To think this might be why we have unwanted pregnancies???

[boschy]

I need a mirena coil removed (TMI?). The only place I can go (according to local gp surgery) is our local FPC, which is about 5 miles away. Luckily for me, I can drive there.

The ONLY time you can call for an appointment is after 5.30pm on a Monday night. I have tried approx 40 times in the last 70 minutes and it is permanently engaged.

It's a good thing I'm not a hormone driven teenager isnt it?!! Dear god, this is bloody ridiculous.

wandering Condoms aren't that reliable though?

Condoms are widely available, but they are not particularly reliable. If everyone relies on condoms then you will have a lot of unwanted pgs.

I'm on my phone sorry so can't check.

No I dont think you're having a go, I'm just trying to say that access to reliable contraception doesnt seem that easy, and I thought it was better than that these days.

Of course no one has to have sex - but afaik UK has a pretty high rate of teen pregnancies, and I'm relating that to the probs I have had on one day accessing FP services. (well actually not one day, phoned about 10 days ago and got the 'only on a Monday after 5.30' msg. Was out last Monday, so missed the phone call slot).

And if you are 15/16/17, and the alleged love of your live 'doesnt like' condoms, where does it leave you? Mum of 2 daughters here, I'd like to think they could get access to contraception - and advice - more easily when the time comes.

98% success rate for condoms with perfect use and no user error (still twice as many unwanted pregnancies as the pill, and forty times as many as Implanon). About 85% effectiveness in the real world.

I asked my go about non hormonal contraception he said there was only condoms, or had I considered a femidom

When I mentioned the coil only then did he say they existed but only at family planning could they be done, he then said most women removed them themselves now I know why.

wandering it was not a case of not being seen, it was a case of spending an hour and a half on the phone to get through!! and then 3 weeks to be seen.

I would think the hour and a half pissing about on the phone would be enough to deter all but the most determined.

I had a mirena coil and it was very straightforward to get an appointment to fit it and to have it removed. Maybe it depends on the area; OP maybe in your area the coil isn't the preferred choice for women who might be at high risk of an unwanted pregnancy so appointments aren't as well-resourced (eg I'd imagine a lot of teenagers might prefer condoms for the protection from STIs, or the Pill because unlike a coil it doesn't need to be fitted and can just be prescribed).

You can't compare having a coil removed to getting access to contraception.

Coil removal = non urgent

Contraception = could be urgent

Most areas have plenty of opportunities for CASH especially for young people - in many places there are far more CASH clinics open for young people than 'regular' clinics.

I'm a practice nurse and can remove coils but can't fit them; my nurse colleague can fit implants but none of the GPs can. Contraceptive services are enhanced services and not all practitioners are qualified to offer them, or offer all of them.

I really wouldn't recommend removing your own coil, there are a fair number of risks associated with doing that including cervical shock, perforation and bleeding. Just because a HCP can appear to do it quickly and easily doesn't mean it's a DIY procedure!

Oh and re the removal, although whoever removed theirs themselves has really made me wince, I can see why it wouldn't have been too much of a big deal as removal of mine (by a nurse at the family planning clinic) was a LOT more straightforward than insertion and you're meant to feel for the threads every now and then anyway.

Insertion was horrid :(

our fpc is open most days and 3 evenings but never used to be eldest daughter suffered for months before getting her implant replaced as she couldn't get appointment that matched her shifts much better now.

I was on mirena coil its more a medical one only had mine as a stop gap before hysterectomy

IUD - coil with no hormones
IUS (Mirena) - coil with hormones