Alina shares her first pelvic exam and IUD insertion adventure! I’m on the record as being a big IUD fan but, hoo-lee, that is a one-two punch in the cunt, for sure. As an IUD user of close to two decades, I’ve had insertions and removals that cross the pain spectrum from ‘Uncomfortable’ to ‘So excruciating that the doctor and medical staff all apologized to me afterwards’, and despite that, it’s still the birth control I’ll be sticking with for the foreseeable future. You can learn more about my thoughts on and experiences with the IUD in this comic here, and the Mirena IUD makes a special guest appearance in Rachel Duke’s comic for us about Planned Parenthood, too!
Aw, hell, let’s just show you a bunch of our comics on the vulva and contraception:
Vulva/Uterus Health and Contraception
► Vulvovaginal Anatomy
► Gynecological Exam
► Paraguard IUD
► The Implant by Lucy Knisley
► The Pill
► Condom Basics
► Internal Condom
► Misc. Contraception
► Emergency ContraceptionPlus ALL the sex ed topics we’ve featured here on the site, including an explanation of how pregnancy even happens in the first place.
Oh, where are my manners? Of course you want to go see more of Alina’s beautiful work! Don’t let me get in your way! Go show her some love:
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– The Oh Joy Sex Toy per-comic Patreon to directly support these comics
– The Erika Moen Monthly Patreon with her many art projects
↓ Comic Transcript
Page 1
Today's lovely comic is drawn in pinks, browns, and greens, it’s an autobiographical comic strip from Alina who is a self-described, chubby, feminine person with shoulder length, dark hair, brown skin, and glasses. Elena’s pronouns are she/them.
The comic starts with Alina in a doctor's office her legs raised in stirrups, she’s in a patient gown and nervously looking out from behind a Mirena IUD box towards the camera as she fills us in on, and what’s happening.
'I had an IUD put inside me earlier this year. It was also the first time I’ve had a pelvic exam in my life. Needless to say, I was extremely nervous.'
A tall, skinny redhead, feminine-appearing doctor, enters the office waving towards Alina.
'Hi Alina! Are we ready to go?'
'Oh, yeah.'
'Awesome!'
The doctor snaps on a pair of gloves, as Elena sweats.
'Bit late to back out now!' The doctor pronounces.
The comic flashes back to two weeks ago, Alina is with the same doctor as they talk about choices.
The doctor starts the conversation ‘ so, you say the pill's been messing up your period?'
'Yeah, I’m bleeding like, every other week.' Alina responds
'Oof! Have you thought about getting an IUD?’
'Not really. It sounds kind of painful. And scary.'
Page 2
The doctor thoughtfully looks up.
'Well, the insertion can be. And it takes some getting used to.'
A big panel takes up most of the rest of the page showing a giant IUD, which in reality is a tiny T-shaped device intended to sit inside the uterus. Perched on top of the IUD are the doctor and Alina, looking down at said device as they talk over it.
Doctor: 'But there’s a lot of upside to an IUD! This is the Mirena! It stops pregnancy by preventing your uterine lining from thickening. Most users have little to no period after insertion, so it can help with cramps too. It’s a one-time cost, so you can get it and forget about it for 5 to 8 yes!'
'That sounds pretty great!'
The doctor sits down at their computer
'Sweet! I can book you in for it in two weeks?'
'Two weeks!' Elena shouts
A tiny Marshmello version of herself nervously just for us readers, as the scene finishes.
'At this point, I’d never had a gyno exam. My first experience with one was going to be an IUD insertion too!'
Page 3
Alina walks us through some panels depicting her history and background. In this first panel, we see a younger Alina with her mother visiting a doctor long ago. A modern-day Alina is looking at us and narrating over the wordless scene.
'Growing up, I had very little control over my health. Even as an adult, my mom would take me to the doctor. Going to the gyno was only done if you were having sex.'
The next two panels are drawn in a stainless-glass fashion, depicting two archways. One archway is a depiction of an Indian woman, kneeling in isolation, around closed flowers. The other is a woman riding cowgirl a top of her lover as flowers bloom and hearts explode in abundance. around. Behind these two archways is a simplified marshmallow version of Alina who’s there to give these panels context through narration.
'In my Indian upbringing, having sex meant you had to be married. But it didn’t really shake out like that for me.'
