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Calling all Mirena users- Update?

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mercoledi

mercoledi

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 20, 2006
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Hi, I''m scheduled to get one soon, and I''m pretty comfortable with my choice, but I was wondering how everyone here is doing with theirs. I''ve been through the old IUD threads and found them very informative. I was hoping maybe a few of you could drop by with an update?

I also have a few specific questions that weren''t addressed in the previous thread:
Have you become amennorheic? If so, does that bother you or not?

Thanks!
 
Hi,

I''ve had both a mirena and a paraguard and the mirena made my cycles really light but never went away during the three months I had it in.

Good luck with yours! Most women love having IUDs, but I had side effects so it had to be taken out.
 
Date: 2/12/2008 12:52:35 PM
Author: MC


Hi,


I''ve had both a mirena and a paraguard and the mirena made my cycles really light but never went away during the three months I had it in.


Good luck with yours! Most women love having IUDs, but I had side effects so it had to be taken out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply! May I ask what your bad side effects were?
 
I had terrible headaches (which I normally do not have problems with) and my hair thinned out a bit (it''s come back now that I''m off it!). The dr. said that these health issues weren''t caused by the Mirena, but I remember doing google searches and finding similar complaints about it.

It''s worth trying though as every woman has a prefered b/c method and you just need to find yours.

But, the paraguard was HORRIBLE and I mean absolutely! My cycles were so heavy I could not leave the house for one or two days a month! It lasted twice as long and was just miserable.

After both of those, my husband agreed to get a vasectomy!
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I''ve had my Mirena for just over a year now. Since I was having strange cycles anyway because of the PCOS, (my ovulating is screwed up) the ob/gyn told me beforehand that I may not have cycles at all right from the beginning. And I haven''t. I''m not bothered by it at all. I did read some online information about people having side effects like breakthrough spotting, hair problems and stomach pain. It''s been great for me. No period, no spotting, no pain- just check the strings the first of every month and that''s it. My doctor told me that some women do kind of panic that they cycles stop; that it doesn''t seem right to them to not have it.

I had to get the full screening of STD''s (standard even if you are in a monogamous relationship) pregnancy test, any abnormalities and then had to be put on Progesterone so I could have a period to rule out pregnancy one more time. I had mild cramps for a couple of hours and then nothing since.
 
I''ve had mine for 2 years, 9 months. I cramped really badly for the first 3-5 days and haven''t really had a period since. Maybe a bit of a light cycle for a couple of hours. No side effects here. When this one is over I''m planning to get another.
 
sigh..... I really want to give the Mirena a try. But I am so worried that it will cause me the same problems that oral BC pills did, namely terrible skin and hair loss. I''ve done some reasearch on the net, and it seems people experience these side effects w/ Mirena as well. And since I seem to be sensitive to the hormones, I figure Mirena will probably do the same. Don''t want to do Paragaurd for fear of the crazy bleeding, as MC mentioned. But that pretty much leaves me w/ nothing better than um, barrier contraception which STRESSES me out! blah..
 
I''ve had the paragard for two years now and have had no problems. I don''t tolerate hormonal bc at all and this turned out to be a great option for me.
 
Thanks for all the replies! It''s good to hear both that people are satisfied and that some of the wierder side effects (hair loss? Really? That sucks) that are spashed all over the web are also possible.

So Nytemist, you get no periods, but SDL and Addy, you get *something*, just not a true period?

My concern is if you''re not menstruating at all, how do you know you aren''t pregnant so thank you Nytemist for the info on the other testing they did on you. I think that if I at least spot every month, that''ll be enough for me to know everything is ok. I haven''t had any kids, so I''m at a higher risk for expulsion and that has me a tad nervous too.

Were any or all of you able to go back to work the same day?

Thanks ladies!!
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Normally, women who do have monthly cycles just get lighter with Mirena. In six months to a year, a lot of women stop completely. By the conversations that I''ve had with my doctor, mine stopped right away since I already had wacky cycles.

