Mirena anyone?

Okay, so I'm almost 33 weeks and I'm already thinking about a form of birth control after my baby is born. I am intrested in the Mirena form since we want to wait atleast 3/4 years before we try for another baby, and it can be removed before the original 5 year effectiveness without having to wait to try , unlike other birth control methods. But I wanted to know if anyone else has had this done and what was their experience, what insurance covered them and such. Also, I am planning to breastfeed for atleast the first month, if that effects anything. Any comments appreciated :)

[nalla]

After I had my 4th baby I had the copper IUD put in, the one without the hormone. I loved it. I had a lot of pain while it was being put in and taken out, and cramped a few days after, but after that I was back to normal. Some women have heavier, crampier periods with it.  I don't know if the hormone will affect breastmilk or not. You should check with your doc about that.
All in all I think it's a great form of BC.

[jenstam]

I had Mirena. It was honestly the worst 6 months of my life. I had it taken out. The doctor assured me the side effects I had (horrible acne when I had a clear complexion before, hair loss, extreme mood swings, NO sex drive, bled for 6 months, weight gain, etc...) were NOT due to Mirena, since it was only a local hormone contained mostly in the uterus. I beg to differ! I got it taken out and the same day had the non hormonal Copper T IUD inserted. Within days I was ME again and I loved it! I plan to use that IUD again after I have this baby (I had it taken out to get pregnant). I am 32 weeks. I had no side effects other than a slightly heavier period which was nothing to deal with. Others will probably have a different story though. I have never done well with any kind of hormone. My body goes completely out of whack.

[tonna]

how long will it take me to get my normal periods back after having the iud taken out?

[tonna]

ive had the iud in for 2 1/2 yrs and now my boyfriend and i have decided to try to have a baby i have a appt to have it taken out next week how long will it take me to get my normal periods back? havent had one for 2 yrs . hope i get preg quick

[brentlie]

I had one put in July 5.  7 weeks after I had my DD.  So far I have not bleed for 3 days total since then.  I would probley not gotten it had I known because I had only stopped bleeding for 1 week after giving birth before I had it inserted and started bleeding again.  Other than the bleeding I have been fine with it.  My Dr. assured me before I had it put in this would not happen, now she sais it is normal for this to happen for the first 6-8 weeks.  My insurance paid for all of it since I had met my deductable from the pregancy and birth.

[Isiawen]

please go to http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100001706.html

this gives you all impartial info on mirena, including possible side effects, warnings and precautions. i had mirena for just over a year. soon after insertion i got a severe dry mouth, so much so that my dentist was very worried, my salivary glands just were not making hardly any saliva. now, 3 months after mirena removal they are working fine. After 6 months of mirena i started having migraines (never had one in my life before) and i also experienced numbness all down my left side, from my face down to my toes. i also had some severe pain going from the back of my head, down my neck and into my left arm. i felt like DEATH at one stage and just lay very still all day, to get over it. the numbness came and stayed for a few days every couple of weeks, but it was worse at roughly the time when my period would have been. i have had various tests, head scan, etc - all come back fine except i was low in iron and i had high cholesterol. I have since read that if you have high cholesterol or any condition which may thicken your blood and therefore cause a blood clot, that you should NOT have mirena (or at least, you should be carefully monitored while on it). Anyway, i have to say that the same day that mirena was removed, my numbness went. i was left with a little tingling in my toes which went by the next evening. i have not had anything like that since, and have had no migraines or even mild headaches since mirena was out. I did get acne too, which was annoying but compared to my other symptoms was hardly worth worrying about. however, that too, is gradually clearing up.  i know mirena can work for many women, but for me it was the worst thing i could have done. i would not recommend it to anyone. Also, be aware that it does go into your breast milk, and although the manufacturers say it doesnt cause any harm to the baby,  knowing what it can do to an adult, i would be very worried about my baby getting any of that chemical! If you go to that website, you will be able to read all about it anyway. also, curezone forums has a couple of forums about mirena side effects etc.  whatever you decide, i wish you good luck, good health and happiness:)

[AndiJ78]

Funny, some people will claim to have reactions to something that acts locally. I had it, it is safe to nurse with and is highly effective. I had it removed and got pg the next cycle.

