Mirena coil advice...

[Becaroooo]

Been to see gynae today.

Long story but since birth of ds2 (sept 2008) my periods have been dreadful...irregular, heavy, clots, 2/3 bleeds per month. I am now - perhaps unsurprisingly - anaemic. I feel like roadkill

I have tried several things since his birth...POP pill, depo injection and cerazette and none of them has worked/been suitable (cant take the mini pill as am stroke risk apparently)

He has told me I have 3 options;

1. Mirena coil
2. Ablation
3. Hysterectomy

I definately dont want ablation as at my age, the womb lining would probably grow back and I would need another op in the future.

I am also not keen on the coil - I know so many people who have had problems with it and if other hormonal treatments havent worked why will the mirena???

Hysterectomy is a major op and I have 2 young dc.

Any good stories about the coil to cheer me up? Or bad stories for that matter to help me decide.

I go back to see the gynae next week and need to tell him what I want to do...he favours the coil.

wwyd?

watching this with interest Becarooo as can't make up my mind whether to have mirena either. I'm 51 and having probs with irregular and long periods due to peri-menopause. My gp thinks mirena is just the thing because he says it should reduce/stop the bleeding. I'm worried about all the things I've read online about it such as weight gain, mood swings etc and wonder if I'll just end up swapping one set of problems for another set.

A friend of mine had similar problems and had mirena coil but as I remember, it moved or fell out or something and she went on to have the ablation which has really helped. My gp said a hysterectomy is the very very last resort and that they would only consider that if everything else failed and the severity of the problem warranted it.

Hope you are able to make a decision for your next appt. It's so hard to know what to do.

tuna Yes, it is isnt it?

I am going private (dh's bupa cover through work) so the gynae will do the hysterectomy if thats what I want....but do I want it???

Sigh....

Been looking at past threads on MN re: the mirena and they arent promising!

I am only 39 so I guess thats why he is hesitating.

I have only had the mirena for a few weeks but it is going well so far. No obvious mood changes, only occasional slight spotting that needs a panty liner and no pain. It was a wee bit uncomfortable to get inserted but I took painkillers beforehand. The strangest thing is getting used to not having to take a pill each day (was on cerazette and also had no periods with it)

p.s. I bled constantly with the depo injection and tried 2 other mini-pills (cerazette is a mini-pill/POP) until I settled on cerazette for a few years. I then decided to try the mirena to see if I was ok with that too.

One of my main worries is that I didnt get on with POP pill (made me ill) depo injection (put on 2 stone and was constantly in a rage) and cerazette (constant bleeding) so am not sure another hormonal treatment is right for me

I had the Mirena fitted not long after it first came out in the summer of 1997. It remained in place untiL I had it removed in May 2008 (yes, really, 11 years). It was BRILLIANT for me. Not one period during the entire time I had it in. No discomfort, weight gain, anything.

I had it removed because we hoped to have a child and two weeks later I was pregnant with DC4. I have nothing but praise for it as it did exactly what it said on the tin for me

I agree with frankwippery I had mirena fitted after dc3 and never looked back. I also left it in for 7 yrs as forgot about it really. Only got taken out as dr said enough is enough it needs changed lol Had no periods, weight gain, nothing.

Best contraceptive I ever used and will carry on using till the chances of falling pregnant are well and truly null and void.

I am also 39 and draw the line at a hysterectomy. I've had 3 kids, took the pill, got the coil, had periods, etc etc I've done my bit I think next step will be sending dh for the chop .

People who have a bad experience are more inclined to talk about it I think, so you will hear horror stories about Merina.
I have nothing but praise for it.
I had a normal coil before but 12 years ago my periods were like yours and I had the Merina fitted.
Fantastic. It worked like magic.
It saved me (and according to my GP many thousands of others) from a hysterectomy.
My current one is 7 years old and I'm nudging the menopause so my GP has agreed to leave it a few more months.

secret I agree but what I dont understand is how the hormone in the mirena is different from the other hormones I have tried?

I agree that people who have problemsw with something are the ones who are most likely to be discussing it. It's good to hear positive feedback about the Mirena. And I suppose that if it's not right you can always get it removed. And then keep the hysterectomy as a very last resort. 39 is pretty young for such an op unless there is really no other choice. In my case mine will probably sort itself out in the next few years when the menopause kicks in. Have you any idea what to opt for yet Becarooo?

The coil I think tuna

I'm not 100% happy about it, but at least if I try I could either;
a) be pleasantly surprised
b) be 100% sure it wont work
c) know that hysterectomy is the only viable choice left

