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Original poster

Can you tell me about your experience with the Mirena coil?

43 replies

GodDammitAmy · 01/05/2019 13:32

My gynae has suggested I get one fitted to help with horrible peri-menopausal periods.

I've heard that if it works for you then it's great but if it doesn't then it's a nightmare. I'm torn on what to do.

OP posts:
FiremanKing · 01/05/2019 13:53

Quite a few years ago I had debilitating periods that meant I spent a whole days only sitting in the toilet because of the flooding.

Eventually I saw a Consultant and right from the get go he pushed my having a Mirena coil.

I was booked in for a scrape I think I was and then have the coil fitted.

However the last visit I had with my consultant I noticed that his pen had mirena written on it, he had a notepad with mirena on it and posters on the wall. It dawned on me that he was in some way being sponsored to promote it.

I didn’t want or need contraception so saw no need for the mirena coil.

On the day of my op for the scrape my anaesthetist came to see me in my room and there were two nurses there attending to me as well. In came the consultant and I announced I wasn’t going to have the mirena coil fitted and would not sign my approval.

The consultant had a face like thunder and promptly departed.

The nurses were embarrassed but said they couldn’t comment when I pressed them about sponsorship.

All very odd and I wish I had pursued it further.

A few years later I had an ablation which removes the lining of my womb which was the best thing ever as I have not had a period since as it was 100% successful.

I would never have had a coil fitted.

Original poster
GodDammitAmy · 01/05/2019 14:43

That's awful Fireman. I've had a similar experience at the GP with ADs.

OP posts:
Mintandthyme · 01/05/2019 14:45

I’ve had 2 Mirena coils. No issues whatsoever.

Prequelle · 01/05/2019 14:48

Every time I would have a period I would have contractions as my body was trying to expel it.

I got fed up one time and removed it myself.

I'm not sure on the data regarding them and obviously we only see the bad side of them, but we regularly get women coming into the gynae clinic with 'lost' of embedded coils, or them being partially expelled.

I think it's for everyone to weigh up and see because for some women they're brilliant

MC68 · 01/05/2019 14:49

I had one fitted due to daily bleeding for years & it’s definitely helped me no end, so much so that when it was time to remove it I had a new fitted immediately. Highly recommend it & definitely worth a try 😁

ALadyofLetters · 01/05/2019 14:50

I have a hormonal coil. It isn’t the mirena as I needed a smaller size (short womb apparently!) but it has been the best thing ever for me.

I was very reluctant due to horror stories but it has been life changing. A few months of v light spotting and then nothing at all. I was having the most debilitating flooding and clots. Fitting was like a smear. The GP who did it took such care to ensure I was ok during the procedure. I’d recommend it to anyone with awful periods.

Helspopje · 01/05/2019 14:50

I think it’s bloody brilliant. Mireya is, imho, utterly utterly life transforming

FYI I am a consultant in the NHS. I have pens from everyone. Makes no difference to my prescribing as I don’t see reps.

Chanandler · 01/05/2019 14:54

Changed my life - went from hideous flooding to no periods, no PMT, no problems. love it. I put off having it done for ages because of the horror stories on the internet, but as my consultant said, people are much more likely to go out of their way to pass on bad experiences.

BigButtons · 01/05/2019 14:56

fucking hideous.
Bled every single day for a month- not spotting- bleeding. In a lot of pain.
Went to get it taken out and the threads had gone awol.

Bleeding and pain got worse and worse and had to be given a cascade of drugs and pain killers and have scans, repeated trips to A&E.

In the end had to go to Gynae to have it removed by a registrar. No pain relief, fishing stick straight up into my womb.

After the removal the pain and bleeding were so bad i was put on the strongest pain killers possible and drugs to try and stop the bleeding. I had to have 2 weeks off work I was in so much pain- I couldn't walk and have antibiotics for an infection. My face was covered in huge spots.

A lot of my friends have had hideous experiences some have had ok ones.

i wouldn't recommend one to my worst enemy.

Bishalisha · 01/05/2019 14:58

A bit mixed with me.

I developed horrific bacne for the first 6 months but my periods instantly reduced in flow. They stopped for a while but then came back and I now bleed for about 7 days- 2 on either side extremely light and usually 2/3 or not heavy but not light (empty moon cup 1ce a day)

Bishalisha · 01/05/2019 14:59

Also, as above, my threads are AWOL. I’m dreading having it removed

Crazyladee · 01/05/2019 15:00

I've had a positive experience with it and a negative. I too suffer with debilitating periods and had my first one in for 5 years with no issues. No side effects and no periods! Didn't need it for contraception as DH has had the snip.

