To think the Mirena IUD aid an amazing invention

[avocadochocolate]

Got my 3rd Mirena fitted today.

First one was so I did not have to set my alarm in the night to change my sanitary protection. I was bleeding for 7 days every 14 days. I went from that to no periods at all.

DM has the same problem in the 1980s and has to have a hysterectomy. I'm so happy to have avoided major surgery.

Now the Mirena is part of my HRT and it is the safest way to deliver the progesterone element.

Posting because I have seen a lot of posts from people who have not got on with it and I guess you are more likely to post if you are dissatisfied. The doctor I saw today inserts 400 a week!

Oh, and everyone should be aware that
a) GPs are financially incentivised to get you on to long-acting contraception over and above the pill

b) it’s only financially effective if you keep it in so, if you have problems with it and want it out, you may have a battle on your hands

c) side effects are definitely not being reported, if you listen to the thousands of women who’ve gone back to see their doctor and said they have pain, contractions, bleeding etc and are told it’s not the mirena causing it (and yet it miraculously stops when the coil comes out)

I was absolutely traumatised by my year-long effort to get the bastarding thing out, and the actual removal itself ended up being done under a general anaesthetic.

I’m sure they are fantastic when they suit you, but the way problems are handled means I’ll never have any other contraception that I can’t stop / start / remove as I choose. I would definitely urge caution.

Mirena was AWFUL for me. Bled every day for the 9 months I had it in, I went back after 4,6,7 & 8 months asking for it to be removed and they just kept saying “it just takes longer to settle down in some people.....give it a bit more time”. I was begging them to remove it in the end but they didn’t have appointments for another 6 weeks so I went to the FPC. I also put on two stone which I lost really quickly once it was out.

I assist our nurse with coil fittings and I inwardly fume every time she tells a patient that ‘most women find their periods stop’

So if he does a clinic from 8am to 8pm, 10 min slots he could see 6 patients an hour - include a lunch break he could be doing 57 patients per day

That would include Saturdays and Sundays as well though.

Just how many people are there in your village?

Absolute life changer.
I had three from about 40 to 55, the last one took me past menopause. Was bleeding horrendous floods and clots for 10 days at a time and it ceased overnight.
My GP fitted them all and she reckons they have saved many, many thousands of women from having hysterectomies.
Yes very quite painful to insert but well worth a few minutes pain for such an outcome.

Happy it works for you. While my periods stopped, I got awful ovarian cysts. Had my cool removed three months ago and had no large cysts since (they were causing intense pain for days at a time). My mood swings are also lessened.

Right now were using the best protection (abstanence) thanks to distance due to work and a move coming up. After that, we will have to decide what to do because I'm not sure I want to go back on the pill either and the implant was an epic fail. I really wanted the coil to work.

Mine came out by itself when I was on vacation.

My 17 yr old daughter experienced an ectopic pregnancy whilst on the Mirena.

Not a fan at all.

I’m on my 3rd, too. Very light spotting instead of periods. Love it.

Question if I may. The posters who said they had them ‘fail’, do you mean you got pregnant on them or do you mean they came out? Asking as due to get mine fitted next week and I absolutely cannot have another baby!

So if he does a clinic from 8am to 8pm, 10 min slots he could see 6 patients an hour - include a lunch break he could be doing 57 patients per day

7 days per week?

And having had several very straightforward coil fittings, I can confirm the whole appointment takes longer than 10 minutes (go over risks, give consent, undress, get on table, check cervix, optional swabs, sounding the uterus, insert the IUD, relax for a minute, dress, check pulse, give leaflet and explain string checking and follow-up, etc.), not including whatever time the practitioner needs to update patient notes and so on in between patients.

I don't even buy the her and her team fit 400 Mirenas per week explanation. Seems highly exaggerated.

I adore mine. If you have short, light periods then perhaps another form of contraception would be better but if you have debilitating, flooding and hideous pain then it is worth a try.

