How painful is Mirena insertion?

[Anonymous]

I had my Mirena inserted today and I came on here to see what other people's experiences might be, since mine was so painful. I have read all kinds of crazy things on the internet about Mirena, but I did my homework, and decided Mirena is right for me. However, I had no idea just how painful the insertion would be. Holy crap! I have never had children, and so I can only guess that is the biggest factor. It is day 2 of my period, but I think I should have done it a couple more days in when things are "flowing" more. I cried. I yelled. I told her to stop at one point, but she was almost done. I took extra Advil, but that did nothing. Cramps continued for two hours. Now, they come and go. I really hope this works out. I wish a local anesthetic had been offered--I would have done it for sure!!

[Anonymous]

Oye vey. Make me glad to be on a low hormone birth control pill instead!

[Anonymous]

I had one a few years ago which was smooth, this time around Mirena worked its way out within the first month, I now have to have it redone and I am dreading it. I had much more cramping this time which was probably my body rejecting it.

[Anonymous]

I posted above yesterday 8/23/12 at 18:24.
Just an update in case it is useful or helpful to anyone:

So, after insertion yesterday, I had waves of terrible cramping pain that lasted well into the evening. It would come and go. When it came, it was like the excruciating pain during insertion. Is that like contractions in childbirth? I wouldn't know. All I know is that on a scale from 1-10, my insertion pain was a 10. The waves after were about a 9. Seriously. I would gasp and cry. I did not expect that, and I wish my gyno had prepared me for the potential pain.
Today, I am feeling much better, not much pain-maybe a 6 on the pain scale-- but just really bad period cramps like when I was a teenager. I am exhausted. I hope it continues to get better and better.

[Anonymous]

This is scaring me! I had one put in 5 years ago, and while it pinched and hurt for a couple minutes, afterwards I didn't have any paid at all. I have to go in for a new one next month though. I do get some valium and advil prior to the insertion - maybe that is the difference.

[Anonymous]

I certainly don't don't mean to scare you, but I was just totally unprepared for that pain. As I said before, I have never had a baby, and so I think it is easier for women who have. If I could do it all over again, I would ask for some kind of local anesthesia. I looked online, and it seems many docs have offered this and many women have opted for it, and it helped. If you were fine the first time, I think you will be ok next time too, right? Everyone is different.

[Anonymous]

I've had it inserted now 3 times. I still think it's the best form of contraception. In 2002 it didn't hurt that much. 2nd time around 2007 it did hurt and fainted afterwards so take it easy. 2012 It did hurt again. Take painkillers beforehand and afterwards. I have cramps for a few days, but then I am fine. It's worth the pain.... for 5 years you don't have to worry. The doctor suggested to have it inserted when you have your periods. She said it's less painful... to be honest I didn't notice the difference.

[Anonymous]

Just had it done. It is NOT painful. It feels uncomfortable, like moderate cramping for a minute or so. It did not make me flinch at all, no reason to worry. It was WAY better than I thought it would be, especially seeing people say that it hurt if you've never had kids; that is so bogus. Afterwards, just experiencing "normal" menstrual cramps which I'm sure will last a few days.

[Anonymous]

I had my implanon removed from my arm on friday 9/7/2012, very quick and painless. I decided to get the Mirena instead of the implanon again since It would last 5 years versus only 3 years. It was the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my entire life. I scream when she first had to measure my uterus and then screamed again when she actually inserted the Mirena. I was given 800mg of Ibprofen before the procedure, which didnt help at all. I am glad I had someone there to drive me, I cried the whole way home from the intense cramping. I only bled the day it was inserted and i havent had any bleeding since then. When I got home all I could do was lay in the bathtub with warm/hot water to try to soothe the pains. The pain wouldnt go away. I took a 500mg vicodin and laid down to try to go to sleep but couldnt because then I started to get nauseous. So I started to throw up. Im guessing it was from the vicodin. I hadnt eaten anything since that morning. I couldnt make a bowel movement for about 2 days. I was so scared to go because i didnt want to push the mirena out after i had gone through all of this. I would never ever do this again. It was the worse experience ever. It is now 9/11/2012. I had to pop a pill before I even made it to work because of the sharp pains im still getting in my uterus. I will get the implanon if anything again. If you do get the Mirena you seriously have to drug yourself with pain meds before hand.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if removing it is the same process (and would result in the same pain, discomfort, etc)?

[Anonymous]

Removal didn't hurt at all - just had it taken out a few weeks ago. However, for me, insertion didn't hurt either. Insertion felt a bit like a pap smear - a little uncomfortable and crampy after but no pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had one a few years ago which was smooth, this time around Mirena worked its way out within the first month, I now have to have it redone and I am dreading it. I had much more cramping this time which was probably my body rejecting it.

I am this PP and the reinsertion was completely painfree! No bleeding or cramping afterwards, so I am really happy.

[Anonymous]

I'm the person from a prior posting who had the painful insertion. Look, if it doesn't hurt for you, I think that is great. I don't know why it hurt for me, but I am telling you, it hurt like crazy. I just think it is fair to warn people for the range of possibilities. The most my doctor said was that it might be uncomfortable and there could be cramping. She didn't say it could potentially be excruciating. And it was. I am not wimp about pain, either. No one was more surprised than me.
In any case, after about 5 days, for me, my cramps did calm down. Bleeding stopped, but I have light spotting. Three weeks later, I have the occasional intense cramp that lasts about 3 minutes, and then it is over. I had awful belly bloat until about 2 days ago, and then it vanished. I have not gained any weight, and in fact, I lost a couple pounds. My skin is the same. So far, so good. I had to have the strings trimmed as she left them long, which I know is good, but they were way too long.
I hope this keeps getting better. So far, it has.

[Anonymous]

Having mine put in hurt a bit, but nothing too crazy, and the pain was very short-lived. It felt a lot like a couple of mildly intense labor contractions - I gritted my teeth and wished I had someone's hand to squeeze, but then it was over. I have a tilted uterus which apparently made it more difficult to get the IUD positioned correctly, making the whole thing take a bit longer than usual (still only 5 minutes or so) and hurt a bit more. I also was not on my period at the time. All in all though, it was fine -- ten minutes later I was heading home with some very mild cramps the rest of the day. Prior to having it put in, I had given birth twice.

Given my experience, I can easily imagine how someone might feel almost nothing, or how someone might experience short but very intense pain.

My doctor also left the strings fairly long, but said they could be trimmed at any point if my partner could feel them.

[Anonymous]

Just had my second insertion. Both times I had taken some pain pills prior. No major pain during, no cramping afterward. Once it was in, I was fine.