To want a copper coil rather than a mirena?

[coffeeforone]

I have an appointment next week to get a coil fitted, my first ever form of contraception (aside from condoms/withdrawal), at the age of 33.

I spoke to GP about wanting the copper coil at my 6 week postnatal check and she convinced me that the mirena was much better, no side effects as only local hormone release and no periods. Sent me away to think about it.

Now I'm not saying she was lying, but reading online, the mirena apparently can come with side effects because of the hormones. The copper one will probably make periods heavier but other than that I can't see any downsides.

I'm in 2 minds to try the mirena, albeit with the risk of side effects, but the one thing that puts me off is the possibility of increased appetite and weight gain. I'm currently working hard to shed the 3 stone I have gained over my past 2 pregnancies and am very motivated at the moment. I don't want this to derail me or reduce my limited willpower. Am I overthinking this and are the chances of side effects very low, or should I stick to my original choice of the copper?

I remember discussing both options with a doctor at a specialist sexual health/contraception clinic (didn’t get either of them in the end) and she said the Mirena was roughly the same hormone wise as taking two contraceptive pills per week. I don’t know if that’s helpful or not but I guess it’s quite a simple way of looking at it!

I had the copper coil. DC3 was born practically clutching the damn thing. It was still in place just hadnt worked.

I had mirena before 3rd child and was awesome. I suffer extreme periods and they stopped so that was great.
Had one fitted middle of last year. Bleeding was on of, spotting, nightmare then discovered was preg in late October. Don't ask.
Had another put in and from the day it was fitted I've had literally no bleeding that I could call a period. Some months I get 3 days of light brown discharge and that's it. Suits me.
First few weeks after fitting each time I had frequent headaches ie: every day, then they stop and it's all fine.

Love the Mirena - Dsis recommended it to me as she loves hers too.

I had v heavy periods and terrible PMT on the pill. Much better on the Mirena.

I'm on my third mirena coil. Never had any side effects at all and my periods stopped completely.

The only downside for me is that I'm now of menopausal age but it's difficult to tell how far along that process I am as I haven't had a period for years.

Ive has copper coil for about 2 years now. Did make my periods a bit worse but we're bad anyway and still perfectly manageable.
My reason for coil was wanting to stop hormonal contraception as I was have a migraine on average every 2 weeks.
They tried to up sell the mirina saying was localised so unlikely to be a problem. I just said "unlikely not good enough, copper please I've done plenty of reading around it" and they accepted that.

Copper here too. I insisted for the same reasons and found the mini pill caused depression so wanted to avoid that, even if the risk is minuscule. Periods aren’t heavier but do last longer - last was very very light.

You’ve never tried any hormonal contraception? I’d certainly try the pill first, but one with a less androgenic form of progesterone (eg marvelon), or loestrin 20 if you want to try a low dose of oestrogen although loestrin is quite progesterone dominant.

I react very badly to progesterone and I wouldn’t want to find that out by having something put into me I couldn’t take out myself (eg injection, implant or coil). Doctors often refuse to remove them for at least three months, not because it’s in your best interests but because they’re pricey if you only keep them in short term.

Now I’ll only take the pill - at least I can choose when to stop it and start it.

Just to throw a dissenting experience in here, I had the copper coil fitted under GA following a termination (also chosen because I am very sensitive to hormonal contraception and did not want the Mirena under any circumstances). It didn't start off too badly; my normal periods are only 3-4 days long and they were lasting about a week with the newly-fitted coil. The problem was, they got heavier and heavier and longer and longer, until I was having three-WEEK long, very heavy periods, with only one week off.

Like other people here, I was persuaded to 'stick at it' by the doctors, until I couldn't bear it any more and begged to have it removed - by that point, it had been in for over 2 and a half years. Turned out that it had caused an infection and I needed some industrial-strength antibiotics to clear it up. Don't be like me and let yourself be fobbed off if you are having difficulties!

I have a mirena. It is brilliant. Took a few months to settle but has been amazing since.

