Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Original poster

mirena coil and side effects???? anyone else experiencing these????

153 replies

missylea · 24/07/2009 17:06

Had the mirena coil fitted from feb this year and am still staining! I have lack of sex drive and now over the last week of so feel so down and depressed. I do suffer from pnd and am on ad. but felt myself getting better and more like myself only for this last week. I have been crying at everything, feeling really sad for nothing and really irratiable especially with my dcs. Suprise next day i started staining again! Its like permanent pmt or is it my pnd flaring back up again.I cannot take any kind of contraceptive pill as they too make me like this but dr says the hormone is localised to the womb! I always have been getting bad period pains that dr had to prescribe pain killers it was that bad. Anyone else suffer anything similar before i make a decision to have it removed. Unfortunitely it feels like the only other option is sterisation which is very very final but dont feel i could cope with pnd and feeling this low again. ps i have got pnd after every baby ive had, i have 3.

OP posts:
SomeGuy · 26/07/2009 11:38

Yes that's what I was saying, she should have had the gynefix again - it's smaller so less bleeding, but she's got an old-fashioned one instead.

SOLOisMeredithGrey · 26/07/2009 11:48

IF I ever have sex with a man again , it will be rain coats all the way! I refuse to subject my body with anything 'foreign' again! ('cept a man of course!)

Original poster
missylea · 26/07/2009 12:07

lol at solo someguy is this gynefix avaiable on nhs and i assume in northern ireland?

OP posts:
SomeGuy · 26/07/2009 12:15

It is, but it depends on the individual gynaecologist I think. Possibly the area too.

Niecie · 26/07/2009 13:25

I'm sorry but I had to lol at 'Gynefix' - It sounds to me like the gynecological equivilent of Kwik-fit.

I had no idea what my new coil was so went and had a look at the leaflet and did a bit of research (bit late now I suppose since I have had it 2 weeks but still). I have a T-Safe CU 380A which is apparently the coil of choice (according to various googled sites). It is a bit fiddly to fix (I can vouch for that) but once it has the lowest failure rate.

The Gynefix is apparently good for those with a small 'uterine cavity' but because of it's size is prone to falling out without the woman noticing.

Sterilisation seems very extreme and unpleasant. Have you totally discounted the copper coil missylea?

It can cause heavier periods but I was told it wouldn't be too bad since my periods used to be quite light so it won't be unmanageable. I can't vouch for that at the moment as I am awaiting my first one, post-Mirena. However, I am over 40 so I would expect them to be heavier anyway, I suppose.

(I also found that the Mirena is 7 times the price of an ordinary IUD - no wonder Drs aren't keen to take it out early, once it is in).

Original poster
missylea · 26/07/2009 17:16

hi niecie do you have the copper coil or the mirena coil?? Havent totally discounted the copper coil and my periods where never really heavy anyways to start with. OMG is there different copper coils as well, how do you know what one is right for you? T-safe cu380a my god its sounds like a vaccum cleaner or something!

OP posts:
Niecie · 26/07/2009 20:10

Lol. They do all sound a bit mechanical don't they?

I had the Mirena for 5 yrs and had it out 2 weeks ago. (As I said in my earlier post I put on 4.5stone in that time and only in the last year or so wondered if it was the Mirena's fault).

Had it out and had the vacuum cleaner T-safe put in which is a copper coil.

If you have lightish periods then, I am told, you probably won't notice a huge difference in them by having a copper coil but the copper coil can make periods heavier which is apparently its one big drawback.

How do you know which is right for you? I suppose you have to leave it to the docs. They don't give you choice. As I understand it the Gynefix one needs extra training to be able to put it in so maybe the docs can't do it anyway.

Good luck tomorrow. Had a smear and the old Mirena removed without barely noticing it was done so you should be OK. Putting a new one in at the same time, well that was another matter.....

SOLOisMeredithGrey · 27/07/2009 00:12

I heard that the Mirena costs £500 each .

