Interesting to read these posts. I am on my 2nd Merena coil and am very pleased on the whole with it. So much better than the copper coil that caused heavy bleeds every week. I did find that towards the end of the 5 years of the merena the bleeds after having none at all or very light spotting over the 5 years that was really painful and also the removal had to 2 attempts on different dates and the new fitted was just as bad which surprised me as my first merna was fine. Is this down to age or the neck of the womb dropping? But a year on everything is ok again. But the doctor did say if I did want to have children as I have none and approching 40 he would want know before I contimplated it and seemed to think I would fertility problems which was hard to hear.
I am sorry for those of you that have problems and have found all the comments here really helpful.
Kind Regards to all.
Purple Cloak
Hi
I came across this site by accident as I was looking for a little bit of info regarding the mirena coil. I have had mine for 2years and its fine however after a year of pretty much no bleeding, I now have a regular period again. Its exactly every 28days and is quite light but I was wondering why it had appeared again. I also have to say that my sex drive is definately reduced but I think its something you have to work on anyway when you've been married for a while and have 4kids. I'm sure many people have symptoms caused by the coil but I would also like to say that I'm sure many of the symptoms are not and it might be wrong to get your coil removed, hoping for a miracle cure. I think most women experience bloating, irritability, lack of sex drive and a whole host of various aches and pains but I believe our diet, environment and perhaps our own state of mind cause much of it. Think long and hard before you get your coil removed. You might be worse off than before and be bitterly dissapointed when you don't wake up the next morning looking like claudia Schiffer and smiling like Doris Day!
Mirena Coil - horror
I had a Mirena Coil fitted on the 14th January 2009 for heavy, irregular and prolonged periods. I am 51. Multiple polyps were removed under GA and this fitted at the same time. I was warned that it may come out due to the size of my womb. I was quite hopeful that this would give me my life back .......
What a disappontment I have just had the worst two months I have ever had. I have suffered low back pain, low abdominal pain that goes down one leg, headaches, continual loss/period - no let up at all, spotty face, tiredness, sore boobs the list is endless and not forgetting depression. A friend asked me how I was yesterday and I just cried! I prayed each day that it would come out but thought I had to give it time to settle down.
I had decided that I would ask my doctor to take it out at my check- up which was yesterday, eight weeks after having it fitted.
My wish came true and it came out with a little DIY no pain just straight out last Sunday five days before my doctors appointment. I was so pleased.....at first. I now have an even heavier period and a very black mood.
I saw my Doctor yesterday who was fantastic, he has given me progesterone tablets to stop the bleeding until I see the specialist again. The next stage is endometrial ablation and I just hope that this works. I just want to feel normal again!
This forum has helped me so much with my symptoms as I thought I was going mad. Not sure I would have readily had it fitted had I discovered this forum beforehand and known the side efffects.
Good Luck to anyone that is thinking about having it fitted - for me it has been horrendous.
Thanks for all the posts that have helped me.
Hi,
I have been having constant problems with bleeding for the last couple of years and discovered I had fybroids earlier this year.
My doctor suggested this coil but I have decided against it.I feel at my age I cant have much more of this to go - hopefully!!!
I have had the acne,the constant tiredness,the lack of energy,the lack of appetite,the mood swings[meditation helps this]the lower back pain, the lower womb pains and bleeding so bad sometimes I have been scared to move! I have had some uncomfortable moments when I have been out!:o
It seems to be having a slight break at the moment but the tiredness drives me mad as I am usually so active. I also have some real bad sugar cravings and my diet,which has been good in the past, is away to pot- hence the acne no doubt!:mad:
I will be attending the clinic later this month for another check as both my sister and mother had to have hysterectomy's and I have had a smear scare so want to be sure I am ok but I know I will not be taking this coil as I feel my body has been through enough with synthetic hormones over the years and I will think of an alternative route after I have had check up. Accupunture seems to be good according to some!?
Anyway's, I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your help on this forum, both for and against this coil as it helped me reach my decision that bit easier.
Love and light.:)
Mirena coil
Please, please think very carefully about a mirena coil fitting. I speak from 5 years of experience !
Its not for everyone, and if anyone has this coil fitted and is experiencing any health problems afterwards, please have it removed.
I know a lot of women applaud the coil, they are the lucky ones, and if it's right for them, great, but there are a lot of women who are suffering with health issues, that are not seemingly connected to the coil.
