The only bonus for me having the coil fitted is that my periods are now for around 3 days a month and are really light. Though I don't trust it so wear pads every day. I used to be on 2 weeks then off 2 weeks and it was really getting me down. I do find that I am a bit more emotional and my boobs get really painful around my period. I am overweight but find that I just don't care about doing anything about it. (though it really gets me down)
Hi Blanchebaker,
Sorry to hear about your back ache- it would be a good idea to go and see a remedial/ sports injury therapist as it may be caused by a groin strain as a result of your recent op.
Good Luck Vivien
The next step...
Hi Everyone,
I have eventually booked in to have my coil removed...I had thought about trying to remove it myself in a moment of rebellion, and the thought of yet further poking and prodding can certainly make you think, 'what the hell'. I have read on other sites that there may be severe side effects after removal of this little fiend (oh goody!) and will keep a thread going on this so that it may help others in a similar situation. I have really given the coil my best shot but cannot cope with this back pain, constant bleeding,itchy skin,weight gain,bloatedness, greasy hair, spots (at 42!) and the sort of complete and utter tiredness where I feel that life is better left to others to enjoy. It seems that it really suits some and really does not suit others, unfortunately I am in the latter category. To others experiencing similar problems, do we really want to keep doing this to our bodies? are all these side effects telling us in no uncertain terms that this treatment is unsuitable for our bodies? I wish there was something to help with the constant anaemia, flooding and heavy periods I and others suffer but for me the coil hasn't worked but I am glad it offers relief for others.
Good Luck to all of you wonderful women.
I'm not going mad....
I had my mirena coil fitted 18 months ago now, after the birth of my son as I needed a very reliable contraception.
Over the last year I have had problems with.
no periods but really painful ovulation
Greasy hair, not normal greasy hair, but shiny and slick after 36 hrs of washing.
zero sex drive. last time I felt like sex was beginning of last summer.
I would say mood swings, but that would imply I was at some point in a good mood, My moods go from irate to screaming banshee.
Really dry itchy flaking scalp.
I've put on 2 stone
and to top it all off yesterday I found I have a beard, not just a couple of hairs about 40 of them and black too.:(. so typed some of my symptoms into google and what popped up.....My Mirena coil...people in the states are going nuts over this coil, some are threatening to sue the manufacturers.
so I think I'll be booking my self in for removal. and get my life back.
hello, just thought that i would write a message as i was searching on the internet about weight gain with the marina coil, i am only 14 years old and a gynolglist inserted a coil because they found that i have endemtriosis and i am suffering from alot of pain and heavy periods. I had the marina coil fitted 2 monthes ago and ever since my symtoms have got alot worse nd ive put on half a stone 🙁 im having the coil removed within the next month, this will be by 4th operation in the last few monthes due to burst ovarian cysts and appendacitus, im hopeing to start feeling alot better soon. Am i meant to be having these problems and my age and puttin on weight, please reply? x Thanks x
It's been nearly 3 months since I had my mirena coil put in and I can honestly say that I wish I had had it put in years ago. I have put on some weight (about half a stone) but I gave up smoking at around the same time and am now trying to lose that. I had a rash/spots across my chest for about 6 weeks but they have now gone. I have had a bit of acne but then I was prone to that anyway. There has been no cramping although I do get bloated but again, have always been prone to that and I don't think the coil has worsened that.
I have had about five days spotting in the last month and it only lasts a couple of hours at a time. I haven't had a period since the post op bleeding finished which has been a real bonus. My sex life has never been better, partly because there is no fear of pregnancy now and partly because I'm not having a period every other week.
I'm really sorry some people are finding the coil unsuitable for them and hope they manage to find a successful alternative.
