Copper-T & Weight Gain

It is one of the most commonly used contraceptives world over. Like any contraceptive, it also has a few adverse effects of its own. But these are encountered by a few women. Unfortunately these few women spread the word pretty fast. Potential users want all their fears allayed before they will hace copper-T insertion done. Some of these fears are real, and some are imaginary. After all, a user gets any symptom, she is likely to attribute it to the poor Copper-T. I was sitting in this transit office of mine, working on something, when along came two office employees. One of them wanted to ask me about her copper-T that had been inserted by another doctor in another institute. She had trusted that doctor to do the insertion, but seemed to trust me to answer her questions about the copper-T. The other one wanted to ask questions about menstrual irregularities. They somehow managed to ask their questions interrupting each other without seeming to offend each other. They must have a wonderful rapport. Their concerns were genuine, and I answered truthfully. There was nothing seriously wrong with either of them. One wanted to have the copper-T removed and have a sterilization done. When I told her about the complications of a sterilization procedure, she seemed to hesitate. So I advised her to continue using the copper-T, which she had had inserted only a few months ago. “But doctor, it sometimes causes a little irregular bleeding.” “What is a little blood loss compared to the benefits of the copper-T? We can fix it with medicines, and it will settle down.” “Doctor, does it cause giddiness, pain in hands and feet?” “No. The hands and feet are pretty far away from the copper-T. The giddiness is from the head, which is even farter away” I said. She seemed to be more tired and worried than she should have been. But not because of her copper-T. “Doctor, does it cause weight gain?” All women are probably concerned about weight gain, and she definitely was. This was the first time heard this alleged effect of a copper-T. “No! If it caused weight gain, wouldn't I have tied a copper-T around my arm? I want to gain weight but cannot.” I said. I am not gaining weight because I watch my diet and exercise. But I did not tell them that. They looked at my thin frame, laughed, and went away relieved.