"I could hardly sit down, I would have to hold my tummy - I was shuffling along."
At the end of August she visited a surgeon for a follow-up for an unrelated abdominal operation and he began tests to identify the pain source.
"I had other symptoms. They were looking for cancers. They did colonoscopies - they did heaps of different stuff because I was having night sweats and hot and cold chills. They actually thought it was some kind of growth or cancer." She was even tested for menopause.
"Being a full-time working mum you just put it to the back of your head and the pain just becomes a normal part of life."
After all the other tests were clear, Goldsmith paid $800 to have a CT scan, which identified the cause of the pain. An IUCD inserted a year ago had perforated her uterus and was embedded in it.
Within four days she had seen a gynaecologist and had emergency laparoscopic surgery to have it removed.
Since having the surgery a week ago, the pain had subsided and the side-effects had almost disappeared. While the majority of the pain is thought have been caused by the hormone-releasing IUCD, a cyst was also removed at the same time.
"It [the IUCD] was stuck in there. My body had just been trying to tell me for so long - just listen to your body."
"I'm glad that it is out. At the end I was just like 'get it out, get it out of me'."
Goldsmith said she was not telling her story to scare women. "My advice would be to be aware of following your body."
She said she should have listened to her body sooner as it had gone into some form of toxic shock and was trying to tell her the IUD was stuck. However she could still feel the strings from the IUCD, which women are told is usually an indicator it is sitting in the correct place.
Hamilton-based consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Alison Barrett said while no contraception method was perfect, the biggest downside to the IUCD was a complication called perforation, which happened when the IUCD did not sit inside the cavity of the uterus but instead punctured through the wall.
"Most doctors will quote a rate of perforation in one out of every 1000 insertions, but like many complications of medical treatment this is probably an underestimate."
While most perforations were thought to occur at the time of insertion, a properly placed IUCD itself might migrate through the wall some time after the insertion.
The good news was the uterus usually healed up very well so there were usually no long-term effects once it was discovered and treated, she said.
IUCDS can be inserted by some GPs and trained doctors and nurses at Family Planning.
Family Planning national medical adviser Dr Christine Roke said all IUDS had a risk of perforation, however the risk was higher if inserted within six months of having a baby and the woman was breastfeeding.
In the year-ended June 2017, Family Planning inserted 6705 IUCDs which included the Mirena which released hormones, the Jaydess which was a smaller version of the Mirena and the Copper IUD.
Roke said perforation could happen even with the most experienced practitioner.
"Obviously we do our utmost not to have a perforation, but it seems 1 in 1000 is the figure people don't seem to be able to get below."
According to Family Planning, IUCDs and implants were the most effective form of contraception because once they were in they lasted for between three and 10 years.
"They are not particularly risky and most people with IUCDs are very happy with them. On average they are the most satisfied of the people using a method of contraception," Roke said.
"Well over 99 per cent of people don't have any serious complications. It is an awful thing to happen obviously, but it would be a pity if people were put off getting a good method of contraception because of that tiny risk."
