Failed Mirena Coil Insertion by Family Planning Nurse - anyone else had this - any other ways of doing it?

[herbgarden]

Went to have my mirena coil fitted last week. Hideous experience. Went to Family planning at the hospital rather than the doctors surgery as I've had 2 c-sections as I failed to dilate both times with my children - dd is 9 months now so was told it was possible but could be slightly trickier.

Once the nurse took a look she said it could be tricky as my cervix was the size of a pin head...she had a go and I had that cervical shock thing and nearly passed out. I'd taken painkillers before hand but it wasn't pain it was that awful sick/faint/low blood pressure feeling.

So, we didn't go on but now I'm frustrated. I've gone on to the micronor mini pill for a while (combi doesn't suit me) but I tend to find that the mini pill makes me feel a bit up and down.

Anyone had coil fitted by other means (anaesthetic ?) did you ask your surgery? was that equally as awful? and would it be painful/uncomfortable afterwards....
Help!!

I had difficulty when I had it inserted a few months ago. Took the GP a long time, trying several different speculums and a lot of hard shoving. (Also had the cervical shock thing. Very weird and unpleasant.)

Did you have your period at the time? It's supposed to be easier then. I didn't.

You'd expect the FP Nurse to be fairly expert at it, but could it be that someone else could do it better?

What did she say about it? My GP was considering whether to refer me onwards, but decided to have one last try, so I expect there are other options. Have you discussed this with your GP?

I've recently had the mirena taken out as it made my period lighter but it could last up to 2 weeks and after 4 years I'd had enough of it. Would this be something that would put you off having it put in?

to be honest , once I nearly fainted I asked her to take it out - it shocked me how awful it felt and I dont' think I was up to it. I'm going to see the GP....

Herb Garden, the first time I had the mirena coil I was so terrified that they gave me an anaesthetic before hand, what a difference. so yes it can be done.

I had the coil for 4.5 years and it was wonderful. Periods barely there from about 4 months in until I had it removed and I had awful periods beforehand.

2nd time after birth of DD (about 12 weeks later) insertion was a breeze but the coil only lasted 6 months as it seemed to play havoc with my hormones.

I would recommend it to anyone but just be prepared for it not working. I was told all my symptoms (bad skin, greasy hair, weight gain and worst, panic attacks) were nothing to do with coil but they all ceased when I had it removed.

But as i said first time was excellent! So I would still recommend it.

Hope this helps, get a second opinion if you're not happy.

I had a mirena removed a few months ago. When they then came to insert the new one there was no way it was going it. The GP tried mutliple times but it wasn't happening - again the "cervical shock" thing. It was painful, and my legs shook for hours afterwards.

I went back for a second go two weeks later, and the same thing happened. Apparently I have a small kink in my cervix. The first one was inserted by an OB-gyn in Australia, with the aid of an ultrasound so it wasn't a problem.

Anyway, I was referred to a gyn to get the second one put in, but by the time the appointment came through, I had realised that the lingering depression I'd had for the past few years had gone, as if by magic. I cancelled the appointment and the depression has never come back. I am however pregnant with my 4th child.

I removed my mirena at the end of March as it was due to be changed and DP and I had had a few 'shall I get it changed, or just out because I'm not getting any younger and we'd like a child' talks.

We went with out. So I started to google (dun Dun DUN!) to find out what to expect from my removal experience. My thinking being will it be prudent to take a painkiller before hand, wonder if I'll bleed a lot (have to admit I was worried about this one as I bleed for months after it went in...), will it hurt?

It was whilst looking for this info that I came across a whole SLEW (literally thousands of accounts) of anecdotal evidence from women suffering detrimental side-effects from the mirena, who were simply being told there was NO WAY their symptoms could be attributed to it. With most it seems that the symptoms take some months to be noticed, so most of them do not attribute it to the mirena... but find on removal most, if not all, of them disappear rapidly.

The 'imaginary' side-effects are I experienced were unexplained weight gain (particularly around the middle, even in though practising a restrictive diet and exercising very regularly), acne/bad skin, greasy hair, nausea/dizziness, abdominal pain, sore 'PMS' boobs that I'd not had before but most debilitating - mood swings and depression. I took anti depressants several times over the course of the years I had the mirena, which never really seemed to help much, and I kinda thought I was going mad as I was depressed with no 'reason' to set it off. At times, my actual life was amazingly fantastic and all I felt was awfully down or wanting to bite everyone's head off.

