Latest news with #AllieVolpe


Vox
13-07-2025
- Health
- Vox
Why doctors are finally taking IUD pain seriously
IUDs are becoming more popular. Now, can we make them less painful? Getty Images IUDs have been a promising breakthrough in birth control, offering both convenience and effectiveness, and their use has exploded over the past few decades. But that progress has often come with some (painful) trade-offs. Vox senior reporter Allie Volpe has been digging into why medicine has been slow to catch up to the pain that IUD insertions can cause and doctors' plans to make the process for more palatable for patients in the future. It is a big reproductive rights story, at a time when those rights are increasingly under threat. I sat down and chatted with Allie about it. Allie, are IUDs becoming more popular? What do people like about them? They're definitely more popular. Just over 6 million people, or 8.4 percent of contraceptive users between the ages of 15 and 49, use IUDs. It's actually the fourth most popular form of birth control. No. 1 is tubal ligation or, as people refer to it, getting your tubes tied. The pill is No. 2, condoms are No. 3, and IUDs are No. 4. That's a huge increase from the mid-'90s when just 1 percent of birth control users used IUDs. Today, Explained Understand the world with a daily explainer, plus the most compelling stories of the day. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. People really like the IUD. It's a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. Once you get past the act of placing it, you have it for anywhere from three to 10 years, depending on the type you have. Both do the same thing: They prevent the sperm and egg from meeting. A lot of people report less cramping on their periods, lighter periods, or even no periods in general. That's a huge draw for people who often have painful periods or endometriosis. It's a good way to treat those things. I think a lot of people have the perception of IUDs as a quick, painless insertion that's not really a big deal. Is that accurate? It depends on who you talk to, right? It is quick. It is all over within a matter of minutes unless you're getting anesthesia, which would make the process longer. And for some people, it's historically not been all that uncomfortable. But for others, it's really uncomfortable. Pain is very personal, and it's hard to pinpoint what pain actually is. Some people are like, 'Yup, didn't really feel it.' Others are like, 'I've had multiple children, and this is more painful than childbirth.' What we've been seeing over the last couple of years is those people coming on social media talking about their experiences with painful IUD insertions. Why do you think that misconception persists? Why do even doctors misunderstand the pain that their patients are going through? Women's pain in medicine has long been minimized. There's been reporting over the last couple of years about medical gaslighting, not just in gynecological procedures but across the board. Women will come in with a problem. And for decades, centuries, they've just been written off as being hysterical. Specifically, when it comes to IUDs, as more people got them, you started to hear more stories about these being very painful. It's a numbers game — more people get them, more people are going to have problems — but also a medical history game. You're writing about this now because things do seem to be changing. What's going on? One of the OB-GYNs I talked to said, 'I've been placing IUDs for like 37 years. It's not like I didn't mention that it would be painful, but I just tried not to bring it up. Because if a patient expects something's going to be painful, it's going to be more painful than they really thought.' These conversations about pain were not really happening until recently. Within the last year, the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists both released recommendations telling doctors to talk to their patients about pain management during IUD placement. Related Why gynecologists think IUDs are the best contraceptive For a while, there just wasn't really good research that pointed to methods that might help during this procedure because the pain can come at multiple points. But these groups are urging doctors to talk to their patients about not only taking ibuprofen to manage the pain after the procedure but also using topical creams or an anesthetic shot during the procedure to reduce discomfort. What questions should patients be asking their doctor? All of the OB-GYNs I talked to really stressed this: Talk to your doctor before your appointment. Because if you walk in the day of, there's not really a lot they can do. So, as you're making this appointment, discuss your concerns with your doctor. Tell them if you're concerned about pain or if you have any past history that might make this procedure more difficult for you. Ask, 'What can you offer me?' Ask as many questions as you want. If you don't feel satisfied with the options they have — like if you really want a paracervical block but your doctor doesn't offer it — ask if they have recommendations for another provider that will. Then start to talk through a plan with your provider. What medications will they give you pre-appointment? Some doctors now are giving people Xanax to chill out before the IUD insertion. They will probably often tell you to take ibuprofen beforehand. Ask what they will use during the procedure. Make sure you have that clear plan written out ahead of time.


