Mirena IUD - Houston, TX

I had mine taken out after six months. It made my hair fall out, I lost weight (I already have enough trouble keeping weight on so this was not a good thing for me) and it left me with absolutely no sex drive. I noticed the hair falling out within a month after getting it. I kept it in thinking things would level out but the hair kept falling. That and the no sex drive were two things I could not adjust to. My doctor says that my body must be sensitive to the hormones because she has never seen the hair loss and rarely sees no sex drive.

Loved it! I did not have any problems with it whatsoever. Easy insertion and it was easy to remove as well. I will definitely try this method after the next one is here! :)

I use it and love it. I personally haven't had any adverse side effects. I do love that my periods are minimal.

I have the Mirena and my life has been so easy since it was put in. The insertion is a little uncomfortable but not too bad. Following insertion, I spotted for about 4-5 months wondering what the heck was going on but this is normal. As of now, I rarely have a period and if I do, it is very light where all I need is a panty liner. My only complaint is that sometimes my husband can feel it during intercourse and on a rare occasion I can too. We have both decided that feeling it a little bit is worth not have anther bundle of joy right now. I would definitely recommend!

I had Mirena after I had my daughter in 2002 and I loved it. Unfortunately, after the five years when it was time to replace it I didn't have insurance and it was going to cost me $1000 to be replaced. Now that I got my insurance back I plan on getting it again in the next couple of months. When I did have it, I never experienced any problems. My doctor just told me to be on the lookout the first couple of days after it was inserted to make sure it didn't fall out when going to the bathroom. After those first couple of days you don't have to worry about it falling out anymore. I'm assuming if it isn't inserted correctly or in the right place then it should fall right away. I don't recall any negative side effects and would recommend this to anyone. Hope this helps.

I've had mine for almost 3 years now and I love it! I haven't had my period in 3 years. I will occasionally have cramping for a day when I am supposed to have my period. It hurt like all get out getting it inserted (which I had to be on my period to have it done), but the nurse failed to tell me I was supposed to take Tylenol before my appt. I cramped for the first 5 days pretty severely. My cramping was from my waist to my calves and was almost unbearable. Prescription pain medication helped. Since then, I've had no problems and I will get it reinserted in 5 years when the current one has expired.

LOVED it!!! No side effects and no periods. Got pregnant the first month after having it removed.

I have the paraguard IUD which doesn't have extra hormones and it's been great. Never had a problem with it at all. The scary thing about an IUD is that they aren't even really sure why it works but it does. This is my 4th year of having it. :)

With all those who never have a problem with it, there are many who DO. You might be one of those who never experience issues, but you need to be ok with the negative possibilities just in case. I have talked to women who had it imbed and cause severe infection and had a hysterectomy. I have talked to women who had it puncture the uterus and they had a hysterectomy.

There is also a possibility of causing an abortion. The first purpose behind the Mirena IUD is, of course, to prevent ovulation. However, the second method is to create an inhospitable environment for a fertilized egg to implant and develop.

If you absolutely want no more children it's still recommended to use a second form of birth control because although the IUD has a higher success rate then the pill, it can still fail. Failure usually results in an induced abortion as the IUD must be surgically removed during the pregnancy.

I have had one for over a year now without any problems. There was some minor cramping after it was put in for a few hours but that is normal. The Dr. said it would happen because it is a foreign item in your uterus that your body is trying to get out. I had some spotting when I would have had my normal period. But for the last 6 months or so I have had no bleeding, just some cramping in its place that goes away after a day. Congrats with the upcoming baby!

Dear M.,

I LOVE my Mirena IUD. There is very little hormone entering into my body and it is localized to my uterus. I do not feel it at all, nor does my husband. And if he were to feel it, it would not be uncomfortable at all.

I did have some troubles with it the first time it was put in and it became dislodged. They had to take it out (brief but pretty painful) and after 6 weeks we put it in again with the assistance of an ultra sound check, to make sure it was in right.

It does not take long to put in, but I won't lie, it was painful to put into place, like intense pinching. Thankfully, it did not last long at all and then the pain was over. I didn't even cramp after, but some women do.

I have endometriosis and so we decided to see if this would lighten my periods and I have thanfully found this to be the case. After about 6 months my periods were less heavy and much less painful. Instead a week and a half of pain, I might have a few days. It has helped a lot!

My sister is having one put in after her baby is delivered. She thinks she is done after #2, but wants to wait and make sure. She has been on many different forms of B.C. and not been pleased with any, and since my experience was so positive she is ready to try it.