Anyway, suffice to say I also didn't imagine it was the mirena - but reading about all these other women who were having the same experience as me was a defining moment - it was coming out, no doubt.

Almost immediately, the clouds I'd been living under for so many years (I had it NINE YEARS!) lifted. The first week I lost 5lbs with NO CHANGE to my diet or exercise (not much more after that, but it was still telling), skin dramatically improved - again with no change to care routine - and my nagging lower pain (which I had given up ever getting diagnosed as all inital testing was negative, my mirena was happily in place, and as it didn't ever get worse or other worrying symptoms develop... well, just thought I had to live with it) also vanished.

Mirena WILL work well, even fantastically for some women. But many women do not process the synthetic progestin well and manifest adverse side effects. But as the party line is 'the hormone is released locally, you can't get side effects' our experiences are being all but dismssed by the medical profession (even though an accepted side effect is breast tenderness - hmmmm, if the hormone isn't getting into the blood then how are breasts being affected? I guess they'd say 'but it's a much lower dose than the oral pill' Yes - but not being processed through the digestive system - going straight into the blood!).

Eh, I'll jump off my soap box for now... but please research a bit further how these devices have affected many women and if it turns out it affects you the same way you will be forewarned and so can opt for removal. Well... if it ever gets in! Ouch at cervial shock

My Mirena coil was fitted by an obstetritian at my family planning clinic.It didn't hurt at all and I also had a C section for failing to dilate.I do know someone who found it unbearably painful though.
I found it great apart from the lower sex drive!

two failed by nurse/doctor.
one failed by specialist
success under GA and I really haven't looked back. I lurv it!

i had the mirena coil fitted on 12th november,i have been bleeding since then until 21th nov when i had tablets off my doctor because i was drained and fed up of bleeding,i have pain in my lower abdomen all the time and everytime i bend down i get a stabbing pain where the coil is,and should my partner be able to feel it when we have sex?.

help getting fed up now......

Cilla, you should be seeing your dr again in a few weeks to check that the coil is properly in place. Make that appointment now and go back. Don't wait. You should not be in pain. You might have cramps as your body may try to get rid of it, but that is not the same as stabbing pains.

The only thing that should be outside the cervix is the string - is that what he is feeling? Have you had a little feel up there yourself? If you can feel anything other than one or two short strings (which might be a little stiffer than you expect from a string) then you need to see the dr asap, as it could be coming out.

when i had it fitted it was hideously painful (felt i was going to pass out etc) and afterwards GP said, "I hope you don't think we 'mis-sold it to you, if i'd known it would hurt you so much we could have offered you some pain relief"
But having said that, i then had it in for four an a half years, no probs, no periods and then when I'd had it removed fell pregnant within 3 months...so it's not all bad!

thanks for all your messages - really helpful. I'm particularly interested in the ones re side affects. I know my FP nurse also said no side affects as the progesterone is localised. I find I get bad mood swings anyway so am wondering whether to bother.....

HerbGarden - I had mine as part of HRT. I was getting terrible moodswings, as well as all the other delightful symptoms of menopause. I started the oestrogen within days of having the Mirena inserted. My moodswings began to diminish within a couple of weeks. About 1m after having the Mirena, and not noticing any side-effects other than the eternal, but ever-decreasing bleeding, I began a descent into the worst depression I have had since recovering from PND 6/7 years ago. This time it was accompanied by appalling anxiety attacks. It passed after a few weeks, made slightly easier by a session of hypnotherapy. Now, about 6w after the begining of the depression, I am back to normal. And that normal is better than it was before I had the Mirena.

I am convinced that (a) the episode was caused by the Mirena, and (b) the moodswings that I have been prone to over the last few years were caused first by exhaustion + 3 dc + other stresses, added to by peri-menopause, none of which were helped by my stress-reaction, which is to reach for the chocolate (therefore I'm prone to sugar highs and lows). The GP agrees on all counts. I had masses of blood-tests before she prescribed HRT, because I was only 41 when this all began, so it could have been caused by something else. But since I have been on HRT+Mirena, I have been geting better and better.

I hestated for several years over getting Mirena, because I was worried about the emotional side-effects. I am so glad now that I have done it!

What I'm trying to say - longwindedly! - is that the mood-swings may be caused by something that can be helped, and that the Mirena may not be a problem. FWIW, the mini-pill drove me nuts, because it made me convinced I was pg, even though it had minimal effect on my period. I had morning sickness, sore boobs, was emotionally fragile. Nuts! Mirena has not had this effect at all.