Experiences of Mirena coil fitting for contraception after having a baby

[Sammytoby]

Has anyone had a mirena coil fitted purely for contraception after having a baby?

I'm 6 months postpartum after my first baby and have decided to get a coil fitted, but I'm absolutely terrified. I've made the mistake of reading lots of horror stories online and now I'm working myself up about it!
I'd really love to hear some real life experiences, especially from anyone who had one fitted after having a baby. How painful was the insertion? Did you have any side effects afterwards? are you happy with it now?
I know people are more likely to post when they've had a bad experience, so I'm hoping to hear the good, bad and average experiences to get a more balanced view.

I had one 6 week post partum. No issues with the insertion at all. Quick & painless.

once I had mine done I wished I’d done it years ago - really wasn’t a big deal for me. Akin to getting ears pierced I’d say. I took painkillers beforehand and I think I felt more in control as a result but would probably have been fine without.

I was fine, wasn't painful at all (uncomfortable though), wasn't aware of any side effects. It took a few months for bleeding to stop (on and off) but it wasn't heavy so no issue.

They wouldn't let me have one after my first child as I'd said I would probably want another child at some point. That was quite annoying as I had no contraception; I couldn't tolerate the anxiety that the pill gave me and GP said it was impossible to have anxiety on the pill(!). Once I'd finished having babies they did let me.

The important thing is to check that you can feel the strings regularly, so that you know it's in the right place.

You can bleed heavily when it's first inserted but that does get less and less and chances are you won't know it's there in the end! Which is why it's really important to remember to check for the strings!

Honest answer -I had one for 5 years after having my third child with no issue, BUT when I had it replaced, I developed TSS which very rapidly turned into sepsis. Urgent care, intubation, induced coma and a month in hospital. This was 15 years ago. I’m fine but still take heart meds due to the damage it caused and my knee cartilage was completely destroyed by the sepsis so I suffer quite a lot with that and will have to have a knee replacement soon.

Obviously I was incredibly unlucky and I’m not advising against having a mirena but please be extremely vigilant. I woke up the next morning after having had it fitted, with a really intense headache, dizziness and vomiting. I left it 3 days before consulting by which time my organs were shutting down. So my advice would be to:

1. have it fitted on a weekday (I waited over the weekend as it was done on the Friday evening.)
2. make sure your dh/ family are aware of the sepsis risk and know what to look out for.
3. do not hesitate it the slightest to call 101 if you develop any symptoms (nausea, headache, fever) or 999 if you develop serious symptoms (numbness, pain in joints…)

Thank you so much for all your replies they’ve been so helpful! I think I won’t really know until I have it done so I’m going to go for it and just see what happens. Will definitely keep an eye out for sepsis signs

That’s strange I haven’t been asked at all whether I wanted more children! Will definitely ask about this before I get it put in

I have had a couple fitted over the years. I do have a high pain threshold, but I can honestly say it was no more unpleasant than having a smear done. I fully accept that many women do find it extremely painful, but we only tend to hear about those cases rather than the majority who do not have problems.

@sheepandbear my auntie had a similar experience . Had to have full hysterectomy at 30 and almost died of sepsis. I would never get one of these things . In fact she made me promise not to

Barring awful scenarios like @sheepandbear experienced (so sorry, that sounds utterly horrendous 💐)... if you had a natural birth, I imagine it will be straightforward - at least that has been the experience of women I know.

But, I had 2 x CS and I booked to have a coil fitted before work one day thinking it'd just be like a smear test (which I'm totally fine with). It wasn't - they really struggled to get it in (doctor got involved) and it was very painful. But, I do think it's to do with how I'm set up anatomically - far-back cervix, failure to progress in labour etc and that's what the nurse and doctor on the day thought.

However, I do absolutely love having an mirena and would have done it years earlier if I'd known how great it is.

I have, quick and painless. Completely stopped my periods.

My god this is dreadful- I had no idea there could be such a reaction 💐

Just a little update! I’ve just had it done and insertion was completely painless I had some tiny mild cramps for about 5 seconds but it was over before I knew it. I’ve got some mild cramping now but going to just keep an eye on them and see how I feel over the next day or two. Thank you all for your replies I’m so sorry for the experiences some of you had it’s awful, thank you for letting me know what to look out for and what I will be definitely trying to keep an eye on!