Ive had a mirena in situ since they first came about and would never have made this age without it tbh
Im 60 next year so will be arranging to have this last one removed
In my day there wasn't the choice available as there is now. I had a fight with the health trust at the time to get the mirena , no one wanted to pay for it . Consultant prescribed but the hospital wouldn't pay and I had to go and beg my GP to pay - first said no, finally got a prescription, Boots then had to order it in, then I had to go back to the hospital consultant and book an appointment for fitting. At the time it was the mirena or a hysterectomy and whilst I was sure I didnt want children, when the options were laid out, I new I also didnt want a hysterectomy.
At the time the mirena was just being trialled as a treatment for severe bleeding and mine was so severe I would be flooding within minutes of changing pads, I was a super plus Tampax and nappy sized pads lass for 3 weeks at a time - was horrendous
So over the years Ive had 5 or 6 fitted, some easily, some under GA.
Never really noticed a problem with moods. Mind I sailed through the menopause, didnt have the mood swings others have had, my only real physical problem was the flushes. I got through the menopause without HRT, sure my skin has thinned and Ive got a good bit of chin hair but otherwise I escaped unscathed
I was one of the very lucky ones in that it stopped my periods after about 3 months. I still used to have the most awful ovulation pain, but that was short lived as in is happened and then I moved on till the next time :)
Back in the day, because of the cost, if you had one fitted, you basically signed up to put up with it for 6 months before anyone would consider removing it, and I do remember the first 2 months were hell, but still a breeze to what I had before. I would say it did take about 4/5 months before I no longer thought about it, that it and any side effects faded into the back ground
What I had suffered previously, well it really doesn't bear thinking about and the mirena was for me life changing, but we are talking 30 years ago and there wasnt the choices and options there are today. For me it was worth hanging on in there