Anyone That Has Used an IUD for Birth Control

I have the Mirena....LUV IT!
Will do it again when the time comes.
Side Effects: NO period!
Problems: A little cramping after insertion, but after that, nothing.
I know others have not been so lucky, but every body is different.
HTH!
lb

I got Mirena put in on March 2nd this year -- my friends all love it and gave me glowing recommendations. I, however, have had nothing but problems with it! I have had my period every day SINCE MARCH 2ND (with maybe a 3 or 4 day break)! And I don't mean spotting, but a really heavy period. I also did have cramping, breast tenderness, mood swings, bloating, and weight gain in the abdominal area only, but this is finally lessening. My doctor has now put me on a 3 month try of the pill (I still have the Mirena in), to see if that will kick my system into gear, if not I will have it removed. Be very careful, whatever you choose, and good luck!

Hi, I have mirena and love it, no side effects. I have had mine in for over 2 years and it is the best birth control I have used. mine has never given me any problems or concerns, plus my periods are shorter and lighter. I know you will find the right one for you!

I've had Mirena for about 3-4 years. My periods are about non-existent now. I have no side effects and I don't even know it's there. I go to the OB/GYN once a year and he checks to make sure it's OK, and that's it.

I have never had an IUD. I just wanted to let you know that with ANY birth control, it does not prevent pregnancy, what it does it not let the fertilized egg implant in your uterus. You can still get pregnant. Just thought you should know that before you made any decisions.

I have had mirena for a little over a month and love it so far. I have pretty bad endometriosis so my dr recommends the iud because of that. I have not had a period, not spotted sine the week they put it in and have not had any other issues so far. I have occasional mild pain in my left side, but I have dealt with that for years with both pregnancies
making it worse. I have had 2 ultrasounds since having mirena placed and it is placed perfect. There were also no other issues found.

I have heard good stories and bad, but there have been more good. I also took those concerns to my doctor and asked what their success rate was vs the number of complications.

You have to do what is best for you. For me taking a pill every day was just not working and I stressed all the time about being pregnant, thus the decision for the iud!

I have Mirena and I don't feel it, but my boyfriend says he can. Doesn't stop him though. Occasionally I have pain, but a little repositioning and we're good to go.
My personal downfall - I still have periods and they're really light, but last for like a week. Not your typical period that comes and goes. It's random for me, but mine were always random. Some women don't have periods.
I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Hi K.,

I was the same way that you are. I have two children and after my second my husband and I decided we didn't want anymore children but I wasn't ready to make it permanent so I had the Merena put in. It was WONDERFUL for the first year and a half. I didn't have any issues at all. It was pretty awesome not having a period every month as well. After I had it in for about a year and four months or so I started getting pains and I would start bleeding so much that I couldn't handle it. I was in so much pain that I was down for a couple days. Obviously, this isn't something that is easy to deal with when you have two small children. I went to see my doctor and we did a couple ultrasounds to make sure it was still in place and it was. The only thing that we could come up with was that my uterus was rejecting have the IUD in. He suggested that we just take it out and use a different form of birth control. He said that some women's bodies are just different and do not like having the IUD in. I ended up doing the permanent thing and haven't had any issues yet except for my body adjusting back to having month periods. I would say to listen to everyone that has used it but make sure you make the decision based on you because everyones bodies respond differently.

Good Luck!

I have it and its great i have 6kids and i dont want more but my husband does.You dont no its there and i have not had any side affects my friend is the same way.I would defo recommend it.

Good luck

I have had Mirena for almost the last two years and I love it. Lighter periods, no worry about pregnancy, but not permanent...yet. ;)

I also had the Mirena and really liked it. I didn't have any of the nasty side-effects, although I'm sure you'll hear about people who did! I never noticed it and after a few months my periods were virtually non existant and I was all about that side effect! If you're interested, I think you should try it. No doubt you'll hear from both sides of the line, which will be helpful, but you may never know if you'll suffer from those effects unless you try it. Worst case scenerio you put it in and have to have it taken out. That certainly would not be ideal, but I think it would be worth the try.

i have the 5yr implant and it is a godsent. i had it put in because i was breastfeeding. i havent had and breakthrough bleeding, cramps, or any problems. me and my husband has been "careless" plenty of times over the past 2yrs and no scares. i have even had cervical surgery and they didnt have to remove it. the merena is the best thing in the world. i recommend it to everyone i talk to.

i was reading some of your other responses and there is absolutely no hormones it this device. it is hormone free and that is one of the benifits. the mirena was my only choice when i was breastfeeding because it was hormone free. i havent had any side effects or weight gain from it at all.

I got the 10 year IUD 7 years ago, and I love it! The only thing I could even say bad about it is this: My periods got a bit heavier. I didn't want one with any hormones at all because I really wanted my bc to be as natural as possible, while still being effective (hormones in pills, shots, etc lowered my sex drive considerably ~ not a problem any more!) :o) My doctor told me that if the heavy periods are a problem, to go with another IUD with some hormones (shorten it and make it not as severe), but I just deal with it because the benefits outweigh the heavy periods. I recommend it... although, everyone's body is different, and there's no telling how your body will react to it without trying it... Hope this helps.

i have had paraguard (10 yr)since for almost earyl dec 2007- i haven't had any roblems with it however about everyother cycle seems to be much heavier/lighter. My cramps have increased so i have been using midol for the first 2-3 days (which i haven't since my teen years) but you don't have to remember to take the pill everyday at the same time with little ones running around and there has been recalls on the pathes.

