Experiences with Mirena IUD?

[Anonymous]

I'd love to hear from people who have had experiences with Mirena, as it is something I am considering. Would love to hear positive and/or negative experiences... specifically, I'd like to know:

1) Did it hurt when you had it put in?
2) Did you feel it had an effect on your hormones/emotions? (I have had bad reactions to the pill in the past, where I felt it turned me into a crying/emotional wreck)
3) Any other side effects?
4) Did you experience heavy bleeding for your periods?

Anything else you'd like to share...

[Anonymous]

I've had mine for abotu 3 months.

The insertion was uncomfortable but not painful. The cramps after were terrible, for about 2 days. My periods are beginning to get light, but I had near constant spotting, sometimes heavy, for 2 months. Random annoying cramps, too. It all seems to be improving now.

Haven't noticed any mood effects, and I too had a bad reaction to the pill.

[Anonymous]

Negligible pain when it was put in. Took just a few minutes. Spotting for a few days. And nothing thereafter. Periods infrequent and lighter. Love it.

[Anonymous]

I tried Mirena, hoping to love it, but ended up having it taken out after a year. I spotted the whole darn year! I'd have a day or two break once it a and thought that it would eventually stop. After a year though, I wasn't willing to wait around anymore. It wasn't all that bad getting it put in but I have a fairly high pain threshold and I didn't even feel it when I had it taken out. As far as other side effects...I didn't really have any. I felt better emotionally on it then I did on the pill though. If it wasn't for the constant spotting, I would have loved it!

[Anonymous]

Lots of previous posts on this, positive and negative, if you search the archives.

[Anonymous]

One of my good friends loved it for the first 5 years. But she said that having the new one put in was very, very painful. Just so you know that if you don't have it done a few weeks after baby is born it can be "ouchy".

[Anonymous]

I had mine put in at my post-birth check up -- can't remember if it was six or nine weeks. Putting it in was easy. No pain. Having it in was great. Light periods and no emotional/hormonal effects. But I never had them on the pill either, so maybe I'm not terribly sensitive.

[Anonymous]

Instead of the Mirena, I just had the Paragard IUD put in yesterday. No hormones (it's made of copper), it lasts 10 years, and is evidently cheaper than the Paragard (which may be a consideration if your insurance doesn't cover IUDs---many don't). It is effective immediately (unlike the Mirena which takes a little while for the hormones to reach desired levels) and you can get pregnant immediately after it is removed since there aren't any hormones involved. Wasn't too uncomfortable inserting it and I was able to run 14 miles the day after (today). Took 800mg of Motrin prior to insertion. Haven't really had any significant cramping yesterday or today. Only drawback to the Paragard is that it can mean heavier/longer periods for some women. Mine have always been very light so it's a chance I'm willing to take. Very happy not to have something hormone-based because I never did very well with bc pills or the Nuva ring. Best of luck with your decision---I was nervous as I considered the IUD but so far so good. My GYN said that women who have had children tend to do much better with IUD than those who haven't. Doesn't matter if you had vaginal delivery or c-section---uterus just needs to have a proven track record of "accommodating" something foreign inside of it.

[Anonymous]

I second the recommendation for the paraguard. Had mine 5 yrs, just took it out to get pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Loved, loved, loved my Mirena.

1) Did it hurt when you had it put in? yes, but my ob gyn told me to take ibuprofen an hour before my appointment, so it was no biggie

2) Did you feel it had an effect on your hormones/emotions? (I have had bad reactions to the pill in the past, where I felt it turned me into a crying/emotional wreck) No

3) Any other side effects? My periods basically stopped - yahoo!

4) Did you experience heavy bleeding for your periods? See Q. 3

[Anonymous]

I had a Mirena for two years, and had it removed and replaced with the Paragard.

1) Did it hurt when you had it put in? Yes, but I had just given birth. When I had the paragard put in, I took the Ibuprofen before the appointment, and had very little pain at all.

2) Did you feel it had an effect on your hormones/emotions? Yes, I feel like it made me into a mean b*tch with a short fuse. After I replaced the Mirena, my moods improved considerably.

3) Any other side effects? I had almost no period with the Mirena

4) Did you experience heavy bleeding for your periods? With the paragard, my first two periods were very heavy and crampy, but now they have normalized.

IMO doctors are really pushing the Mirena, but the Paragard is a better alternative.