Ep. 157: Is the Copper IUD the best non-hormonal birth control for me? with Rick Fischer

Copper IUDs (commonly the Paragard IUD) are the #1 OBGYN prescribed non-hormonal form of birth control, but that doesn't mean it's the right choice for everyone. It's important to make informed decisions about what type of birth control you use and to be aware of any and all side effects and risks before you use it. Mineral and Copper expert, Rick Fischer, joins us today to talk about the effects a Copper IUD can have on a woman physically and mentally and provides the information you deserve to know as you make your decision. Knowing how commonly the Copper IUD is prescribed, this is info every woman deserves to know first!

ABOUT OUR GUEST: 

Rick Fischer is founder of www.coppertoxic.com, and through his clinical practice, advocacy and awareness campaigns, and international research projects, has been at the forefront of bringing copper toxicity education and support to the world.  He is also the founder and instructor of the Mineral Mastery program, the leading mineral-based health study course designed to bring education on copper toxicity and other key mineral imbalances. He’s the author of the seminal book on copper toxicity, The Complete Copper Toxicity Handbook, available through Amazon.  In clinical practice, Rick works with and supports clients globally.

If you'd like to work with Rick, we have a special discount for his Mineral Mastery course. Use WOVENWELL at www.mineralmastery.com/personal to receive a 30% off discount!

Other Resources & Episodes: 

• Paragard injuries and class action lawsuit
• Ep. 141: Healing after birth control - Grace's Story
• Ep. 152: Do PCOS cycles work with fertility awareness methods?
• Ep. 154

Transcript

Caitlin (00:24)
Welcome back to the Woven Well podcast. Here on the show, we talk about all things natural fertility solutions and how to find the best fit for you. So of course, we'll get frequent questions about the copper IUD. The copper IUD or sometimes known by its brand name, Paragard, is the most commonly prescribed non-hormonal form of birth control and it's very effective. So could this be the best fit for you if you're not ready to be pregnant?

Well, there are a lot of factors that go into answering that question and we want to make sure that you get all the information you need to make that decision.

So to help us do that, we've invited mineral balancing expert Rick Fisher to the show today. Rick is the founder and instructor of the Mineral Mastery Program, the leading mineral-based health study course designed to bring education on copper and other key mineral imbalances to practitioners as well as the public.

He's the author of the complete copper toxicity handbook and founder of copper toxic.com. Rick, welcome to the show.

Rick (01:30)
Thank you so much, Caitlin. I'm happy to be here and share this knowledge.

Caitlin (01:34)
So let's start off with the basics. What is a copper IUD and how does it work to prevent pregnancy?

Rick (01:44)
Well, the copper IUD very simply is a T-shaped device, with a copper wire around it inserted into the uterus. And it works as a contraceptive through two avenues. One is it has a toxic effect on the sperm. Copper ions have a cytotoxic effect, meaning toxic to cells.

And so that applies also to sperm. It interferes with the sperm's ability to move and also makes it harder for them to survive. And then secondarily, it also causes an

response in the uterus, making the uterine lining less receptive to a fertilized egg. So even if the sperm were to somehow make it through

the finish line,

the fertilized egg would not really have a home there in the uterine lining. So in that sense, the copper IUD is very effective as a contraceptive.

Caitlin (02:42)
And that probably feels pretty surprising to people listening and learning about how it works for the first time, inflammation being the main tool there. But if they go read the pamphlet that comes with it, that really is the function that prevents pregnancy.

But this is what's being recommended as the best alternative to any sort of hormonal contraception. So currently the copper IUD is the only FDA approved IUD that doesn't use any sort of synthetic hormone. So what should women know about copper IUDs before they make that decision to use it?

Rick (03:25)
Well, the messaging is all smoke and mirrors. So it is marketed as non-hormonal, which of course is true. It's not putting hormones into the body. But what women are not being taught is that minerals influence hormones, and copper has a direct relationship with estrogen. So instead of giving you straight estrogen, or playing with your progesterone,

putting copper into the body.

which then still affects hormones. So it's all just a marketing message. It's non-hormonal, true, but hormones are still being affected.

Typically, what women are told is in terms of risks, it could increase bleeding, maybe spotting, pain upon insertion.

is a slight risk for pelvic inflammatory disease. And there's your inflammation, right? But that's about the extent to what women are being told as far as symptoms. They are not being told about the onslaught of other symptoms that

Caitlin (04:20)
Mm-hmm.

Rick (04:32)
commonly develop with the copper IUD.

Caitlin (04:36)
They don't have access to that information. They go into their OB-GYN who says, great, you don't want to use hormones. Perfect. Here's this alternative. And yet we are as human beings

complex, beautifully designed mind, body, spirit, all the different systems working together to create who we are as humans. And so if we're going to make a change to one area of our body, that is going to have a systemic effects on other parts of our body as well.

