Question for anyone using Mirena

I am a married 41 year old, with a four year old.  My ob/gyn has been suggesting Mirena for me.  If you are using Mirena, what are your thoughts....satisfied, unsatisfied?  Thanks!

I absolutely love it. I have one daughter, and that will most likely be my only one. I have been on JUST ABOUT every pill there is out there, and constantly had complications. Since getting Mirena, I have none of those problems. Obviously your Doc can tell you what's best for you cuz they know background history, but I am so glad I found a solution that works for me!

I have had Mirena for a year and I love it!  I had some troubles when it was first put in - it was very painful and I had a lot of heavey cramping for six weeks afterwards - but apparently this is related to the fact that I have not had any children yet.  Even though it was not fun at first, it was definitely worth it.  I now have about 1-2 days of very light spotting every 6 weeks or so.  I never feel it nor does my partner.  I have tried all different types of birth control (depo, many different pills, nuvaring, male condoms, female condoms, film, etc) and this by far is my favorite. 

Thank you vicki and alle, I am going in next week for the cultures, so I guess I am going through with it.  I guess I was just a little nervous.  I haven't been on BC in probably 12 years or so.  I worry about the hormones and weight gain, and all the other bad stuff you hear.  My doctor says she hasn't had anyone in with any of the bad side effects, and keeps assuring me that it is the best option for me.

I love it.  I had to go from Depo to Mirena (lost insurance, couldn't afford the shots).   Yes, there was MAJOR cramping during/after it was inserted (felt like mid stages of labor) but mine only lasted the rest of the evening.  You can ask your Dr. to give you a vicodin prior to insertion, that should help a little.    

Since I lost my periods on Depo, they never came back on Mirena. 

On the weight loss, I gained a ton on Depo, but have now lost it all on Mirena.  However, my OB would never admit that any BC caused weight gain - she blames it on what you put in your mouth - lol.   But you still gotta admit the hormones give you more cravings, you just have to fight them harder.

I have a copper IUD (wasn't crazy about the idea of hormones in Mirena since birth control pills made me crazy), but I love it. I also haven't ever had kids, so yes, it hurt kind of a lot. My gyno said it would be "a pinch" - well, she  lied. But after about 5 minutes I felt okay and then just rested for the rest of the night. I didn't have much spotting, and once the strings were trimmed (they were bothering my boyfriend and I a little) it was fine and I never notice it at all.

Do you think I would be able to return to work the day they insert it, or should I just schedule it it late afternoon?  I'm concerned about the cramping.  Also, how long should I expect to be spotting/bleding?

I wouldn't go back to work.  I didn't feel the labour-like cramping that everyone else seems to have gotten, but I get mild to severe cramping regularly and am very used to it....however, I really felt like laying in bed for the rest of the day, just overall icky.  I think mine hurt because I haven't had children, so my uterus hasn't been stretched at all before.  I had cramping bad enough in the first 2 months or so that my doc perscribed some pretty good meds, so ask your doc about taking one before.  As for vicodine...that seems a little extreme, if you've had a kid, I'm sure you can take the pain of this without narcotics.  I had spotting for maybe a month, but my doc said up to 3 is normal.

When you first get it put in, you're body is trying to decide if it's going to reject this thing you just put inside you, so you're not really at the top of your game  for a day or so.  I would do afternoon, so that you can chill at home if you need to.

I also have the copper IUD - I took the day off work when I got mine in, and while I PROBABLY could have gone, I'm glad I didn't. The cramps were on and off, pretty severe at times but not constant. I just curled up in bed for the rest of the afternoon with a book :) If you can afford it, I'd schedule it in the afternoon and take the rest of the day off - if for nothing else than your peace of mind!

Well, I scheduled it on a long luch hour, then wound up having to call in saying I wasn't coming back.  So go for a late afternoon if you can.   Can't help you on the spotting since I didn't have periods to start with. 

Just go to this website's search box and seach our forums for Mirena, there been several discussions, so you can check out the responses there too.

I have had mind for 2-1/2 years.  I didn't have much trouble having it inserted, there was mild pain for 60 seconds tops.  I drove myself home and was fine afterwards.  My dr said she could shoot novacaine into my cervix to numb it, but most people tell her the novacaine shot is worse than the insertion.  They use a clamp to hold your cervix still during insertion.  If you are relaxed it can be done in about 2 or 3 minutes.

I spotted off and on for about 2 months, now I get a very short/light period about twice a year.  I would HIGHLY recommend it.

I also have a copper IUD.  Because of the type of migraines I have, I was barred from the hormonal forms of BC (except for Mirena, but I don't like the idea of BC that may cause me to cease having periods).

I'm only 27, and I haven't had kids.  They told me that it would HURT a lot at the insertion (always, always worry when doctors actually say something will hurt), and it was bad, but aside from some cramping, I was all right for the rest of the day.  I did go back to work.  I am also kind of crazy.

I went back in after my first period after insertion to get it checked (young women who have never had kids are more likely to lose the IUD) and trimmed.  I haven't had any trouble at all with it, and my husband doesn't notice at all.  And since my "prescription" was covered by insurance, I think it's the cheapest form of BC around.

megsambit - I wish my doctor told me it would hurt a lot during insertion (I haven't had kids either), she just said it would feel like a cramp.  Well you know how they say that about everything?  SO, I was expecting a little cramp like during a PAP smear.  Had I been properly prepared, I would have been fine I think.

teme - I agree with the others.  Take the afternoon off of work and also ask your doctor if you can take some OTC pain med like tylenol or ibuprofen before.  It will help prevent cramping.  I've heard people say that helps after I had my put in... again, if only I was properly prepared!

Thanks all!  Sounds like you all felt it was worth it, so that makes me feel a lot better.  I will try to schedule for a Friday afternoon just in case...I get some pretty bad cramps now, so maybe it won't be so bad...

I have to agree with most of what was said here, just add that everyone is different.  For instance, I have had very irregular periods since having mine.  I've had mine for nearly 4 years now.  At first, my periods did get substantially lighter, but they lasted longer than the normal 7 day periods I had before having the Mirena inserted.  I had EXTREMELY heavy periods before the Mirena that lasted 7 days.  For about the last year, they are light for SEVERAL days, then heavy for one or two. 

Now here's the thing to keep in mind.  If it doesn't work for you-you can always have it removed.

Good luck!

Thanks love-bears-all, I think I will give it a year and see what happens.  I am going to trust that my doctor knows what is best....but like you said, it's easily removed :)

Alle, I absolutely agree!  I can't even imagine how terrible it would have been if I hadn't known what to expect.

Note to teme: Insertion hurts.  It's a visceral pain, hard to describe.  It's really short, so just be prepared.  I just tried to make jokes the whole time.  My doc said a while back that pap smears are more comfortable if you're relaxed, so I decided to try to extend that principle.

i agree with them...it DOES hurt. I have had 1 child, and severe cramping with my periods. She said it would hurt for a little bit. It did kind of feel like labor...when they open the cervix is when it hurts, feels like very very bad cramps. But I didn't go bck to work (I never do even after gyno appts, cuz I'm a wuss), was fine the next day.

I'm also looking into getting an IUD as my bc method. I had posted a different thread of my own earlier today, and was told that there have been some recent other threads that I should look for. I had to actually search "Mirena" to find the threads rather than "IUD" but I'm glad I did. Lots of informative posts! And everything I'm reading is making the IUD sound better and better (other than the severe cramping upon insertion).