'Folks, learn from my mistakes! Definitely get checked up before your IUD appointment if you haven’t already.'
The bottom of this page leads us back into the present as a friendly Doctor holds up a speculum.
'This shouldn’t hurt too bad.'
A laying down Alina, responds meekly with, 'Well, at least it can’t hurt more than giving birth, ha ha.'
Suddenly, Alina is struck by red pain Sparks.
'I was totally unprepared for the pain I was about to be in.'
Page 4
Four panels show abstractions of sparks, noises, tears, and scrunched-up Alina faces, as the IUD is inserted, out of view. The vibe check here is one of pain and uncomfortability.
We cut to a smiling Doctor.
'All done! Now go forth and don’t multiply! You might feel a little bit, woozy, but you’ll be fine in a bit.'
The doctor continues as we see a small, wobbly broken Alina laying in a puddle of pain and blood.
'Now you can’t have any penetrative sex for seven days. You'll bleed for a few days, but if it hurts too much, please call us!'
'OK…' Alina dazily responds.
'Think you’re OK to go home?'
'Y-yeah, I think so.'
A grumpy-looking Alina is zooming by in the back of a taxi
'In the Uber back home, I felt like my insides were on fire. I’ve had some pretty painful period cramps before, but this was on another level. I felt like I couldn’t move without passing out.'
Alina weekly smiles towards us and the camera.
'But though I felt sick and dizzy, I was still elated. I felt so proud to finally take charge of my sexual health. As silly as it might sound, it made me feel like a real grown-up.'
Page 5
A large panel takes up half the page. It shows a transitional Alina, moving from a red, small marshmallowy version of herself kneeling in pain, to a happy, joyous, running one before finally, a third Alina who is hugging herself in glee.
'My IUD adventure was so worth the pain. It was so liberating to push myself out of my comfort zone, and just go for it. It felt like the start of a new journey, being more mindful of my body's needs and taking care of it myself.'
We cut to Alina in bed underneath her blankets in front of her computer. On the other side of the computer, in cyberspace is her partner talking back.
Floating around Alina's narration are hearts.
'I can’t wait to take this IUD for a spin with you!'
'Hey! You can’t have any PIV sex for seven days remember?' Responds the partner
Alina looks away rejected
'Oh yeah…'
The partner's face looks back with a smirk
'Do you know what that means though right?'
We see two marshmallowy versions of Alina and her partner, jumping and high-fiving in the air as they both shout
'Butt stuff!'
--
Today's IUD Adventure Comic was written and drawn by Alina who can be found at https://alinawillustrates.weebly.com/
It was then transcribed by Matthew Nolan on 2/05/24!
Oh Joy Sex Toy is paid for and supported by Patreon, and we'd ask for any and all support you can give us there, so we can keep these comics and transcriptions going for another year or more! We have bonus comics and Behind the Scenes stuff there too, so don't miss out - https://www.patreon.com/OhJoySexToy
Page 1
Today's lovely comic is drawn in pinks, browns, and greens, it’s an autobiographical comic strip from Alina who is a self-described, chubby, feminine person with shoulder length, dark hair, brown skin, and glasses. Elena’s pronouns are she/them.
The comic starts with Alina in a doctor's office her legs raised in stirrups, she’s in a patient gown and nervously looking out from behind a Mirena IUD box towards the camera as she fills us in on, and what’s happening.
'I had an IUD put inside me earlier this year. It was also the first time I’ve had a pelvic exam in my life. Needless to say, I was extremely nervous.'
A tall, skinny redhead, feminine-appearing doctor, enters the office waving towards Alina.
'Hi Alina! Are we ready to go?'
'Oh, yeah.'
'Awesome!'
The doctor snaps on a pair of gloves, as Elena sweats.
'Bit late to back out now!' The doctor pronounces.
The comic flashes back to two weeks ago, Alina is with the same doctor as they talk about choices.
The doctor starts the conversation ‘ so, you say the pill's been messing up your period?'
'Yeah, I’m bleeding like, every other week.' Alina responds
'Oof! Have you thought about getting an IUD?’
'Not really. It sounds kind of painful. And scary.'
Page 2
The doctor thoughtfully looks up.
'Well, the insertion can be. And it takes some getting used to.'
A big panel takes up most of the rest of the page showing a giant IUD, which in reality is a tiny T-shaped device intended to sit inside the uterus. Perched on top of the IUD are the doctor and Alina, looking down at said device as they talk over it.