Vox
21-05-2025
- Health
- Vox
How switching to a flip phone deepened my friendships
is a deputy editor of Future Perfect, Vox's section on the myriad challenges and efforts in making the world a better place. She oversees the Future Perfect fellowship program. On April Fools' Day, I called my mom. I told her that for a month, I was 'going flip phone' — meaning, abandoning my iPhone for one with no access to social media apps. And no, it wasn't a joke. My discontent with my screen time reached new peaks in late March after a stint in physical therapy and a string of near-constant rainy days. But first, some context: I stare at screens all day for a living, and I'm no stranger to life affixed to a computer, palm-sized or not. I grew up in the 2000s, playing Neopets and the Sims 2. I later inherited my mom's busted iPhone 3GS in 2011 as an eighth-grader, and said goodbye to my LG Lotus flip phone. I've been on Instagram since within a year of its launch. For more than a decade, I lived by the idea of 'good screen' and 'bad screen.' That is, bad screen is work/school-related, and good screen is just for the vibes, like spending an hour or so in a Wikipedia rabbit hole. Good screen felt like a reclamation of my own time. Until it didn't. Turns out, good screen is actually a farce. We didn't know it at the time in the 2010s, but increased use of smartphones and social media was probably bad for my then-developing brain. According to an October 2024 CDC report, the percentage of teenagers who had symptoms of anxiety or depression was higher among those with four hours or more of daily screen time. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention For me, the decision came about because I realized that my phone was getting in the way of doing literally anything else. Like going to a coffee shop with a friend. Or playing evening soccer and getting a drink after. Or hosting dinner parties. If there's one thing I've learned while working here alongside Even Better's Allie Volpe, the key to a good life is to get some sun early in the day, do regular movement, and socialize often. So 'dumbphone' it was. Going Barbie phone The rules, my boss said, were simple. I had a $100 budget. (Him: 'I mean, it goddamn better be under $100. It won't do anything.') And I had to go the whole way. That meant I couldn't switch back and forth between phones. The only exception was using my iPhone for two-factor authentication apps. 'I wonder if you'll have any friends left over by the end,' my boss, editorial director Bryan Walsh, slacked me. 'Or maybe more because you'll call them up on your telephone. Maybe you'll get new friends, better ones.' This story was first featured in the Future Perfect newsletter. Sign up here to explore the big, complicated problems the world faces and the most efficient ways to solve them. Sent twice a week. The strict budget ruled out fancy but still internet-free dumbphones like the Light Phone my colleague Adam Clark Estes tried out last month. So I first turned to older flip phones. My partner's parents had an old Motorola Razr chilling in a drawer, and I had always wanted one when I was a kid (or a T-Mobile Sidekick or LG Chocolate). But after hours of trying to figure out if the phone was compatible with my carrier, I learned that the infrastructure in the US for 2G connection was shut down this year. I couldn't use anything that wasn't at least 4G. I effectively had to get a new phone. Naturally, I stalked the internet's best resource for financial decision-making: Reddit. I checked out tons of posts on r/dumbphones, and finally decided to go for the (at the time) $90 HMD Barbie Phone. It had maps, texts, and a camera — but no app store. It technically does have internet, but it is so impossible to use that it might as well not be there. Social butterfly? When my friends heard about my little experiment, they were worried, thrilled, partially envious, and wondering how on earth we would plan our Formula 1 race weekend watch parties. I didn't set any intentional goal of how often to reach out to people or make plans. But in the absence of mindlessly scrolling on Instagram or TikTok, I was motivated to reach out to people. Still, my texts were very stilted because of the numeric keypad. Some of my friends were annoyed about this within a week. One texted me to ask about my thoughts on tariffs, and I replied 'Hmm hard 2 say.' A few hours later, she texted me with some personal news that warranted a swift phone call. 'I can feel yourself restraining your thoughts in your texts! But it's nice to just hear your voice right now,' she said in that call. This friend lives in a different city, so I don't get to see her as often. But because we weren't seeing what the other was up to on Instagram, we called each other a lot more often than we usually would have. Speaking of Instagram…what a double-edged sword! It's either a black hole of endless, pointless scrolling or it's how you find out about the latest party, book release event, or restaurant opening. I definitely missed out on a lot of potential hangs by not being on IG, but at the same time, would I have actually spontaneously gone to any of them? I'm not so sure. I did cheat a bit by opting to text friends via my personal computer whenever I had the chance to. This also let me participate in some group chats since the Barbie phone doesn't have that capability. And I called my mom way more. That's saying something because I talk to both of my parents essentially every other day with my normal phone. I flew to see my dad in Tennessee and visited my partner's parents in Westchester for Easter. I even planned an intergenerational return with my grandparents to Puerto Rico for May. Life after dumbphone All in all, I about doubled the number of in-person hangs, although my memory is a bit fuzzy. I'm someone who lives and dies by my Google Calendar, and I wasn't great at version control between my physical planner and the g-cal. And I don't have many photo reminders of what I did. However, I did not last an entire month. I fell two days short, thanks to that sporadic trip to Puerto Rico. I had to order Ubers, consult spreadsheets, figure out access codes, find restaurants that everyone actually wanted to eat at, and keep in touch with people we were hanging out with. If you're a caretaker or if your work demands that you be online 24/7, I'm not sure if a smartphone detox is right for you. And honestly, there were some things I missed from my regular iPhone. Having no music during runs made me dread jogging, so I didn't run for an entire month. I couldn't scan QR code menus at restaurants. If I didn't have directions written down somewhere, I was constantly anxious about getting lost since Google Maps on the Barbie phone wasn't all that. I also took fewer photos. (Sorry, Bad Bunny, I know I should take more.) Still, my life felt more full because of the burst of spontaneity encouraging deeper connections with my friends and family. My attention span also no longer seemed like it's the size of a small pea. And while I didn't start this experiment out of concern for my mental health, it did help me feel more socially connected, something that puts people at less risk for depression. I'm now much more deliberate in valuing off-the-cuff hangs. Just last week, I went to a bar to watch the Knicks game, and called a friend who I haven't seen in a few months. And yes, it was on the Barbie phone. A version of this story originally appeared in the Future Perfect newsletter. Sign up here! 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