Women with PCOS have a very hard time getting pregnant since there is no consistant ovulation. I also had other testing done over a period of about 5 months back in the fall of 2006 and it didn''t seem I had ovulated at all. OB/GYN said that combined with the IUD, I don''t have to worry about it. I do have a few pregnancy tests at home just in case I feel weird. Plus I was told that if, a real big if, I ever conceive, I would probably have a lot of pain from implantation.
 
Date: 2/13/2008 9:26:47 AM
Author: mercoledi


Were any or all of you able to go back to work the same day?

Thanks ladies!!
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Click to expand...
The procedure is uncomfortable, but after you may just have light cramping and should be able to go back to work the same day unless you''re really sensitive to cramps. Be sure to take ibeprophen before going into the dr.

As far as hair loss, mine is very thick and hair dressers have complained before. I got my hair cut during the third month of having the mirena and the hair dresser didn''t comment and seemed to have an easier time cutting my hair. That was when I realized it wasn''t my imagination.
 
I had mine done at the end of the day too, but it was a Friday and I remember I went to a party that night and felt fine. If I recall correctly, I had cramps later on that night (after the advil I took when I went in wore off). I would take double doses of advil for a full day.

I was fine by the next day. Worked out, did everything as usual.
 
I''ve had mine for 2 1/2 years. My periods stopped completely within a couple of months, and I don''t have any breakthrough bleeding or spotting. I do get cramps occassionally, but that''s nothing some Advil won''t take care of. I haven''t had any side effects, at all.
 
I''ve had mine for going on two months now. I did have bad cramping the day of insertion lasting for a few days after. My cramping is more in my lower back so I was pretty uncomfortable.

I have not stopped spotting since. The amount is irradic. Sometimes I think "hey I''m all done" only to go to the bathroom a few hours later and realize "oops". When I got my "period" this month (my first since Mirena) it was lighter than usual BUT I did have a lot of clots for over a week. I have noticed that my period "symptoms" are a bit more pronounced vs. being on the pill: my breasts are more tender, I retain much more water but these side effects do not really bother me as I know they only last a few days.

I also asked about pregnancy with Mirena and my Dr. told me that it''s almost impossible to have happen. I guess when they say 99.9% accurate, they mean it.
 
I am seriously considering going on Mirena, since I''m coming up on 2 years on Depo and they say you shouldn''t do it for longer than that (*cries*). Mirena seems like a good option since it is so low maintenance, although I''m a little nervous about the whole "perforation" thing, especially since I haven''t had any children.

I have until April to think about it (had my last shot at the beginning of January), but I want to get it figured out so that I know what the best course of action is. I''ve also heard good things about the nuva-ring, but I had such bad experiences with the pill that I''m a bit wary. I''d also be nervous about it staying in place for 3 weeks. Gah--I wish I could just stay on the Depo!
 
I''ve had mine for abouuuut 4 months now and I adore it. I get crampy (normal, not my pre-mirena awful I want to die cramps) and spotty like once a every other month, but I haven''t had a true period (knock on wood) since I got it. I love it. I get migraines and awful, awful cramps when I cycle, so for me it''s a godsend. I love it. I plan on having one for the rest of my life unless I''m trying to get pregnant. Again, I love it.

Hope that helps!
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Better late than never! To answer your question, I don''t get my period but about every 3 months I have "spotting" I guess is a good way to explain it. While I''ve never been pregnant before and I would have no idea if I was I do somehow trust my body to let me know if I was. Occasionally I take a pregnancy test, but mostly I just trust my body to let me know. I didn''t worry much with other forms of BC and the IUD is supposed to be one of the most effective so I just check for the strings and go to my yearly Dr''s appointment to have them check it as well.
 
Forgot to say, no, I was not able to go back to work the same day...or the next day. My Dr said that it was easier to insert while I had my period so it was done then (trying to avoid going into TMI which is very hard with this subject). I always got horrible cramps with my period anyhow. In bed the first two days curled up in a little ball (or slumped over a toilet - I was almost always physical sick when my period started) and the first two days of having an IUD were much the same for me. I seriously considered getting it removed at that time.

