that the hormones were localised to my cervix and therefore shouldn't be making me feel depressed.
"I brought this up at least five appointments in conversation and the doctor told me this wasn't the reason. I started suffering from acne on the coil too and this is not something I'd suffered with before. The GP kept turning me away. I ended up calling my mum in tears and she told me I needed to tell them I wanted the coil removed."
Kierra said she suffered bad acne due to the coil (Kennedy News/@ladiesfirstxox)At her wits' end, Kierra went to her GP for a fifth time begging them to remove it. Kierra said: "In April, I went back to the GP and told them I wanted the coil removed. I thought they would just take out my coil for me then. My GP said she wasn't qualified to take it out so she said she would call the doctor next door but they told me I needed to book an appointment.
"I went to the receptionist but she said they were no longer running family clinics as they didn't have the funding so I couldn't get it removed. She said I'd have to go to a sexual health clinic to get it taken out. They said the wait time for an appointment there was three months. They did suggest I could go to A&E to get it removed if it was that bad, which I was gobsmacked about.
"I didn't want to use emergency services and use up their time for something that can be removed in two seconds. I needed it out immediately as it was causing me a lot of stress, I couldn't take any more of it. I felt like I had no other choice but to remove it myself. I felt helpless and like I was losing my mind."
Kierra says she was 'shocked' at how easy she found it to remove her coil at home in her bedroom using just her fingers. Kierra said: "I lay down on my bed, popped a pillow under my bum and just tried to see if I could feel the strings of my coil. I found the strings, which I was quite surprised about as I didn't think I'd be able to.
Kierra says her GP surgery 'didn't have the cash for the procedure' (Kennedy News/@ladiesfirstxox)"I got it between my two fingers and started to pull and it felt like I was just pulling a tampon out. I was gobsmacked. I didn't think it would have been that easy to remove. I was in shock but I was so relieved to have it out." Since removing her own coil, Kierra shared a video on TikTok about her experience that has racked up more than 36,000 views.
She is now urging women to push to be heard by their GP if they don't think something is right and vows she'll never go on hormonal birth control again. Kierra says her coil experience is also a contributing factor to why she has now changed GP practice: "I had just hit a point where I was going to the GP and leaving crying.
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"I knew I wasn't the only person going through this with their health and I thought 'if I can just help one other person and show they are not alone', that is what I wanted to do. After this experience, I will never use hormonal birth control again. Having something in your body and not being able to have it removed is just appalling to me. I have now changed to a different doctor's practice too."
A practice spokesman said they are unable to comment regarding individual patient circumstances.
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