Mirena - the good and the bad?

Hi Ladies,

I'm considering getting the Mirena IUD implanted and just wanted peoples experiences - good or bad. Were there any side effects? Any pros/cons?

TIA :)

For me there were no pros to having Mirena. I had one insterted to treat endo and not for pg prevention in December and I had it taken out at the end of last month as it caused me no end of trouble. Pain, bloating (I could gain up to 4kg during the bloating stage of the 'cycle'), bleeding for two weeks at a time, getting only 2 weeks of not bleeding before bleeding again. Bad skin, zero libido, moodiness, painful sex. I just felt like I wasn't in control of my body anymore. I actually had to have mine taken out under a general anaesthetic as the entire device had moved inside the uterus, and it caused some scarring where it was pushing into the uterine wall.

Since I have had it out I feel great - no pain, no painful sex and more to the point I am WANTING sex again, no more pimples and just generally feeling better.

I had one put in a couple weeks ago.

Slightly painful as i have never had a vaginal birth.
I am still spotting.. nothing majob but can last up to 6 months .. no biggie to me
During the 48 hours after having it put in.. bad cramps..

now all good.. love it!

Thanks Tillian and didispunk. I'm still torn as to whether to get it or not. Anyone else have any experiences they'd like to share?

I had mine put in mid march when i was mid cycle.. I had a bit of spotting for a day or so afterwards (but had also had a D&C to remove a polyp). My next period was 1/4 of the pain and blood loss as previous months had been which lasted about 4 days but then i had a contant spotting for another 10 days or so til i was mid cyle again. I did notice however an unusual odour that was worse when i had my period and when i mentioned it to my OB/GYN she said about half of her patients had said the same but it had gone after a few months. I then had another period with ongoing light spotting (really only used a panty liner) and more than anything it was just blood stained mucas more so than actueal blood. I am mid cycle again now and have has stained mucus again but still only enough for a liner.
I am not getting the mid cycle pain or period pain like i did before the mirena. My OB/GYN did say that it can take 6 months to settle my periods to almost and if not nothing. So i should have 2 down and 4 months to go!! but i guess we will wait and see.
I have had a few pimples which i was not getting before, and seem a little hungrier but other than that i am happy with the choice i made so far.

I had mine put in at my 6 week check after DD was born Dec 07. I had minimal discomfort and well you wouldn't even call it bleeding. Since then not one period and no pain at all. I have had weight gain BUT that is because of the crap I have been eating not the Mirena.

I'd have it again, it worked for me and no need to worry about pg or AF.

Hmmm I still don't know which way to go. I really don't want to put on weight (still have baby weight to lose!) or get pimples. I have an appoint at the hospital on June 1st so maybe I need to cancel it until I've made up my mind properly.

Thanks for your replies ladies.

I've got a good story, I've had no problems, and to date it's the best thing i did. I've had mine for a year now, I had some mild spotting for the first 6 weeks and then nothing since then.

No noticeable weight gain to attribute to the Mirena, no breakouts, no cramps. I love it.

Hi Claire_A,
I just got back from the Dr's to have my Mirena checked as I had it put in about 5 weeks ago, I had spotting for the first 10 days, which was annoying but needed nothing more than a panty liner, My Dr said the hormones are localised in the uterus so you should not get the side effects that you get from the pill as they do not go through your blood stream & the amount is so miminal compared to the pill anyhow. I'm only early into it but so far so good, no side effects to report and DTD is no different for DH or myself ;)

To get it put in was uncomfortable but not painful, but my cervix was pretty flexible still as I had DS 8 weeks prior to getting it put in,

Good Luck with your decision, have you got the imformation booklets stating the facts? I got mine from my DR and had really good read before hand.

Thanks for your replies Becstar and Pinny-mum. Now I'm starting to like the idea again. I guess I can always get it taken out if I don't like it. Pinny-mum my dr didn't give me a pamphlet. I did ask her what the side effects or negative factors of having it put in were and she pretty much said apart from some light spotting there weren't any. I thought I'd check with you ladies on bb for some personal experience before making my mind up. Hmmm decisions, decisions.

I had mine put in in December 2006. I had spotting on and off until November 2007 (which sounds insane but it was really no big deal and i knew it was possible because i had a similar but far more severe response to the depo provera when i was a teen and it's the same kind (but far lower amount) of hormone). By November 2007 i had 3-7 days of spotting when AF was here and 1-2 days of spotting after i ovulated (from the ovulation not my uterus) mid cycle. The last 3 months the mid-cycle spotting has vanished too. I still get very light spotting when i have AF.

For me it has been fantastic. I don't have to worry about pregnancy and can have unprotected sex with DP. I have one day of mild period cramps, nothing LIKE i got before. Also the evidece suggests that your fertility returns pretty much immediately you have it removed (i'll be back with my experience of that in a few months hopefully!).

I am having this one removed for ttc in 2 weeks, and will have another put in after the birth. Pinny-mum did you find it effected your supply/BFing in any way? I took the minipill after DD and it really affected my let-down, which i will do anything to avoid next time around...

