Mirena coil - experiences please?

My experience was positive. Hormonal oral contraception I had issues with generally - irregular periods, pmt, migraines etc. I didn't want the implant because of the possible risks of bone thinning.

Insertion was uncomfortable but not painful - just one sharp pain on sounding and one on insertion, both totally manageable. Cramped and bled irregularly for a few months then it settled down completely and you just forget about them. Periods stopped almost completely (just the odd bit of very light spotting) and generally hormonal madness reduced. Fewer migraines.

Removal was easy, took her a bit of rummaging to grasp the strings but once she's got them it was just quick exhale and out - barely felt it to be honest.

Conceived within 4 months of not trying very hard and I'm over 35.

I'd recommend you get it inserted by someone who does a LOT of them - practice makes perfect and lots of gps font do enough to make them good at it.

Don't forget that there's a very biased sample of reports on the Internet, or that people want something to blame if they have issues like trouble conceiving/pmt etc. - it's easier to blame things on the nasty evil coil than it is to accept that an issue has multiple causes and is complex. That's not to say it's risk free - there are risks with anything, but the hormone level in mirena is very low indeed and if you get it put in by someone good you should be fine. If you're not fine, it's instantly reversible, so for me it's a no brainer. I'll have another one after ds is born.

It's probably one of lowest impact in terms of emotional problems as it's equivalent to just 2 mini pills per week which must be better for you :) good luck with the process - relax and think that you'll never have to worry about forgetting to take pills again! ;)

I had lots of emotional, weight gain issues with the pill, fine with mirena, probably due the localised nature of the hormones.

I had the copper coil inserted age 30 and I'd never been pregnant before. It wasn't too bad. It doesnt mess with your cycles and if you're wanting to have children at a later date you can get pregnant from month 1 of having it taken out. I got pregnant in my 2nd month of having it taken out (sadly i miscarried early - but im sure that's just nature, nothing to do with the coil)

Hated it. Lived in a black cloud of depression for 6 months with no sex drive. Had the vile thing removed, instantly felt better and became pregnant, the exact thing I was trying to avoid. I know some people who swear by it but I'm not one of them.

Hated Mirena. Totally lost my libido. Put on weight (not masses but noticeable). Moody.

Didn't fare better with the copper either. Horrible achey joints, to the point I was housebound as I couldn't manage DD on my own.

Hi there, I had the non hormonal coil for 3yrs. It was great and never caused me any problems whatsoever. I Didn't want the hormonal one in case it did cause issues with periods, weight, blah blah blah.....
I'd recommend it. Easy to put in and was painless when I had it removed. One tip though, take some ibuprofen an hour before you have one fitted. It is a tiny bit painful and I wish i would have done this

I love mine, bit spottier but nothing I can't handle or cover up with some concealer. Periods are so light I barely notice them. So far so good, mines been in since February.

I still have periods although very light, my hair fell out but did settle after about 6 months but I have terrible acne so thinking about having it removed.

I am very wary of the coil. My mum got pregnant on it and she lost the baby, (due to the coil) very traumatic and she warned me off it.
Another friend got pregnant on it and the baby was fine, but obviously unexpected! I'm sure some people think it's great but thought I should share those experiences.

Oh and I had mine fitted due to irregular bleeds and pmt which was so horrible I needed antidepressants as it made me self harm!

I loved my coil, I've had it removed now as ttc.

Insertion was uncomfortable, not painful, hot water bottle afterwards was lovely.
It took about 5--6 months to settle down, I spotted in and off, lightly, I wore a panty liner occasionally, other times I just wiped when I went to the loo and that removed it.
Once it had settled in I didn't have a period for 18 months, when I did it was light, lasted 5 days and then didn't rear it's ugly head again for 6 months or so.
Removal was easy, speculum up, quick cough whilst GP pulled the treads and out it came. Had a withdrawal bleed a few days later and now am back on with my irregular bleeds, which were my norm.

Hello! As you can see everyone's experiences vary, I had the coil for 6 years and it was amazing - bit of pain at the start after fitting but after that totally forgot about it and removal was super easy as was the replacement. Honestly if your GP says it's a good option to try then it might be worth it, I still had super light periods and a bit of PMT but generally no problems :) Good luck whatever you decide!

I had a mirena a few years ago (didnt have it replaced as was thinking of starting a family) and it suited me perfectly. I had no periods, occassionaly a very light bleed but I mean light, no pms, I had very few migraines, lost all the weight and water retention I'd gained from a pill that didn't suit and all the hormonal 'moodiness' (to put it mildly!) from that pill stopped within about a week of having it fitted.

I have a friend who had the oposite experience to me though and had hers removed after a year. I think like all hormonal contraceptives, if the hormone really doesn't suit you you will know about it! But having it removed took seconds. It was very painful having it inserted but I'd had no children - it would probably be much easier now!

I am sorry you had a bad experience cauliflower, but surely if your weight gain, depression and acne were caused by the coil these symptoms would go away after removal. The effect must be short lived if people can get pregnant within 6 weeks of removal.

I had a brake down , I'm still on anti depressants. Still can't shift the stone I put on with it, and I'm on accutane for the acne it brought me out in! It ruined my life!

Only had 3 periods since having mine fitted, but so far it's improved my pmt. I'm now unaware my period is on its way whereas before I could tell as I was so irritated by everyone.

No periods so no pmt( yeah) As the hormones are localised rather than in the blood stream I am not sure the mechanism which would cause mirena to affect say mood or sex drive.These are very hard things to link to anything because my mood and sex drive have fluctuated widely over the last ten years and it would be easy to link the insertion or removal of a coil to this with no basis what so ever.

I love my mirena.

I went on for very heavy periods, that left me virtually house bound for 4-5 days a month. At least I could not be more than 2 minutes from a loo. TMI!

With the first one I did get some cramping after it was put in, and I bled for quite a long time (like I do after childbirth - about 6 or 8 weeks)

I'm on my 3rd coil now, all have been easily removed and put in, no unwanted side effects, no problems for either of us during sex, and very reliable don't have to think about it contraception too! And no periods except occasional spotting.