Does anybody NOT like their Mirena?

[JoyNChrist]

I'm about 90% sure I want to go the Mirena route for birth control. I need to make the appointment sometime soon, because DH is eventually going to veto my "never having sex again, never ever" birth control plan.

Of my IRL friends who have it, everyone seems to love their Mirena. Just wondering if anybody has any negative experiences to report before I take the plunge.

(Note that the copper IUD is not an option for me, because my periods were already horribly heavy and painful...I couldn't handle them getting worse.)

[new_mommy25]

I have had mine for 4.5 years and have an appointment next May to get mine removed and have a new one put in. I was told I would have pain/cramps at insertion and to take ibuprofen before hand. For me, the cramps lasted several months. I did some research and found I was not the only person who had that problem. I would get twinges of pain down there. I was this close to getting it removed but did stick it out. The cramps did subside and since then I haven't had any issues. I was able to successfully bf with it in and it did not affect my milk supply. After DD weaned my period came back but it is always very light (like pantiliner light).

[sidmand]

I hated mine for about six months. It was way more than cramping upon insertion and the pain lasted a couple of weeks and then there was spotting and I never knew when there'd be spotting, etc. I thought I was extra moody because of the Mirena (more likely 'cause I'd just had a baby!) but after a few months all of that went away and now it's great. It did take much longer than I expected though. And I was seriously thinking about removing it.

[wendibird22]

I had one put in back in August. I had about 6 weeks of almost constant spotting and was really, really getting annoyed. But, it stopped about 2wks ago. My OB said to expect 3-6 mos of on/off spotting. So if you can get through that first month or two of totally annoying daily spotting, it does get better.

I haven't noticed any other side effects.

[almostmom]

There are a number of posts on this if you search.

I'm one of the lone people who didn't like it, but stuck it out for 4.5 years. It is great birth control, that's for sure, and great not to get a period. But I had slight cramping for years, the majority of the time. And felt bloated from it. And recently I posted about a low sex drive, and people pointed out that if could be because of the Mirena (well, any hormonal birth control). So finally I had it removed about 3 weeks ago, and I do feel a difference in my libido and my bloatedness. That said, I'm not that psyched on using condoms, so will go back to some sort of regular birth control soon, but probably will try the paraguard. I know for most it leads to heavier periods, and I too used to have bad ones, but I don't think that's true for everyone. So I'm going to give it a try.

I think most people really love the Mirena, from what I've read. So I think it's definitely worth a try since it has so many positive perks and lasts for so long. Just wanted to add my experience since you asked!

[ErinMC]

Not to scare you but here is a post from April where I mentioned what happened to me:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=356451&highlight=erinmc

Granted, EVERYONE I know IRL (besides me!) have had great experiences with their Mirena. But there *are* risks. I knew that going in but never really thought about them.

[mariza]

I only lasted about 2 weeks with Mirena so take this for the isolated case that it is. It just hurt. Hurt on insertion, hurt nonstop until I had it removed. It just felt like I was being poked with needles from the inside. I switched to Nuva Ring and have been very happy with it.

[lil_acorn]

the friends that have it mostly love it
I tried it but it did not work for us. I had it in for 1 month and had to have it removed because...um..my husband could feel it. Sorry TMI

[almostmom]

We had that experience too, and they kept cutting it shorter and shorter (which at first made the situation worse!). When I just had it removed, the doc had a pretty hard time finding the strings!

[jjjo1112]

I had mine for about 8 months aftern number 3 and then had it removed. I was actually thinking maybe I had PPD because I was so moody and snappy, super irritable and constantly felt like I was yelling at someone. I contacted my OB to find out about possible PPD and she thought I should get the Mirena out because she had lots of complaints like that. I had it out and within about a month I was back to my super chill, laid-back self. I also had spotting on/off the whole time, never knew when it was coming or how long it would last. Everyone has different experiences though, so you could always try it and then take it out if you don't like it. The insertion wasn't bad at all and taking it out wasn't bad either.

