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Birth control, Does the merina work?

I'm a 23 old mother of two. I just had my second daughter about four months ago. I recieved the Mirena IUD, Does it really work? How do I know if it is out of place? They say to feel for the string and I have but I do not feel anything. Can you please help.
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Avatar universal
Statistically, it is more effective than sterilization, but that isn't to say it never fails. It has been said time and time again, but should be repeated...the only thing that is 100% effective against pregnancy is abstinence. But if you are going to have sex, it is generally a very effective form of birth control.

I just had my Mirena IUD removed and admitted to my doctor I had never checked the strings, she laughed saying it is quite tricky to do, which is why she never suggests it. If you are overly concerned you can either have your partner check or make an appt for a quick checkup with your OB/GYN and have them check for you.

Visit the mirena website for more information, they have an online version of their patient information brochure available.

Andi
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Avatar universal
i got pregnant with this iud... on 17thsept i had a misacarriage caused by the iud
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Avatar universal
Hello!

The Mirena is very effective, as much as 99.9%. It's reported to be as effective, if not more so, then a vasectomy and/or getting your tubes tied.
Generally if a pregnancy does occur, it's because the Mirena was misplaced or fell out. That is fairly rare though, and an appt. a month after your Mirena insertion should confirm the Mirena's placement. After that, it only needs to be checked once a year. You can also easily check for the Mirena yourself. It's easiest felt during your cycle (if you get them, most women's periods will become VERY light on Mirena and by a year of use, 20% of women will have NO periods). All you need to feel for is the wires coming out of your cervix.
I've checked mine enough that I can feel them very easily at any point in my cycle. It may take a "first timer" a few practice tries before being able to feel it easily however.

The side effects from Mirena are usually fairly minimal. As with all birth control, you'll always hear of unusual stories of people having problems with Mirena (causing rare side effects) but typically Mirena has very little side effects. The first 4 months of use you may have sporadic spotting or even increased bleeding/cramping. But after 4-6 mo. of use your cycles generally go to VERY light and just a couple days a month, then eventually none.
Mirena is supposed to cause you not to ovulate, but also thickens the wall of your uterus I beleive to prevent implantation if you do happen to ovulate. (?)

I've been on Mirena a year now and have been very pleased with it. I don't even realize it's there and my periods are starting to go away totally.

Hope this helped!

~Bethany,
Momma to three charming princes
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Avatar universal
I am a mother of two and had a merina coil inserted 6 weeks after my second was born.  That was 2.5 years ago.  I have not had any troubles what so ever.  I have a period about once a year and it generally only lasts for about 2 days and is very scant.  I would highly reccommend the merina.
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Avatar universal
I'm 22 and have 2 children i want to know how much Minera is and how reliable it is
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Avatar universal
hello,this is my second time for having marina, i have 2 children, 6 year gap.my baby is 3.i have my second marina nearly 3 years.i recently had a smear and havent being feeling myself. my hormones seem to be all over the place.i also have my periods for nearly 4 weeks.i was wondering if this is normal or maybe it was knocked out of place while having my smear.any advice?bunnyw
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Avatar universal
Hi,
I had a mirena inserted almost a month ago and at first I felt okay, I had a lot of cramping and flow but I felt okay and then in the last week and a bit I have developed a feeling of unwell.  I have been really bloated and it hurts to take deep breaths.  I have been having some headaches and have been really tired.  I am not sure if this is the result of working full time while also being a single mother to four children and the holidays coming up or if it is a result of something going wrong with the mirena.  I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced anything like this.

Thanks for any advice.
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Avatar universal
iI had marena insert a year agoi been feeling good into a week ago. i have beeng cramping a lot specially went i carry something heavy you think is normal? is it cause off the iud or it?
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Avatar universal
I have also experienced problems with Marena. Mine was out of place and I also became pregnant.  I just got out of the hospital two days ago.  I had an eptopic pregnancy and I also lost a falopian tube that had to be removed along with the pregnancy all because the marina somehow failed to do its job.  I now have a large hole in my belly where I had the surgery.  I think that maybe there should be more research done on this birth control. I know several other women who have had to have it removed because of cramping and odd side effects. I will say that it did completely eliminate my periods. But how good can that be for your body, after all it is a part of nature to have a period. If any one else has had a similar experience as mine please e-mail me and let me know.  I would like to write a letter to someone and complain.  I have lost a child and now my body is deformed because of this birth control.  

***@****
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Avatar universal
Hi, I had a Mirena coil fitted a week ago and my doctor said I'd have cramps for a couple of days. I've still got them a week later and some spotting. Is this normal and how long can I expect the cramps to go on for? It's put me right off sex which was obviously not the point of the whole exercise!
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232077 tn?1218423343
After doing extensive research I decided to get the Mirena IUD in on May 9th of this year. I had never been on Birth Control and sinceI was horrible at taking pills I felt that this would be the best option for me.

A few days after I had it put in I felt what was like the worst flu of my life. I almost went to the emergency room because of it. The doctors did a whole bunch of tests and found nothing wrong and gave me antibiotics just in case. They all insisted it wasn't the Mirena. I did get better in a few days.

A month later I had severe cramps for 3 days. Not all day long but, for about 4-5 hours out of the day. I could barely walk with them. I thought my body was still adjusting to the IUD since they say cramping can occur. I was fine then and felt great for about a month. I went in for an Ultrasound at the end of the month and found out that my IUD had expelled into my cervical canal! That's what all my cramping was about.

