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 have a copper one but it's expired so going to switch to mirena. I am worried as I have mild PCOS and had awful issues with induction. I have no idea whether it'll be good or bad.

What angers me are all the stories of them refusing to take it out. Can you imagine men getting the same deal??

No weight gain for me at all (which was an issue I had with the pill and implant.)

No weight gain here. I had one for about 15 years from age 40 to 55. My weight never changed. I got it to deal with floods and clots and was miraculous.

I'm the same with utrogestan, and I'm meant to be trying a mirena as an alternative, problem is they can't find the strings of my copper IUD in order to remove it, so back on another waiting list i go!!

I'm glad it's working for you though, it gives me hope.

Is it me or are GPs really pushing Mirena lately? All my friends seem to have been offered one suddenly.

It's likely all your friends have reached a similar age.
Nothing new. I was told by my GP that the Merina was responsible for a huge reduction in the number of women needing hysterectomy, this was 17 years ago. I'm sure it saved me from that. I was very happy with it apart from the fitting which was horrendous but the long term gain was well worth some pain.

Removing coils at home is probably not a good first choice but there is material online from what looks to be reputable sources on how to do it safely. I removed mine myself because I felt desperate at the time, one very gentle pull and it came out. My GP had said she’d be happy to remove it but getting an appointment is a battle with the triage system!

https://picck.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PICCK-How-to-Remove-Your-Intrauterine-Device-IUD-By-Yourself.pdf

Thanks both! The pill and the implant turn me into a fat psycho so I am dubious about the mirena but I do need to sort something out

For most it's really good. But if you're progesterone intolerant (history of PMS or PND) then be very wary. It's absolutely not true that the synthetic progesterone in the Mirena only stays localised in your cervix. It doesn't. It can and does migrate into your system and can cause havoc.

My friend's Mum was an advanced nurse practitioner in the USA and wrote a thesis on how the Mirena can effect mood in some women.

I had a Mirena for nearly a year. It was a dark time for me. Constant spotting. Facial spots. And had constant, relentless, raging PMS. I am bitterly regretful of some of the things I said and did during that year. Within a week of having it removed my mood had returned to normal.

I’m not good on progesterone - it really affects my mood.
I mentioned one of my reservations about not being able to have coil easily removed if I didn’t get on with it to GP and they didn’t contradict that. Is it a bit of a lottery?

How are you getting on with the Mirena? Have you persevered or had it removed?
I had one inserted toward the end of September and I am not loving it either.

I have the worst breast pain on mainly one side since two weeks post insertion, my boobs have ballooned, the lower back pain, night sweats, poor sleep, weight gain... hell!

I have also spotted heavily since it was inserted. I got it in the hope it would prevent ovulation as I was finding the 2 weeks before my period was hell.. the Mirena has actually made it worse!

Will see out the year and look into having it removed in January.

I'm considering it after suffering the period from hell. But is it worth it at the age of 54?! I had it before and it hurt more than childbirth going in and I even had to go back to work after! Then I got BV.. lovely! So out it came and I have been reluctant to have another ever since.