Sibble · 27/07/2009 00:28

hmmm , this is interesting. I had a mirena fitted about 3 months ago for heavy bleeding. I've had PND in the past (probably?) been tearful, seriously snappy, irrational etc etc since it's been in. Bled consistently for first 2 months and really badly at that. Have also put on weight which I put down to winter but don't usually pack it on over winter. As for my boobs, I now have 2 bra sizes depending on time of month and need to wear one in bed for a few days as they are so huge and sore.

Have an appointment in a month and am definitely considering having it taken out but the next step is probably a hysterectomy

SOLOisMeredithGrey · 27/07/2009 00:33

If these HCT's want to stop wasting money, they need to start being more truthful with patients!

NatMac · 27/07/2009 10:25

Hi, this is the first post I've sent so not too good on all the lingo! I had the mirena coil for just over a year (removed last May) and it was the worst year of my life. I had such awful mood swings and depression that I lost friends and nearly ended up divorced! I had spotting and staining for a full six months with only the odd day off. The mood swings were dreadful with such high levels of aggression, I thought I was going mad! I also had bad pains in my groin and hips and very bad headaches. I kept returning to my doc who said that it was just settling in and to give it more time. From six months my periods and spotting stopped completely, which was great but then I started to get incredible pain in my hips when I walked. Again I went back to the doc, who checked it and said there was nothing physically wrong. At the one year mark I had had enough and went to the nurse at the docs and asked her to remove it. She wanted me to explain all the reasons before she would (which was really unfair - it's my body!). When she went to remove it she said that it was half hanging out and no wonder I was in so much pain and that sometimes women's bodies will reject the coil on their own which she thinks was what I was experiencing. Within two weeks of being off the coil I was back to myself, happy, calm and about 6 pounds lighter too! NEVER AGAIN!

Original poster
missylea · 27/07/2009 12:43

Hi natmac, I can totally understand where you're coming from i am exactly the same and i am on anti/d god knows what i would be like if i wasnt!!!! I too have been staining from feb which is a nightmare in itself. I dont think my dcs knows whats going on as im so aggressive and boiling with anger. Im glad you said in about 2 weeks you felt much better as booked holiday with dcs in 2 weeks so hopefully i will be good mummy not the evil one that has been around for the past few weeks... going today at 4.30 to have it removed. whoopeeeeeeeeeeee

OP posts:
DrunkenDaisy · 27/07/2009 15:12

The mirena has been brilliant for me. I had the first one in for nearly 10 years and am now on my second. I get no periods at all and haven't put on any weight. It's all positives for me.....

Original poster
missylea · 27/07/2009 21:09

Well mns it OUT!!! Thank god even the sheer relief of getting it out has made me feel a little better. It will be very interesting to see how i feel over the next few days/weeks. Going to go and get a copper as my last attempt and if not sterilisation it is Thanks for all your advice can always rely on you's

OP posts:
SOLOisMeredithGrey · 28/07/2009 01:58

Good for you missylea IME, you'll start to notice the difference within days! My raging mood went so quickly, I wouldn't have believed it possible!

WednesdaysChild · 28/07/2009 17:00

Agree with the raging moods and a few other side affects! Gynae (a man) looked personally slighted when I told him to remove it!

Original poster
missylea · 28/07/2009 21:08

yeah i know what you mean wednesday my gp was the same and questioned me on how i know it was the mirena???? I told he i had been doing research on the internet and i just want it out. Surprise surprise when i told her i couldnt take even the mini especially one called cerazette she said that was progestrone only pill and thats the hormone that is in the mirena so it should have never been fitted in the first place, but different family planning clinic fitted it and i told them i couldnt take the pill and again the "localised to the womb" NOT!!!!!!Im getting the copper coil fitted in a few weeks give my body time hopefully return to normal if possible

OP posts:
jadecripps · 28/07/2009 22:11

Hey guys,

For me: mirena = good, copper IUD = V bad!!

Here's my experiences for you from somebody who has tried everything! (and i'm only 28!)

My periods are normally (without contraceptives) very heavy and last about 9 days.

