Mirena coil

[Lizzer]

Hi all, after my treatment (see smear tests) I am wanting to have the Mirena coil fitted. I've read the blurb but don't actually know anyone who has one. Really I'm interested more in the fact that it often changes / stops periods because of the small amount of progesterone in it, and was wondering how this affected people. Also I was told there is a lot of breakthrough bleeding when first inserted? I was under the impression that you can't feel it at all, but wondering if that's true? I've never had a coil fitted before so hope it is the right decision for me. My GP told me it was as affective a contraception method as man having a vascetomy!! Which sounds great for me at the moment... Any comments welcome.

hi Gezzie,
well, i felt back to normal again on monday, which is when i went to the doctors! told him how i felt, and he said to give it more time. the other thing is that my daughter has also just been diagnosed with ASD and he thinks that i am under alot of stress, which i know i am but i know that the w'end was'nt me at all. on monday i felt so ashamed and confused about what the w'end was all about. He recommended that i wait at least six months before decideing to have it removed. i felt like he did'nt believe what i felt?! So i guess i'll see how i get on. Still bleeding as normal> Thanku so much for listening over the w'end. its so good to have this support and encouragment and in all honesty i don't think at the time i could have gone to any of my friends or family. So a big THANK YOU and i will keep you posted. How are yoy feeling?

Hi girls,
Had the coil inserted 4 mts ago, bled for only 6 wks(I know I'm lucky compared to some of you), then 2 mts ago month had my first period which lasted 3 wks.
Today I had a slight bleed, which is now gone. Is this related to the coil? Worried it could be something else.

Also lately during intercourse, I'm experiencing some pain, I can actually feel the coil during penetration, should I get it out.

Has any of the above happened to any of you....
I would appreciate your comments.

charlieyates - I had my coil removed after the strings had disappeared! I had had a scan to make sure the coil was still in place and was advised to go to a family planning clinic as they have more experience than my gp at finding & removing coils!

It's good to know that others have similar symptoms. For me the big deal is breast tenderness and increase in size so much that it is now quite painful to even jog. The weight is also starting to creep on, great just before Christmas! I don't know how to ask my ever so nice GP to remove it though! I do not need it for contraception as hubby has had the snip, and as they found and removed a polyp during the procedure, that could have been the cause of the heavy periods. What has been the reaction of others' doctors on requests to remove it? Thanks

thanks whoops, i had it put in at fpc so will probably try there, although there's no strings noone said how they would get it out. working on dh for another baby so might need it out soon any way(hoping).

Hi all. I just wanted to say that I had my mirena fitted 5 years ago for endometriosis and it has been fantastic. Had a few wobbly weeks when it was initially fitted but since then no pain and no periods (bliss). I do sometimes get spotting after intercourse. I went from bleeding in excess of 20 days per months with crippling pains, mood swings. Had tried various hormone treatments but none did the trick.

I'm due to have it removed in a couple of months and can't decide whether to leave it out for a while to see if my condition deteriorates again. Does anyone have any advice?

Hello Rose-

So glad you are feeling better I am feeling so much better now after habing the Mirena removed. I was starting to worry that it was taking too long to recover but 2nd time did say it could take 2 weeks. 2nd time - you are a real sweetheart for that much needed post - really needed some reassurance about recovery time and you were there for me! Thank you!

TOG - my doctor didn't say much - he said I would have to wait until he returned from his holiday but I went to the FP and had it removed the next day. My only advice to you is that its your body - nothing to do with the doctor - you dont have to me unpleasant ..just be assertive and tell him you want it removed.

Hope everyone is having a great day

(((Hugz)))

-- getting into the christmas spirit here!

Gezzie, thanks you are so right, the only person I struggle to be assertive about is me!
Christmas shopping the GP....

Hi Gezzie and all,
well i thought i have been fellin better, lasted about a day! Rang the FPC today to get it removed but gp who fitted it was mine however that was her last fitting that qualified her to fit them so they said to go to her and she is away for 2 weeks! have been bleeding for 11 days now feel drained, tired and snappy have been a emotional wreck. The FPC said that you could potentially bleed for 9months, well nobody told me that back then, but i remember signing to say that i understand it all!!!!I know this sounds mad, but can anyone tell me do they get commission for each one they fit? or am i completly over reacting?

So sorry you're feeling like this again Rose - it's a long time to wait 2 weeks to have the IUD removed. Do you have a well woman clinic at your GP surgery? A practice nurse or midwife would be able to remove the IUD but check first to make sure.

Hope you're feeling better today -

carh - If I were you I would go back and see the GP. I'm not a medical professional but if you've been bleeding for 3 weeks and you can feel the IUD during penetration something isn't right. You shouldn't be able to feel it. When was the last time you had it checked?

Feeling very worried. I am new to this site and wished that I had discovered it earlier. I had a mirena coil fitted just over a week again after 20 years of using natural contraception (very successfully too)! So why the change? Well I was told that it would help my heavy periods that have been making me housebound a couple days each month - not to mention the tiredness, feeling drained and fed up all the time. I was so optimistic that this would help but after coming across this site I now feel worried. Since having it fitted I have almost constant very dull ache a with a slight discharge. Is this normal? And has anyone got anything positive to say about the mirena?

slagbag yes that is normal. I had mine changed 2 weeks ago and have had similar.

Slagbag, I have had my Mirena for 4 1/2 years and think it's great. I had really heavy bleeding so it was for medical rather than contraceptive reasons. Although I did bleed for about 6 weeks after insertion(thought it would never stop, but it wasn't heavy)I have only the lightest smidgeon these days. Libido isn't great, but then I am menopausal.

It's been a real lifesaver for me...I couldn't have gone on the way things were.

