When I got my Mirena put in I was 25, single/never been pregnant, and with a new insurance plan that did not cover my old BC (Nuvaring...swoon). My gyno convinced me to get the Mirena because my new plan covered it and obviously I wasn't headed for kids anytime soon because of my marital status. 

Pro's: 1.) It's convenient, 2.)  stopped getting my period (at first it was really bizarre, then awesome), and 3.) I didn't gain any weight.

Con's: 1.) Insertion hurt like an MFer. Read: Gremlins fighting in your uterus. Honestly, if I knew how much it hurt going in, I probably wouldn't of gotten the IUD put in. 2.) Acne. All around my chin and mouth. Awful. 3.) Some sex positions hurt. Huge bummer.   

These are just my qualms. Now that I'm 28 and about to get married I'm getting that shiz taken out STAT. I'm going to try charting and then in about a year we'll be TTC. Good luck!

I had Mirena after the birth of my daughter. Insertion was very painful, but only lasted about 24 hours.  I loved it for the first 2 years, after that it was all downhill.  I began spotting 3 out of 4 weeks a month, headaches that were uncontrollable, constant pregnancy symptoms after the 3rd year,  Finally after almost 4 years, I found myself on the operating table getting a DNC, because it had become embedded in my cervix. 

My personal opinion, if you are looking into an IUD, I would go with Paraguard (no hormones). 

Thank you both for your honest opinions. I can't lie, I'm pretty terrified of the pain. And you both just confirmed, yes its really painful.

I don't think I can get Paraguard because I've never had a child. I believe you need one with hormones if you have never been pregnant, but I could be wrong.

I honestly can't decide if it's worth it or not...

These are all things I'm going to discuss with my gyno when I go. Thank you!

HealthyDiva:

When I got my Mirena put in I was 25, single/never been pregnant, and with a new insurance plan that did not cover my old BC (Nuvaring...swoon). My gyno convinced me to get the Mirena because my new plan covered it and obviously I wasn't headed for kids anytime soon because of my marital status. 

Pro's: 1.) It's convenient, 2.)  stopped getting my period (at first it was really bizarre, then awesome), and 3.) I didn't gain any weight.

Con's: 1.) Insertion hurt like an MFer. Read: Gremlins fighting in your uterus. Honestly, if I knew how much it hurt going in, I probably wouldn't of gotten the IUD put in. 2.) Acne. All around my chin and mouth. Awful. 3.) Some sex positions hurt. Huge bummer.   

These are just my qualms. Now that I'm 28 and about to get married I'm getting that shiz taken out STAT. I'm going to try charting and then in about a year we'll be TTC. Good luck!

Would you recommend Nuvaring instead? Does it ever come out accidently?

I'm going on my third year with Mirena and I like it a lot. Like a PP mentioned I don't get a period, and I love that I don't have to remember to take anything.

Insertion was definitely not a walk in the park...all they gave me before was two ibuprofen (if you get it, see if you can get a better painkiller). Insertion is pretty much like a reaaaaally invasive PAP. I was actually fine until like 30 seconds after it was in, then all the blood drained from my face and I felt like I was going to pass out...then the cramping began. It was really awful cramps for about 12 hours, then I was pretty much fine and have loved it ever since.

The pain/discomfort of insertion is totally worth 5 years of not having to deal with BC. Just make sure you have someone drive you home afterwards...I was in no condition to drive immediately afterwards.

The next day I went into work and there was only mild discomfort. It was probably about a week before my BF (now H) and I tried sex and had no issues.  

I've also used NuvaRing and liked it a lot - the only reason I switched to an IUD was because the NuvaRing was so dang expensive (and oddly enough I was able to get an IUD for free through Planned Parenthood).

It did come out a few times, but only one of the times did I not notice and ended up having to take a morning after pill. It's pretty straightforward to use. 

SadieLouWho:

I don't think I can get Paraguard because I've never had a child. I believe you need one with hormones if you have never been pregnant, but I could be wrong.

That is in fact incorrect.

