How painful is the mirena coil?

[KM1986]

I'm needing to make a decision about how to move forward with contraception. My consultant is pushing for the coil. I'm so terrified of anything else causing me pain down there that it puts me off. I've also got a big year this year and Ihave abeen told that it can take 6 months to settle. Don't know if I can take 6 months of pain and bleeding, even though I know this will probably be best long term xx

[Hidden]

Hi KM1986,

My thoughts are everyone is different and therefore can take to having something like the mirena coil fitted in many different ways.

Ive personally not had the coil fitted but i have had the contraception implant fitted a few years ago and i experienced irregular bleeding for about the 1st 6 months with no pain.

to my knowledge the coil has no or very little hormonal side effects to it so it should be fine.

xx

[KM1986]

The implant is what I'm leaning towards at the moment. Little worried about the hormonal side of it but thinking it might be worth a try xx

[lauranash]

I agree with Abenaaa, everyone is different and I can only mention my experience, which may be very different to yours, should you decide to go ahead with it.

I had mine fitted in June 2013. The first fitting attempt didn’t work as my cervix went into spasms and I fell faint (and a lot of pain). The second attempt (they used as much anesthetic as possible) worked fine. I was in pain for the rest of the day (like strong period pain) but managed well with ibuprofen/paracetamol and bed.

I felt nauseous/pain for about a week, but was manageable as I could take it easy at work and rest in the evening.

I bled/spotted constantly till mid August. Stopped bleeding/spotting for about two weeks and on again. We are now in March 2014 and I think I bleed/spot about 75-85% of the time.

As for the pain, it is still there and I can’t see much difference. My gynecologist told me to wait 9 months to 12 months.

Overall, it’s been manageable, but it hasn’t made much difference to my condition. Still, I’ll give it one more year (so two years in total) before I take it out if things remain the same. I will probably take the progestogen only pill Cerazette.

[LovesDarkChocolate]

I had my Mirena fitted under anesthetic & was cramping for a few days. I wasn't having any periods but spotted for a week or 2 & that was it. I had it twice & both times was not that bad.

At the end of the day I say try it, if you don't think it's for you it can easily be removed. I know how you feel about pain as I was in chronic pain for years with endo & pcos. But don't be afraid to try things that may help.

[Impatient]

Th mirena once it is positioned in the correct place and working is not something you can feel. And once working saves a fortune in tampons, towels, toilet paper, pain killers, time off work and gives you back at least a quarter of a year or more to do stuff you wouldn't have been able to consider doing because either you were on a period or unsure - expecting one

any day or in a foul mood with PMT. None of that applies - so it really can be fab little gadget if you can stick with it and give it a chance to start working.

That said it certainly doesn't suit everyone but has much higher success rate regards side effects than say the GnRH drug therapy option.

My periods stopped at 5 months , and about year later I had two periods a month apart and since then nothing not even spotting.

I cannot begin to tell how much of a difference this has made to my quality of life after so many decades of crazy heavy long lasting painful periods.

Mine was inserted during an op with general anaesthetic. By far this is the best option for getting it put in place. If you do opt to hve it done while awake, then

some things to remember.

Ask for it to be done at the local hospital where you can have access to local anaesthetics, including entonox (gas and air).

Do take strong pain killers a hour or so before the procedure so it has kicked in before you commence the task.

Do tell the medics that if it gets too painful they must stop when you tell them to stop.

If you are expecting to have lap op or indeed any op that requires a general anaesthetic, then save the procedure to be done then. It is easier for the doc to insert it and mke sure it is in the right location - by scanning you with ultrasound.

I completely understand your aversion to the pain of these procedures - you are far from alone in that respect. It's the same for a great many of us.

[Jofus89]

My experience was the first 3 months I had constant pain and heavy bleeding but the pain was better then my period pains. I was able to lead a normal life even with the pain. The second 3 months the pain started to become less and less but I bled a lot. After 6 months my bleeding started to fade too. The next 3 years where BLISS!!! No pain or bleeding at all. The last year the pain started to creep back but at a very low level, I was able to carry on loving my job in Greece. Although it started to be every two weeks which was a bit irritating. After my coil I went on cerazet, caused me that much pain they took out my appendix thinking if was that been off sick ever since and that was on May 4th last year x

X

[fedup33]

Hi everyone is different but I've had the coil for about 5 months now and I felt the same as you. I'd heard so many horror stories that i had almost talked myself out of the fitting appointment. Alas it was fitted in seconds with just a tiny nip and although I normally am a fainter I actually felt fine. That night I felt a little cramps but nothing major. It stopped my periods almost immediately and I've only had one or two spotting episodes that only lasted a day. I wish is had the mirena inserted years ago as it has really calmed my endo symptoms right down to the point that I don't need painkillers any more. I swear by it and like I said everyone is different and you will never know unless you try it xx

[Hidden]

Hello - as others have said people and their reactions really vary. I was told that Mirena wouldn't make my acne worse. It has. Some people might not think that's such a big deal but I get nodular acne and it can cause lumps and bumps and misshape my features, sometimes permanently but at best for a few months. The lumps can hurt as well. More worryingly for me, as I struggle very badly with depression, is that Mirena (or rather the hormone it contains) can also worsen depression. Not many GPs seem to know this and Bayer (makers of Mirena) are alleged to have not provided sufficient information about the downside and potential risks of Mirena. Now, apparently, the 2011 edition of the British National Formulary says that "Mirena should only be used 'with caution' in women who are prone to depression. This is because of its capacity for causing mood swings". My GP knew nothing of this and denied that Mirena could exacerbate depression - I'm sure it has for me.

I have read on the internet in many articles that Bayer are apparently being sued by a few hundred women in America. Though please bear in mind how big a country and how many women there are who may have Mirena - it is still a very small number in reality. These women believe, rightly or wrongly, that Mirena has migrated and perforated or damaged them in some way and they allege that Bayer, I repeat allege, did not provide sufficient information to doctors to give enough of a warning to patients of all the risks. This problem is alleged to be more likely, but still a very small percentage, for women with atypical uterine anatomy - e.g. retroverted uterus. Neither my gynae nor my GP raised this risk with me and I have an atypical uterus and should have been warned about this risk and what to look out for. I think everyone should be really.

There are a few other alleged problems that are purely anecdotal and I don't know how much credence to give them. I think it is worth some time looking at these issues though. Other countries are giving more weight to them than the UK - allegedly!

On the pain front things were much easier for the first 3 months. Then I had a 12 day period and the pain was nearly as bad and hasn't gone away since. This is about a fortnight ago now. I'm still going to give Mirena the full 6 months and see what happens.

Good luck.