Just realised I've had my mirena coil in for 7 years

[Oooooooops]

I was looking back over old diaries and realised it was put in in August 2016, not 2018 as I thought. I blame it on the pandemic messing with my perception of time not me being scatty at all

I'm 51 and am fairly sure I've been through meno (haven't had periods for years because of the mirena so hard to be specific). So not too worried about getting pregnant. I am a bit concerned that it'll have somehow got embedded or something however! And that removal will be a nightmare - it's horrible enough at the best of times.

I've just had a slightly panicked Google and found out that if you have one inserted in your mid 40s it can be safely left in until after the menopause so I'm hoping this bodes well and all will be fine!

Any advice?

Don’t panic!

Due to different circs I only was able to get mine changed this year from an even longer time period than you & it was totally fine

I was the same here. Mine came out easily enough at docs, and we decided to put a new one in as the progesterone part of hrt. Don't worry unduly, OP. It was a totally normal "ouch, cramp" feeling for mine coming out.

Morning, i'm in a similar situation with a copper coil and waiting for another (now hospital) removal appointment (3 separate Doctor attempts to remove have failed - apparently my strings are missing.

It will be fine ! A 60 yr old colleague of mine discovered that hers had been in for about 10 years, she’d forgotten about it !

Mine was in for 10 years, I hadn't needed it for contraception and just never got round to getting it taken out. When I did it came out no problem 😌

Mine was left in longer than it should have been and it was a bit more tricky to come out (cramps) but it was fine really. So don't worry.

My experience has meant I have been a bit worried about getting a replacement but I'm just being a bit wimpy.

I've had mine in for 13 years 🤣.

Hasn't been needed for contraception, and still no periods. I recently had to have chest to pelvis CT scan for another reason, but I did wonder if it would show that's now migrated to my stomach (or something). It wasn't mentioned so I suspect not.
I think I'll leave it there now.

Phew! Thank you all for your reassurance!

I'm tempted to leave it a bit longer seeing as there haven't been any issues so far - I've got a really busy couple of months and last time I had it changed I had an infection and it took a while to get sorted. I could do without that so might just leave it til September.

Will I need another when this comes out or am I done?!

Left mine in for over 8 years because needed changing during covid. There was for a while I think quite a delay in being able to get it changed so may be worth trying to book an appointment for a few months time.

At 51 I’d suggest you have one more.

Had mine out earlier this year, after six years. It was fine, and I decided not to have a new one so now have periods for the first time in decades.

My last one was accidently left if for 8 years and I was using it for contraception eeekk!! But it was absolutly fine, the only reason I eventually realised it needed to be changed and checked the insert date was because my periods had started coming back (only light spotting) where previously id had none. Nurse whipped it out with no issues and popped another one in at the same time. Said I'd need one more after this one to get me safely past the menopause.

If you are using it for the progesterone part of HRT it is only effective for 5 years. If it is for contraception and you were 40+ when it was fitted , it can be left in for up to 7 years .Copper coils last 10 years usually and can be left in longer in women who are nearing the menopause. Don't worry. Speak to your doctor about removal and any further requirement for contraception.

I had mine fit at 39 and she said it would see me into the menopause so come back in 10 years and we'll talk about taking it out!

Thank you for the reminder to get mine whipped out