Mini pill or mirena???

[Idontwant2]

Please can I have peoples experience of the mini pill and the Mirena.

i currently have very low/depleted iron stores without anemia, Iron tablets don’t agree with me at all due to ibs etc, doctor has said I don’t qualify for an iron transfusion so as it most likely due to heavy periods (think peri) my options are carry on as I am or have the Mirena or mini pill.

i tried the mini pill years ago and had 6 weeks of continuous spotting and bleeding before giving up but I’m not sure if I should try it again. I’ve heard good and bad things about the Mirena and it not being easy to get it removed if I don’t get on with it.

Any advice would be welcome. Carrying on without is not really an option as the fatigue is ridiculous alongside anxiety.

If you spotted with the mini pill then you may have the same issue with Mirena. I did, and it’s a lot more difficult to get it removed than you’d think. It was almost a year before I could get it removed, and that was with me continuously begging for them to take it out. I was spotting or bleeding every day. They kept telling me ‘it will settle after around 3 months’ then it was ‘just give it a bit more time’ then it was ‘ it takes 6 months to settle in some women’. It was a bloody nightmare!

Have you tried Iron bisglycinate? It has better bioavailability and less gastrointestinal side effects. I’d try that before the Mirena or mini pill again tbh, I will go and find a link for the one I’ve been using since a midwife recommended it on here, you sometimes have to wait for it to come back into stock though as it’s so popular.

Has the gp prescribed tranexamic acid? It can help reduce bleeding a bit.

I think it depends how heavy your periods are OP. How many days do you typically bleed and what's the flow like?

I was in exactly your position OP, although I had several iron infusions privately over the years. The trouble is though is it is a temporary fix if you are still losing heavily every month. It is very, very difficult to take enough oral iron supplements to counteract the loss you'll have though heavy periods, especially if you have poor iron uptake, which is suspect I have.

Anyhow I resisted the Mirena for years because I was very wary of potential side effects, especially in terms of mood. I finally gave in after a particularly awful few months of anaemia symptoms.

I felt absolutely awful for the first week and I felt quietly vindicated and was probably just a couple of days away from demanding to have it removed. But then it started to settle and now, six months on, I am surprised to find that actually I feel really, really good with it. My mood is really stable (probably better than ever, actually) and after the original few weeks of spotting I've only had one very light period (which actually did last a couple of weeks, but was so light I barely even needed sanpro.

Ah this is an interesting thread. I am looking to stop my periods but I’m 45 so wasn’t sure what options were still on the table. I took the mini pill for years in my thirties and got on great with it, no spotting, but my periods are fairly light. I want something that gives me no pmt symptoms - is that the case with the Mirena? I can’t remember with the mini pill.

Minipill saved me. I had such heavy periods I was on iron (bisglycinate - no side effects) and tranexamic acid and I was still super anaemic and weak. Took the mini pill - a couple of weeks of light spotting and then not a period for years. It’s been a miracle.

Yes tried tranexamic acid but it’s not helped my iron levels have dropped even further from January when I had the first lot of blood tests.

Periods are still very regular at 28 days but it’s now 7-8 days long where as they were always 5 days max.

the flow is heavy for me in that the first 4 days I need to change every couple of hours and have started ruining bedding overnight even with getting up through the night to change it makes no difference.

I’m going to make another appointment with the gp to discuss the options further but I know with the Mirena periods can stop completely within a year but before that do you get a monthly period like every 28 days ish or can they just be all over the place?

same with the mini pill, once your body has adjusted to it and the random spotting/ bleeding has stopped do you then revert back to a regular cycle?

I have no experience of the Mirena other than friends who have loved it (although one of them had to have it surgically removed as it wandered off somewhere!)
I did have the mini-pill myself though and it was awful. I gained weight, felt unwell and couldn't wait to stop it

Mini pill works well for me and only had initially a bit of spotting and then clear since. Also had very heavy periods which I was beyond coping with but too old for normal pill.

No experience with mirena but my sister gets on great with it no problems or periods. I was on the mini pill for several years but took a years break, when I went back on it my periods stopped but I had no libido whatsoever so had to stop taking it, am considering mirena now.

I fell pregnant on the minipill twice, despite perfect usage (miscarried both unfortunately). It also resulted in an ectopic pregnancy as increases risk if you do fall pregnant.

How are you doing now OP? I came across this thread looking for answers/experiences regarding the exact same issue.

I’ve decided to go ahead with the Mirena so I’m having that fitted next week.

im hoping that it works for me as the heavy periods whilst annoying has resulted in my iron levels being so low it’s causing all sorts of issues.

I hope it works for you! I think in 90% it really helps with the bleeding. I am going to gp next week and will probably also be offered the Mirena, but it didn't work for me (i expelled it). Am also worried it will be painful or complicated by scar tissue i have form c sections.
How long were you bleeding after coming off the mini pill? Im going to quit it in a few days as have been bleeding for over 5 weeks now...

Pretty much as soon as I stopped taking the mini pill it stopped the bleeding and I returned to my normal cycle

Hi. I had the minipill. Gave me constant spotting, headaches and breast pain. Switched to mirena had worse symptoms - gave it 8 months to try and get it to settle and have had it removed. Horrendous side effects - have discovered I am progesterone sensitive so can’t really tolerate anything. Sends me completely wappy! I think with these things, unfortunately you don’t know how your body will react until you try it. I have friends who love their mirena. It just didn’t work for me

If you're getting the mirena coil in next week. Make sure to take paracetamol and ibuprofen 1h before, ask them to inject lidocaine into your cervix, use numbing gel as well. Hopefully that means you won't have pain just some discomfort instead. I hope it works well for you, in around 20% of people it stops their periods completely bit for the majority it reduces the bleeding etc as it thins your uterus lining.

For me it's worked quite well, it took my much longer than most for it to settle, around a year, so give it time, I still use tranexamic acid as well but that's also due to some other things so all in all, I'd recommend and hope it works well for you.

Just to update the thread,

I had the Mirena fitted almost two weeks ago and I know it’s super early days but so far it’s been fine.

The fitting was slightly uncomfortable but not unbearable. I took ibuprofen about 30 mins before and didn’t need anything later in the day or evening or the following days, even went straight back to work after having it done in my lunch break.

i had a few days of very light spotting straight from having it done but that was it.

fingers crossed it carries on being this way and at the moment I’m not regretting my decision to get it. hope this helps if anybody is in the same position and comes across this thread.

That's great op

Word of warning tho. If you notice a dip in your MH do t dismiss it as another cause as the
Mirena made my dd absolutely agoraphobic panic attacks and was the worst 3 month of her life. Started about 4/6 weeks of putting it in. We are 3 month post removal now and she is still in therapy. It was absolutely the coil.

That's great it can take up to 6-9 months to settle but for most it will settle way before 6 months. It take times to thin the uterus lining but should start helping, other than that there's nothing really for you to do than wait. Glad it wasn't painful or uncomfortable at all.