Mirena / IUD

Hi there, i got the mirena after i had my daughter last year , i bled a little the first month and then slowly stopped, and now i dont have a period, its great and i dont have any side afects from it, i love having the mirena, hope that helps.

I've had the Mirena for about 18 months and I really like it. It was easily placed, with no discomfort at all. I've had no side effects and my periods are all but non existant. I would recommend it.

Well I had the mirena put it after my second daughter and the insertion was painless just some mild cramping. I did not have any bleeding and my periods were very light that I never had to buy tampons or panty liners. My periods would only last about 3 days. It was very comfortable I could not even tell it was in. My husband never felt it during intercourse. I loved mine. I had it removed so we could concieve our third child and 4 months later I was pregnant. I never had the bleeding problem, weight gaine, headaches, hormone issue. It was the best thing ever and I am planning on getting it again after this pregnancy to help with my periods. LOVE IT! Good luck!

i've had my mirena for three years and love it. i too was worried about the side effects. I had spotting for about a month and very minimal cramping for a few days but since then I don't even have a period and don't notice that it's there. I think it's a toss up but it worked out for me. I think it might depend on your past experiences with birth control. good luck!

I have had mine for 4 yrs and I LOVE it! I was extremely nervous about the insertion but it was a piece of cake. Some minimal cramping and spotting after. I still had periods for awhile after, but for the last couple yrs, I just have light spotting. Usually I have to wear a panti-liner for a day or two, and that's it! And that's not every month...maybe every 3 months. No other side effects. I still get headaches for a couple days before I start my period but I have always had those...it's not a result of the Mirena. The best part is the spontaneity for my hubby and me. We have been together for 20 years and this is the best BC ever! It's so nice to not have to mess with a condom (oh he hated those) and I don't have to take a pill every day. And we can rest easy that it's effective. Same effectiveness as getting tubes tied (better than pill's effectiveness). As with any BC, it's not for everyone. but I love it!!!!

The Mirena seemed wonderful, I had it put in about two months after having my first child. No pill to take, no periods, no problem!! But gosh, I was experiencing some weird things - oily skin & hair, terrible acne, weight gain (and an inability to lose with diet & exercise), and horrble mood swings and personality changes. Normally an even-keeled person, I thought I was going crazy & needed to be on medication! My husband suggested it was the Mirena causing my problems, but I assured him that no, it was all still pregnancy hormones/symptoms that hadn't yet left my body. He researched the side effects and had me read through thousands of forum posts dedicated to it, and I realized he was right. I made an appointment the next day to have it removed. I had it in less than a year.

About five-six of my friends had it as well, and all but one had it removed for side effects, mainly oily skin and weight gain. The one that still has it swears it's great, but she had to go on Paxil about nine months after getting it, when she never needed mood-altering drugs before. I don't think it's coincidence, but I'm not going to tell her otherwise if she thinks it's great!

Luckily with insurance it only cost me $20 to have it placed, so it was no big deal to have it removed. I wasn't out much, except the 11 months of my life I wish I had back :( Since so many people here love it, I'd say, if the cost to you isn't much, give it a try, but be very aware of your body and your mood/personality after you have had it a few months, and if you notice changes, have it removed.

3 friends that I know had it and almost instantly lost their sex drive completely, 2 finally got it removed and their sex drive came back, the one that didn't get it removed still has no desire to be intimate with her husband.

I have a close friend who had one inserted about a year-and-a-half ago and she loves it. She had spotting and nasty discharge for many months, but that's gotten better now and she's a fan. My experience was different. I had the mirena for about four months. Insertion and bleeding/discharge that lasted about a week were no big deal for me. However, two weeks later I experienced near passing out and a pounding/racing heartbeat so severe that we called 911 and I took my first ever ambulance ride to the ER. By the time I got there my symptoms had subsided and after being monitored and tested for a couple hours I went home. Many follow-up appointments with my primary doctor, gynecologist, and a cardiologist over the next couple weeks turned up nothing abnormal. I continued to have problems on and off over the next couple months but I thought maybe my body was just adjusting to the mirena and would equalize at some point. Instead the severe episodes returned and I finally decided to get it out five weeks ago. I'm definitely MUCH better and feeling more and more back to normal. From what I've read on-line, it can take some time for the side effects to clear up after removal. An internet search for "palpitations and mirena" turns up loads of anecdotal stories from women who had very similar experiences to mine. I'm not one to believe everything I read on the internet, but with the numbers of women getting this device worldwide, even if 1% have issues that's a lot of people. I hope this info helps you make the decision that's right for you!

Hello M.,
i already gave some answers before for similar questions. i had the whole set of side effectc not even realising i had them untill i got rid of it in 5 months. i developed cyst, mood swings, depression, tired all the time, no energy, turned into a b... and i didn't even realize that mirena did it to me. I felt like i've got myself back after i had it removed. Plus i never felt very comfortable with it, I could feel it almost all the time. My doctor said that every 1 in 5 woman not happy with it ( why didn't he tell me about it before he put it in?) - i think it's too many...
So, after another baby we just did a vasectomy. Hope it helped.