Doctor: 'But there’s a lot of upside to an IUD! This is the Mirena! It stops pregnancy by preventing your uterine lining from thickening. Most users have little to no period after insertion, so it can help with cramps too. It’s a one-time cost, so you can get it and forget about it for 5 to 8 yes!'
'That sounds pretty great!'
The doctor sits down at their computer
'Sweet! I can book you in for it in two weeks?'
'Two weeks!' Elena shouts
A tiny Marshmello version of herself nervously just for us readers, as the scene finishes.
'At this point, I’d never had a gyno exam. My first experience with one was going to be an IUD insertion too!'
Page 3
Alina walks us through some panels depicting her history and background. In this first panel, we see a younger Alina with her mother visiting a doctor long ago. A modern-day Alina is looking at us and narrating over the wordless scene.
'Growing up, I had very little control over my health. Even as an adult, my mom would take me to the doctor. Going to the gyno was only done if you were having sex.'
The next two panels are drawn in a stainless-glass fashion, depicting two archways. One archway is a depiction of an Indian woman, kneeling in isolation, around closed flowers. The other is a woman riding cowgirl a top of her lover as flowers bloom and hearts explode in abundance. around. Behind these two archways is a simplified marshmallow version of Alina who’s there to give these panels context through narration.
'In my Indian upbringing, having sex meant you had to be married. But it didn’t really shake out like that for me.'
'Folks, learn from my mistakes! Definitely get checked up before your IUD appointment if you haven’t already.'
The bottom of this page leads us back into the present as a friendly Doctor holds up a speculum.
'This shouldn’t hurt too bad.'
A laying down Alina, responds meekly with, 'Well, at least it can’t hurt more than giving birth, ha ha.'
Suddenly, Alina is struck by red pain Sparks.
'I was totally unprepared for the pain I was about to be in.'
Page 4
Four panels show abstractions of sparks, noises, tears, and scrunched-up Alina faces, as the IUD is inserted, out of view. The vibe check here is one of pain and uncomfortability.
We cut to a smiling Doctor.
'All done! Now go forth and don’t multiply! You might feel a little bit, woozy, but you’ll be fine in a bit.'
The doctor continues as we see a small, wobbly broken Alina laying in a puddle of pain and blood.
'Now you can’t have any penetrative sex for seven days. You'll bleed for a few days, but if it hurts too much, please call us!'
'OK…' Alina dazily responds.
'Think you’re OK to go home?'
'Y-yeah, I think so.'
A grumpy-looking Alina is zooming by in the back of a taxi
'In the Uber back home, I felt like my insides were on fire. I’ve had some pretty painful period cramps before, but this was on another level. I felt like I couldn’t move without passing out.'
Alina weekly smiles towards us and the camera.
'But though I felt sick and dizzy, I was still elated. I felt so proud to finally take charge of my sexual health. As silly as it might sound, it made me feel like a real grown-up.'
Page 5
A large panel takes up half the page. It shows a transitional Alina, moving from a red, small marshmallowy version of herself kneeling in pain, to a happy, joyous, running one before finally, a third Alina who is hugging herself in glee.
'My IUD adventure was so worth the pain. It was so liberating to push myself out of my comfort zone, and just go for it. It felt like the start of a new journey, being more mindful of my body's needs and taking care of it myself.'
We cut to Alina in bed underneath her blankets in front of her computer. On the other side of the computer, in cyberspace is her partner talking back.
Floating around Alina's narration are hearts.
'I can’t wait to take this IUD for a spin with you!'
'Hey! You can’t have any PIV sex for seven days remember?' Responds the partner
Alina looks away rejected
'Oh yeah…'
The partner's face looks back with a smirk
'Do you know what that means though right?'
We see two marshmallowy versions of Alina and her partner, jumping and high-fiving in the air as they both shout
'Butt stuff!'
--
Today's IUD Adventure Comic was written and drawn by Alina who can be found at https://alinawillustrates.weebly.com/
It was then transcribed by Matthew Nolan on 2/05/24!
Oh Joy Sex Toy is paid for and supported by Patreon, and we'd ask for any and all support you can give us there, so we can keep these comics and transcriptions going for another year or more! We have bonus comics and Behind the Scenes stuff there too, so don't miss out - https://www.patreon.com/OhJoySexToy