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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think if I want a mirena coil removed, it should be removed?

294 replies

Momentumista · 24/11/2016 12:38

I had the Hmm face 'well...no I don't think we'd want to be removing it yet' routine when make appt to ask. Was told 'Come back in 6 months when it's settled'... etc etc

This is not a 'how was the coil for you' thread as I know some people love it and swear by it, but really I know my own body by now and I know how I feel and I was

(a) crazy;
(b) gaining weight while eating the same;
(c) spotty as hell (really nasty acne);
(d) depressed;
(e) migraines;
(f) just feeling really heavy and uncomfortable.

And yet while presenting all of these symptoms I get told they will settle and migraines are not dangerous.

I pulled the bloody thing out myself and am already feeling better (1 week on) and skin is clearing, and lo and behold the jeans I could not get anywhere near done up are now done up. Hmm

I am really disappointed not to have been listened to though. WIBU to take matters into my own hands?

OP posts:
Owllady · 25/11/2016 10:24

We are adults not children and this pattern of lack of consent seems to run through all kinds of women's health issues

I couldn't agree more. I also think women's health issues are downplayed too

ImNotDancing · 25/11/2016 10:42

when i went to get my implant removed after 6 months they kept fobbing me off and makng multiple appointments where each time i would be promised it would be removed at the next one. it got to the point where i sat down and point blank refused to leave until they cut the fucker out of my arm

Graphista · 25/11/2016 11:50

'Today 10:24 Owllady

We are adults not children and this pattern of lack of consent seems to run through all kinds of women's health issues

I couldn't agree more. I also think women's health issues are downplayed too'

Absolutely agree.

The cost of the contraception vs treating the side effects

Seems to me it's likely the difference is the gp personally receives the 'incentive' for the contraception whereas the nhs pays for the treatment of the side effects - another reason gp's like this should be struck off!

Soubriquet · 25/11/2016 11:55

The NHS is very sexist

If a woman turns up at A&E with stomach pain they will investigate period problems and water infections before looking at other causes. This is after a normal waiting time

Men are immediately checked for appendicitis before looking at other problems and are usually seen quicker

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 25/11/2016 11:59

Well if you had to resort to pulling it out yourself that proves how bad things must have been.
I thought they (NHS)had to honor your requests.

FranklyMeDeer · 25/11/2016 12:11

I had a similar experience but it was with the implant, which annoyingly I couldn't remove myself. Grin

It took me months to have it removed, was fobbed off with talk of a long waiting list by the gp at least twice. Eventually I saw the practice nurse for something else and mentioned it, and she got me an appointment within the next week to have it removed. The gp, who I had previously felt really comfortable with, did the removal and was really stroppy about it too.

It's just so fucking patronising.

myoriginal3 · 25/11/2016 12:11

The fact that so many of us have resorted to the extreme practice of performing unsafe medical procedures on ourselves whilst under influence of mirena coil should surely warrant an investigation into its safety in and of itself!

Dollybagwash · 25/11/2016 12:51

I am currently wrestling with getting mine removed. Had one years ago in my early twenties, fantastic no problems, had a 2nd put in at the beginning of the year and I feel horrific.

Has anyone experienced a change in how their body reacts after childbirth? My dd is almost 3 had this coil since Jan and just feel constantly miserable and rubbish. Bloated and just generally lethargic. Not sure if this just down to the joys of toddlers or if the hormones are causing it?

Soubriquet · 25/11/2016 12:52

Yes.

Before children, I had no problem with the pill. Can't take it now

BeyondTheHarpy · 25/11/2016 13:05

Just gonna plonk this here...
edition.cnn.com/2016/10/30/health/male-birth-control/
Men's contraceptive trial cut short due to side effects......

Luckily I am one of the few who love my mirena. I'm a tad concerned at how easy it is to pull out though - considering DHs Prince Albert!! Shock

Original poster
Momentumista · 25/11/2016 14:07

Dolly - I took the pill before DS was born and got along fine with that - so it could well be that after children your body reacts differently. I felt sluggish and lethargic and depressed, and on the pill IIRC I felt pretty good and lots weight if anything.