Again, it is NOT a systemic hormone. It does not get into the breastmilk, it does not cause acne, it does not cause half of the things people are attributing to it. In fact most of the things being attributed to it are typical for PP women and predictably run their course as the hormones from pregnancy and delivery level off.

It is not uncommon to find something to blame and then suddenly see a disappearance of symptoms once the perceived cause is taken away (psychosomatic illnesses are an interesting thing). Just as some women swear their babies have reflux and after months of being on a med (usually about the point the baby hits 6 months old coincidentally) the reflux gets much better. In many cases it isn't the introduction or removal of something that helps, but time itself. Every single one of the symptoms lists for Mirena by these anti-mirena websites is a symptom I have experienced after having my 1st and 3rd babies. No Mirena with those.

There is no harm in trying it, if afterall, simply having it removed gives immediate relief, right?

[jenstam]

Andi, you are simply wrong. I had it and it DID cause all of those things in me. I have had five babies now and tried nearly every type of birth control under the sun. This one was a nightmare for me. I had large boils on my face and have had a peaches and cream complexion my whole life and now again since having it removed. I had hair loss, extreme moodiness, sore breasts, sleep problems and bled for 6 months NON STOP. Every woman's body is different. Once I had Mirena removed and the non hormonal copper t iud inserted my symptoms-ALL of them-went away almost overnight. This iud does work well for some. For others, it causes problems. I am one of them.

[jenstam]

PS-I did not get Mirena after having a baby. I got it when my daughter was 4 years old. I had and have always had a very predictable cycle. 28 days to be exact. That ended when I got Mirena and started back up with regular cycles once again after I had it removed and had the copper iud.

[AndiJ78]

But if it is systemic, how did it go away overnight? As anyone can tell you, meds rarely have a half life of a few hours. Let alone hormones like that.

Call me wrong, I'll call you misinformed and we'll never agree. That is fine, we don't have to agree on this. Far too much information is inconsistent with the claims of Mirena causing these horrific things. And again, these things, every single one of these things, can be attributed to hormonal adjustments after having a baby. As you said, every woman is different and your body changes with each passing year and each baby. I have had three full term deliveries and only once have I dealt with PPD.  I have been pg 8 times and each pg was different, no matter when the pregnancy ended.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I am not out to start a fight, you have your opinion and i have mine.

[BabyBlue07]

I love mirena.  I had it for 4 years and have no problem with it.  I just took my out july and want to get pregnant.  there is little problem and i still do not know if mirena cause it.  if you want to have another baby and want to wait, think careful about the mirina. it's conviening, no messy, but still.  anything put inside your body still not good. if you have regular period, just natural planning is better.

[mrsarmywife]

Well I am having my Mirena removed and having my tubes tied.  Mirena is the worst decision I've made.  I had it put in August of this year after my daughter was born. I've had many of the symptoms mentioned above...and I know of 40 more women that have had the same problems and worst.  Several of them, like me, have had to have the IUD removed surgically because it moved and implanted it self somewhere else.  I just had to go through a series of ultrasounds to FIND mine.  Yes Find it.  It's implanted now in my cervix.
I have been put on meds because I've had severe back pains to the point that I can't even walk since i've had the IUD.  I've fallen several times walking from back spasms that now occur.  I have a severe headaches...periods that last for at least 3 weeks..cramping..mood swings.  And all of these sysmptoms ARE LISTED IN THE SIDE EFFECT ARE OF THE IUD INFO PAMPHLET...but are listed at low percentages...wrong..too many people have these same problems.  I saw where it was said that it isn't systemic....anything "foreign" in your body will cause a reaction and being the way this IUD is..you don't know if it is puncturing anything or not (i know now it's surely puncturing me) so it's emmiting that hormone into my SYSTEM...DUH!  For every person that i hear talk about how wonderful this thing is I can show you one that's suffering from it.  And by the way... this isn't from someone who is out of the "preferred person" to use this IUD range either.  I'm a very healthy and active 30 year old.  5'8 a very toned 165 lbs work out 4 times a week (which i've had to stop since having these back pains)  Mom of 3....and african american. I'm in great health..per my doc...the perfect candidate for this IUD...I wanted my tubes tied but since my husband is in the Army we had to relocate right after my 6 weeks after my daughter so we decided the IUD would be better so there we be no restriction or recovery due to the minor surgery.  Trust me its a choice I wish i wouldn't have made.

