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Original poster

AIBU to be scared of the Mirena coil?

50 replies

Baffledandbewildered · 22/03/2011 09:01

Have always had heavy periods and I am severely anemic .last year I needed blood transfusions as my iron count was down to 3.6 this is v bad apparently. So the doctors answer is a mirena coil to be fitted when polyps are being removed .I have a blood and injury phobia......hate all things medical and I am just so scared have been given sedatives already!!! Should I go ahead ????? Is the mirena coil bad or good what have been other people experiences please advise. Thank you

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redstripeyelephant · 22/03/2011 09:11

is it the coil itself or the fitting that worries you? Have you had kids already?

I have had a copper coil fitted after each pregnancy. First time it was a bit uncomfortable, like a smear test but a bit longer and slightly more uncomfortable. Second time it was a breeze, the nurse was chatting to me and I didn't even realise the dr had finished! I guess that's what having 2 very quick vaginal births does to your cervix Blush.

I find the copper coil suits me better as I have PCOS so don't want anything hormonal. But I have friends who have the mirena who say it's fab, and they have very light or no periods.

Take paracetemol before the fitting and try to relax. Both times the doctor fitted it while the nurse kept me talking to distract me. It really is over in a few minutes. If you're that worried is there no alternative, wouldn't the pill work in the same way?

LindyHemming · 22/03/2011 09:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

splashyy · 22/03/2011 09:12

I have had a good experience with mine. No doubt lots of people will come forward with their horror stories so don'tthink internet is best place to research this.

ModreB · 22/03/2011 09:21

Lots of people hate the Mirena, I love it and would not change it.

BTW I had mine fitted originally for the same reason as you, v heavy periods that were making me ill, I was 2 weeks off, 3 weeks on with flooding for 2 of those 3 weeks.

It does take a month or so to settle down, but now I have very light flow or none at all. Grin

Original poster
Baffledandbewildered · 22/03/2011 11:00

Thank you every one .I am having it fitted under GA so i guess it wont hurt as they are doing the polyps at the same time. Iam terrified of being knocked out thus the sedatives!!!!! thats my problem to deal with ( ive made loads of threapy!!!not kidding and still hate all medical procudures). What i was worried about was never seeing anything good written about the mirena coil. Thank you ladies for putting my mind a bit more at rest ...just guessed i would go mad get fat and bleed forever after they put it in !!!!!!!!!

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Original poster
Baffledandbewildered · 22/03/2011 11:04

oh red yes i've had five children naturally so blackwell tunnel springs to mind. But when they went looking last week with a camera YUCK they found the polyps and it hurt like hell would rather of had another baby !!!!that was a week ago and i am still bleeding and having cramps pains ect so now scared that the next bit will be even worse IYSWIM

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wfrances · 22/03/2011 11:28

i had problems when it was removed ,back and forth gps for a year ,bad infection ,wouldnt clear up.
gp who dealt with me (not the family planning gp)said it could have been caused by a scratch when it was removed.does happen he said???
refused to have another put in so dp had the snip.

Original poster
Baffledandbewildered · 22/03/2011 18:08

Oh glad you are ok now.....hope hubby knew why he was off to the dr's !! Lol

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anniepanniepears · 22/03/2011 18:11

I got mine fitted for heavy periods in 2007 and I have no problem

TheVisitor · 22/03/2011 18:14

I've had one for 7 years and wouldn't go back. No periods since then! It's also kept my horrendous endometriosis at bay, so am pain free. Best thing since sliced bread. Only side effect is sore boobs at what would be PMT time, but I can cope with that.

Original poster
Baffledandbewildered · 22/03/2011 23:33

Thank again MNers you are helping to settle the nerves

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MardyBra · 22/03/2011 23:38

Marking my place - I've been recommended one. Have been having some v heavy periods/flooding. Tranexamic acid worked for a bit but been having flooding even when not having a period Hmm. Have got a scan in 2 weeks time and if all is OK, the docs keep pushing for a mirena. My problem is that I loathe hormonal contraception (I get even more mardy than normal and feel quite queasy) and from previous threads on MN I think the mirena can affect some people in that way.

Maybe we'll have to hold each others' hand (virtually) Baffled.

RueLaChesty · 22/03/2011 23:45

i have my 3rd mirena in at the moment.

First for 4.5 years and got it removed to conceive.
Second for 6 months and conceived with it in.
3rd for 3 months so far.

First my periods practically stopped, the only reason i knew i had them was slight cramp and greasy skin for a few days. It was wonderful, like you i was on it for heavy bleeding, had been taking transexamic acid tablets until it was inserted.

2nd time never felt right, bled for practically the full 6 months and in hindsight it probably wasn't inserted properly hence falling pregnant. I also missed my 6 week check, which in a way i'm glad as i have my beautiful DD2! :)

this time, bled for almost a week, barely spotting since and 6 week check was tip top! What a difference from last time.

I would always recommend the mirena but always get it checked!

CointreauVersial · 22/03/2011 23:54

YANBU to feel nervous about it! I had an appointment booked to have one fitted a few years ago, but chickened out at the last minute. I voiced concerns about possible side-effects whereupon my doctor told me very severely "well, they're expensive, you know, if we put one in we can't just whip it out again if you change your mind", and it completely put me off.