So you listed some of the concerns that maybe an OBGYN will mention, some of those more minor things. But there are also potentially some bigger concerns that I'd love to hear what your take are on that because I have people that I know in my life, like actual...

friends of mine that I've had for years who experienced some extreme mental health concerns while having a copper IUD inserted. And I've read some really troubling reports and things online. So I'm curious from your experience and the work that you do with this, what would you say are the biggest concerns with using a copper IUD?

Rick (05:51)
Well, beyond the lack of informed consent, yes, the mental health connection is huge.

personally worked with over 4,000 women, but I have direct access to tens and tens of thousands more. And I hear their stories.

of the mental health symptoms that arise from the increased anxiety, increased depression, the increased relationship, OCD

more extreme levels, paranoia, all the ruminating thoughts, all the way to suicide. And the suicide is not just a one-off. There are multiple, multiple cases of women going on copper IUDs and within a few months committing suicide.

And then after post-mortem testing, showing the high copper in their system. So of course it affects mental health. They've had the copper IUD put in and they begin experiencing these symptoms.

And they go back to the doctor saying, hey, know, something's off. I'm not feeling right. My mind's playing tricks on me here. What's going on? And the typical response is, nope, there is no connection to the copper IUD. It doesn't cause these effects. And that is just sheer ignorance because when we to understand the connection to mental health, we have to also understand how copper does not act alone. Any mineral does not act alone.

Caitlin (06:57)
Mm.

Rick (07:19)
It influences other minerals, influences neurotransmitters. Copper is like the first domino in a row of dominoes. So when that first domino is altered, it's going to now affect the other dominoes down the chain. now it's affecting calcium, it's affecting zinc, it's affecting potassium, manganese, molybdenum. It's affecting neurotransmitters, it's affecting GABA.

GABA is our main calming neurotransmitter. Copper influences the minerals that naturally support GABA. You know, we've got an entire...

Caitlin (07:56)
Hmm.

Rick (07:57)
...genre of medications like benzo... benzo medications, right? They're based on GABA. GABA is calming. If we are influencing or throwing off minerals that affect our main calming neurotransmitter, then...

of course, anxiety is going to have a higher risk. On a physical level, it's more about the increasing levels of fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, weight gain, tendency towards

hypothyroid or at least the slowing of metabolism, sometimes skin issues, acne, etc. And of course, know, in transparency, the copper IUD and copper is not the only culprit behind these symptoms. You know, I mentioned fatigue. There are many, many causes behind fatigue, of course, right? But the more of these symptoms a person is experiencing, you know, it's worth looking into, hey, you know, maybe the copper IUD is playing into these things developing.

Caitlin (08:42)
sure.

Yeah, that's such a good point. And I'm imagining women out there who maybe have a copper IUD in right now and are experiencing some of these symptoms and they're looking for answers trying to figure out why they feel this way. So what I hear you saying is, hey, if you've got some fatigue, let's look into a lot of different possible causes of that. But if you have several of the symptoms that you just described,

you may want to look into if it could be your copper IUD or try to have it removed and see if those symptoms go away.

I'm interested in learning a little bit more about the role of copper in the body. So why is it that when that increases so much, it has a negative effect? Maybe tell us a little bit more

Rick (09:40)
you

Caitlin (09:50)
how minerals overall play a role within our bodies.

Rick (09:54)
copper does not act alone. So the copper

of the mineral system. And minerals are widely overlooked in the conversations of health and even nutrition as well. At a basic level, everyone understands calcium to a degree, right? You think of calcium and bone health. Magnesium. Magnesium is our calming nutrient. If we have too little magnesium,

too much calcium, that's going to lead into calcification and joint stiffness. Magnesium is calming. It's our main, like I mentioned earlier, it's our main calming mineral. It's known as nature's chill pill. Sodium, potassium play a key role. Zinc, our immune system, zinc deficiency can lead to immune issues, hair loss, depression, acne, digestive issues.

Candida, right? So candida commonly can be affected by an issue with low zinc or low molybdenum or even copper. where this gets tricky is minerals have a very delicate balance.

You can have too much of something as well as too little of something and also have that happening at the same time. And that is true for copper. This is why a lot of women with copper toxicity symptoms will go online and Dr. Google or whoever will give a list of symptoms that resemble

copper deficiency and they're led to believe that they're deficient in copper even though they're getting all this copper from their IUD. And this is because as you go into copper toxicity the copper in the body becomes less and less bioavailable. So you have all this copper but the body is not able to utilize it in a safe way and then it becomes toxic and causes symptoms. The analogy would be like you're in the ocean dying of thirst. You need water.

Caitlin (11:41)
Mm.

Rick (11:54)
There's water all around you. But if you can't drink that water, there's a deficiency at the same time. And going back to minerals again, like iodine, think of iodine for thyroid, a lot of women deal with hypothyroid. Well, iodine is a really important nutrient for the thyroid. So too is selenium. So all of these minerals play fundamental roles in our health.