I have lost the last of my baby weight also while on this, and my excersize is chasing my 21 month around, mowing the lawn, cleaning house ect. i have not dieted either :)

hope this helps and feel free to convo me if you have any other questions.

L.

I started using the Mirena IUD in February and love it. It hurt a little when it was inserted, but since then, I don't even know its there. I haven't had any side effects from it at all. I would highly recommend it.

I have had the Mirena IUD for almost 3 years now. I have had zero problems, luckily, though I know there are people who do. It was really the best choice for me, as the insurance I had at the time covered it entirely and I didn't have to worry about getting prescription bc pills (and paying for them!). Good luck! Also, after reading a couple other responses, insertion didn't hurt at all (granted, I was 7 weeks post partum). I had no idea my doctor had put it in until she said, okay, you can get up now!

I would add one more problem... it punctured my uterus, ended up floating in my abdominal cavity and I had to have surgery to get it out (after 3 days of extreme pain). So, I didn't really use it as birth control, and didn't have it long enough to find out about how it affected me. I was concerned about this happening, because I DID want more children, I just wanted to wait a bit (I had two by 23), and when I asked the doctor putting it in, she said "there's a 1/2000 chance of that happening, I've never seen it happen, it will not happen to you." So, anyway, it is rare, but does happen, and maybe it wouldn't have taken so long for them to remove it (because that pain was the worst part) if they had listened to me better...

But, just so you know, I'm pg with number 3 now and nothing seems to have caused problems for me in that department.

K.

I have the Mirena and am about to have it removed. I have recently found out that it is the cause of my weight gain (20 lbs in the past year), facial hair and PMSy type feelings all the time. My ob swears it is not the cause of these problems, but my primary dr explained that the hormones in the Mirena are the same as the hormones in the Depo shot and she sees alot of women who are on Mirena with these same issues. And once they are off of it the symptoms go away. She suggest the Paraguard IUD. It is made of copper so there are no hormones to mess up your cycle. And this one is good for 10 years vs 5 with the Mirena. Might be something to think about. I googled side effects of Mirena and found alot of other people who have had the same problems as I have.

I had the copper (paragard copper) for a lot of years 2 different times. monthly cramps were slightly worse but not bad enough to worry with. I cannot use anything with hormones and could not use diaphragm or condoms d/t latex allergies. so this was the only options and it worked really well. I have 5 kids and used the IUD after 2nd and 3rd, didn't get it placed soon enough after 4th and got #5 14 months later. needless to say I did do the permanent after the 5th. My arthritis was completely gone during that time, nice little side effect! good luck

I tried one a few years ago and I dont know if they just needed to make different sizes or what, I am 5ft 2 in., but I could feel it inside and there were times it really hurt so I ended up having it removed after a couple of weeks.

I had the mirena for 5 months and it was horrible for me! I was having panic attacks, yelling fits, cramps, bleeding, I felt like a raging lunatic!! I am very sensitive to foreign things in my body and I guess it didn't work well with my system but I did not like it all. I do have a couple of friends that have it and they love it but it just didn't work for me! If you get it, be sure to take 800mg of motrin before the procedure because it does hurt! Hope that helps and good luck!!

I have used Mirena for about a year and a half now. I really like it! I haven't had a period for several months now. Now for the down side, it can cause cysts to develop on your ovaries, which can cause pain. I also have had pain with intercourse, which I think may be due to the cyst. Though, the pain with intercourse doesn't occur every time. It hasn't occurred for a long time now. I am absolutely horrible about taking pills of any kind (I just can't seem to get into a routine where I can remember to take them!), and this is a great alternative. I have also heard of a couple of instances where women have gained weight, I haven't. And it hasn't messed around with my mood like the pill did... but I think the Mirena, just like any other birth control method, works differently for every woman.

I have the mirena, insertion hurt like a long contraction, but other than that its been great

Hi K. I have a couple of sides to it but I first want to say you will never know how your body is going to react until you get it worst case senerio you can get it taken out. Both my friend and I had it put in around Nov. Dec. of this last year. I have had periods which I haven't for a very long time since I was on the depo but they are so light that I don't even need a light pad I do have the cramping though like a period my friend has a full period of like 7 days still she was obviously hoping for no period. I do experience the mood swings that someone else mentioned I can tell you excatley when I am menstrating even without the bleeding because of these. And no one ever talks about this part of it the incertion of the IUD if you have a low pain tolerence or don't like pain at all you need to prepared and make sure you have a ride home and plan nothing for the rest of the day I hurt very bad almost like you are in labor and my contractions(which they were) lasted a few hours. My friend on the other hand said it hurt but she thought they were tolerable. I like the fact that I dont have to remember the pill so it is for me and the depo shot I felt was causing my weight gain which I have not lost any since being on the IUD but haven't gained anymore either. If you have any other questions please feel free to right me back. Good Luck on your decision.

Hi.

As far as the IUD coming out on it's own. I have living proof of that. I was on the 5 year IUD and last year found out i was pregnant. The IUD fell out! I now have a bouncing 6 month baby girl in addition to my 7 year and 5 year old.

It's still a good birth control method, but you have got to check for the threads every month to make sure it is still there. And also make sure it is not too long. When hubby gets poked by the thread...not a very pleasant feeling ...sorry TMI there. The OB/GYN can trim the threads for you.

H.