Mirena coil - If you are quite crap with hormone treatments be it contraceptive, menopause, induction, fertility etc, have you tried mirena coil and how did you fare on it?

[Floods]

GP is suggesting the coil to me, but I’m really reluctant to have it as I don’t respond well to hormone treatments. Anyone similar tried the coil and how did it work out for you?

I can’t take the pill as it makes me sick and I had dreadful hyperemesis but the mirena has been fantastic. Once it settles, no periods at all. Goodbye agonising stomach cramps and flooding!!

Thanks. Glad it is working out for you.

I was reacting really badly to the progesterone in HRT and had also done to the pill - depression etc etc. The small steady dose from the Mirena (as part of HRT) worked well. It's still in even though I've had to stop taking Oestrogen - and it's fine.

(Getting it put in didn't go well and I'll have to book an appointment at the hospital When I get it taken out but on balance it did the job despite that).

I had an awful time with the pill in the past but have had zero side effects with the mirena. My gynae consultant said there tend to be less side effects since the hormones are going directly where they need to go rather than pumped through your whole system by a tablet. I have endometriosis and the coil has changed my life honestly.

I didn’t get on with a couple of the pills (they made me feel very down and I often forgot to take them) but the coil has been brilliant. A tiny bit of spotting as a period but not very often and no pain or side effects. The thread has been lost so I am not sure how they will remove it but I had a scan to ensure it was still in place which it is, and it’s okay to stay in until my 8 years are up.

Big no from me, I lasted about 8 months with the bloody thing, I had constant bacterial vaginosis with it and had to threaten to take it out myself to get it removed!
Be warned, once its in they don't like taking them out.

I love it. No crazy feeling like I have lost the plot for a few days a month. No periods for the last 10 years. No impact on sex drive. It's brilliant. Wish I had it when I was in my 20s.
For balance, it hurt like fuck the first time I had one put in and for about a week afterwards on and off and I bled at low level for ages like a few months, till it settled.

I had one for contraception after my youngest was born after the copper coil didn't work for me. The mirena coil was brilliant. Bloody hurt going in, I was quite crampy for the first few days, bled /spotting for 3 months but no periods after that. Laterally I used it as HRT too. I had to get it removed as it had expired and, very sadly, my GP couldn't get a new one in! Cervix said no, twice. So I've had to go back on the mini pill which I'm tolerating miles better than I did when I was younger.
When deciding about the coil originally the GP told me the progesterone was equivalent to 2 mini pills a week.

Best thing ever for me. I have had them for 19 years now. No periods at all and stable in mood apart from a bit of a menopause blip!

Had one for five months. All good so far. No periods and my moods seem to have lifted a bit. Wished I’d had it years ago.

I’ve just had mine removed after an absolutely horrid 8 weeks where it was really impacting my emotional state and causing extreme fatigue along with anxiety and weepiness. The consultant wouldn’t believe it was from the coil but my GP said they just don’t work for some of us. I feel like myself again after having it out.

Obviously coils are brilliant if they work - but my advice would be to not put up with side effects (beyond the spotting they tell you about) if you happen to be one of the people that doesn’t get on with the coil. I wish I’d cut my losses and had it taken out at the four week mark when I first saw the GP.

(In hindsight I wonder if my post natal anxiety 19 years ago was actually a reaction to the mini-pill. I didn’t have it after my second child when I got a copper coil).

It's been great for me and that's despite still having almost continuous spotting on it although that does seem to be easing off now so I'm really hoping it settles down soon (7 months since I had it fitted.)

I was really averse to having it fitted but have endometriosis like a PP and honestly my periods were ruining my life. I couldn't leve the house for two days a month.

I am still getting heavy periods on it (although again, my most recent one was lighter so I'm really hopeful they'll ease off.) But they're totally manageable e.g. I can just wear a pad rather than what I was doing previously doubling up with a pad and a tampon and still flooding.

What has been revolutionary for me is I have no PMT at all. No rage just before my period starts, no other symptoms.

Fantastic for me. The pill played havoc with my mood and I put on loads of weight. I had the Jaydiss coil I think it is called which is an even smaller dose of hormone than the Mirena which, in turn, has so much less hormone than the pill.

The coil has stopped my periods, cleared up my oily skin, made my hair thicker and healthier and had no effect on my sex life- so so much better than the pill

I was very skeptical too but actually I've gone from having near constant daily bleeding to most months no period at all. Occasionally a tiny amount of spotting but barely noticeable. Also its actually stopped my migraines which I wasn't expecting at all.

I bled continously for months and it made me feel like I was going crazy, but GP was reluctant to take it out.

Reader, I ended up pulling it out myself in desperation (not to be recommended).

Migraines and random bleeding with combined pill, constant bleeding with POP and the implant. The implant was the worst of all actually as it made my hair fall out and get migraines and acne. I also get awful PMS and find pregnancy hormones difficult to manage but the mirena is great for me. 3 light days of bleeding a month when my period would usually come and no other noticeable side effects.

I had it due to horrendous periods in peri menopause. It was fantastic, no periods for 4 year's.....used to have problems with the pill and any contraception

hormone-wise- fine
insertion- more painful than childbirth
removal- horrific because the GP cut the strings too short (for my husband!) and after a failed removal attempt, I needed a specialist to pry me open, find them and pull them out

Also, period did not stop

Fantastic for me.
Spotted a bit for a while after insertion
Periods became light and then, deep joy, stopped altogether. No more flooding embarrassment!
Had it in place 5yrs+
Best thing ever.

I had a bad experience with the pill, made me dizzy and nauseous, so i was really worried about the coil. And aside from being unpleasant to insert, I am sooooo glad I did it. So nice never having a period too!

Terrible cystic acne.

22 years for me. Best thing ever … except for when it expelled itself spontaneously about two weeks after it was fitted. That was painful. However a second one was inserted under GA and I’ve had zero issues since

This is what makes me reluctant to try it, the stories of the issues people have having it taken out if they have side effects.
The mini pill sent me into serious depression, but it was easy for me to just stop it. I don’t want to be told I can’t have something out if it’s making me suicidal, which is what happened to me during pregnancy, postnatally, and on the mini pill (and tbh the few days before my period each month). I worry about my reaction to hormones.

I would say as a note around 20% of people on mirena have their period stop, the rest have reductions in bleeding etc. It works by mimicking your luteal phase, with synthetic progesterone, it also thins you uterus lining, so there's less cramps and bleeding as there's less to shed.

Personally I took a long time for it to settle especially compared to other people, around a year, however it has reduced the heaviness of my periods which I am thankful for. I do still use tranexamic acid as well sometimes but that's also down to other reasons as well. For insertion if make sure you have paracetamol and ibuprofen 1h before, get licodaine injected into your cervix and also numbing gel etc. It depends on why you're taking it, but as a whole it's a very good tool for most. If you have issues with MH or contraception affecting that, it's better to watch and assess as you go, sometimes a low-medium dose of antidepressants can help at the same time. Overall I'd definitely give it a go.