My friend who is an obstetrician used to say the same thing about mirena, no side effects, no weight gain etc etc. that is until she got one. She put on 8kg in a short space of time, and was cranky and hormonal. She got it taken out and lost weight. I’d never get one after hearing her tell me that.

I have the copper coil in for 1 1/2 and lately it's made ovulation really painful and sometimes I get random cramps. Periods can also be 4/5 days late and although lighter they go on for longer than previously had can also be painful.

I have a copper coil. Periods didn’t get heavier. The nurse who put it in said that women who reported heavier periods were typically coming off hormonal contraceptives. I would definitely recommend it. Hormonal contraceptives can have such awful side effects, it’s really unfair that women are just expected to put up with it.

They can say all they like about the hormones in the mirena being local to the area in which it is released but that is absolute bollocks. Admittedly I am very sensitive to hormones but within days of having the mirena put in I had lost my sex drive completely and within a few short weeks afterwards I got very depressed. I had to get quite lairy to force them to take it out. It took a long time for me to get back to normal after they finally did.

How many women post online saying the mirena is great and they had no problems?

Ok here is one. I have the mirena and it's fab. Only had it for 3 months so not sure if my periods will stop or stay as they are which is incredibly light and pain free. Either one is great for me, as a massive improvement on my horrible heavy periods I used to have.
I don't have any weight gain or mood issues to report either.

To be honest, OP, it’s one of those things where you won’t know for sure until you try one or the other. I had zero side effects the first time I had a Mirena in my late 20s/early 30s (no weight gain included), an awful time with the copper coil and now I’m back on the Mirena in my late 40s I’m expanding at an alarming rate! All experiences are unique..

Just a question for some of you (sorry to hijack, OP). Am I likely to have a fight on my hands for not wanting to replace coil ASAP after removal?

Everyone I know with mirena loves it. I have the copper coil (after 20 years of hormonal contraception, I felt done).

But the periods are horrific. Like thing the kind of postnatal bleeding you had. It’s 5-7 days of that every month. I have to wear like an extra super tampon and a pad and I pretty much wear a nappy to bed at night. The first period I had after I got it I sat up in bed and blood came gushing out. I bled all over the bed and left a bloody trail to the bathroom (this while wearing a pad). I was totally unprepared for how heavy ‘heavy’ would be.

I’ve had it nearly a year now and am seriously thinking about switching to mirena. I think given the choice, I’d probably start with that and switch if you have side effects. There’s no harm done, just a bit of hassle if you do need to change.

Im not mirenas biggest fan but id have one over a copper coil any day.

Have had both

Hated the mirena. After 9 months of constant bleeding and being fobbed off that “it will settle down eventually” I was begging to have it removed. I was depressed, nearly 2 stone heavier and felt so ill I was on my knees. Awful.
If you want copper then they shouldn’t persuade you otherwise, they should simple go through the benefits and drawbacks of each one.

I have the copper, I have an apt to get it removed on Tuesday. The periods are too much for me, they are only heavy for 2-3 days but if just too heavy, then I get random spotting. I have had it in almost a year.

I was toying with the idea of a Mirena but I think I just want it out and to think about it for a while.

I recommend family planning clinics - ours is awesome you can even book appointments online, and no pressure, I could pick whichever coil I wanted.

My gp tried me on a pill with similar hormones to mirena before I had it. This was to see how I may react. It wasn't good. I bled constantly. So I have a copper coil and have had it for 8 1/2 years now with no problems. No heavy bleeding at all.

DSHathaway I had my first one replaced by my choice, but after the second was removed I just never again and that was that.

Women with a history of having issues with a history of reacting badly to hormonal treatments are usually recommended copper only.

I am allergic to progesterone, ingested. After that was discovered I was specifically recommended the Merina (they could whip it out if it caused issues). It's been fine, I'm now on my third one.

The gynae I saw privately a couple of years ago said 'god no, don't ever get the copper coil'.