I've had one for about nine months. The only side effect that I've had is shorter/lighter periods. Most of the time, a pantyliner is enough to keep me covered.

I had very very heavy bleeding (like a pad an hour) the first day after it was inserted and cramps from hell but they went away pretty quickly.

I had the Mirena put in about a year and half ago...for the first year I constantly had spotting and bleeding..it was extremely annoying, then as soon as I was ready to have it yanked out, it all stopped...since then its been great...I have 2-3 day periods and thats it. I had some weight gain from it..about 5-10 lbs. I dont' have an headaches and don't notice it at all. Its pretty pricey to put in so make sure its something you're set to have in for awhile (barring any medical/health complications you may or may not have)...but the 5 yrs it can be in is worth it for the free birth control! :)

I had mine inserted Feb 09, I had constant bleeding for 3 weeks, then it got shorter but still had spotting for about a month. I have had to wear a panty liner EVERY day since the bleeding stopped because of increased 'discharge' (similar to the pregnancy level). this part i dislike, but overall, I"m glad I had it inserted. It is a great BC. No other real side effects. good luck with your decision.

Love it. Simplest most effective birth control ever. I did have a little cramping for the first 2-3 days. The insertion was uncomfortable, kinda pinchy. I felt a little like passing out immediately after but I think that was cause I get kinda freaked out by med procedures and had myself all worked up about it. I don't really get periods anymore. Every once in a while I have a little cramping but it is less than I got with periods. And a little spotting. But that's it. It's been fabulous for me!

I've had a copper T IUD since my 6wk check up in August 2001. I am very happy with my results, no hormonal side effects. I've not had any real side effects other than heavier periods after it was first put in. We have to start deciding if we are going to get it replaced next summer (they are good for 10 years) or if it's time for my hubby's vasectomy. We are 95% percent sure we are done growing our family since our kids are 9 and almost 11 (in 14 days). The best parts of the IUD are it's LOW maintenance and if you decide to grow your family once it's removed (the non-hormone kind anyway) you can start trying to get pregnant right away, safely. All in all you have to pick what fits your lifestyle best.

I had mine inserted in April and the only side effect that bothers me is that I'm a bit less interested in sex these days, however, that could also be sleep deprivation from baby number two. Also, every once in a while I feel like a knot in my pelvic area, but its not bothersome and usually isn't noticable after a few hours. The only advice I would really offer is to MAKE CERTAIN that your insurance covers it. I called my insurance company before going to the doctors to make sure both the insertion AND the device were covered because my doc warned me that its about an $800 balance otherwise...and if you aren't sure and its not covered, you'll be liable for the cost. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it...

PS - they say you can check its still in by feeling for the string with clean fingers...I've NEVER been able to feel mine. I think they cut the string too short for my stubby little fingers to reach it LOL Sorry if that is TMI, but its kind of something you might worry about. My doc did a quick ultrasound when I called him with this concern to verify that it was still properly in place.

I have had mine for 4-5 months and love it, did have initial bleeding for a few weeks but since then none. I am breastfeeding and no problems there. I had noooo sex drive on BCP's so this has been a lot better. I would recommend trying it if your insurance covers it.

I had Mirena after my 3rd son was born. Procedure was quick and pretty painless just a bit of a pinch. Otherwise was comfortable to me/not my husband he felt poked. I ended up removing it after about 6 months due to non- stop bleeding and spoting! I guess there was a 3% chance of this side effect. That part was the WORST!!!!!! Hope this helps!

I had one put in 3-1/2 years ago after the birth of my daughter. I had some pain with putting it in, but I was only 6 wks postpartum and had a not nice delivery. After that, I was also breast feeding. I didn't have any bleeding for 2-1/2 years and no other side effects. I had it removed in order to become pregnant again in early June 2009 and didn't have a cycle until late August which was then one of the WORST periods I had ever had. It took until February of this year to get pregnant again, but only 8 mos was decidedly less than the 5 years to conceive my daughter. I had bad cycles before my daughter was born so while on the Mirena, I LOVED it. I would like to have it again after this baby is born in November and hope that my experience is the same. My sister also has the Mirena for a little over 4 years and loves it as well. My mom had an IUD but got an infection from it and had to have it removed (but that was like 25 years ago.) Good luck with your decision.

I got Mirena in February, as it seemed like the perfect birth control. I was really nervous too, but thought "Of course we only hear from the people who had bad experiences. I'm sure it'll be fine." In a way I was right. It was placed quickly and with no pain. I did have some cramps and bleeding, but it was sporadic and light. No headaches at all. What I did start having was anxiety attacks a few weeks after it was placed. I called my doctor and was told that it wasn't likely that it was the IUD and that I should look into "seeing someone." I did some research and found that many women have had issues with anxiety and panic attacks while on Mirena. I decided to have it removed 8 weeks after I got it. The doctor still insisted that my problem couldn't be the IUD after such a short period and gave me resources for my anxiety. I told her that may be true but I just wasn't comfortable keeping it. Within a week after removal my anxiety decreased and I have no problems now. I