And again, the next best thing about it is you can take it out in an office visit and try to get pregnant immediately if you want. You don't have to wait for any hormones to clear your system.

It has not interferred with my life sexually, and has actually made things better as I am much more relaxed (it has a higher success rate than the pill). Spontanaity is a good thing!

And since my husband and I won't be trying for another child for at least 3 years this just made perfect sense. Once we have our next one he will do the snip snip so I won't have to be responsible at all for any birth control again...horray for me! ha ha ha But if he chickened out on the vasectomy- I would do the Mirena again.

If your insurance covers it (mine did) you might pay a co-pay (I paid 35). So I am basically paying 7-10 dollars a year for birth control depending on how long I use it as it is good for 5 years. You can't beat it.

Good luck and feel free to write me if you have any more questions.

D. ;)

Ihave had mine for a year now and I love it! I had a little bit of spotting the first couple months. Now I have a very, very light period and it is wonderful. I use a few pantiliners each month for it and that is it. I ave had no problems and I recommend it to all my friends. It takes a few minutes to be inserted and it doesn't hurt or it is not uncomfortable. I highly recommend it. Good Luck!

I had a copper one and I had a tsunami of periods and expelled it on an airplane. Not fun.

I then had the Mirena put in, and had no problems. There's a cramping (think contraction) for some women as they insert it. Although since this was my second go round with IUDs, I took two advil 30 min. before the appt. and that helped. Now I don't get periods. i had spotting for about two months. I run a lot, play soccer, have my kids crawl all over me, and haven't dislodged the thing yet. I'm hoping by that by the time it's time to take it out (it lasts for 5 yrs), I can convince my hubby to have another baby...

You can always change your mind and have it taken out at any time if you want, so remember you can always switch birth control methods, but be careful and communicate with your doc about the risks as you switch.

I do not recommend Nuvaring. It kept coming out. :(

I'm one of the people who had a negative affect with it. It perforated my uterous within the first week of getting it. I had to go in and have emergency surgery to find it. Luckily it was found behind my uterous in the culdesac and no further damage was done. I was told this happened because I had it put in post baby and the uterous was still soft from delivery and still contracting some.

After my 4th child I got the Implanon.It's an implant place in my arm that slowly releases a hormone. It lasts for 3 years. I love it. My only complaint is my periods are not predictable. I have some months where I have one and other months when I don't.

I had mine for 3 1/2 years and loved it. I still had somewhat of a period most months, but for the last 2-2 1/2 years I never even had to use a tampon or anything. I had it removed to get pregnant and was pregnant with TWINS within 2 months. The pill made me hormonal and crazy, but the Mirena allowed me to be normal. I would gladly do it again, but my husband's getting the snip after these are born.

I currently have a Mirena 'installed'. It has been in since April 2008. It has been nice. I have very irregular periods when not on anything (and had done Depo to stop them in the past). The Mirena has stopped my periods and I don't have to go in every 3 months and I can still nurse my daughter knowing it is safe. I even called my lactation consultant to make sure it would be safe to nurse with the Mirena birth control method. I haven't had it in long enough for it to come out, though I have heard of that happening. I also read a few instances where the lady got pregnant with it in place (her uterus grew over the IUD). I think that is pretty rare though and they say only abstinence is 100%
I am currently considering having a second child (something I thought I'd never do!). If I do have a second, I will use the Mirena again afterwards.
Good Luck!

We were considering Mirena, but decided against it since one of the possible ways it works is to not allow implantation of a fertilized egg. Since we believe that life begins at conception, that seemed like possible abortion. Not sure if this applies to your belief system, but it was a deal breaker for us.

Read all the fine print before making up your mind.

I have nothing but positive things to say about it. I had one in until it was removed for us to try for #2. I had no issues and the light to no periods were nice! 2 of my close friends also have this and have had for over 3 years now and they love it too! Great birth control device!

Hi M.! Well I've only had mine for a little over a month. So far no problems just having the usual spotting i haven't stopped since i have had it put in. The doctor said that it was normal and that it could last for a few months until everything "adjusts". Everyone is different and some people don't have any spotting. I know that I was really afraid of it hurting during procedure but it really wasn't bad at all. i was suprised but happy that it wasn't a horriable experience. I love not having to remember to take a pill everyday! I hopee this helps.

I have had mine for almost 3 years. After six months my periods and horrible pms went away with just spotting here and there. Within the last 3 months my periods have come back but they are shorter than they were before I had it put in. I love it. Its the only birth control method that has not messed with my hormones. Birth control pills made me crazy.