It’s been life changing and I wish i’d had one years ago

I'm 4 years in on my 1st mirena coil, 1st year was not great while it settled in, but no periods since the 2nd month and I'm just about to start hrt so the coil will be part of that, will definitely have it replaced when the time comes next year, but was either the coil or a hysterectomy for me after very heavy periods and excruciating pain for years, I love it.

@Millie2018

Fell out in a dramatic blood bath x 2
They like to put them into women with fibroids that can push them out

@flep

I’m sure they mean a team not just one bloke as 57 is extreme

I love mine. I'm on my second one and rang my doctors today to arrange another one as I'm coming to the end of the 5 years. Hopefully the next one will be my last as it will take me up to 52.

I have mine done at the hospital as I need gas and air and something to relax me as it's quite an ordeal getting it done.

In the 10 years I had them I've only had spotting 3 times. I got one because my periods were so bad.

I don't think I could cope with periods now. To know that I'm period free is liberating.

@PookieDo oh no! I’ve had fibroids in the past. Thanks for the heads up. I may need to reconsider. I just want reliable contraception that isn’t the pill. Using condoms right now and would like to stop.

Well I'm glad it's worked for you, but I can attest to how horribly they can go wrong. Without a doubt the worst thing I've ever had in my body.
For 3+ years I suffered with constant spotting and cramping, irregular periods (months without one then 3 within the space of a month), psychotic/suicidal PMS every month regardless of whether I got an actual period, major hair loss (that started to grow back within just 1 week of removing it), cystic acne, weight gain, loss of sex drive and it made my migraines worse.

Not sure if you're in the UK or not (400 is insertions a week is incredibly high, unbelievable for a NHS doctor/GUM nurse) but we are having problems with medical staff making it very difficult to remove these things; constant obstacles and talk of 'settling periods' rather than just removing it when they're requested. They also strongly push them onto women with little to no information provided about the negative side effects (it was sold to me a miracle device that would totally clear my skin up and stop my periods almost entirely). I ended up taking mine out myself. I now have a copper coil and it's been amazing!

Love mine, on my 2nd one now which can stay in indefinitely as I'm getting way past contraception age now! No periods since 2012, no PMT either. Yes painful insertion but it's short term pain for long term gain ime. I do appreciate I've been lucky though.

Literally just got back from the GP from having a Mirena fitted for the first time!
Hoping mine goes as well as yours

I've had mine since October and I love it too. I suffered crazy weight gain and scary mood swings on the implant but the Mirena seems to have settled well. My period is now a couple of days spotting every other month. It's great for me.

Getting it fitted wasn't the most fun I've had with my trousers off but it didn't take long and although slightly painful, it was not unbearable. I've had 2 c-sections. It was my consultant who recommended the Mirena (she said she had one) as I had obstetric cholestasis which can limit contraception choices.

I've had a mirena fail too

Glad it worked for you, I hated mine.

I have one in the last 3 years because I have Endometriosis, it has helped with the pain and how heavy bleeding was but unfortunately i wasn't lucky enough to have my periods stop :( I still bleed for alot longer than most people do

@pumpastrotter I am in London. The clinic I went to covers the whole borough and possibly a neighbouring one too. GPs insert Mirena's too. My GP tried and failed which is why I went to the clinic.

@NaToth the progesterone element of HRT is to keep them womb lining thin otherwise there is a higher risk of endometrial cancer.
The progesterone in the mirena stays in the womb and does exactly that. So both!

That said, not true that there’s absolutely no systemic progesterone with it though. It’s very little though and much less than any other hormonal contraception.

A year of hell for me when I had it. Over a stone weight gain within first few months, awful greasy hair I had to wash daily, acne on my back, dark hairs sprouted on my jawline and navel, bled constantly for the first 4 weeks then periods were light but lasted 2-3 weeks. Was a nightmare convincing them to remove it, then they 'couldn't find it' and had to be scanned, it had 'migrated' and had to be removed via a hysteroscopy that the wankers did with no aneasthetic. Absolutely horrendous for me and if I were ever pressed to have one again I would shove it up the dr's nose.