Mirena advice needed

[Princessgarnet22]

Hiya
First time poster, I don't have kids but I've seen a lot of posts on here about the mirena so I was hoping for some reassurance.
I got the mirena at the start of September 2015 after a horrible time on the implant. I had constant bleeding on the implant for about a year and a half. My dr suggested mirena and after some hesitation I decided it was the best idea for me.

Getting it in was horribly sore, I know I haven't had kids/been pregnant but it was easily the worst pain I ever felt. It stopped my bleeding right away though which was super. Had a few days of spotting in October then no more until this Saturday where I had what looked more like brown discharge than old blood/spotting but touch wood nothing since then. My cramps went from pretty sore to easing off as the time has gone by . I started spotting in Saturday I had about 2 days before where I had no cramps at all.

I've been to the doctor to get it checked twice, once at my 6 week and once about a month ago when I was worried I couldn't find my strings and both times she was really happy with how it was placed and just said they seemed to have curled up but that she was confident in the placement.

If you've gotten this far in reading I commend you haha my main questions are 1) how long did it take people to "trust" the mirena 2) should I be concerned about the recent spotting I had? (Part of me is very worried it will be like the implant which was constant bleeding) 3) how long should the cramps keep going for? I don't mind them and I'd certainly prefer them over bleeding all the time but it just makes me worry could the mirena come out/not work because of them, I asked the dr about the cramping and she said it should start easing soon (which in fairness it seems to be) and I might just be someone who cramps when I should have had a period.

Thanks so much, hope it all makes sense xx

1. Well I was told not to have sex 1 week either side of getting it - after that period was over. I trusted it. Immensely.
2. Not everyone (afaik) stops bleeding altogether - so as you have been to a Dr and they have been happy with the placement I would go by their judgment.
3. I'm not too sure as I haven't had this but I agree with your Dr (even though I'm not a hcp lol)

I have however had an incorrectly inserted mirena and let me tell you I was barely able to speak let alone walk from the pain of it. (I had a hysteroscopy to remove it and then replace it with a new one) even after having the trouble ive had with it - I would and am getting a new one. Like you the implant gave me 30 day periods. Yuck. And i always forget to take the pill. The mirena is probably the best form of long term contraceptive in that respect. X

Hey
Thanks so much for replying. Ok cool that sounds good at least! And gosh you poor thing that sounds awful!! (But reassuring that you'd still get it again)

Is the general rule for the mirena that if you can feel the strings (after/during a bleed) you're protected? My dr said since mine are curled up a bit I shouldn't worry about checking it all the time because she'd be more worried I'd pull it out than anything else by checking it too much. And that generally the only thing that would make it come out (after the 6 week time frame) would be if I had a really heavy bleed and that I'd definitely notice if anything happened to it so I shouldn't worry If everything seems normal otherwise.

Thanks again :)

Hey OP, had my mirena since Nov 2012. Needs replacing in just under two years.

1. I have always trusted mine and have never had any issues with mine, other than about a year ago now when I got two (harmless) cysts on my right ovary that caused me a bit of a dull pain. They went away on their own within a month or so.

2. don't worry about the spotting. Everyone's body takes different lengths of time to adjust - pretty sure I had spotting on and off for a few months after insertion. I even still get it occasionally. But much better than not having periods!

3. I also have cramps to this day. Usually only for a day or so and they're never that painful (used to have awful cramps and v heavy periods). Yours may go altogether (with any luck!) but if not they're nothing to worry about (unless they're excruciatingly painful etc etc).

I've never felt the strings of mine. my ex DP used to feel them, but after a while couldn't anymore. I did have it checked once & the strings are curled up too! Which is probably preferable as sometimes exP used to say the strings were a bit scratchy

I am also childless, I meant to say!

Hey FatRun!
Ooh that's good to hear then! I think because I first started on the pill and you hear so much about women getting preggo on that (albeit due to missing pills/being sick) you always have that small worry of "what if"

You're completely right about spotting, I can handle a day or two of that compared to a proper period or the 6 months bleeding on the implant :p

as for the cramps that definitely helps to hear, I've been told I have dysmenorrhea so I think I'm used to having cramps at this stage. As I say they've definitely gotten better, like right now I have them and it's just an annoying twinge. Just once it's not a bad thing for the mirena itself. It's also reassuring to hear you have it and you don't have kids haha ;)

Thanks so much for sharing xx

And yeah I don't mind then curling up aha much better than having my bf notice them (thankfully he hasn't said anything about that yet either) :D

Hi op
I've had my mirena for 2 years, I had it fitted for really heavy periods,
It took 6 months to settle down, I had constant spotting and a brown discharge (sorry TMI) for what seemed liked ages,
After 6 months the bleeding completely stopped and I've had not a spot since (my periods were extremely heavy before and I was anaemic)

I have never been able to feel the strings, the GP nearly lost her arm looking for it but assured me it was there, so I've never worried as it's obviously doing its job!
Good luck

Hey Lavender!

Not tmi at all, that's actually really reassuring thank you :) there's always something scary about things like the implant/mirena because at least with your pill you know if you did/didn't take it. But that's the good side of it I guess, it's meant to be forgotten about :D xx

I'm on my second Mirena - have had one since Nov 2008. I had occasional bleeds with the first one and none with this one, which I e had two years now. I've never been able to feel the threads and neither have either of the people I've had sex with in the past 7 years

I mostly completely trust it. Sometimes I get tender breasts and then use one of the 5 for 99p pregnancy tests I've bought from eBay. But so far, so good.

I still get periods with mine - or bleeding anyway on a regular basis. I trust mine 100%. Never had cramping though.

My second one was fitted late July. After my body expelled the first one.
This one is giving me grief. Constant spotting, and periods. I fell pregnant using the pill and am nervous about using the mirena for protection. But the dr who fits them at the family planning clinic swears it will be fine as long as the strings are there.
I have appointment to see gp to talk over if I can take something to stop the spotting.

Thanks for all your replies! It's so interesting to see the different opinions cos online you mostly hear the horror stories.

Do you mind if I ask, the lady (that sounds very formal lol) who had her first one expelled, how soon after getting it in did that happen and if you don't mind answering how did you know?

My dr said the same thing that it's generally in the first 6 weeks it can come out and after that once you can feel the strings you're good to go!

It was about 2 months after fitting.
I was having a heavy period it was second since it was in and I went to the loo (sorry tmi) and I had pain- like a sharp shock pain. Felt for the strings and they were longer than before. Rang GP, who told me that it was very unlikely and that it's rare to expell but would get lady dr to check it. She found it half hanging out.

Should say that I actually love the idea of the mirena and am hoping that it will settle real soon.

You poor thing that sounds terrible! I can imagine how worrying it was, it's good that you got another one though, sorta shows how rare it is to expel. The only time I felt my string longer than normal was just at my 6 week check where I would have been due my period, the dr said around the time of your period your cervix is lower so you can sometimes feel it more.

I hope this one works better for you though, thank you for sharing! Xx