To ask if you've ever had a mirena coil which has perforated your womb?

[Beans074]

I have posted in women's health before about this but hoping I might get more responses here.
I had the mirena coil put in 4 years ago due to severe debilitating period pains, and have since been diagnosed with endometriosis. I've also had surgery to remove adhesions, likely caused by a combination of c section scarring and endo.
I've been suffering recently with a different type of pain and after scans (ultrasounds and mri), it's been discovered that the coil has perforated my womb. In September last year it was still within the wall but has now came out the other side. Obviously it's still in my womb but a part is sticking out.
I'm due to get surgery in a few weeks to have this removed but just wondered if anyone has any experience of this happening and how things went?
I've had a lot of years of pain and this was supposed to help, but has instead caused additional problems. I'm very fed up of being in pain!

I realise I'm missing your point slightly, but I'm wondering when your coil was put in? There is generally a very small risk of perforation with the procedure, however the risk increases significantly if you've recently given birth because the walls of the uterus are thinner (a GP who specialised in womens health once told me that the only perforation she'd experienced in her career was in a woman who was a few weeks post partum; as a result she said she usually advises women to wait a little longer and use barrier methods in order to avoid the risk).

I'm just mentioning in case it turns out that the perforation was due to being post partum, as (because you mentioned that the coil was supposed to help other symptoms) it might be worth considering giving it another try (although I'd understand if you didn't want to touch it with a barge pole given the experience that you've had)!

I've had this, though I understand it is very rare. Mine ended up next to my left kidney so had migrated a long way.

Are you worried about any aspect in particular?

I've had no lasting damage as far as I know, though I did end up pregnant and he's now 12 so difficult to maintain any negative feelings! 😁

You have my sympathies as it was incredibly painful and nobody believed me that something was wrong. At least they have found it and will remove it soon. They are unlikely to try and sell it to you as an option again. I find it's very easy to close that down now as they wheel it out at every life stage! Hopefully something else will be the solution you need now the mirena has been ruled out.

My youngest was 7 when I got the coil in so not post partum related, but I have read this is when most issues can be caused.
Getting it put in was absolutely horrendous and took three attempts. Now this has happened so I think I'll stay clear of the coil from now on! I appreciate your thoughts though, thank you.

I had a plain copper IUD which migrated. I had no idea as there was no pain or discharge and I could still feel my strings. Ended up in hospital with peritonitis, salpingitis and sepsis. Damn thing almost finished me off! It took me months to get over it but then again, I was full of advanced infection. Thankfully, you aren't and you'll be having it whipped out soon enough. If you're in good health otherwise then you'll recover quickly. Hopefully, there's someone at home to look after you.

It does seem as though you've been through a hell of a lot already though. Is a hysterectomy something that's ever been mentioned? I know a few women who say that it's given them their life back.

Best wishes for the op, I hope it, and your recovery, is as uneventful as possible,

Yep embedded and horrific infection. Annoyingly the surgeon who was sharpening his scalpel to help me out after a painful wait in A&E was annoyed to find out that the scan revealed a rogue mirena not an infected appendix and sent me home having huffily taken out the IV set up in anticipation of surgery and discharged me. Bizarre as unsurprisingly by the end of the night my raging infection was even worse and I was rushed back to hosp to have the rogue mirena tugged out. The consultant said to me ‘How are you with pain?’ after his junior couldn’t manage to yank it out. I told him I’d grit my teeth until it was out and 2 mins later it was out. I was on mega antibiotics for a while after.

I'm sorry to hear you went through this as well but I'm glad you haven't had any issues since and there weren't any issues getting pregnant. My two are 11 and 13 now so have absolutely no plans for any more babies!

It's crazy to think that the coil ended up at your kidney! Mines is kind of half in/half out at the moment but it's very close to my bladder and they were concerned this could cause problems, not only now but also when they try to remove it. I suppose this is what worries me really, along with the fact that I suffer with anxiety and also like to have clear plans. Apparently they won't know the full plan until they get in and have a look. I am a self confessed control freak!

I also completely understand when you say no one believed you. It's such a battle to get these issues dealt with when you feel like you have to prove you're not making it up.

I can categorically say I won't get another coil after this but it has been mentioned as an option. Thanks so much for replying, you're the first person I 'know' who has had this happen and it's really reassuring to hear you had a positive outcome. Really appreciate it 🙏

Omg @LoveRules 😱 can't believe they didn't offer you a GA or heavy sedation at the very least.

I had a copper coil inserted a few weeks post partum. It was done by a GP and she perforated my uterus on insertion. Holy F the pain !!! She didn't know what she'd done so clearly thought I was being a wimp despite me passing out 🙄

I went back a week later still in pain and she couldn't find the strings. Eventually had to have it removed under GA as it was in my abdomen. I'll never ever have one again.

Not sure if this counts as perforated but it got stuck in the womb lining and had to be removed under general anaesthetic.

I’ve heard of this a few times yes.
There is a huge class action in the US. Yes, they will ‘sue for anything’ but I find it scarily reminiscent of the mesh scandal.

