Tell me about your Mirena coil!!

[melonhead]

I'm set to have one put in next week as the progesterone part of my HRT (I'm sterilised so it's not for the contraception). I have been taking Utrogestan but it's annoying to remember. But it seems people say it's the greatest thing or the worst ever.

Mine isn’t a good story I’m afraid. I know lots of people think they are great but anything hormonal doesn’t agree with me at all, even though HCP will tell you there is so little hormone in these that it can’t possibly affect your mood. Mine did, I felt dreadful and my sex drive disappeared completely. I had to threaten to rip it out myself until they finally agreed to take it out.

I think you’ll find extremely mixed reviews but won’t know until you try it for yourself as it’s brilliant for some and dreadful for others.

Love mine. No periods, no issues with mood swings unlike the pill. But like PP said, you won't really know until you've tried it unfortunately.

Mine has been a game changer. I love it.

I’m on mine for contraception. It’s great, no babies no periods.

I'm 3 months in with mine, didn't bleed at all for 6 weeks and then got my first period and it hasn't stopped since.. so a solid 6ish weeks of very very painful and very heavy bleeding. They said it's take a few months to settle but this is hell.. so far..

Hated it. Mood swings, zero libido, weight gain, spots, migraines. Had it taken out within 6 months.

Love mine. They discontinued my oral HRT and every alternative I tried I ended up with random bleeding all over the place, even bleeding through my uniform at work on a couple of occasions. I've had the Mirena now for about 3 months and I’ve not bled a drop. I use Evorel patches for the oestrogen which are better than having to remember pills too. Very happy with my decision to have it.

Love mine. I had a wonderful consultant though who made sure I was in total control, let me watch the procedure on the screen and let me rest for 10 minutes afterwards. Since it's been in I've honestly felt good. No cramps, bleeding or anything else.

I had to switch from Utrogestan to a mirena because Utrogestan didn’t work well on my endometrial lining.

I was 56 at the time of insertion. It’s been great. I should have done it years ago. Slightly slows food passage down the digestive system but I can counter that with some adjustments. That’s the only thing I can think of.

Passed out 3 times having it put in. (I’m neither a wimp nor squeamish - had a baby on my bedroom floor without fainting).

Bled every single day apart from 3 for 9 months. Put on 10lbs of water retention across my stomach. Felt awful. Skin awful. Constant mild cramps.

Then had it taken out. Ginormous clots for 3 days (that took both hands to pick up). No long term ill effects, thank goodness.

Not a good story from me, had one fitted last October and bled ever since, not a single day without bleeding or spotting. I had a scan a couple of weeks ago and it was embedded in my cervix so had to be removed. Either not correctly placed or had been partially expelled. I've started on Utrogestan and stopped bleeding this weekend, first time since October..... I've heard that some women have great success with it however. Good luck !!

First one settled in great. Had the second one when first ran out at 5 years inthink which then took a while to settle but has been fine since then a it's been 9
Years foe me and all ok
Love almost zero periods - and I'm 49 so hopefully they'll be a thing of the past now foe me !

It changed my life - after 20+ years of endometriosis pain and discomfort - I can live normal.
Yes I put a little weight on , little emotional/moody (but far far less than when I suffered the worse PMT )
But I no longer bleed so heavy, the pain I was in when I suffered. Haven’t needed operations in the last 6 years (I had normally needed endo treatment around every 4 years)
People will experience differently I’d take the bumps it gives me to what I had before.

In hindsight looking at how my weight varied and when my Mirenas were replaced suggested there may have been something in it to trigger eating more and moving less, but at the time I was reasonably happy and I had them for a quarter of a century.

Still have the last in, in fact (mid 50s now and on HRT). Stopped my periods but I still had "ghost" PMS and ovulation discomfort. No pregnancies though .

I had one in for 13 months and it was not a good experience because I was one it didn't work out for. I bled for most of that time, a lot of it very heavy and with flooding. Ironically, heavy flooding periods were the very problem it had been put in to solve, so that went well (not).

I also had constant PMT whilst it was in and was really angry with myself for having allowed myself (albeit reluctantly) to be persuaded to have it. I realised very quickly that I had made a mistake having it but was horrified at how reluctant doctors were to remove it. I visited the GP more than once asking about removal during the first few weeks and each time was told to give it more time. Apparently indefinitely. Then the pandemic struck with the lockdowns and I felt trapped.

It was after a particularly big, uncontrollable and scary bleed in January this year that I finally put my foot down, phoned the surgery again and absolutely insisted it was removed. I spoke to a lovely lady GP whom I haven't seen very often before, and to be fair to her she did immediately give me an appointment to come in for removal. I was so relieved.

I guess you won't know unless you give it a go. It seems to work well for some people but not at all for others. Just bear in mind though that if you encounter difficulty with it and want it removed then doctors can be very reluctant. You can need to be very assertive.

Whatever you choose I hope it goes well for you.

I am on my 3rd & final Mirena, this one will take me though the menopause. I have to be honest I did find insertion really painful every time. But worth it once it’s done. I had the first Mirena to combat very heavy periods. For most women, insertions seem to be bearable though. Take painkillers before would be my advice.

Loved mine. No periods, no moodswings, no hassle. Came off to ttc. Once had kids will go back on it ASAP

Insertion hurt a bit and I was very blasé thinking I was tough down there having given birth to a 9 pound baby with no drugs (by accident, midwife didn't get there in time). I did get annoying bleeding on and off for a few months and nearly gave up on the whole thing but now pretty much no periods at all and no problems.

Brilliant! Love mine... first one took time to settle but two subsequent ones were fine straight away. Having no periods is just great. Good luck ⚘

Begged doctor to remove mine before I killed myself or someone else. Not a good experience for me!

Had mine put in last August and bled almost every day until the damn thing fell out I think the week before last when I was passing heavy clots. Had a scan on Monday to see what was going on and it had vanished - the bleeding has stopped and I feel so much better. Also put 10kgs on which I'm now trying to shift

Loved it. Insertion was unpleasant, but it was a life-changer for 4 years as I basically stopped having periods and therefore being incapacitated for a couple of days a month. With the first one, the hormone definitely seemed to stop being as effective in the final few months (which might be relevant for you OP), but that might have been because of a fibroid moving it. Having it removed with the fibroid ended up requiring general anaesthetic after several failed attempts to remove without (fibroid pulled the strings right up and they couldn't find them - it was NOT fun). Once I had the new one in, it was back to making life much better.

I love mine. Very light periods and no side effects at all. Yes, I've gained a little bit of weight over the last 5 years but I'm perimenopausal, so I really don't think I can blame the Mirena for it....

No issues with mine. No pain on insertion and no problems since. Mine is overdue for replacement but I can't get an appointment at the moment. I'm 49 so this next one will be my last.

I currently have my third in. First two no problems, no periods, no weight gain or any issues. However this third one has moved the threads are gone and should have been removed 2 years ago! I'm suffering cramps intermittent spotting, mood swings and fear about where the bloody thing is.