Bx

Of course there are risks, and side effects, which differ from person to person. Give it a shot, you'll never know if you don't try ;)

Hi Hoobley,
No did not effect my milk at all, Still have very strong let downs and lots of milk going everywhere. I don't like the effects of the pill or mini pill and happily I have not had any side effects that I have had with the pills.
I feel very normal in my self and i am happily demand feeding my DS.

Claire_A I got the imformation from my midwife and ob at the 6 week check up, I'm sure the Dr that is going to fit it would have a copy if you asked, Just a bit of infor if you do decide to go with it, ask the Dr if they have a sample for you to look at my dr did and it made me feel a lot more comfortable with my decision, and also don't be alarmed by the size of the box when you pick up the script, it is huge and makes you think again, :rolleyes:but it is all packaging!!

I was asking my Dr today about the negative feedback he gets and he said he has not had a lot and if any it is about the spotting.I know though that people have had negative experiences with it,

Does anyone actually know of anyone falling pregnant with one in??

Not with a Mirena. A friend of mine did with a copper IUD but the woman is an amazing fertile myrtle!!

Didn't effect my supply either, I Bf fine, and even gave up and relactated with the Mirena in.

That is music to my ears ladies! I don't know anyone who has conceived with a Mirena, in a year only 2 out of 1000 women will concieve with Mirena, and since i only know about 6 people who have them i definitely on't have a big enough sample size! I know several people who conceived with an IUD but only the copper ones.

Bx

i have a not so good story , got it put in ( bit of pain not needing LA ) and then 3 weeks later it started to fall out .

i started to bleed heavy and felt really sick and when i went to the loo , wiped and could see/feel the string .

the pain got worse and i could feel it touching the wall of my uterus .

i got AF back today ( 1 mth after it came out , went to docs to get it properly removed , refused to get one put back in much to docs disgust ... ) and now i can still feel pain where i flet the mirena touch my uterus wall .

my body does reject forigen objects , so im not surpired it came out , but i will say ive heard more good than bad stories ..

ooh that isn't a nice story Lea :(

Just wondering if 'tightness' has anything to do with it?? I meant like when I had mine done, the DR commented on how surprisingly tight my cervix was for a woman who's had 3 kids.

Do you know if it just wasn't inserted properly or what Lea? Gosh I don't blame you for not having another one put in!!!

I guess it's always the way too....what suits someone won't suit someone else.

not sure Bec, i got it put in at the hospital , (by a realy hot young doc.so not the circumstance id want to be in if i saw him again :lol:) its was OK for a few weeks . i was told if the spotting stops after a few days , then comes on heavy and dark then its probably falling out , my spotting lasted about 3 day then nothing till the heavy bleeding , so i have no i dea if it was in properly ..

Thanks for posting Lea, ouchie doesn't sound like you had a good experience though. The hospital cancelled my appoint and rescheduled for 13 July so I still have a fair bit of time to make my mind up. Some days I think yes it's the way to go and then others I think not. I just wish there was another option other than condoms. I tried the mini pill but my libido went right out the window (great contraception huh!). Why can't the men have a contraception - I bet my DH would run a mile at the thought of having something inserted into his you know what hehehe.

Well i had my Mirena taken out at 11.15am today.

My GP is an absolute crack up so the appointment was full of laughing ad daft comments back and forth, whch helped me feel relaxed and was really great.

The procedure:

I lay on a normal examination table with a pillow at the small of my back and my heels together, he used a speculum which he opened and clamped and then long handled small-headed forceps to grab the strings. He asked me to take a deep breath and cough for him and as i coughed he pulled it out. It was surprisingly recognisable but a bit slimy (example of his sense of humour - he said "do you want to keep this?" I said "only if you give it a rinse, it's gross!", he said "Nurse!" as if 'rinse ths please'. She laughed and said "i'll get my elbow gloves", i said "that's above and beyond the call of duty" and he said "she's just standing there! i'm doing all the work", and i replied "Well, what would i do with it anyway? It's like a diaphragm - it's not going to work from inside the dresser drawer!" and we all giggled like idiots...).

Afterwards he told me to take it easy for an hour or two because touching the cervix inside can make your BP drop (same as when it's fitted - the body can interpret it as an internal injury and react accordingly). I did feel a bit odd afterwards, but i satin the sun for about 10 mins then walked slowly to the bus stop, got the bus half a mile (he said not to walk home) and had a coffee and some toast in a coffee shop. I've had some cramping on and off, but nothing severe, and so far only a tiny bit of spotting.

I am now ttc, but i thin i've already ovulated this month, so next month will be my first official "try". Overall so far (bearing in mind i don't know how easy it will be to fall pregnant) i am very happy with my Mirena experience and would recommend them to other women, and will be having another fitted once i have #2 in my arms.

Bx

least you had a nice exp bec , the gp who took mine out , laughed (in a bad way ) when i said i wanted more kids . when i said i already had 2 he said "why would you want anymore than that , your asking for trouble - you want another one put in ... your still young you can get i out in a few years .."

i think then he saw how sick the pain was making me and then changed tack . thankfully . but he was dutch - need i say more (arrogant!!! ... im 1/2 dutch so i can say that :p)

GL with the TTC !! lets hope we see an annoucment soon !!!! x