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Original poster

contraception....the coil???

37 replies

mandajane2004 · 09/03/2005 12:38

I went to my doctor yesterday for the pill...she said i might not be able to have the normal pill due to high blood pressure....i was on the mini pill before.She suggested I have the coil fitted.I dont know anyone who has had this done.Can anyone give me any positive feedback on this..I have 6 weeks before I go back to see her and really dont know what i should do!

OP posts:

nailpolish · 09/03/2005 12:43

i am on the pill, hate it, have an appt to get a coil fitted at the end of the mth. i have only heard good things about it

pinkroses · 09/03/2005 15:47

I had the coil fitted last october and I have had no problems with it. It's nice to not worry about having to take the pill every morning...as I am a very fertile person and one missed pill resulted in my 2nd child!

Kelly1978 · 09/03/2005 15:51

All my mates have only said good things about the coil, although I had it and it gave me stomach cramps, I think it might have been badly positioned. At least it is reliable too, using the cap got me preggers with twins!

jolou1 · 09/03/2005 15:55

The Mirena coil is bloody marvellous. A bit crampy for a day after it's fitted and some light bleeding for a couple of weeks, but after that you'd never know it's there. I've had mine fitted for two years now without a problem. It's certainly reduced my PMT too. Read in the papers this week that some docs unwilling to prescribe because of the cost (£100 per patient) It's worth battling for!

kama · 09/03/2005 15:58

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jolou1 · 09/03/2005 16:04

Kama - I think that's probably a bit of a myth. Have a chat to your GP if you're worried, but I feel really confident about it. It's really intended for women who don't intend to get pregnant again for a few years. I used to have terrible mood swings on the pill, but this just seems to suit me. There's lots of info on mumsnet about it.

catgirl · 09/03/2005 16:05

I have had a mirena coil for two years - nothing but praise for it.

happymerryberries · 09/03/2005 16:19

When I worked for a company that made IUDs (and this was some years ago) the advice was that IUDs can increase the risk of UTIs. But remember thatis only an increase of risk, not an absolute. For that reason, at that time, they were not recomended for women who were at already greater risk of UTIs ie if they had multiple partners or if their parter had multiple partners IYSWIM. They were generaly propeted to GPs as a form of contraception for the woman in a stable relationship who wanted a significant period between pregnanvies but who did not want to be steralised.

kama · 10/03/2005 18:30

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Tetley · 10/03/2005 18:37

I've had a Mirena too for the last year & love it. You get very light or even no periods due to the small amount of progesterone that is in it, whereas a normal coil, I think, gives heavier periods.

Once it's settled in, which just takes a few days, then you don't even think about (you just have to remember to check that you can feel the strings once a month or so - i.e. that it's still there!!

I think that a few people have problems with them - but I think that's probably the same for any form of contraception. I certainly love mine. There have been a few threads on this subject previously, so have a search if you want to read a bit more.

kama · 10/03/2005 18:42

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Tetley · 11/03/2005 09:34

I was about to say no, none at all - but perhaps you'd better ask my dh

No, seriously, I've had no problems at all with it - in fact I've been losing weight whilst on it (exercise & diet - not the fact that I've got a mirena!)
A friend of mine did have mood swings when she tried the mirena, but she'd had similar problems when she was on the mini pill, so she must react badly to progesterone (even though it is a very small amount in the mirena).

miranda2 · 11/03/2005 09:45

hmm, i was thinking of starting a similar thread as have just realised I'll need contraception after birth of second child next month!! Don't want to go back on the pill as I've heard its implicated in pnd which i had last time, and anyway after ds1's birth last time I've got rubbish at remembering to take it, so the minipill would be useless and hte other is incompatible with breastfeeding. Also have found condoms really uncomfortable since ds1's birth. Was just beginning to think the coil might be the answer - i think you've all persuaded me!