[Avas Mom]

I was considering mirena too..but i read horrible experiences of heavy bleeding, horrible cramps and the string attached to the iud getting lost! I decided that was too much hassel. My friend had gotten the mirena maybe a month ago and was telling me she was having the worst cramps..and i told her not to get it but she did anyway

[tiredOFit09]

I Do not reccomend the mirena! It is the worse thing EVER!!! I have had so many side affects from it including...gaining 2o pounds, cysts on my ovaries, wich had to be surgicaly removed, endometritis, pid, and i cramp on a daily basis. No period, but i would rather have one then go through all this. I plan on getting it removed in the near future.

[luv_babies]

I have the mirena and am trying to be patient with it. I have had it for 2 months and 8 days and have had extremly irregular bleeding with it. I got it when I was 3 1/2 months PP. I have occasional horrible cramps, but I also have endo. I wouldn't say that it is horrible but I also don't love it yet. My doc told me when I got it to expect this, so I am being patient. This is the best option for DH and I at this point. BCP are not an option since I don't remeber to take them and missing three pills in two weeks resulted in twins for me. Everyone else I know had great experiences with it. Talk with your doc about it, don't let everyone's horrible expereinces (read Andi's post about the side effects) sway you.

[differentnames4thesamething]

I wouldn't recommend the Mirena...My best friend had it and she had recommended it after having a few months...So I got mine after my daughter was born. It has been a constant source of worry ever since, on a few occasions I have suffered severe abdominal pain, to the point I would have gone to the ER if only I had been able to uncurl from the ball of pain I was in, I've had dull achy pain in between these occurrences that I have learned to live with, honestly, the reason I haven't had it taken out is because I'm scared of that too...I was told you had to be on your period to have it removed because its the only time your cervix is open naturally, otherwise the Dr. has to open your cervix manually (very painful) or administer a drug to open your cervix, also painful...I've never had a period with the Mirena, so I'm sure to require one of these unnatural methods of dilation. I'm scared, plain and simple, scared to keep it and scared to take it out. I wish I'd never gotten it, yes, I don't worry about forgetting the pill, but I'd rather worry about another sweet baby with inconvenient timing than fear of the pain.

[crazybeautiful_359]

I've had Mirena since Sept 21st and my bleeding hasn't stopped yet, but i've noticed it is kinda trying to stop (alot of brown discharge) and I do sometimes have bad cramping, but so far I guess it's ok still waiting to see if the bleeding is going to stop. I'm the type who cant have birth control cause it makes me extremely irritable, suicidal thoughts, depression, etc. but I took a chance on having Mirena put in. Ive got to say that was EXTREMELY painful!!! It was so severely painful to me that I pray it works good for me cause I don't want to experience that pain anytime soon and i heard it hurts the same way getting it removed. I had no idea they had a non-hormonal implant but like i said even though i think the non-hormonal would be better, because i am having severe mood swings and depression (not exactly contributing it to mirena but it is hormonal substance and EVERY women is different), i'm terrified of that pain again. I'm currently on antidepressants to help with everything.

