Birth Control - Albany, OR

I had the Mirena and have since switched to the copper traditional one. On the Mirena I gain about 25 pounds for the 4 years I had it in, since having it out and the new one in I have lost like almost 8 pounds in 5 months which doesn't seem like a lot but I haven't been doing anything extra to facilate the weight loss it just is going. I also had some side effects that felt like pre-menapause (hot flashes, night sweats that type of thing) and those have since quit also. Good Luck

I had Mirena for 2 1/2 years, and just had it removed a month ago. I didn't have problems with bloating or weight gain at all. I was, however, one of the small percentage with bleeding problems rather than it being helpful. My periods were basically 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. They were very light, just very long. Other than day one (maybe two), I would just need one panty-liner all day. I finally switched because it was interfering too much with my already limited intimancy with my husband. Other than that, I loved not having to think about taking a pill every night (like I'm back to now - oh well.) I would give it a try and see how it goes for you for three months or so. Most women experience very light periods, sometimes going away completely. Good luck!

I had the mirena for a year. Recently had it out because I was having some issues and i wanted to make sure it wasn't the mirena. Well it's been 2 months, and turns out it wasn't the mirena. I wish I would have left it in. For the first 6-8 weeks I had a lot of spotting, but after that my periods went away. But I didn't gain any weight, or have any other bad side effects. My only complaint with it was that it has hormones, and I don't like putting hormones in my body if I don't have to. Anyway, I would stick with it for awhile. I really liked mine.

I have had the IUD in place for just about a year. The side effect that I have is I can feel when I ovulate which I never could before and it leads to a good day or two of pretty annoying pain on whatever side ovulates. At first I was worried it hurt so bad the first few times that I went in for an ultrasound just to make sure everything was o.k. and it was. The pain isn't too bad anymore. My hubby doesn't like the string but that is pretty common I think...he deals with it though. And on the occasion I do get bugged after sex with it in. But I was having allergic reactions to the pill and didn't like the risk factor of getting pregnant with the other options and we don't want anymore so I will take these few problems over getting pregnant again. On the plus note I haven't had a period at all since insertion! Which I love! I also haven't gained any weight but also haven't lost which I have been try to (but not trying very hard so most likely the reason) and I don't get bloated except a for like a day around ovulation.

Once the spotting stopped, it was great. I never gained weight or was bloated. I didn't really have periods. I loved having it, I will get it again after we decide on the next baby issue.

Hi K.,

I was really hesitent to go with the Mirena but decided to do it anyway. Turns out, I haven't had any issues at all. Had some spotting off and on for the first couple fo weeks but havent' had a period since. I think its been 2-3 months now. In the past I had issues with the pill because the hormones made me depressed and zero libido. But my doc said the homorne level is so minimal that I would probably not even notice it. and she was right! YEAH! You made the right choice, I'm sure of it :)

Hi there
I have had mine in for almost a year. I had it placed six weeks after delivery of my daughter. The first two months I was second guessing the decision because I had a lot of bleeding, but then didn't have any for a couple of months and now get a regular five to six day period. I do love the convenience and it hasn't seemed to have impacted weight loss. I have lost 25 pounds over the year. I would just be patient with it for the first three months to see how your body handles it. I am so glad I didn't get it out right away. I do get a lot of bloating, but always did without birthcontrol so not sure if it is the merena or not. Good luck!

I haven't gained weight or been bloated with mirena. I had it for two years between my kids and have it again now. I love that I don't have periods with it, ever!

K. ~

I had Mirena put in back in late Feb or early March (time is flying by to fast to remember). I had issues with my period; I had it for about 2 solid months. It sucked. I am not to the point where I am only getting it once a month which is a very nice improvement. I guess I have gained about 5-10 pounds but nothing serious and I do not feel bloated (except when on my period). I had to have my dr trim the stings once because they were way too long; but that is the only problem I have had with it. Hope it helps....

A.

I had the IUD for just barely over a year and had it taken out. I don't believe that I gained any weight from it. The reason why I had it taken out was because - I got to the point in a 3-4 month period I would bleed like everyother week. Or go like two weeks without bleeding then have intercourse and bleed again. So, I decided to have it taken out and now I am using the Nuva-Ring. I used it before, so I am happy with it. Also, I have a lot of friends, in fact most of my friends have the IUD and love it and have no problems with it - that's why I tried it. It just didn't work for me and my body. I hope that it works for you. Just pay attention to your body and it's responses. You will know if you made the right decision.

I actually am about a year overdue getting it out and have had no side effects.

My experience is similar to most on here. I've had Mirena for about 6 months (got it 3m after my baby was born) and have had no issues with weight gain, bloating or mood swings. Aside from 2 heavy periods at the begining and some spotting I haven't even noticed it. My periods now are very short and very light with no cramps at all. I'm very happy with it and am glad I decided to go this route rather than a pill or shots. Someone posted about having it removed a couple of days after getting it and I have a hunch she did not listen to her doctor. Mine warned me I would have some bleeding for 6 weeks or so and would have cramping for several days after having it inserted.