ZoeB · 11/03/2005 09:53

Abit painful to fitt but over and done with fairly quickly bleed for about two weeks and stomach ache so take pain killers before you go in so they kick in !! but have no problems and you just forget it for 5 years

maddysmammy · 12/03/2005 21:32

I've just had my coil removed exactly a year after I had it put in. It was fairly horrendus having it fitted and I have suffered from really bad cramp pains ever since. At certain time of the months my boobs were so sore that if I turned over in bed the pain would wake me up. My periods were heavier and longer than they had ever been pre coil. The only good thing about it was it didn't hurt having it removed! I had a smear test done at the same time and that was more uncomfortable. Although I'm sure that it works for some people it wasn't right for me.

Gwenick · 12/03/2005 21:40

Have to confess I've never wanted the coil fitted 3 reasons.

My mum fell pg with me 6 weeks after having the coil fitted - ok that was a long time ago and they probably 'worked' differently then - but still.....
I had a very close friend who had one fitted and she suffered from really painful periods and nasty mood swings - I'm already on AD's and prone to mood swings as it is without 'causing' more.
I suffer from Vaginismus and the thought of having a coil fitted scares the cr*p out of me

kama · 12/03/2005 21:53

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Gwenick · 12/03/2005 21:54

kama - have to be honest and say I don't know - reason 3 puts me compltely off finding out for sure

ponygirl · 12/03/2005 22:01

I'm another mirena fan. I had one fitted after I had dd for about a year, then had it removed when we started trying for ds2 and had another one fitted after he was born. The fitting and removal are slightly uncomfortable and there is definitely a settling in stage with them which involved some period-like pain and bleeding. I must say, I had mine fitted and removed at my local cottage hospital and they were lovely - they recommended a little rest after it was inserted and provided a bice cup of tea! Cost was never mentioned to me, though I have a friend with a mirena whose gp tried to talk her out of it. The only down side for me is that I can't feel the threads so can't check for myself that it's still there. I have to go and see my gp every now and then and get her to check! I know a couple of people on here have fallen pg because theirs fell out and they didn't notice . The plus side for me, and it's a big one, is NO PERIODS! Hurrah!

wysiwyg · 14/03/2005 13:24

I have used a non-hormone coil (not a Mirena) since having DD, which I had removed when TTC. Now have been fitted again with a coil having had DS. I really hated being on the pill (mood swings, bloating etc plus felt I didn't want to put unnecessary hormones into my body as was a heavy smoker). For the same reasons I avoided the Mirena (didn't want the hormones bit). For some reason (please remind me! ) I didn't like the idea of not having a period at all.
I have to say that my periods are considerably heavier with this coil, however my experience in the past was that after 9 months to a year they settled back down to how they always were. Then you have 5 years contraception without having to really worry about it. So for me it's worth putting up with the heavier flow for a few months.
This time I did consider the Mirena but did read some horror stories about mood swings/ weight gain etc. so was put off it.

dropinthe · 14/03/2005 13:43

Gwenick-exactly the same for me re point no 3!!
I dont suffer from said condition but absolutley hate smears since giving birth to my first ds when was induced over three days(I was 17 days overdue!!)and had to indure one internal after another,each one getting worse and worse until screaming in agony so am scared shitless of anything like that.I think the coil would be best for me but soooooooooooo scared of the pain during and after!!
Sorry,mandajane-I dont mean to scare you-if you dont mind smears etc go for it!!!

Gem13 · 14/03/2005 13:50

I too am the result despite a coil!

The doctors said it must have fallen out during childbirth but they found it when I was 16!!!

My poor mother had years of scary smear test results. And it's quite grim to think of it being there for that long.

This was 30 odd years ago so I trust things are better now!

triceratops · 14/03/2005 14:05

I had the mirena coil for two years. It was good on the not getting pregnant front (got pregnant six weeks after I took it out) and made my periods a lot lighter and less painful. The side effects for me were a lot of thrush infections which I never had before or since and a decrease in libido. I took paracetemol and ibuprofen and half a bottle of wine over lunch just before I got it fitted which helped enormously

handlemecarefully · 14/03/2005 14:23

I find the coil brilliantly. No side effects for me and its a contraception that I am not required to think about.

kama · 14/03/2005 14:53

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