Edukes,
I am so glad that I have just read your thread. thank you for posting that on here. i am new to this site and just wanted to thank you. I have been miserable about my symptoms for about three months now, but the best of it are your symptoms are exactly the ssame as mine. No more no less, i can't believe it. Not only am I trying to fight the lbs but the contant scratching of my itchy flaky scalp doesn't help my terrible mood swings. i never had these symptoms before having this coil fitted and now I have the confidence to go and have it removed. I feel constantly bloated and basically reading your symptoms were like I had written it myself. Anyway hope you get sorted.thanks. Chrissie
my myrina coil
🙁 I had my myrina coil fitted in June of last year, since Aug of last year i have had the most dreadful back pain which travels to my hip and down my legs. I have been trying to train to run the London Marathon, before I had the coil fitted I could run 10 miles at ease, now today I managed 2 miles in pain and really pushing myself.
I am now in bed in agony and eatting pain killers, over the last week the pain has traveled to my pelvis.
I have been seeing someone twice a week at £35 a time for my back, he is totally baffled and does not know what to do with me.
I have gainened two stone in weight which i could not understand as I am at the gym everyday, ok i have had to change my form of exercise because of my bad back but i still get a good work out, trying to build up my core which should have helped my back. It has not.
I have not had a single period since having the coil fitted.
I decided enough is enough and did a search on google, pelvic pain and back pain, up popped myrina coil, I did not even think my coil could be doing this to me.
I made an appointmaent at my doctors who has aggreed to take my coil out.
So Monday at 11-30 i will be having my myrina coil taken out and I pray that for the first time in months I will be pain free.
Monday cannot come soon enough for me, I am crippled with pain, I am not a whimp I had 3 children no problem,
I will keep you posted.
Not all bad
I have no wish to discount others' experiences. Some of them sound dreadful. However, back in October when I was beating myself up about choosing to have a mirena fitted, I nearly didn't because of the experiences reported here. I had already had two copper coils with some of the associated problems but desperately needed to sort out the periods that were destroying my life. I have never used hormones and like to do things as naturally as possible but enough was enough. So, I took my life in my hands and went for the mirena in spite of what is reported here. I had it fitted in October last year. Yes, it was uncomfortable and yes I had cramps for a good few weeks after, but nothing that I hadn't experienced with previous coils. My bleeding pattern has yet to settle down but for the first few months I bled and spotted fairly continuously with clear periods between times. Last month I had a much lighter period than I have had for years. I get a bit of bloating but then I suffer from IBS. I had acne prior to the coil and this seems to have improved. I have a weight problem anyway but I have not put on weight, perhaps because I am able to do more exercise now that I am not flooding frequently. My husband is still talking to me! Any mood swings only balance the despair that I lived with previously due to unmanageable periods. I would say to folk, keep an open mind. Make it a positive choice rather than a negative one as I am sure that state of mind affects how we deal with things. Go to a family planning clinic rather than a GP. Discuss all the pros and cons and give yourself time to think about it. Extract a promise of removal if you are unhappy with it in any way. My clinic were brilliant about that. Just knowing that you will not have a fight to get it out and not lose the support of the clinic is a real boost on it's own. Give it time to settle in. Finally, good luck and best wishes to all those women out there suffering and trying different things. My thoughts are with you.
Mirena
I am 45 andI had the Mirena coil fitted 2 weeks ago for my heavy, painful periods etc. I do not need it for contraceptive reasons. Anyway although having it fitted was moderately painful, and I had quite bad cramping that evening/night I had no pain the next day or since. I bled for 4 days afterwards but only slightly and since that have had only a few days of mild spotting. My period is due in a week so I can't comment on that at the moment. So far I am pleased with the Mirena and I hope it will help me. I was surprised that there seem to be so many people on here who are experiencing problems. Maybe if I had read them before having it fitted I would have had second thoughts. I really hope that it settles down for all those who are are experiencing problems- I was told it could take 3-6 months for things to really settle down. However if I was experiencing the horrible things that some of you are I would be straight back to have it removed!!!
Hi there Denny. We seem to be 2 of only a few with positive experiences (so far) of the Mirena Coil don't we? I hope it's still going well for you.