I tired this iud and had it removed several days later cause it hurt all the time and I had more bleeding with it then without it. I am doing the depo shot which tends to cause a little bit of weight gain. I love it because I was a heavy bleeder and since using the depo I have had no period at all. Hope this helps a little. Good luck!

Hi K., I had mirena 2 1/2 months ago. I was 6 weeks postpartum then, as you say I am not gain any weight, having funny feelings or having mood swings. The only side effect was light bleeding for about 2 months and now it has changed to spotting. I don't know if got my period or not, that is the only confusion. I was not happy with this bleeding till 2 weeks ago but now I am getting used to it. If your is not heavy and if you feel you are becoming anemic its ok or you can ask you can remove it anytime. I have read about so many contraception pills and lots, but of all this was the best choice. It seems it is normal to have light bleeding or spotting for 3-6 months after placement. So I hope everything would go well for you. Good luck.

K.-

I've had my Mirena IUD for about a year and a half now. My periods had always been regular like clockwork and all the Mirena has done so far is to make them lighter and almost no cramping :) I have been struggling with a little more weight gain, but not enough to make me worry or think about removing it.

There are always pros and cons to any kind of birth control, and plenty of opinions on both sides of the story. Stick with it as long as you are comfortable and judge it for yourself.

My best to you!
-B. M.-

Hi K., I have the mirena IUD. I also have PCOS. Let me tell you the side affects of PCOS is worse than any side affects of the IUD. I don't notice any side affects other than a few "spotting" "periods" and that is very far and few between. I don't know that this was any help at all, but just thought I would share.

25 year old sahm to a beautiful 2 year old boy, who we didn't think we could have because of the pcos. A.

I love mine, it's great! I had it put in AFTER my periods came back and had some spotting for a month or two, but since then, my periods are almost nothing. I do feel myself ovulate as someone else mention, which I never did before...it's odd since I NEVER had any kind of cramping in my life, but it's not bad at all...just a little reminder for about 2 days/month and only one day or so of feeling kind of bloated. I have not gained ANY weight on it at all (I am not a large person by any means, but my weight has not changed). I have had it in for 2 1/2 years now and not planning on getting rid of it any time soon. I have only one friend who had it that had complications, but that was a very rare situation. Give it some time, get used to the way it feels. It takes a little bit for your body to kind of get in sync with it. After a few months it should normalize. Listen to your body and if you aren't sure about something, just go in and get it checked out to make sure it's okay. I love mine and would recommend one to anyone considering one despite the problem my friend had with hers.

well K. i wanted you to know i've have had mine in for a little less than two years now and i love it, i haven't had any side effects and i also haven't had my period since before i had my baby... so i think you'll like it just fine, and i hope the best to you... hope this puts you at a little more ease.

K.,

I got my IUD in on Sept. 2005 and at first I didn't like it because I had really bad cramps for like 4 or 5 days after having it put in and no one told me that it hurt so much to put in. Oh well. I also used to have really heavy periods and now I barely have one at all so that is a plus(a big plus for me)!! I have gained a little weight but with eating right and exercizing you should be fine. I have not had any other adverse reactions with the IUD.

Hi K.-

I have had the Mirena IUD for 5 years now. I just had my first one removed and my second one put in place. I love it. I have not had any negative side affects. I do not have any periods at all, and my husband says my mood swings have disappeared! I, too, had very long periods with a lot of bleeding. This has taken care of everything! I hope you will be as happy with your decision as I am with mine.

Good Luck!
Annemarie

When my friend got the mirena she started having seizures. She had 3 seizures, 3 months in a row, right before her cycle would start. she was a 21 year old healthy woman before the mirena. After the 3 months, it seemed her body got used to it, because the seizures stopped. but it was pretty serious. My husband and I tried to convince her and her husband to have it removed but they wanted to stick with it. good luck.

K.,

It took 2 or 3 months for my periods to adjust with Mirena. The first couple months I had 2 periods that were heavy--and then they went away almost completely. I have one day a month where I have a little bit of spotting. I haven't used any type of period related product in 3 years! It's been great.

The adjustment was hard at first, but it is sooooo worth it. I also actually have had problems gaining weight since my IUD. I would really like to be about 5-10 lbs. heavier, but to no avail. I'm not sure if it's the IUD, but I never had problems being at my ideal weight before.

I have had it in for about 10 months now have not gained any weight. I do have some bleeding but it is to a min. I had it put in for mu really bad pms and it is working.