But as I got older I had problems when I had it changed. Weight gain plus feeling like I was 4 months pregnant. So I had it taken out, had a break for about a year and tried again. Still I felt horrendous. My stomach was so bloated and again I put loads of weight on. Had it checked out, even had an ultrasound scan. Nothing came up on the scan, it was in the right place etc so again I had it taken out and I just accepted the Mirena Coil is no longer for me.
For some reason GPs and consultants seem to be pro Mirena coil so you have to stand your ground. They tried to talk me out of having it taken out but I know my own body and know when somethings not right. I'm actually on the waiting list for a hysterectomy and I can't wait as these periods are ruining my life but I would rather have that than go back to the Mirena coil. Everyone's different though so why don't you give it a try and see if it works for you?

crosspelican · 01/05/2019 15:04

Love it SO MUCH. No periods at all, no side effects, no babies. Had it for 8 years, am 40.

GP friend has pointed out that there have been extensive and well funded studies into side effects and none of the main negatives that people talk about have been established as having been brought about by the Mirena, just that people love anecdotal horror stories ("my sister's best friend had one and DIED" etc).

crosspelican · 01/05/2019 15:08

Also the reason GP's push it is that it's hugely effective birth control with the fewest side effects. No hidden agenda. Doctors have no interest in promoting a device that will have you banging down their door for months with complaints about it.

Crazyladee · 01/05/2019 15:10

So on those two occasions where I was in agony straight after having the Mirena fitted must have either been a figment of my imagination or a bit of indigestion then Hmm

FiremanKing · 01/05/2019 15:12

crosspelican

I agree but at the time I made it clear I did not need contraception and preferred other treatment for heavy periods.

Yet he still wanted me to have the mirena coil. He was really pushing it on me.

Ivegotthree · 01/05/2019 15:12

I have one and it's fabulous. I was bleeding so heavily I was anaemic and exhausted. Now I barely get a period. No side effects.

But my boss had one at the same time as me and decided it made her fat, so had it taken out. (I think stuffing her face made her fat and the Mirena was incidental, but didn't tell her and merely agreed she'd been unlucky with her coil.)

Totaldogsbody · 01/05/2019 15:36

I was given the Mirena coil and found it so good I only wish my doc had given it to me sooner and I would have avoided years of misery. I only had one period of light spotting after it was fitted after years of extremely heavy periods during which i had to have a change of clothes in work just in case. I had it fitted when i went through the menopause and had no problems it was only after it was removed that I've suffered any symptoms. I know everyone's different but I wouldn't have any qualms about recommending it.

Totaldogsbody · 01/05/2019 15:37

*It was already fitted when i started the menopause

Yorkiebar71 · 01/05/2019 15:43

I get some people have had horrendous experiences but personally it's been fantastic and can't see me not having one until my baby days are long gone. No periods for me has been life changing.

MeganChips · 01/05/2019 15:49

It was a mix of positive and negative for me.

It did reduce some of the pain caused by my gynaecological problems but my uterine cavity was taken up with fibroids so it was sited incorrectly. Because of this the threads disappeared and I had to have it removed via a hysteroscopy.

The horrendous flooding disappeared but instead I bled every day for 9 months. It also made me gain weight.

Hopefully it will help OP, it’s certainly worth a try. A few of my friends swear by it.

BigButtons · 01/05/2019 16:03

Prior to my unfortunate experience I had had one years before in between children and had had no issues at all. I went in thinking it would be the same.
I do really wish it had worked though. Loved the idea of easy contraception and no periods.
What I do wish is that the dr who fitted it had warned me of possible complications.
A woman I work with decided to have hers removed last month just around the time I was experiencing coil-gate. She had had no problems but thought she was gaining weight because of it. A month on and she is having her first period and has been proper flooding for over a week.

ShinyRuby · 01/05/2019 16:16

I'm on my 2nd one & completely recommend it. No periods since I had it fitted in 2012, no negative issues whatsoever. Fitting is a bit painful but worth the 5 minutes of discomfort for 5 years contraception & hopefully lighter/no periods. It's just one of these things where everybody's different but I think people are far more likely to come onto a forum to tell a horror story (& fair enough) than to say it was good. This can lead to an unbalanced view. Do all your research & make the best decision for you.

ExpletiveDelighted · 01/05/2019 16:29

I'm on my second and they've been brilliant, no bleeding at all after the first few months (well about one light day a year if that). I'm in my early 50s and no idea if I've started / been through the menopause because I have had absolutely no symptoms. It wasn't pushed on me at all.

BigButtons · 01/05/2019 16:38

At the end of the day it makes no difference what anybody's else's experiences are. You will only find out how you react once/if you have it fitted.