AIBU to want my mirena out?

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Hey all, first post so go easy on me.

I'm just after some advice re my mirena coil and some issues i'm having. A bit of background - got the mirena in Oct '17, when my youngest ds was 3 months old. The insertion was painless but Straight away I had instant heavy bleeding which lasted about 2 weeks then stopped. After another week, again constant bleeding with clots etc. I knew it would take a while to settle down but this went on until mid December. Obviously DH and I didn't want to have sex while I was bleeding so after I had a few days of no bleeding we jumped at the chance. We dtd every other day for around a week then bam - sudden heavy bleeding again. This continued until end of January. Same again, back to regularly dtd every other day maybe and about 2 weeks went by then I was bleeding again. Sometimes heavy, sometimes light spotting - mostly nothing overnight but pretty much constant when I was active i.e. walking, hoovering etc. Again this bleeding continued until beginning of May. When it stopped we went back to dtd as normal (nothing rough or vigorous) but the last 5 days ive had spotting which has now lead to full on bleeding again.

I have NO other symptoms whatsoever so in that respect the mirena is great as I can't take the pill for medical reasons so I figured this was the best option after having the baby. But AIBU to think this on/off bleeding should have settled by now, nearly 9 months in? Do i have any hope of it settling down or will my sex life be interrupted like this as long as i have it?

Would anyone mind sharing their experience, is this normal?

Thanks in advance x

Get it taken out if you're not comfortable with it. one of my friends had it surgically removed as it had moved around throughout the years, probably due to having sex..

I suggest you try the arm implant. lasts 3years and you'll have very light periods and sometimes no periods at all for a few months.

I had a coil years ago not sure if it was a mirena.

Anyway, I had the most foul smelling discharge which you could smell if you were stood next to me!

Had to wear a tampon all the time as watery discharge would run down my legs.

Doctor said no infection but my God that smell so had it taken out.

My friend had a mirena and bled a lot.

I will never forget the pain when the coil was put in. They had to peel me off the ceiling. I felt sick and started to sweat immediately and I felt so sick.

The mirena seems to be a love hate thing. You either get on really well, or it goes tits up. If you are unlucky, there is no fixing it. Get it out amd try something else. Sorry its a PItA

myheartbelongsto - i had exactly the same as you! It was like a copper smell and i was dripping all the time, i thought i had an infection but the doctor said not. As soon as it was removed i was ok again.

I never stopped bleeding. It was 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off for me - and the bleeding so light I couldn’t use tampons, pads give me thrush so I don’t use them anyway. I used a cup but even that I felt I was using it just in case.

I had mine out - I’d rather have a week of heavy bleeding I’m expecting than light spotting all the time!

I would, I had the implant in my arm for a year, put up with horrendous constant bleeding, awful spotty skin and tender breasts, I had it out and within a week was pretty much back to myself, I wished I had done it sooner!

I had constant thrush from pretty much the day it was inserted to a week after I insisted it be removed, and had to be referred to a GUM clinic as the ordinary prescription drugs weren’t shifting it.
I had had thrush twice in the 15 years before I had the mirena coil fitted, and haven’t had it once sine it was removed 11 years ago.
But apparently the coil doesn’t cause thrush 🤔

Just make sure you have abstained from sex for at least a week before you have it removed. Mine was taken out by a doc during a colposcopy during which he never mentioned the abstaining thing... ds2 was conceived as a result!!

I lasted six weeks with the implant before having it removed. It made me feel
ghastly! Lost my usually fairly high sex drive entirely, literally dried up down below and bled for the entire six weeks. So no, YANBU at all. No one wants to bleed for as long as you have, especially not when its heavy with clots.

Did you have it fitted by your GP? I only ask because I had my 5th Mirena inserted in September and it's the first time I've had one fitted by my GP.... it's been an absolute nightmare, and I had 12 weeks of the worst bleeding and cramps imaginable that I've never had with the others. I am still having periods that admittedly are very light but the cramping and pain is almost unbearable and I'm convinced that it's not been fitted correctly. Every so often I get a twinge that takes my breath away. I've always had them fitted at the local sexual health clinic where they are brilliant and do them all the time..... my GP admitted afterwards she's only just been trained .