Hi K.,

I've had mine in for almost a year now (can it be that long?). I haven't experienced any side effects. I was a little more bitchy, and slightly nauseous the first week or so when the most amount of hormones are dispersed, but it went away. It's hard to tell if I'm a little more on the cranky sometimes due to the IUD, lack of sleep, or my own hormones. It's not any worse than when I was on my period though. And I can definitely say that I haven't gained any weight (in fact, I keep losing weight as I am still nursing). No bloated stuff. So I haven't experienced any lasting side effects. Pretty good BC! :)

Hello,my iud was to slow down bleeding.I have pcos.My iud came out of place or the dr. placed it wrong? Just remember that everything has side effects.I feel this is safer.I never got pregnant with mine but thought is was a good thing.I didn't have to take pills but with pcos it was doubtfull in the DR's mind I would get prego even with out the iud.I would look at all the options and there side effects then make your mind up.there should be a chart and the dr.'s of office of you choice and side effects,etc.I had no major side effects.Didn't change my pcos and heavy bleeding.I hope you are on a medication for pcos such as Metformin.I am.Pcos and diabetics run hand in hand.So, keep an eye on that.The metformin helps both.Good luck!

I haven't noticed anything and I've had mine for over a year.

I've had Mirena for about 15 months. I got it about 9 months after my second was born because my periods were really heavy. Only side effects I've noticed have been spotting the first few months and excess discharge (especially when I'm ovulating). I have a lot of friends who have it and none that I know of have gained any weight. Most are fairly active people so that may explain that. I've never felt bloated because of it either. I'm a runner and love that I never have to worry about what day my races fall on because of my period. I hope you like it.

I have had the Mirena IUD since September and had it placed when my daughter was 6 weeks old. Initially, I bled for about 2 weeks. I didn't have any cramping. Then, since I was breastfeeding, I didn't have another period until I stopped breastfeeding. Since then I've been a little irregular, but no bloating. I usually have terrible side effects from oral contraceptives, and I haven't had any of that with the IUD. The only side effects I've had are the irregular periods, but that's supposed to get better over time. I've lost all my baby weight no problem, losing 46 pounds in the last 11 months. I feel really good, and haven't had any emotional swings or breast tenderness which are all things I had on the pill. So overall I would recommend it, although it is pretty painful to have it placed, but fortunately it's quick!

Hi, K.. I have had the Mirena IUD in for just under a year now and have had little to no side effects. I bled a lot for the first 2-3 weeks which made me question whether to keep it in but that subsided and it's been great since then. My daughter just turned one and is started to wean from nursing so we'll see if that will affect my weight gain. But up to this point, I haven't had much weight gain from the IUD (I had way more from the pill!). Good luck! W.

K., I have had it for a two years, and have actually lost weight, at first it takes some time to get use to and I felt it moving around for a while, but I decided to give it a year, and now I don't even feel it.

I used Mirena after I had my second child. THe MD said I probably wouldn't have any bleeding since I was six weeks post-partum and was breastfeeding. Well, I bled for seven days after the initial insertion and then had my period like clockwork every month after that for the 17 months I had it in. My period was lighter and almost no cramping, but I still had a period. I guess I'm just too regular! I didn't notice significant weight gain, although I didn't loose any weight either! The side effect I had was horrible headaches the day before starting my period. I have never had headaches like that ever before. They only lasted one day, but basically incapacitated me. My MD tried to say it was not the Mirena and was likely caused by progesterone withdrawls and I might have to be on the pill my whole life. I'm not convinced because for the three months I had the mirena out before getting prego with number three I didn't have a single headache. Other then that I had no problems. The only problem I've heard of is people getting prego with it in if the don't have it changed after the recommended five years. Good luck!

I have had the Mirena IUD for almost 3 years now and I cant wait to get it out. This unfortunatley is the only one I can take that will be effective, Ive tried all the other kinds and have issues with them as well, so this all very well could be my body just doenst like b.c. (The patch falls off when having sex and is also recalled, the ring Im too small for, and I got pregnant while on the pill so I dont really trust that method)

With the Mirena IUD I have harsh cramps at period time, Im one of those that still has a period but it now comes any time it wants and for a week or longer. I have not noticed excess bloating or weight gain, and moodiness I dont know if I can contribute that to the b.c. I've always had moodiness with periods, but my periods used to be a lot more scheduled and didnt last as long without the IUD.

Everyone has a different experience with it. I would try it for a few months and see if you have any negative side effects. You might be one of those girls that everything works out fine and its the best method for you. Good luck!

I have had mine for about 6 months now and got it at 8 weeks post partum. I have not noticed any side effects fo far, no weight gain (I have lost all my baby weight in the meanwhile) or other issues so far.
I have had some spotting, but no period yet, however I am still breastfeeding, so I am not sure whether it's due to mirena.
I am very satisfied with it so far, such a relief to not have to take the pill every day.

Just a side note - I have read all the blogs and forums about mirena before I got it, but still decided to go ahead with it. In my experience people are much more likely to post something about a negative experience online. Take everything with a grain of salt.