OP posts:
Original poster
Momentumista · 25/11/2016 14:08

Beyond - grabbing hold of the slippery strings was the tricky part (TMI). That took a bit of contorting.

OP posts:
myoriginal3 · 25/11/2016 14:20

Dollybag. I am laughing at the image of you 'wrestling' to get yours removed lol as that's what happened with dp removing mine. Take the damned thing out.

streetch · 25/11/2016 14:24

This makes me so angry! I was going to post a link about the male contraceptive trial ending but I see Beyond has beaten me to it. Sexism is so deeply ingrained in healthcare and we just get used to being patted on the head and told to get on with it like the side effects are just our imagination or not important. There is this whole idea that our bodies are not ours and doctor knows best so the silly little woman should just stop moaning and do as she's told and I see it again and again in relation to maternity care too.

CmereTilliTellYa · 25/11/2016 14:38

For all those struggling to get the Mirena taken out tell them you are planning to try for another baby. No it shouldn't be necessary to lie, no it shouldn't be any of their business why you want it out but in my experience there won't be any arguments if you say this as opposed to the fobbing off and delaying if you protest that you don't like it, are having horrible side effects etc

expatinscotland · 25/11/2016 15:44

'For all those struggling to get the Mirena taken out tell them you are planning to try for another baby.'

Can't see that working so well when you're a woman in her mid or late 40s.
They are often pushed on women this age who present with period problems. I can see why, it's cheaper than ablation IF it works, but it doesn't in about 15% of users.

Owllady · 25/11/2016 16:23

Honestly, I just told my gynae that I'd had horrific migraines that were so bad they made me frightened. I wasn't even given a choice, he just took it out but I do wonder whether it's because he's a gynae rather than a gp. Really should GP s be fitting them? I had mine put in during a hysteroscopy, otherwise how do they know they are in the right place?

Dollybagwash · 25/11/2016 17:03

I may attempt tonight after a wine Wine I do not believe it is painless ha!!

I remember getting it in! Urgh! This should be an experience! Anything to lift this crazy pmt that I seem to be suffering pretty much constantly!

Owllady · 25/11/2016 17:12

It's not like getting it in, it's just tugging sensation but really you shouldn't all be doing it yourselves

Soubriquet · 25/11/2016 17:13

Yes I wouldn't recommend taking it out yourself. It doesn't hurt as much as it does going in but it wasn't painless to remove either. Least it wasn't for me

Owllady · 25/11/2016 17:19

It makes you a bit sick and dizzy ime

Libitina · 25/11/2016 17:25

This explains what ablation is

www.novasure.com/patients/what-novasure-endometrial-ablation

CheesyWeez · 25/11/2016 17:46

You were NBU!
I also had the awful symptoms which came on very slowly over several years and I didn't suspect the Mirena to start with. When I googled women's experiences of Mirena (as opposed to medical opinion on Mirena) I recognized myself staightaway, lethargic, puffy, zero libido, ratty, woolly thinking, and just wanted the DAMN THING OUT NOW. I was living abroad at the time and so could get an appointment quickly and it was removed.

If I'd had to wait or had been fobbed off, I would have pulled it out myself.

Actually when it was inserted I kept the rest of the pack, which had a tube thing in it to help with removal. For the next few weeks DH and I were ahem, at it like rabbits as my libido rushed back. Immediately after that I had an early-ish menopause (I was 48) I wonder if that contributed to the side effects. It's possibly less suitable as you get older?

Getting rid was the best thing I ever did, well done OP.

PinkSwimGoggles · 25/11/2016 17:49

yanbu
report your side effects to the yellow card scheme as well. nurses/drs are supposed to but often don't...

KittyandTeal · 25/11/2016 18:02

Thanks. I think an ablation would be a good option for me. I'm happy using condoms as contraception.

I've had a gyne referral, was booked for a laparoscopy but got pregnant. I lost that baby too. I definitely won't be having any more, I'm lucky to have dd1 and I've now lost 2 babies in the second trimester. I'm high risk for trisomies and for another loss with unknown cause so it's not an option for me.

I'm guessing I need another gyne referral. They were happy to shove a merina in as it's a simple solution. Except it's not working for me.