I have just had my mirena out. The plan is to keep it out for 3 months and see if all my rheumatic and other symptoms improve. I am really nervous, the coil has done a good job of controlling my horrendous periods and my endometriosis.

Good luck Salted.

If you're like me you will feel an improvement by the end of the week!
Firing on all cylinders by the end of week 2!
Keep us informed.X

I just went for a smear test and the nurse has told me my cervix looks 'worn', i have a mirena fitted and the first six months were fine, but lately I have been bleeding every 2and a half weeks or so. The doc said everything looked fine a couple of months ago but the nurse now says the threads are very short and these may be causing the wear on my cervix. I had laser treatment for cin ten years ago and so now i am terrified this is nothing to do with the mirena, but wondered if anyone else has had this problem.

Hi, had it out last week, expecting it to be painful but felt it was fine. Now interested to see Saalty's comments regarding rheumatic pains - is that a common side effect as I have have had pains in my wrist and thumb that \i put down to rsi

one other thing, since having it out on Friday, I have been bleeding a lot, is this normal

Thanks and good luck in the next week or so.....

Can anyone offer me advice, I have been on the mirena for 5 years and this year had it removed, and a new one inserted. I am 32 years of age and my libedo has gone, and it is a horrible feeling, i like to feel sexy and all those feelings that us women incur during those moment, but to not feel sexy or anything else during the "special moment", is something i want to change, however I dont want to get the coil removed, so does anyone know of a pill or a herbal tablet that helps bring those feeling back, the sexy feeling and the sensitivity? Im sorry if I am being a bit blatent but Ive beeen suffering with this for a while now, and not sure if it was a medical matter until recently.

I have a Mirena fitted in 1995 - one of the first to be fitted with one. It was only licenced for three years when I first had it put in. After initial three months of spotting it was fine and dandy.

Then about a six months in, I had a metallic taste that lasted for three weeks out of every four. It got to the three year anniversary of the mirena, and I thought = great take it out - but was told it could stay in another 2 years.

The metallic taste remained. I saw every kind of specialist - dieticians etc - no one could tell me why.

In the end I couldn't bare the thrupenny bit taste and asked my doctor to take it out. She did and hey presto, the taste went down to about one week in every four! However, a definite improvement.

No one ever blamed the Mirena for making it so bad except me. I suspected it was a hormone connection, as this taste is often linked with pregnancy.

However, it did do it's job - because once it had been taken out in May 1999, I fell pregnant in November of that year - just as my DH's appointment had come through for the snip!

ALSO please do not be hounded into the Mirena as THE answer to flooding. At a later date a Consultant Gynae was desperate to stick one in to stop my flooding. I said NO about a hundred times. Been there done that - snip done! Even as I lay on my hospital bed to have a polyp removed, about to go under he asked me again. I wanted to hit him. He said it would stop my flooding. He said the polyp removal had nothing to do with my flooding.

HOW WRONG HE WAS! I had great joy telling his secretary I was fine once the polyp had gone!

Hi, Been reading your comments on the Marena coil and can say that I have found that it has suited me really well, maybe I'm one of the lucky few. But, I do have another question to pose, My coil was 5 years old in December (no I didn't have a birthday party for it!!) As I am not able to have it removed until end of Jan, will i need to use another form of contraception in the meantime, is it still going to hold some sort of contracetive use even though the hormone has transpired. Know this as I had a very light period this week and haven't had one for 5 yearsWe really don't want to hear the patter of little tootsies again. Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

I don't think the 5 years is cast in stone - I was a few weeks "overdue" my change and gp didn't seem overly concerned. Had heard they could be left for up to 7 although my gp dismissed it. It does start to lose the hormonal protection over time but you are still left with the localised coil effect, even assuming it "runs out".

Angiedoo, I think the fact that you have had some bleeding after 5 years without is a definite sign that your hormone levels are changing. If I were you I would use an alternative contraception until you get sorted. Go and get some condoms asap!

Helena74, my libido arrived back within a very short time of the mirena coming out. I was like you, 33 and totally un-arousable (if there is such a word!).

There is sex after Mirena, don't worry, just get it out and find a non-hormone contraception. Good luck.xx

Quick question re Mirena & sore boobs (& increased period last month)?

I am very definitely in the pro Mirena camp. I had it fitted in Feb 06 at age 43 under GA for fibroids/heavy periods. I think it's great.

However it took several months to settle down (as expected) but then had "heavy" period in Dec 06 and now v. sore boobs.

Anyone with similar experience? By coincidence have Gynae appt on Tue so not to-ooo worried (though at age 44 pg is not on my agenda). Would be horrified if pg..no weight gain with Mirena but cannot loose weight and gone up a cup size which I hate(not enought to have it removed).

By the way can't check "threads/strings" as it was fitted under GA and Gynae said he'd cut them too short to feel.

Lapsedrunner. I had a mirena coil fitted nearly 2 years ago in March. Had really heavy periods which dwindled within 6 months to nothing (November). Then in April last year I was v unwell with flu and also said to the doctor (while I was there) that I was putting on alot of weight and could I have preg test. She checked the coil was still there and said that there was no point, but I bought one anyway and, guess what, it was pos. I hadn't had any preg symptoms such as morning sickness, and the boobs had been tender anyway since the coil was put in. I was 20 weeks pg at that point.
Now have DD, and DH has had snip.
Thing is they still haven't found the coil. When I went for dating scan they thought they could see it low down in abdomen, but didn't come out with Babe (Midwives checked everything quite carefully). ALso scan man said that he sees quite a few women who are pg with mirena (though GP, consultant and Midwife were gobsmacked). So now I have to go for a TV scan to see if they can find it.
I would do a test if I were you.
Anybody else lost a coil?