When I first had the coil fitted, I was over the moon. Absolutely no problems for the first year. After that I had pain,backache and cramps, but still didn't connect it with the coil. It was around this time I suffered with my first bout of Vertigo, which had me laid flat in bed for 5 days. This went on for the next 4 years, and no-one not even the doctors could work out where the vertigo was coming from. Episodes became frequent to the point of once a month, I was missing work, and disrupting family life.
I was eventually hospitalized, where I had numerous tests, including a terrible MIR scan, they thought I had a brain tumor, which worried us all.
They eventually diagnosed Vestibular Migraine, which I had to take a number of tablets for, but still didn't stop it.
My sister-in-law casually asked one day, when did I have the coil fitted, and after doing some research an alarm bell rang.
I spoke to my doctor, who took it out that same day.
That was a year ago, I have not had Vertigo since !!
It's a great revolution in contraception, and I know I was unlucky, but from what I have read, so have a lot of other women, who have experienced health problems that you wouldn't necessary connect with the mirena coil.
Mirena Coil (sorry a bit long)
:012:
I had a Mirena fitted under GA on 12th February. I have polyps and a fibroid which were removed, and went to hospital to have an ablation because there wasnt room for a coil!! So they cut out the polyps, cut away part of my very thick lining and made room!!!
Since then I have had back pain and period pains continuously, and am now on week five of continual bleeding.
I never ever wanted this method, always was told it wasnt an option, the ablation was what would happen, then when I get to hospital (after having numerous scans etc) my 'cavity' is a strange shape so an ablation wont work, but if the coil doesnt work they will reconsider (keeping up?? I cant!!!), I had a spinal anas, plus sedation, so did agree to it, but wasnt really paying attention, who does when they are on the table??!
Never in a million years would I have had a GA to have a coil fitted, I would rather have coped with three days on the loo each month, at least I knew where I was. There does seem to be a pattern to the treatment once gets for these conditions...the pill,, then tranxemic acid,, then the coil,, then ablation,,then hysterectomy. There is a cynical part of me that says that some budget decided I couldnt jump over the coil method....
The other issue is I had real problems with the combined pill, and havent taken that for over 16 years because of migraines, was given the mini pill, but that gave me really evil mood swings, and boobs that were so sore if you looked at them I would get pains, but the mirena was just put in without any consultation or discussion of the suitability, because again I go back to my original point that at my discussion with the Nurse Practitioner (not the consultant, not sure why that was) she said that I wasnt suitable for the coil, so the pros and cons were never discussed.
I cannot cope with the continuous bleeding, the pains are getting me down.
What can I do??? I feel like pulling it out myself!!!!
I am sure if I go to mY GP it will be 'give it time to settle down' but I really am deeply disturbed by it all.
I was also anaemic on 3 iron tabs a day, and at the date of surgery my count was up, however this extra blood loss isnt helping that I am sure.
My other symptoms (does anyone recognise this, I hope I can describe it so you can understand) is that I feel constantly like I have dyspepsia all the time, my tummy always feels bloated, and I feel like I have a well of gas all the time. Also I never really suffered with heartburn or similar before, however now, if I look at any food (nothing particular triggers it off) at a certain time, then I will get acute and extremely painful trapped wind, and my bladder and bowel seem to switch off for a few hours, then once I can pass water or other (TMI sorry) then it will start to subside, but the whole process can take a day to go. Last weekend, I woke with the pain around 1.30 a.m. Sunday morning, and it was Monday before I felt human again.
Could there be any connection?
Thank you for reading, and if you could help I would be really grateful.
Hi again vsg1963. It would be hard to share my energy loss with you as I also suffer from low thyroid. At it's worst, it was like walking through water to do anything in life at all. I also work shifts which buggers up your energy levels completely. When my thyroid levels are okay, I have good days mainly with a few bad days where all I want to do is sleep. As I said earlier, this has not changed with the mirena so I put it down to shift patterns and menopause plus the need for the odd duvet day which is different and enjoyable because I am awake enough to enjoy a good read and a tap on the computer with a bit of music thrown in!! It sounds as though you have an energy problem though and I would always advise anyone to get themselves checked out for underlying health issues by their GP. Let me know how it goes.
My GP tried to convince me to have one of these things fitted, I don't think I will after reading about all of these problems!!! I will stick with the copper one! Extra hormones can't be good for the body.