Fast forward another month and I found out I had huge ovarian cysts on each of my ovaries. I had to have surgery to have them removed and I lost an ovary. Mirena causes cysts in about 12% of all women who use it.

I decided to have it removed on July 30th. I was irritable, had violent mood swings and headaches the whole time I had it. The side effects such as bleeding and cramping can last up to six months. There is a whole list of side effects that are related to this IUD. However a lot of Dr.'s will dismiss them as not being related. They did that with me yet when I got the IUD removed all my side effects went away.

To those who want to write a letter of complaint or call the number is 1-888-842-2937. I called them to report an adverse event and am in the process of getting all my money refunded for this product.

I'm not trying to scare women away from this. Many of my friends have the Mirena and worship it. All of our bodies are different and will react accordingly. Mine just went haywire for some reason.
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Avatar universal
i'm 27 and had merina coil inserted 2 years ago to slow down endryometriosis.  I have had nothing but trouble since!  As soon as it was inserted i suffered from cramps and abdominal pain which lasted 6 months and have generally faded but do reoccur.  Soon after i had merina inserted i developed cystic acne on my chest and back.  I was told me my doctor that these symtoms would die down after 6 months to a year.  I have been taking 500mg antibiotics (2 a day) for the last 2 years as i still suffer from extreme acne as a result of the merina coil.  In the last 6 months i have now developed tender breasts, mood swings, nil sex drive & brown discharge not to mention constant yeast infections from antibiotics.  I disperately want the coil removed but my doctor has advised against this as they have suggested that my endryometriosis will return - can anyone advise??!!
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Avatar universal
I got the merina in July 2004.  My hear has been falling out ever since.  I too had problems with bad abdominal pain and i was feeling bloated all of the time.  I recently had the iud taken out of me due to excessive hair loss.  I had to cut off all of my hair last month.  I'm 29 years old i have to wear wigs until i my hair grows back or i decide to wear my hear short.  I have bald spots on the top and in the middle of my head.  My advice to other women is that if your're experiencing any type of side effects and they won't go away just get rid of it like i did.  
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Avatar universal
I would suggest you to check out a book called "An A-Z Woman's Guide to Vibrant Health by Lorna Vanderhaeghe. She will give you more logical answers and help then your current doctors will ever give you. She personally suffered from Endryometriosis and was able to get ride of it completely. I found out about the book after my doctor wanted to start me back on the pill because I have Uterine Fibroids. I want to eventually get pregnant and the side effects of the pill are scary so I decided instead to follow the suggestions from the book and my pain is almost gone and my cycle are back to normal. I hope this help.
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Avatar universal
Hey,
Im on this merina thing to and i seem to be having mixed feelings all over the place....i dont get my periods at alll but every so often i get massive pains in my abdomnamon....i went to the the doctors to see if anything was wrong and they said i was fine....so what im thinking that the merina is causing all this stuff going on inside me...emotionally and phyisacally...been feelings nautious.....not feeling to high in spirtis emotions running sky high.....mood swings.....and i get really bacd back pain...but it seems to work for not getting pragnant....so you tell me if i should get this out or do you think it can be something elses? can you give me you opinions? thanks would be greatly appreciated.....~ Mizz Virta
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Avatar universal
I had the marina and actually just got it taken out today because of pains in my stomach, weight gain, mood swings, and head aches. It is different for everyone but if you are haveing any problems take it out...My doctor told me that the side effects I was haveing was not due to the IUD I guess we will see in a week or so how I feel. To the women going to get it done, it does hurt like hell but if it works for you go for it. You will cramp really bad for a day or so then it should start to go away, Make sure you don't have to work or anything because after you get it all you want to do is relax.
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Avatar universal
I had Merina fitted 2 years ago after birth of 3rd child.  Doctor advised due to bad period cramps.  Have put on weight on my tummy - sometimes am so bloated I look 6 months pregnant.  Previous to Merina no trouble with weight.  Tummy often feels uncomfortably bloated.  Have asked to be referred for steralisation but having no periods for past two years and the thought of going back to those pains leaves me undecided - big belly or no pains.
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Avatar universal
How did you find out your pregnant?  At home pregnancy test, blood test? or what?  Also, did you sue them?
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Avatar universal
You should check with your insurance company to see if they cover it. I only had to pay my $20.00 co-pay.
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371827 tn?1216291362
merina IUC is the best birth control ever
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Avatar universal
Im supposed to be having the merina coil fitted as i have got polycyctic ovaries but im not sure how this will help with the pain can anyone help?
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362237 tn?1199808946
Hey your the original whatisthat kool just thought id say that ha k good luck
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Avatar universal
I'm so glad you mentioned the cystic acne.  I've had the merina for about a year and a half and I complained about the terrible, painful cystic acne on my back and shoulders and my doctor dismissed it and said that the merina won't cause cystic acne.  However, I've never had acne of any kind on my body before the merina was inserted.  Other than that I'm very happy with it.  But the cysts are getting worse and worse and I'm almost ready to give up on the merina for that alone.  I got it because I needed to stop, or at least slow down horribly heavy periods.  I don't know what I will do if I have to give up on the merina.
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Avatar universal
I have 2 children and had the minera put in after my last son and DID NOT want anymore children. A year later i became preganant and the doctor siad it either "fell out" or its still in there floating around somewhere! I was in shock and would not reccomend it to anyone!
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