[WolfpackMom]

I havent had it, but I can tell you I am choosing not to get it because I've read too much research on uterine scarring etc as a result of IUDs and since I plan to have kids in the future I don't want to have another thing to worry about. My BFF also got it and while she's OK with it now she said the pain of getting it was shocking (and she is tri-athlete, toughest girl I know) and radiated down to her knees for a few days after insertion. She also had the same problem as others with the sting being too long etc.

[christiedavid3]

We had that experience too, and they kept cutting it shorter and shorter (which at first made the situation worse!). When I just had it removed, the doc had a pretty hard time finding the strings!

We've had this problem since day 1 of the Mirena, and 3 years later we still have the same problem. My doc can't cut the strings any shorter. DS still complains that it hurts him at times.

All of these things may or may not be due to my Mirena, but I think they may be contributors: low sex drive (before getting pg I had a very healthy sex drive), moodiness, difficulty losing weight, and lower back pain.

I've been seriously considering removing the Mirena. I do LOVE not having a period though. Not sure what our next steps are.

[cntrymoon2]

Don't have firsthand experience, but I'll tell you that my 10 month old niece was a case of Mirena failure.

[m4nash]

I had one for about 2 years after my first DC. I was moody, exhausted and had no sex drive. I felt mildly depressed. Within a few weeks of having it removed, I felt so much better. I will never get one again or use any hormonal bc for that matter because of how it affects my libido. I still had my period regularly with mirena, but it was much lighter. My cramps were worse with mirena than without. I was nursing the entire time I had the mirena and it never effected that. I think mirena might have kept my af at bay longer. (AF returned at 10 months instead of 2-3 months with my other ebf babies.)

[SnuggleBuggles]

FWIW, my periods were different after kids. You might find after this 2nd pg that things are dif't and the Paragard would be ok. Also, though I had heavier periods and some cramping, it all went away and things went back to my normal by month 3. I don't think you are doomed to worse periods forever with the copper one and the lack of hormones (and all the possible complications from those), it might be worth it. I personally like getting my pd every month just b/c I know all is humming along just right down there...and that I'm not pg. :)

Beth

[BabyH]

I've had it for almost 6 months and I love it so far. Insertion just felt like a little pinch, but I did cramp for about 2 hours after. But after that, it's been great. I do make sure to check it often, but everything is a-ok. But as with all drugs, it does have side effects. Just talk to your doctor. I went over everything with mine before I settled, and he was very understanding about explaining everything to me. (And you know, make sure you aren't like, the first person he/she is doing the Mirena on...)

[Tondi G]

I know 2 people who were fine with their Mirena after the initial annoying period of spotting (both for around 4 to 6 months) then about 1.5 to 2 years after having the Mirena inserted they started having really bad problems with mood swings and then anxiety etc. They both had their Mirena's removed and the anxiety and mood issues resolved quickly.

[jerseygirl07067]

I'm late responding but I HATED mine. One week after insertion I started to experience crazy amounts of hair loss. My OB thought it was post partum hair loss but the timing was just too close to not link them together. I even saved bags of hair to show him, lol.

I also felt like my body was getting achey a lot and then one day I felt like I had a vertigo attack while sitting at the table. I am a very healthy, active person, so this was strange to me. Not to mention the fact that I could still feel the darn thing pinch me every so often. I guess it was the strings. I am totally not the hypochondriac type either.

Anyhow, I just didn't feel right and got it removed 4 months later. Within 1-2 weeks the hair loss completely stopped and I felt fully back to normal.

What really p*ssed me off was that my OB was initially so gung ho about it when I had it inserted, saying it's the next best thing to having your tubes tied. But when I went to have it removed, he conceded that he removes 1 in 10 of them. That's pretty high IMO.

However, everyone else I know who has it, absolutely loves it!