Thank you to you all, it's great to read peoples experiences and get a balanced view, rather than just the docs hard sell!:)
Hi Reikibear. Why don't you extract a promise of removal if it doesn't suit and give it a go? If you are like me and have never used the contraceptive pill, I can understand your reservations re: hormones which I entirely agree with. This site nearly put me off and having a mirena coil is the best thing I have done in years - I have my life back! Even though my bleeds are still erratic, they are sooooooo much lighter that I don't care! Insertion and removal are no more painful than with a copper coil. Why would the GP push it if he really didn't think you would benefit? They are more expensive and don't last as long as the copper coil. I guess it depends how difficult your periods are and if you are coping then I also understand your reluctance. I'm just wondering why your doctor suggested the mirena in the first place. Good luck, whatever you decide. I love free choice!!
Hiya all,
I had the Mirena Coil Fitting over a month ago fitted in, I went off the depot because after reading about the depot it can take forever to get your fertile system back, and my nurse says the coil fitting was prob the best opinion but like anything I didn't go through with it till I read up about the two different onces and forums I went on before said they never had problem with them. And then having children it would be easier to fit the coil fitting in as I have one son who is 13months old.
I however went for the Mirena fitting as the idea of Copper in your body isn't healthy, and my nurse said it was the best one around.
Since it was fitted I had bad pains that last only a day 3 days after I started bleeding wheather it was a period I do not know as I'm still bleeding now. When the coil was first fitted in my other half couldn't feel it during sex. But last two weeks he could, so I got worried and pop myself to the nurse who fitted it in. She said it didn't go down and there was no problem all at. She said it was because the bits that are hanging out havn't soften, if that is true how long do they take to soften?
But also having sex it really sore during and after it.
Since being on the fitting, I felt really down most days. Even the slight depressed mood and want to cry. Mood swings and aruging with my other half, stomach hurts most days. DOn't know if it all due to the coil fitting.
Many thanks anyway Kanae
Pro Mirena-so far!
I had my Mirena fitted 2 months ago and so far I am very happy with it. I had it fitted for heavy periods. The Mirena has solved this and now my periods are very much lighter but I have to admit longer. I have had no other side effects except sore boobs before my periods. However I also had this before having the Mirena fitted. Having it fitted was almost pain free with no pain relief at all. I have had 3 children though. I was dubious about having it fitted partly because of artificial hormones and also because of having a 'foriegn body' inside me. Also because I was not convinced it would work. However I am glad that I did go ahead and I would say to anyone 'give it a go and see if it works for you!'
Hi, I am now on my third consecutive coil........every 3 years i change mine....I do not have hormoes in mine...but my periods are very heavy..and i am very very exhausted during this time. I refuse to go on pills due to the weight gain factor....overall I am happt with the Mirena coil...its doing its job!
mirena coil
don't worry, i've lost 7st in last 24 mnth, nd got mirena fitted 4 weeks ago, started to gain weight again, but was told by my nurse that in 2-3 month everything should sort itself out, cause for starters i came off the pill (which i used for 9 years), even if you'll gane some weight give it a bit of time, and don't panic. by stressing out you will do more harm to yourself than by gaining few extra pounds 🙂
Hello, I had a Mirena fitted in February, had it removed two weeks ago and now am on week 9 of bleeding............!!! The removal has not helped anything, and I had constant back pain and frequent period pains!!!!
Only my opinion.... I went back to my GP to have it removed, and they wouldnt do it, had to go back to consultant who wasnt overly happy at doing it either.
I felt better (no more back pain) but am washed out due to bleeding and dont have any fight in me to go back and ask for more help.
I also found it affected my moods, and wouldnt ever have had this coil if really given a proper choice.
hmmmm this is not good. 🙁
I had an eblation in May 08, was still heavy bleeding so went back for a scan and found a polyp, in Jan '09 polyp removed mirena fitted. I'm still bleeding, not heavy but consistently. Just when I think it is stopping it starts again.
My doctor said that I can have an injection to 'hopefully' stop it completely but I just keep ignoring it because its 'not that bad' (I used to have painful heavy periods).
I have been feeling a bit 'not myself' but I have just been made redundant so I've been putting it down to that but... wonder if its anything to do with the Mirena. back to your question - my view up to this point has been that it hasn't made any difference
Perhaps I should keep a better eye on it and I'll get back to you on that one!!!
Thanks for sharing, its definately given me 'food for thought'.