To think I don't have many options left?

[squashedalmondcroissant]

I'm trying to think through my contraception options atm, wondering if there's anything I haven't thought of that might work better.

I have a mirena coil and have had for the last 14yrs or so. Generally I find it great but there are some pros and cons:

Pros:

It completely stops my periods straight away which is great because I absolutely hate having them!

I've never had a pregnancy scare on it

They last for ages and I don't have to do/take anything every day 😁

Cons:

The pains I get are awful. Like intense period pains, they can come on really quickly and last for ages, when I'm having a flare up it's really quite debilitating. I had one a few days ago at work and fortunately I was on my own because I was sweating and shaking, felt like I was going to be sick. The pains have been getting more frequent lately and I'm a bit fed up. At least period pain is reasonably regular but this is totally random. I used to go months in between 'episodes' but it's been more and more recently, 3 in the last week.

I'm coming up to the 5yr mark where I need it changed and realistically, despite these issues, I'm not sure what else I can try?

I hate condoms and withdrawal (which isn't effective anyway)
Don't like the idea of caps/rings or anything I put inside myself (I never used tampons either)
The pill gives me migraines and I worry that the implant/injections would have similar effects. Plus the idea of being able to touch the implant in my arm makes me 🤢🤮

I'm out of options really aren't I? Plus none of the above would stop my periods except the pill. Is there anything else I haven't thought of? Or so I just need to accept that the coil is the best option and suck it up?

There is contraceptive patch, you change it once a week 3x in a row than have a period week. That may be worth looking into, and I'm sure plenty of other posters will have great advice soon 😊

I’d get the pain checked out, it may not be your coil. I had very similar sounding pain episodes for about two years, also ascribed them to my (copper) coil. It was only having an ovarian scan for egg donation that revealed I had a large dermoid cyst on one ovary which was the cause.

I can’t offer contraception advice - I’ve never found anything which comes close to my coil and wouldn’t have anything else - but since not having periods is a massive factor for you, it isn’t really an option.

Are you planning on having children? If not, then sterilisation could be an option.

Alternatively you could try the copper coil instead of the Mirena.

It is less common nowadays but contraceptive patches are still available. You may find you get similar side effects to the pill, but if you have a hormonal coil and that's ok then they may work for you.

I think the injection stops periods for some op. I had it once but to be honest it did not react well with me i got very fat and very angry and did not want sex anymore. Haha sorry to be blunt. Ofc that is only my experience and it is worth noting that i have several disabilities and am already on numerous meds so that could be linked to my reaction and also everyone reacts differently it may suit you. I am sorry I'm not much help but i couldn't read and run and just wanted to say I'm so sorry for the pain ur getting sounds awful. I have never had a coil but it sounds ideal except for thr pain. All the best, truly hope u get a solution x

@Pippin2028 oh that's interesting I've never heard of a patch option? Is that sort of like a nicotine replacement patch?

@ComtesseDeSpair yes I do plan to get it checked out, I'm just in the process of switching doctor's surgeries after moving. The pain is always on one side too which is slightly worrying.

@Lockheart no I'm not planning on children and have seriously considered sterilisation. Dp has some fertility issues and combined with my age (mid 30's) pregnancy is even less likely but tbh if I did get sterilised I'd still get periods and I just really don't want them!