I have the paragard ( I've had it for 4 1/2 yrs now) and have never and will never have kids.

Honestly, insertion was not that bad. I felt a little prick( numbing agent) a medium cramp ( kinda like regular period cramps) and one hell of a doozy cramp (lasted like 5-10 seconds) and it was done. The whole procedure took about 10min.

I drove myself home, had period like cramps the rest of the night (took Advil and was fine). The next day I was fine. I was up running errands and even did my work out (high impact aerobics). 

SadieLouWho:

HealthyDiva:

When I got my Mirena put in I was 25, single/never been pregnant, and with a new insurance plan that did not cover my old BC (Nuvaring...swoon). My gyno convinced me to get the Mirena because my new plan covered it and obviously I wasn't headed for kids anytime soon because of my marital status. 

Pro's: 1.) It's convenient, 2.)  stopped getting my period (at first it was really bizarre, then awesome), and 3.) I didn't gain any weight.

Con's: 1.) Insertion hurt like an MFer. Read: Gremlins fighting in your uterus. Honestly, if I knew how much it hurt going in, I probably wouldn't of gotten the IUD put in. 2.) Acne. All around my chin and mouth. Awful. 3.) Some sex positions hurt. Huge bummer.   

These are just my qualms. Now that I'm 28 and about to get married I'm getting that shiz taken out STAT. I'm going to try charting and then in about a year we'll be TTC. Good luck!

Would you recommend Nuvaring instead? Does it ever come out accidently?

I would recommend Nuvaring instead. The only reason I had to stop getting it is because my health insurance changed and they no longer covered it. I actually tried to still use it and had paid for it out of pocket for 2 months at $75/pop (ouch). I'm not 100% positive of the hormone difference between the Nuvaring vs. Mirena, but I had little to no side effects with it (no acne, no weight gain, no emotional nightmare) which was nice. Still had my period once a month but you can still manipulate it if you have a special event, romantic weekend planned, etc. by just putting a new one in when you take the old one out instead of waiting the week to have your period.

The only times it came out was when I was having sex. If you're worried about it coming out during intercourse, take it out before hand, have sex, rinse it off and put it in within the 3-hour window. Half of the time, during sex, it didn't come out. So it's totally your call. But no, at the gym, running errands, at work, etc. it didn't just pop out. 

ditto on everyone recommending nuvaring, for all the same reasons.

entropicbeauty:

The pain/discomfort of insertion is totally worth 5 years of not having to deal with BC. Just make sure you have someone drive you home afterwards...I was in no condition to drive immediately afterwards.

I had mine inserted in August.  Never had a child.  I have a high pain tolerance, and still - it HURT LIKE CRAZY.  I won't sugar coat it, and I agree with PP - I was so glad I took DF (DH now) with me because there is no way I could have driven or survived public transport.  For me, the cramps subsided within 2 hours, though.  I also only had 2 ibprofuns, whereas a friend of mine (at a different clinic) received 4 small numbing injections. So definitely ask - apparently every doctor does it different.

My acne has improved (although I started using Proactiv at same time I got mirena, so hard to know what's what). For the first 3.5 months, I had a period every 28 days with almost a full week of spotting in between.  Also, bad cramps around those times. 

 Now, I am in my 4th month and have not gotten my period (1 week late).  Because there is that .001% chance, I POAS to be sure, but definitely not pregnant.  So I think it is just my body leveling out and perhaps I will stop having periods, which of course was part of my hope with getting mirena in the first place.

 Also - I have gained about 5lbs.  Hard to tell if it is from mirena or from my post-wedding gluttoness food indulgences.  So I'm going to buckle down after the holidays and if it comes off, I'll know it was the food.  If not, I'll assume it's the mirena.

 Having to take a pill everyday never bothered me and I never forgot it.  Still, it is nice just not having to worry about BC at all.   