After the first 2 or so days I just had light cramping for another 2-3 days where I could get out of bed but still needed over-the-counter pill killers. After that I was fine. I haven't had any cramping since then even when I get a very light period (or spotting as I've decided to call it).

ETA: I've made it sound terrible, really it's been completely worth it for me and I plan to get another when this one runs out.
 
Thanks so much everyone for sharing! I''ve been on OBC for years and years and once I was on the right pill, it minimized my period-related symptoms, so hopefully that trend will continue. I go in tomorrow AM and I guess I''ll decide then if I go home or to work (work it quite a bit closer). It''s also possible that I''m too small and this may be a no-go once everything gets measured. You''ve made me feel better and more informed about the whole thing; what to look forward to and what to look out for.

Thanks, wish me luck!
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Good luck at your appointment tomorrow!!
 
In case anyone''s curious... I went in yesterday and had the whole thing done. My appt was before 9 and I was already back at work before 10. It certainly wasn''t painless, but honestly I expected much worse. The Dr had given me something for the night before to soften things up and I think that probably helped a good bit. I had 800mg IBprofen before hand and didn''t take more until 9pm ish. Crampy and uncomfortable with some bleeding, but not bad and pretty much nothing so far today. I have the luxury of a flexible work environment so I was bale to take it easy. If that wasn''t the case the day off/end of day procedure would probably have been a good call. I''m not so impressed with my Dr, but so far the Mirena''s just fine
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and I don''t miss the am tummy troubles from that d*mn pill!

So far, so good.

Thank you all again for sharing!
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I''m glad it went well for you. Flexible work schedules are the best. I wish I still had one, I''m very jealous.
 
After a while you won''t even think about it. It took me a little while- not because of pain or cramps or anything, but the thought of ''wow, there''s something in there.''

It was funny, a couple of days ago DH asked the same question you did- how do I know if I''m not pregnant? I said well, I rely on the IUD''s effectivness and it''s highly unlikely for me anyway. Last year I think he had a tougher time being comfortbale with not having to use anything anymore.
 
Not to be too TMI here, or asking anyone to be uncomfortable, but can you feel the strings or anything when "penetration" occurs whether it be foreplay or actual intercourse? That is something I have always wanted to know as I decide which form of contraception to go with. I have a lot of queasiness on the pill, and have been on it for years. I am ready for something a little less hard on my stomach and something that doesn''t require the daily pill taking. I was on the pill for 11 years, went off for 3 years, and now back on it. I find myself having a hard time remembering to take it this time around. The info you all posted so far has been so informative.
 
From what my doctor told me is if that happens, the strings are a little too long and they can be trimmed. They should not be able to be felt at all. DH hasn''t said to me that he feels anything.

Not to scare you, or anyone else with one, the other reason the strings could be felt is if the IUD has slipped out of place. That''s rare though.
 
I was worried about that too.
I didn''t mention that the strings are where they are and DH hasn''t noticed/doesn''t care. I figure I''ll keep quiet lest the suggestion produce fantom sensations
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. I will say that the strings are stiff and pokey for the first two days, but after that they were much more soft and flexible. I''m a little manic still so I''ve been checking them almost daily and now they''re all folded up and a little hard to discern unless you know what you''re looing for where.

So far so good! Though I do get little omigodiforgotmypill panic attacks now and then.
 
I had to laugh at the ''panic attack'' moment, mercoledi. My DH had one. The first time we got together after having it placed, he flew out of bed saying ''I forgot the condom!'' I had to remind him that they weren''t needed anymore.
 
Thanks for the can you feel the strings answers!!
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Honestly, its the one thing that has kept me from further investigating the IUD!! I don''t know anyone personally who has ever had one so I had noone to ask before. I appreciate your candidness for my personal question!!
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