Thanks for all the advice x

Becaroooo I have a Mirena coil and I think the hormones are different because they really are at SUPER low levels. I had a Mirena fitted after the birth of DS in 2009. I had tried Cerazette while feeding after DD (born 2007) and I HATED it - had constant spotting etc. Anyway I won't lie to you, my coil hasn't been all plain sailing but its definitely getting better 2 and a half years on. After it was inserted a had a lot of bleeding which then stopped and turned to spotting. This went on for a while then settled. About 6 months after I had a horrendously long, heavy period with lots of clots followed fairly closely by another one. I went to the GP thinking I would ask for it to be removed. The GP persuaded me to keep it and have an ultrasound and some other tests to see if anything untoward was going on and all was clear. It then settled down again and I had a year of no periods (very light spotting occassionally) then I had another v heavy period like before and went back to the GP. During our chat she suggested that actually this isn't caused by the mirena, but actually the mirena is actually preventing it from being heavy and horrible all the time. For the last year I have had hardly any periods at all and only spotting. Last month I had a slightly heavier period and still have ongoing spotting but I know it will settle down again. I spoke to my Mum who after me suffered from v heavy periods so bad that at 34 she had a complete hysterectomy. So I don't know whether its the mirena causing it or the mirena actually helping iyswim? BUT I am happy enough with it to carry on and accept that if I have it removed things could be a lot worse. For what its worth I would try the Mirena - but you need to give it at least a year to give it a fair go. If it doesn't help have it taken out and go for the op.
Hope that helps - I know it isn't necessarily the positive story you want to hear but I thought it was relevant to your case.

I've had problems ( weight gain, spots, mood swings) with Mirena but the benefits out weight them.

Things have improved over time but the side effects are still a lot less troublesome than heavy, frequent and painful periods. I didn't believe things would be so different and made my consultant promise I could have an an ablation - I never needed it. You can always escalate to ablation then hysterectomy it doesn't suit.

I think it works better because the IUD has hormones on it.

out weight ? eh?

Stump - my periods are exactly the same as yours.

different hormones give different effect e.g. I had fortnightly periods with the mini pills Femulen (hormone Etynodiol diacetate) and Micronor (hormone Norethisterone (0.35mg)) but had no periods with Cerazette (hormone Desogestrel). I had constant spotting/bleeding with the depo (hormone Medroxyprogesterone acetate).

The Mirena contains Levonorgestrel so has a different hormone again. Apparently the same hormone is in the Norgeston mini-pill and also in the morning after pills Levonelle one step and Levonelle 1500. (I have never used any of these before so didnt know what my reaction to it would be)

Info for you:

Mirena

Mirena (has an animation showing the coil and how it is inserted)

I had a Merina coil fitted when they first came out - so long ago I guess it was mid-nineties so I would have been about 40 years old. One Mega Mega period lasted 6 weeks then nothing for 9 years......no spotting...nothing.
Finally had it removed after 9 years and I had gone through the menopause, again no problems. It worked well for me so give it a try.

Should say my BF has had one for 5 years and has no periods and no problems.

I've had Mirenas since DD was born over 18 1/2 years ago. After initial 6 weeks of unpredictable spotting i've had over 18 period-free years. Cannot speak highly enough of mine. Think I will have my last one gilded and mounted over my headboard!

Thank you all for all the info and advice...its good to hear positive stories.

My mum had a hysterectomy for similar reasons to me at 34. My sis for fibroids at 35 so at 39 I am long in the tooth to still have all my bits and bobs

Am even more confused than ever though.

I was on ovranette (the mini pill) for years with no issues. Loved it.

THEN after having ds1 I started getting hemiplegis migraines..this apparently means the I considered a stroke risk so had to come off it I think tis the same hormone in the mirena though??? I guess the gynae wouldnt recommend it if it wasnt suitable??

Maybe its a much lower dose? I was fine on the ovranette so maybe I will be ok on the coil??

Need to give it a go anyway...I really hope I am as lcuky as some of you! I would never have believed I would consider major surgery but I am desperate to feel normal again

thanks again

Had mine 7 months. Bleeding for about 2 months then periodic spotting but nothing since. I've had no weight gain, no mood swings, nothing untoward at all.

I know that some people do have problems wirh them but I think as with everything, those who don't like a product tend to talk more about it than those who are happy.

My GP told me that Mirena is the contraception of choice for female doctors.

Good luck wirh you decision.

Ovranette is not a mini-pill, it is a combined pill with 2 hormones in it (Ethinylestradiol 30 micrograms and levonorgestrel 150 micrograms) which is why you would have been advised to come off it when you got migraines.

Mini pills do not contain oestrogen i.e. the Ethinylestradiol in ovranette. Mirena only contains the Levonorgestrel part.

Glad to see some positive stories! I had mine in on Monday so only thing I can tell you is having it put in is not as bad as expected. Bit of a cramp when did it but the most uncomfortable part was keeping my legs in that position while the doctor faffed about.

Good luck Becarooo. Would be great if you could report back if you do go for the Mirena. I think I'm going to give it a try too as the positive experiences seem to outnumber the negative ones here on MN.

My Mirena is about 9.5 years old now. Periods very quickly turned to monthly spotting in the early months, there were some unusual pains too, but after about six months no bleeding or pain. Obviously we are all different and what works for one won't work for all, for me it has worked well.

I've been recommended Mirena for heavy periods too. I'm on warfarin for a mechanical heart valve, so my bleeding has reached unacceptable levels. My periods were quite bad anyway; my mum had a hysterectomy at 42, and I'm 39. The very reliable contraceptive element is also appealing, because I cannot have any more chidren.

I'm wibbling a bit about the fact that my terrible skin will get worse. I also need to run it by my cardiologist, because coils can increase the risk of endocarditis. Everyone that I know in RL that has Mirena loves it, so I will probably go for it, even though I hate hormonal contraception.