I have Mirena. I've had it for over a year and I'm actually getting it taken out tomorrow bc we are TTC and its getting on my nerves! I got mine put in before I got married, and I was actually a virgin. Like the others, it hurt like bad cramps, and I had to have my DH take me home. I loved it at first bc I had no more periods and I didn't have to take BC pills. Well, it hurts in certain sex positions, and my skin is all jacked up! I did gain weight as well. I'm also a little afraid if it getting embedded in my uterus. That really scares me. It may work for you, but it's not working for me. I'm not looking forward to bleeding for days after it is removed, that's for sure! Good luck!

cinderellasjc:

I had Mirena after the birth of my daughter. Insertion was very painful, but only lasted about 24 hours.  I loved it for the first 2 years, after that it was all downhill.  I began spotting 3 out of 4 weeks a month, headaches that were uncontrollable, constant pregnancy symptoms after the 3rd year,  Finally after almost 4 years, I found myself on the operating table getting a DNC, because it had become embedded in my cervix. 

My personal opinion, if you are looking into an IUD, I would go with Paraguard (no hormones). 

 

 

I have had the same symptoms. I am in year 3 and  I am getting it out in June.  I don't think mine is embedded though.  after year 2 I started having AF again, and it's always been very light/spotty since. Until this last month where AF came and lasted 4 days, left, and 1 week later AF came back with a vengeance for an entire week again! My cycle has gotten to be so messed up and out of sync it is crazy. I can't wait to get it out...

My OBGY said he doesn't allow women who haven't had children to get Mirena. There is a HUGE lawsuit against Mirena right now, research it. 

Also, not trying to be mean but I hated the Mirena! Yes, it did what it was suppose to but for the first year I had my period constantly. The second year, I had it every two weeks for two weeks then, third and fourth year I had my period but was very very irregular.

Sometimes sex hurt with it. I had ovarian cysts that burst while I had it but haven't since. It wasn't fun at all.

 

I have no children and I have a traditional copper IUD, got it put in when I was 23 (3.5 years ago). I love it - I was terrible at taking the pill and it gave me major mood issues.  I don't worry about getting pregnant, forgetting to take a pill, or refilling a prescription.  It does hurt to have it in so plan on taking the day off - I went home and slept for a few hours - it was basically like really bad menstrual cramping (read: the kind that make you want to curl up in a ball on the floor) - to give my body a chance to adjust.

 I am probably going to get it removed in the next year and then I will get another one after I'm done having children.  Just as a side note for future post-baby making planning, I've heard tubals make your periods extremely heavy.

I work different shifts, so keeping track of when to take a pill became a challenge. I haven't had children, and typically would have heavy periods. I also have a history of migraines.

Placement was definitely uncomfortable. I had pre-medicated with 600mg Ibuprofen, and continued taking it for this first couple of days. The actual insertion was very painful, but only lasted a few minutes. After that it just felt like period cramps for about 2 days. I drove myself home, and in fact drove to another state the next day.

At first I had a period that lasted 3 days (had been 5 days) with much lighter flow than my normal. I've had the Mirena for almost 2 years and my period is now usually just light spotting for a day or so and keeps tapering off. I have noticed a slight increase in headaches, but certainly nothing worse than the often debilitating cramps I would get with my period.

I have thankfully have had no pain with sex and my boyfriend hasn't noticed a difference at all.

Everyone is different, but for me this has been such a good birth control option. Good Luck with your choice!

Family Planning Nurse here... Mirena is a bit difficult to place in nullips (short for nulliparus or not having had a baby before) There is a new option out there called Skyla. It lasts three years, you can insert it at the same time you take one out AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND its made by the makers of mirena specifically for young women who have not had a baby yet :) The small diameter makes you cramp less when it is being inserted into your cervix which is nice if your cervix has never dialted before (like in labor). IM SUPER excited I tell all my nullips about it. Being a nullip my self, I look foreward to getting one placed next month. :D Mirena is amazing too, lots of our NP's and staff are on their second mirena. That definitely says something. Just know that with any long term acting birth control method, your bleeding may be irregular for 3 to 6 months until your body adjusts. If you can hang in there, you will be baby free for quite some time :) Felicidades!