Iud-pros/cons

I had the Mirena for a little over two years. It is a low dose hormone, it killed my sex drive completely. I had no desire at all. None. Zero. That didn't go over real well with my husband, go figure! I had it removed and went back to normal :)

I have a copper IUD and love it. No hormones. No condoms. No remembering to take a pill. And it can stay in for 10 years no problem. Insertion was a snap. My periods have been a little heavier and a little longer than they used to be, but there's no breakthrough bleeding and the cramping isn't bad. I figured why get all the extra hormones when the copper is 99% effective on it's own? Good luck with your decision.

I had mirena. Didn't really have any problems. Had it removed though for other reasons. Insertion and removal were simple and painless. You should consult your doctor regarding the pros and cons between the two devices.

I have the Mirena and LOVE it. I have had it in for 2 1/2 years. My insurance covered it all and I only paid the $50 co pay. I have not had ONE period since on it. Which means no tampons, pads or pain meds!

Soooo WORTH it!

Hi C.,

I had Mirena. I did not have a good experience. It started out fine. I had spotting for three months and then my period disappeared. I had read that this happens sometimes and my doctor confirmed it so I relaxed and let myself enjoy being period free.

About a year into it, I started feeling not quite myself. I was very lathargic and unmotivated. And then at other times, I felt very jittery and tingly almost like I was going to jump out of my skin. I became irritable and my family did not know what to think.

When I saw my doctor, she assurred me that the Mirena could not be to blame. She said that I must be depressed and prescribed a medication. At this time in my life everything was going great so it didn't fit to me. She said that sometimes people get depressed at "good" times in their lives. Knowing better, I started taking the anti-depressant. My symptoms intensifed almost immediately. She prescribed a second prescription which I did not fill.

About two months later I had my period. After it was finished, I was back to my old self again. It was amazing. I realized that my body must have been struggling to have a period.

However, like an idiot, since I was feeling good I did not remove the Mirena. After being regular a couple of cycles they disappeared again. I started feeling "strange" again. I made an appointment and had it removed. When I was there to have it removed, my doctor again insisted that Mirena could not be responsible for such side effects (except the missing periods of course). Since my Mirena has been removed I have not had a problem since. Maybe she was getting a kickback?

Since my experience, I have discovered many women with the similar experiences to mine. Strangely enough some of their doctors also refused to acknowledge Mirena could be the culprit, yet upon removal they too had their symptoms disappear.

I know many women love it. And, I hope if you choose it you'll love it too. But, if you start to feel tingly or like your going to jump out of your skin, remove it.

Good luck.

The pros are that you get to not worry about it for 3-5 years and they are quite effective. Plus, with the Mirena, many women get lighter periods which is cool.
The cons are that there is a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy and that it's an abortive device. Personally, that didn't bother me when I was looking at the option, but some women truly believe that life starts at conception and that the thinning of the lining of the uterus in order to terminate a pregnancy is abortion. So, I mention it to make sure you know exactly how they work. I have talked to women who think they only work by preventing ovulation, and that's not the whole story.
Also, I was told that if you already have heavy and painful periods, the Paraguard (copper one) can make that worse, so you're better off with the Mirena because the hormones can help the situation. I decided against the hormonal because I never liked how I felt on pills and against the copper because of the likelihood of worse periods. I ended up reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" and just charting my cycles and using condoms when necessary. It worked perfectly for over a year and helped us get pregnant on our first try when we were ready:)

Good Luck!

I have the Mirena. This is my 2nd time having it. The 2st time I had it in for about 2 1/2 years, then decided we wanted another baby. Doctor says I concieved my baby girl on the 19th which was just 3 days after having it removed. For the first few months there is a chance of randon bleeding. The last time I had it in, I didn't have a period for over 2 years! This time I have had it almost 3 months. Had some random bleeding for about a month or 2, but now have not bled again since. I love the freedom of not having to worry! The good thing about the Mirena is since it is Hormones it prevents the egg from even being fertalized. Whereas the Copper will still allow fertalization, but will then just scrape the embryo off the uterine wall. During and After insertion of the IUD you may have some cramping and/or spotting. Take some Ibprofen before you go in and you should be ok. I never took anything, it wasn't bad for me.
Hope this helps a little bit. If you have any questions feel free to write me :)

I have the Mirena and I love it!

I had both of my children while on birth control, I was on the pill with my son and the depo shot with my daughter.

My mother had the copper IUD and became pregnant on that one. When her doctors recommended taking it out late in the pregnancy this caused her to have a late term miscarriage.

So far I have had Mirena for 3 years. I no longer have a "real period" I have light bleeding sometimes.
I have had no gain weight like I did on the pill.
I also have not had a problem with sex drive.

I would recommend getting it to anyone who is asking or thinking about it. I did not have time to keep up with the pill and I would like to have more children in the future.

Talk to your doctor! Good luck!

Your best bet is to go to a pharmacist, ask for a list of current FDA-approved products and ask them questions. Find out the side effects, the efficacy (how effective), risks, indications (what the FDA has approved the product for - not all patients are included when the FDA approves a product), how much your out-of-pocket expenses will be, etc.

I'd personally not choose a hormonally based birth control, but I'm exposed to information from the FDA each day and see the not-so-great side from the clinical information reported. I'd also not choose to go on the pill again. But, I'm a recent cancer survivor, and we don't know what caused my cancer (Hodgkins Lymphoma), so I'm a little risk averse.

Your OB/GYN should be able to explain a lot of this to you, but the average appointment time is 7 minutes in the exam room. So, your best bet is going to a pharmacist during non-peak hours and asking them to do some research for you.

Once you find the names of products, you can also visit their websites and read for yourself. The FDA requires pharmaceutical and medical device companies to disclose all published information about products in marketing materials including websites.