Personally I prefer to avoid any foreign body/ medical equipment in my body that isn’t essential to stay alive e.g. pacemaker

Jeez, you really had a tough time of it. It must have been a scary experience for you but I'm so glad you got through it.
I've had a few infections on and off before this was discovered, and since, but clearly nowhere near as bad as you had it. I suppose I should be grateful in a way that I have the pain etc. as at least I knew something was wrong.

A hysterectomy has been mentioned but only really by me. I found an incredible GP who was the first to ever appreciate how much I've been suffering, and she did say that a hysterectomy may be my best option, but obviously that's not down to her to decide.

I really appreciate your kind wishes. It's making me feel a lot better hearing from people who have had this happen, thank you so much.

That's awful to hear. I'm glad it was removed quickly but you must have really suffered before, and after that all happening.
Thanks for sharing your experience, it's very helpful.

I can confirm that you were not being a wimp! It probably hurt more that it perforated like that as I think mine has slowly been edging it's way through.

I agree with you though, no more coils for me ever!

It counts! Mine started off like this but it managed to break free. Hope you're OK now.

I have read about this and agree that there is something that just doesn't feel right about having a foreign object in your body.

I was unsure about getting it but after being admitted to gynae as I kept passing out from such severe period pain, I was willing to try it in the hope of it improving my quality of life. It did help the pain reduce to a more manageable level as long as I still took painkillers but I carried on getting periods.

I do know plenty of people who have the coil and it's been very successful for them but I'll not be doing this again!

I had a copper coil that perforated my womb. Possibly due to having a bicornuate uterus but this was known prior to insertion. I was in a lot of pain and USS confirmed what had happened. I was offered removal under US guidance but there was quite a wait so my lovely GP agreed to gently try and remove it, after going through the risks with me. I was so relieved to have it removed, it was a nightmare from start to finish as my body kept trying to reject it and it never really settled so it just caused awful pain/periods. Never again!!

I've ended up with a double dose of the mini pill to treat endo. My consultant said that the spread of endo meant that the mirena wouldn't get the hormones far enough out to impact all of the endo. Whilst it took a few months to settle, it sounds much better that the mirena. No periods, can stop it and no risk of perforation!

Yes. Mine was put in shortly after the birth of DC2 and as it turns out, far too soon. I was in a quite a lot of pain and it took them months to work out why. It was removed laparoscopically (keyhole surgery) just before his first birthday. A new one was put in (a mirena) and it's been fine since. (He's nearly 15)

I had a marina coil perforate my uterus. I had it inserted about a 10 months after I had my first child. What I didn't know at the time was because I hadn't had a period since I was pregnant (due to breastfeeding) that there was a higher chance of this complication.

The fitting was really painful and I had a lot of pain for at lest a week after. But as I'd had a coild before being pregnant, that was also really painful when fitted I didn't think anything off it. It was only because I went for a scan to checkup on a cyst they found when I was pregnant that I knew something had gone wrong.

I told them I'd had a coil fitted a month before, but she couldn't find it. She found it in my abdomen instead, que emergency appointment with the consultant there and then and an operation a week later to remove it and drain the cyst.

I haven't dared have one since, luckily it didn't affect my next pregnancy.

Really? I’ve just started regular dose of mini pill to try and stop my periods permanently.

What happened to get you to a double dose and does it work?

I had some bleeding pretty much all the time before I started the pill. It got lighter but didn't go away with a single dose, so my consultant suggested a double dose. Luckily, I was seeing a consultant privately, so probably got more consultant time than I would have done on the NHS. My GP wasn't sure about my prescription, so I had to remind them to read my consultant's letter. But they've now added "as per consultant's letter" to my notes, so I any GP at the practice can see it isn't a mistake.

And for me it works for many months st a time. About every 6 months I get some light bleeding, so I stop taking it for about a week, get very slightly more bleeding and then go back on it. But that is becoming less frequent. It's utterly different to my old periods, which were incredibly painful due to endo having stuck my ovaries to my uterus.

Oh I’m riddled with endo. Everything is adhered and my pouch of Douglas is obliterated, which means little to me but is apparently a thing.

I’m on month 2 of mini pill in an attempt to cancel periods until natural menopause. I did bleed for nine days just now on it, but it was the weirdest thing, bleeding but no other pain or symptoms. Didn’t really matter. Wondered if that was what “normal” women felt like sometimes. Hoping maybe I won’t bleed again but will see.

Yep mirena coil which migrated through the womb and out the other side, though remained in pelvis. Iikely happened a couple of days after it was put in (guessing due to when I felt the pain). Waited almost a year to have it removed on the NHS, got fed up and went private (fortunately an option for me but know it isn’t for most). Cost 5k to get it privately removed via keyhole surgery. Surgery itself was straightforward but needed to take it easy for about a week after - MiL came to help with kids. I think it’s probably not as rare as they used to say - many people don’t know it’s happened until years later. I would never get one again! I made my husband get a vasectomy 😁

I've had a mirena embedded in the muscle layer of my womb for more than three years now.
It was inserted six years ago to manage adenomyosis, rather than for contraceptive purposes.
At least this one seems to be staying put, unlike the two before that which dropped down into the cervix (causing much pain).
I'm in my early 50s and everyone (gynaecology team) seems to be happy to leave this one where it is for the time being. I'm not sure if there is a plan to remove it eventually, or if I'm expected to just keep it in there indefinitely (as a souvenir?).