To think this is shit even for the NHS?

[JustFeckIt]

DD has a Mirena coil put in about 18 months ago. She noticed that she couldn’t feel the strings early this year so went to GP to ask them to check. GP couldn’t find them either so said she’d need surgical removal when it came to remove it.

A month or so later she was having stomach pains and bleeding so went back to GP ask them to remove it as assumed it was related.

She had to wait over a month for an appointment as only one GP was trained to do it, At that appointment GP said he couldn’t get it so she’d need to have surgical removal and he’d refer. That was in April.

She got an appointment for next month which is an initial telephone call (why?) and god knows how much longer she’ll have to wait after that for actual removal! She’s had intermittent cramping in pelvis and back and bleeding since then. Damn thing could have gone anywhere and could have caused other issues.

Anyone else been through this and is this not pretty bad?

I agree. That's awful. I am trying to think of a way around it and other than insisting she gets an earlier appointment I am stumped. Sorry this is happening to you and DD :(

My gynae said to not worry about feeling the strings…. If I wasn’t bleeding then coil was fine.

Your poor daughter having to wait,I see the people waiting for ops is at the highest level ever today.

perhaps the phone call is the pre op and it will be quick after that?

Even for something relatively ‘straight forward’ and specific as surgical removal of coil, the consultant would need to speak to the patient before putting them on their surgical waiting list. They would want to discuss the pain and blending she’s experiencing as well as the removal request; plus discuss alternative contraception (assuming she originally has the coil for contraceptive purposes). Unfortunately lots of people with minor surgical needs are having to wait a disproportionate length of time for treatment because the NHS simply doesn’t have the capacity to manage the backlog of patients from Covid limitations as well as those being added to waiting lists all the time.

Is there any chance, as a family, you can explore her having a private consultation and, if necessary, removal as well? She’d probably get seen a lot quicker and they’re more likely to get resolved in a reasonable time frame.

I had to wait a few months to get mine removed surgically although I didn't have the bleeding/stomach pain your dd does. Mine was expired rather than causing issues but couldn't be removed the normal way as the strings couldn't be found. I did get ultrasound scans and an xray to check where it was prior to the removal

Has she had an ultrasound ? The strings on mine have gone up, but an US showed its in the right position.
‘It might not be the coil causing the problem.

Seems odd that she hasn’t been referred for an X-ray. As this would show if she has the coil still.
sometimes they are expelled without the patient realising.

Have they even checked location?

Would she get seen quicker at a sexual health clinic? My practice nurse couldn't remove mine because the strings weren't visible, but I was able to book an apt at the women's health clinic for the following week and the lovely gynaecologist managed to remove it

I was going to suggest a sexual health clinic, there's a young people's one near us. DD got her implant, which was causing her bleeding and hair loss, removed there when the GP had a waiting list of months. They made her feel really comfortable too, she was really impressed.

I’ve been through very similar this year. I started to bleed constantly and had intermittent pain, GP couldn’t locate coil so referred me for a scan. This dragged on for months before I was actually seen. Scan showed the coil was absolutely fine and perfectly placed so referred back to GP. GP did did some tests, nothing came up so referred me back to gynae. Weeks later I get a letter from them saying basically they’re too busy and they would look into if I really needed an appointment or not. Heard nothing since. My problems seem to have resolved them self in this time but it took 6 months to get to this point. Very unpleasant. I don’t think they give a toss about women’s problems

She needs a scan to check it’s location asap. GP can refer. Or try a sexual health clinic asap.

it’s not unusual for threads to get lost in the cervical canal but if a thread retriever device has failed to locate them she needs a scan to check before next action as no point doing anything else until you know where it is. It could have been expelled and she is having period cramps.

make sure she knows to use other contraception until this is clarified.

Seconding going to sexual health clinic. You don't need a referral and the staff there do this every day. It's usually really quick to get an appointment.

I never go to a GP for anything gynae or contraception related. It's a waste of time when the experts are at the local SH clinic.

Third suggestion to try a sexual health clinic - I had the same issue and they removed mine within a week! Very common issue, GP's are happy to recommend coils but a nightmare trying to get them to remove them for some reason.