[HighLow]

I had an unplanned pregnancy 12 years after my first child. Although never regretting the birth of my second child, I did not want this to happen to me ever again and upon recommendation of my Gynae, had a Mirena inserted in 2003. I must say, I was extremely happy with the results. I was never a PMS sufferer, so now not having periods either was absolute bliss. I couldn’t believe it was so easy and recommended the Mirena to all my female family and friends. When it was time for the 2nd one in early 2008, I had no doubt in my mind that it was the right thing to do. However, 2.5 years down the line, it’s a whole different story. Looking back, I realize my problems started more or less the time when the 2nd one was inserted. At first I thought I had suddenly become a PMS sufferer. 1 Week of the month I would be extremely irritable. Then the 1 week became 2 weeks, and then 3 weeks until eventually by the start of 2010 I was a permanent monster – irritated with everything, anxious about everything, aggressive, generally a very miserable person to be around 24/7. I even had a phone call from my boss one day reprimanding me about being very aggressive in meetings, and there were many horrible e-mails I wanted to send but rather deleted. I had unknowingly developed depression as well. Some times I could sit for hours and just stare at nothing, not wanting to get up or do anything. I did not know what was going on, and not having these side effects with my 1st Mirena, never suspected that it could have something to do with it. We also don’t have a history of depression in the family, so I did not recognize these symptoms as being a sign of depression. I thought my circumstances were the reasons I was so unhappy. We’d moved to a new town end 2007. We started renovations on the new house about middle 2008, I had a son who approaching his last year of high school and there were some difficult decision to be made with regards to further studies, finances were tight etc. I had remarried in 2007, and 1 year down the line (post 2nd Mirena in 2008) my marriage started showing signs of strain, although to date we have just never been able to get to the point of divorce somehow. A steady decline in libido did not make it any easier as well. Beginning 2010 and in a desperate attempt to try and save our marriage, my husband and I had a discussion around the issue of my “changed personality” and we both realized that something was not quite right with me. We decided on a process of elimination, and the 1st step was for me to go to the doctor to have my hormones checked out (I was after all turning 40 soon). After listening to all my symptoms and medical history, the GP made a brief comment that the Mirena tends to make one a little aggressive, but she also suspected that my serotonin levels might be a bit low and decided to prescribe an antidepressant (ad). We experimented with a couple of ad’s before finding one that seemed to work for me (no fuzzy brain etc.) Only once I started using the ad, and once the palpitations and constant butterflies in my stomach disappeared, I realized what an anxious person I had become over the last 2.5 years. She felt that my libido might improve once I felt better about myself. It gave us hope. The sad new is that the only thing that’s improved is the fact that I’m not so anxious all the time. The depression and aggressiveness is just lingering below the point of outburst. My libido has dropped to below zero, to a point where I actually said to my husband that I don’t think I’m attracted to men anymore! Can you imagine what was going through my mind? How could this be? The confusion about what was happening to me! Everything around me was falling apart. My spiritual life was also on a steady downhill as I had so many questions about what was happening in my life, why was everything such a mess! Why, why, why! My husband continues to pray for our relationship and marriage every morning, as he has done since we met, but to no avail. Things are just going downhill all the way, and he’s really a wonderful man. People, especially family and my husband who knew me pre 2nd Mirena in 2008 can’t understand why I have “changed” so much and also put it down to my changed circumstances. However, I’ve been through much worse in my life and have always been an extremely calm, content, patient and soft spoken person, somehow capable of dealing with the blows that life can dish out. Well, to cut a long story short, I was on the internet yesterday after my husband had once again left on his own to go and visit friends. I wasn’t feeling to good on the emotionally front and realized that although the ad’s are keeping me calmer, I missed the person that I used to be before, the one who my husband fell in love with, the one who could deal with life. I was not that person anymore. I had become an unhappy, frustrated recluse. Remembering that my doctor had made the brief comment about the Mirena and aggression, I decided to google that combination. Oh … my … goodness!! I could not believe what I was reading in all the posts all over the internet. Again, long story short, it was a difficult decision to make – periods returning whilst at the same time I’m not sure my marriage will survive (was it worth it?), or no periods and definitely saying goodbye to any chance of married life, ever. I decided I have to do it for me – I have to try and do everything possible to get my old self back. After finding some info on the net, I did a self removal at 11:00 last night. My husband did not come home last night (who would want to), and although communication between us has dropped down to zero as well, I can’t wait to show him what I’ve found. Hope it’s not too late ……