Hi vsg1963. I'm pleased to hear that it is working out for you - albeit early days. I have no wish to discount the experiences of other women but felt that it was important to have a balanced representation on a site as good as this one. I have at least 3 other friends with positive experiences and 1 with bad experiences who had it removed. So even if that is a fair representation that would be an 80% success rate if you include my experience with those I know of. The clinic that fitted mine were really supportive and knew of only a handful of women who had asked for the mirena to be removed. So it would seem that those awful side effects do exist but I guess that an awful lot of women only find a site like this after the event when things have gone wrong for them. We need to remember that the dose of the hormone is only equivalent to something like three contraceptive pills a week. Well how many women take the pill without complaint? An IUD is not right for everyone and thank God we have free choice in this country. I am also aware that at my age (48) we often start suffering from a lot of the diverse symptoms listed anyway. For example, I got acne for the first time in my life, 6 months before I had my coil fitted. The whole loss of energy thing is affecting me and a few of my friends. I could go on but it would get boring! Anyway - I hope that things stay good and get better for you.
the penny has dropped
hi
i am a 46yr old woman whom for the last five years have really struggled with my weight, along with other symptons that i was putting down to being over 40 and going through an early menopause. but until i have been reading your views about the merina coil i believe that it is this doing it do my body. i put over a stone in the first year and athough my diet never changed i just put it down to an age thing. i joined a gym and was going 3 times a week and it was taking me months just to lose a couple of pounds. for the last year and a half i have reduced my calories to 1400 on a low fat healthy diet and still exercise 3 times a week and it takes me months to lose a few pound. if i go away for a weekend i can easily put on almost half a stone and could easily take me 6 months and i still wouldnt lose all of it. i have the night sweats, bloated, hair loss and my hair used to be normal but it is greasy. my breast are sometimes in agony for days at a time. then reading different sites about the merina coil these all could be side effects of this. i have booked to get it out on the 2nd march. i am not expecting miracles but could any of you kind ladies tell me once you have it out when can i expect to feel like my old self
I have been reading with interest peoples' experiences of the Mirena Coil as I am now on my 4th one and I think they are fantastic. I initially had one fitted some years ago as a) I suffered with terrible periods and b) had to change pills several times due to announcement of health scares via the media.
I do agree that the insertion and removal are painful, but once every 5 years has been a small price to pay as I was in pain every month anyway with my periods. The first Mirena I had fitted did take time to settle - several months, with some period-like pains and spotting intermittently. However, I was soon pain-free and period free and only need to have it checked annually and changed 5 yearly.
When I think back to my MIrena-free days, I could write off about 10 days each month due to the effects of my periods, whereas now I experience zero problems. As each individual is so different, I guess you cant predict whether things will suit you until you try, but I just wanted to add my positive views to this thread.
PIglet
Hi vsg1963. I'm pleased to hear that it is working out for you - albeit early days. I have no wish to discount the experiences of other women but felt that it was important to have a balanced representation on a site as good as this one. I have at least 3 other friends with positive experiences and 1 with bad experiences who had it removed. So even if that is a fair representation that would be an 80% success rate if you include my experience with those I know of. The clinic that fitted mine were really supportive and knew of only a handful of women who had asked for the mirena to be removed. So it would seem that those awful side effects do exist but I guess that an awful lot of women only find a site like this after the event when things have gone wrong for them. We need to remember that the dose of the hormone is only equivalent to something like three contraceptive pills a week. Well how many women take the pill without complaint? An IUD is not right for everyone and thank God we have free choice in this country. I am also aware that at my age (48) we often start suffering from a lot of the diverse symptoms listed anyway. For example, I got acne for the first time in my life, 6 months before I had my coil fitted. The whole loss of energy thing is affecting me and a few of my friends. I could go on but it would get boring! Anyway - I hope that things stay good and get better for you.
Hi Wolfwoman
Thank you for your message. I was almost beginning to feel I was the only one who had not experienced awful problems with the mirena.
I have now had some bleeding which I assume is my period although it was 11 days or so earlier than expected. It was much lighter than my periods were before having the mirena fitted so that is great as that was my main problem! I have the tender boob syndrome too, but other than that all is well.
I hope things continue well for you. You mentioned lack of energy-how severe is it?