I decided to stick with condoms!

I'm now peri-menopausal, but my periods are mega-mega-heavy, so I'm reconsidering.

Never heard of tranexamic acid - what's that?

MardyBra · 23/03/2011 00:04

My doc assured me recently that they would whip it out if I insisted (as long as I gave it 2-3 months trial period).

TMI ALERT ON TRANEXAMIC ACID:
Prescribed for severe blood clots/flooding. It's hard to explain but it kind of clots the blood clots so they're less runny and don't flood through the sanitary protection in the same way. Might be worth investigating depending on your symptoms. Good luck.

CointreauVersial · 23/03/2011 00:12

Oooh, Mardy, that might not do for me. No clots, just loads and loads of blood (my moon cup runneth over).

BuntyPenfold · 23/03/2011 00:35

Mirena was great for me, wonderful, transforming.

KickArseQueen · 23/03/2011 00:47

Hi CointreauV, Re-read Mardy's post! I'm pretty sure that Tranexamic acid causes the blood that you are losing to clot IYSWIM?

I'm considering a mirena at some point, does it cause weight gain?? Thats got me worried!

Himalaya · 23/03/2011 00:50

Another happy Mirena customer here

(does it hurt having it removed at the end of its 5 years folks?)

Original poster
Baffledandbewildered · 23/03/2011 01:09

Hi mardy yes defiantly hand holding time I have tried tranexamic but did not work for me. I think I am so shell shocked as I went to the hospital to have my cystitis investigated!!!!! Hospital mixed up gyne and urology ( you could not make it up) asked loads of questions and before I knew we had different agendas I was booked in for a mirena coil to be fitted and a camera to go into the nether regions like jaque custoe !,!! This has all happened in ten days. So last week before camera put in I asked how this would help the cystitis and they looked at me like I was mad ( well I soon became bloody mad) had mega hussy fit but agreed to go ahead as I do have a problem with periods but that wasn't why I was there. It was so bloody painful and they seem to have found a whole host of problems up there polyps and other things, so they coil wasn't put in . I now need a general anaesthetic so they can have a good scrape and prod around and put a coil in . I am climbing the Walls in terror as have HUGE phobia about hospitals operations needles ect.
Had to go to the gps today as in so much pain to discover I have an infection bloody marvellous and they want to go up there again. Now I have no idea what to do HELP

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Original poster
Baffledandbewildered · 23/03/2011 07:51

Vvv

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Ihopeyoudance · 23/03/2011 08:42

You poor thing Baffled! I hope you manage to get it sorted soon.

I had a mirena put in about 15 hours ago and am prepared to reveal all Grin.

First off it was bloody painful! I'm probably not normal though- I had my DD 8 wks ago by emergency CS as after 4 days of labour my cervix was clearly not informed of its role in proceedings! I had no painkillers beforehand as I forgot and was never offered an anaesthetic so that's obviously not a possibility everywhere. The pain is short-lived though. It felt like bad period pain afterwards but was gone after about 4 hours. I had a tiny bit of blood last night but nothing today.

This is my 2nd mirena so I knew it would hurt going in but it's so worth it. You can just forget about it contraceptive-wise and my periods went from heavy and painful to barely there. I can't take the pill as it started to give me high blood pressure and was told the hormone in this was tiny in comparison and it certainly gave me no problems. Also, because the hormone is released where it is needed, it's not circulating round the body in the same way as other hormone contraceptives and therefore is less likely to cause the weight gain and other side effects common with the pill. I was just as fat and mental as usual Grin!

And to set Himalaya's mind at rest, having it removed didn't hurt at all! I had a period exactly 4 weeks after removal and then got pregnant by the 2nd cycle.

I think like any medical thing, if you google you'll find horror stories but the majority of people are quietly happy and don't need to tell the world.

Don't be scared now! Pain-free and light periods are worth the short-term pain imo.

laptopwieldingharpy · 23/03/2011 08:48

i've had mine for 15 months and its great.

Instertion was a bit painful. Similar to a PAP smear that lasts for 10mn.
I was given a couple of pills to take the night before and on the morning to dilate the cervix.
Blush I swallowed them!!!!! Grin

boosmummie · 23/03/2011 08:52

I had the mirena fitted quite soon after it first became available. Had shockingly heavy periods after DC3 was born and was severely anaemic also. First fitting was so painful that I couldn't let them finish, so had it under GA. IT. WAS. FANTASTIC. They said initially that as it was new it would probably be 3-5 years max. Actually it did it's magic for 11 years and most likely would have last longer had I not had it removed in May 2008. Was pregnant 2 weeks later with DC4..... So it clearly had been doing its job. Periods just vanished which was wonderful, though once DD3 was born I did have payback with almost a year of almost always bleeding... Back to normal now though. From my experience I can't recommend it highly enough.

Original poster
Baffledandbewildered · 23/03/2011 09:13

Thank you all for being so honest. I think I am just working myself up (am a mad cow at the best of times!!). It is good to hear positive stories as after looking on the Internet I was beginning to think the mirena was satans latest toy :) so I will keep fingers crossed this infection clears up try not to think how it got there .....in a hospital and be positive( maybe make sure the next dr has clean finger nails!!!lol. Ladies you are all a great help thank you x

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