They've been brilliant in the past - I've got awful scar tissue from 2 sections and was put on a trial of Mirena by the local gynae hospital almost 20 years ago. It has been life changing and saved me from a hysterectomy but this one is almost making me wonder if heavy periods would be more tolerable.........

I had mine in in 2013 for heavy bleeding and that continued on and off for 6 months. I was at the end of my tether and made an appointment to hdve it out and it all stopped. Had nothing since so for me it worked but it wasn’t instant.

I had the mirena and it was the worst contraception I've ever tried. i had it for 3 years so it definitely wasn't a settling in period. My periods were erratic yet I had the (most horrendous) PMS every month without the release of a period. I could go months without a period or several bleeds in a month. Not to mention the acne, headaches and hair loss. I'm sure I could feel it digging in at times too, it was so sharp and uncomfortable if I lay certain ways. BUT out of 10 people I know with it, I'm probably one of 2 who didn't love it, and I would consider a copper coil in the future.

I'd give it till you've had it a year, and if you still don't like it then get it removed.

Thanks everyone.

I agree i'll probably give it to a year and then decide. Again all day today no bleeding at all but it's the feeling of being on edge, that it could literally start if i run up the stairs too fast or go for too long a walk with the kids. Its so frustrating for me (and DH as well.)

It was fitted at my local sexual health clinic by a specialist as i have a tilted womb. It was completely pain free bu I had instant heavy bleeding. I just wanted to add that I had my youngest baby last July and when I got the mirena in i was still sort of spotting with post partum bleeding, so I've basically had about a month in the last 11 months where I haven't had bleeding of some kind. Can you see why I'm frustrated? 😂 i know a few people say it settles at around a year so i will continue for now but it'll be out in October if this continues.

Thanks all for sharing your experiences! I wish there was just a pill DH could take instead of us having to worry about all this. I can't use the normal pill because of family history of blood clots, and each mini pill i've tried i get constant heavy bleeding and end up needing iron supplements. Condoms are a pain in the butt and I really wanted something long term because we dont want any more kids until the youngest goes to school at least. Ugh 😩

I had the mirena and it was the worst contraception I've ever tried. i had it for 3 years so it definitely wasn't a settling in period. My periods were erratic yet I had the (most horrendous) PMS every month without the release of a period. I could go months without a period or several bleeds in a month. Not to mention the acne, headaches and hair loss.

Gosh, I'm really interested in what you say about hair loss - my daughter had a mirena put in a few months ago, and has lost a load of hair around her hairline, it's now very noticeable. She hates the effect it's had on her as well - complete loss of libido, she was hoping it would improve her PMT but hasn't, now she's booked in to have it taken out and been told there won't be any sedation - she had it put in while under GA for removal of a polyp. Do you know if it's painful to have it removed? She's really worried, as she's had some painful procedures over the last year.

It's just a sharp scratch having it removed, nothing near as bad as fitting. Takes moments, and they usually get you to sit in the waiting room for a few minutes after. Nothing to worry about at all, they literally just pull it out by the strings Juells.

I have 4 friends who've had a Mirena and all of them have had a nightmare with it.
If it was the last contraceptive available i wouldn't go near it.

I would get it checked if you're still bleeding so much this far along. I had it fitted years ago for heavy periods and it took about 6 months and my periods stopped altogether. I certainly never had the on and off bleeding you've had and it doesn't sound right to me. I'm on my third coil now and considering having it removed because I don't need it for contraception and I'm peri-menopausal. Although I have heard that it can help with menopausal symptoms, not that I've noticed.

I've had it twice for heavy periods. Both times I've had it taken out after 6 months as both times I bled for 3 weeks in every 4. Would prefer to deal with a week of heavy bleeding than to be bleeding more often than not.

I had a mirena years ago. I had erratic bleeding with lots of dark brown. Repeated BV that meant I was constantly on antibiotics.

I had to beg for them to remove it and was told I was wasting nhs money taking it out because it was very expensive