And for the most part, we are not getting enough in our daily diets, even if we are eating, in quotation marks, healthy diets. We're eating food from nutritionally depleted soil these days. So many people have poor stomach acid, low HCl production in their guts, so they're not absorbing the nutrients properly. Deficiencies are rampant, and so too are certain toxicities in copper, as we're talking about here.

is a big one. just, I want to add one thing. I think it's an important point for listeners to understand because of course there will be those in the audience that are using a copper IUD without any symptoms at all. And this is where that bio individual aspect comes into things. Some people can handle the copper IUD a lot better than other people. And to understand why this happens,

Caitlin (12:52)
Mm.

Rick (13:19)
There are genetic factors. There are the factors with how does the body metabolize copper. There's like, what is the diet? In other words, a generally speaking, plant-based diet will predispose a person more towards copper excess or reactions with the copper IUD. And also there's something called a burst release. What a burst release is,

It's that initial release of copper off of the copper IUD in those first four or five or so months. During that initial period, there's an increased release of copper from the IUD. And then after around five, six months or so, that release levels off and plateaus for the life of the IUD. So why this is important is

A woman on a copper IUD for, let's say, 10 years, which is generally the effective life of the IUD, staying on the IUD for 10 years is, in essence, safer than having three IUDs for three years each. Even though three times three is only nine years, it's actually less time on the IUD, but each time you get a new IUD put in,

Caitlin (14:34)
Hmm.

Rick (14:43)
you're getting that brand new burst release once again into the body. So in other words the multiple IUDs is going to have a cumulative effect on how much copper is going into the body.

Caitlin (14:58)
This makes me think about how anytime you introduce something foreign to the human body, there's always going to be an effect. So you insert a new

copper IUD, there's going to be that additional burst. So that would be why you wouldn't want to do it every three years. However, I actually recently wrote a piece on how there is a large class action lawsuit against Paragard right now, because when it's being removed after being in there for maybe up to its 10 year lifetime, it is breaking into pieces.

Rick (15:36)
And if.

Caitlin (15:36)
and they can't get all those pieces out. It's perforating organs. It's causing occasional hysterectomies. I mean, there's some real issues here. So it's just a reminder that, you know, if you read that article and you think, well, I'm not going to leave it in for 10 years, then we hear your side. Well, if you get a new one put in every three years, you're going to have that additional boost of copper that could be toxic. So it's just a reminder to everyone listening that

Anytime you do something foreign that is not natural to the body, there's always going to be an effect. And so it's important to consider those things as you make your decisions.

Rick (16:17)
Absolutely. And the effect of copper from an IUD is very different from healthy dietary copper that you get eating an avocado. And I hear this, you know, argument fairly commonly from people who like to deny copper toxicity. They're like, well, there's not enough copper in the copper IUD given off to cause such, you know, such damage. It's such a small amount relative to

Caitlin (16:28)
Yes.

Rick (16:47)
the daily recommended intake of copper. But you cannot compare, like I just mentioned, can't compare copper ions from a metallic device to that of dietary copper. It is well known, and I explain this within the Complete Copper Toxicity Handbook, how the effect of copper ions from biomaterials have toxic effects, even at very low levels, completely different from dietary sources.

Caitlin (17:13)
So if anyone out there wants to learn more, Rick has actually given us a specific discount code. If you're interested in doing his mastery course or maybe you want to get the book, I'll make sure to have all of those links in the show notes so that you can have access to those and really dive in deeper to how minerals, specifically copper, could be playing a big role in your overall health. And I also want to encourage listeners that

there are other effective ways to avoid pregnancy without hormones. So you're not limited to either using a hormonal form of contraception or using the copper iud. There are other options out there and we may not have a lot of time to go into it in this episode but look at any of our past episodes and we talk

all about natural fertility solutions, including how to successfully avoid pregnancy naturally. So there are ways to do that very effectively, and I want to make sure you have access to that too. So you're not limited here. Well, Rick, thank you so much for being on the show and sharing all of your knowledge. I really appreciate it.

Rick (18:29)
You're more than welcome, Caitlin. Yeah, Some women, like I mentioned, will do fine on it. I personally, know, my own loved one, our family was devastated from the copper IUD. I could never recommend it to anyone knowing the detrimental effects of the copper IUD. So it's really, the risk is a lot higher.

than what women are being led to believe. And you can link the resources

in this podcast for basic learning. There's the coppertoxic.com website. There's the complete Copper Toxicity Handbook on Amazon

more in-depth reading and learning about copper toxicity and cases with

going through it.

And then for those who do want to really study this further, and not just copper, but empowering overall health with all the minerals and the effects of minerals and toxic metals as well, that's what the Mineral Mastery course teaches. And your listeners will save 30 % using the code wovenwell at checkout.

Caitlin (19:34)
And like I mentioned earlier, we'll make sure to have that in the show notes so you can look at it there as well. Well, as always, thanks for listening as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well.