In 2001 after trying most other methods and not agreeing with any of them, i had a mirena fitted. It was painful to fit as i've not had kids, but apart from that i had no side effects barely at all, it was great!

I did however notice a creeping gain in weight, i was a model at the time and so that was the nail for me, i had it out after 18 months. But the weight rise continued...

3 years after having it out i was rushed to A&E having collapsed, and had my left ovary and tube removed along with an 18cm cyst! This cyst was initially spotted on an ultrasound BEFORE i had mirena, but was left as it wasn't causing problems. BUT as soon as i'd had the operation my weight just fell off....it was the cyst causing the gain not the mirena!

So i then went on the copper IUD, and i have to say i will NEVER ever consider it again! My periods increased to 16-17 days long and were excruciating and heavy! I have had it for 2.5 years now, and they've been hell! Fortunately I have just had it taken out today!

Suffice to say i have gone back on the mirena, i feel that confident that it didn't actually cause me any side effects at all that i have opted for it again! Even if it was that causing the weight gain, i'd rather be fat than in pain and bleeding all the time.

I guess everything is different for different people, but i thought an extra account would be handy!

Original poster
missylea · 28/07/2009 22:18

hi jade, i had the mirena fitted in feb and i had been staining from then. I just think different peoples bodies are more sensitive to hormones than others. I have tried every pill under the sun and none agree with me especially the postgestone only ones, it gave me the same feelings as this only it only took 2 weeks for myself to realise it was the pill so i stopped and within days the rage and aggression had gone. my periods are normal anyways not heavy so hopefully the copper coil wont make them much heavier! I hope

OP posts:
twoclimbingboys · 28/07/2009 23:29

I have had a copper coil fitted 2 weeks ago (they couldn't after several attempts fit a 10 yr, so I have a 5 yr one - Neo-Safe T CU 200/380). I have been spotting since, but my period was actually no heavier than normal - so far I am very pleased with it as I wanted to avoid hormones.

Original poster
missylea · 29/07/2009 11:21

thank you twoclimbing that really reassures now more so than going for sterilisation which is so final.....

OP posts:
Dophus · 29/07/2009 11:26

I'm not a fan of the Mirena coil. I had no side effects however fell pregnant whilst it was in place. I missed all pg signs as I didn't have periods and ended up admitted to hospital in severe pain with an emergency op to remove an ectopic. I also had a large (6cm) ovarian cyst that was removed. This can also be a side effect of the Mirena.

jadecripps · 29/07/2009 12:58

Sorry missylea, didn't mean to put you off, i just thought that with few accounts of the copper iud, i'd give you my experience.

I think everybody reacts differently to different methods, i have had friends who have been on either mirena or copper, and all have had a variety of reactions, some good some bad, so i don't think anyone can tell til they've tried.

I'd also like to warn anyone not to try Depo-provera injections. Myself and some of my friends have all been on it and it was awful across the board! (yes it stops your periods, but i had diarrhea for 6 months, my friend fell pregnant and didn't know until she miscarried, another friend put on 4 stone in weight...bad bad bad)

missylea, have you thought about uterine ablation? Might be a better option, yes it is final, but less traumatic than sterilisation.

expatinscotland · 29/07/2009 13:00

'missylea, have you thought about uterine ablation? Might be a better option, yes it is final, but less traumatic than sterilisation.'

that's only offered to women with heavy bleeding, as an alternative to hysterectomy.

it is not an alternative to sterilisation.

QueenEagle · 29/07/2009 13:03

My ObGyn doc recommended the Mirena for me when I had my copper one removed to have treatment for CIN3 abnormal cervical cells.

I refused it as I do not trust anything with hormone in it after a previous horrendous experience with the pill and the injection.

I have had a copper coil since ds4 was born who is almost 5. Slightly heavy and longer periods for the initial 3 - 4 months, then absolutely no side effects at all, in fact periods have been regular and light.

I had a copper one again after my treatment was completed and can honestly say, other than slightly heavier periods again for the last couple of months, I have never had a better birth control.