I felt pain for 6 months with the Mirena Contraceptive

I had an 11 pound baby last year and after having him I decided I wanted to get on birth control again. I have used Ortho Evra before, but due to the health scares, I decided to try something different. My best friend had her baby 8 months before and was currently using Mirena Contraceptive birth control. She said the best part about it was she did not have to worry about exchanging her birth control every week, worrying about a birth control patch not sticking to her body and best of all not having a baby at least for the next five years. Listening to her I thought this was perfect for me. So, let me tell you about my little experience with the Mirena Contraceptive birth control I have had so far.

I am a mother of two and like I mention earlier, with my last child I decided to go with Mirena birth control. Mirena is a birth control that promises to give you light menstrual bleeds and helps prevent pregnancy for five years. I have had the Mirena birth control in for eight months now. With my last baby being so big I had to have a cesarean. So, my doctor advise me to come back for a 6 week follow up to check my incision and I thought at that appointment he was going to insert the Mirena, but he didn’t. He stated he wants me to come back in 2 weeks for another follow up and then he will insert it then.

I made it through the two weeks and the first thing my doctor asks me before he inserts it is have I been sexually active? I actually had, but I didn’t want him to know. They ask you to not be sexually active, just in case you get pregnant. Of course, if you do get pregnant, than you don’t need the birth control, but if you may be pregnant than the Mirena can cause a miscarriage.

Let me just tell you, before my doctor even rip the Mirena out of its package, I had to read and sign this very long pamphlet about all of the side effects that could take place. I felt like I was on my death bed. Some of the side health scares listed on the list were:
*pelvic infection
*certain cancers. Less than 1% of users get a serious infection called pelvic inflammatory disease.
*Mirena may attach to or go through the wall of the uterus and cause other problems. If Mirena comes out, use back-up birth control and call your healthcare provider.
*Although uncommon, pregnancy while using Mirena can be life threatening and may result in   loss of pregnancy or fertility.
*Ovarian cysts may occur and usually disappear.
*Bleeding and spotting may increase in the first few months and continue to be irregular. *Periods over time may become shorter, lighter or even stop.

WOW!!!! I almost ran out of the doctor office, but my nurse had came in by that time after I had already the pamphlet for about the 5th time. I remember laying on my back and my doctor ask me to spread wide and relax. I felt this cold metal thing and felt a sucking on the inside of my privates. My doctor tried to take my mind off the uneasy pain by small talk, but it was not working. I swear it felt like he stucked whatever it was so far up me, it was in my stomach. Well, the good part about it is, it did not take long for him to get finish. I would say about 3-5 minutes. Afterwards, he told me I may feel abdominal pain, but after that everything will be smooth sailing. Thirty minutes later I felt that pain and it lasted for 6months.

Over the course of these 6 months my stomach was hurting so bad, I was bleeding constantly during the entire time (sometimes light, but most times very heavy), I was fussy, agitated, cranky, I would often bend slightly over  holding my lower stomach, because it was hurting so much.  I was in a lot of pain, but I stucked it out.  I remember reading other testimonies before I got the Mirena and I told myself I would never allow myself to be in pain for over 6 weeks.  What kept me from taking it out was my best friend kept saying she did not experience anything like I had.  I remember going back to work after I had my baby and asking my coworkers about their experiences and some would say it lasted for 6 weeks, 3 months, or they didn’t feel the pain at all.  So, hearing all of these things from them, I just did not want to give up.  Alongside with the comments and suggestions from friends, I would tell myself this would help prevent a baby for the next five years. 

Here I am 8 months later and on occasions the Mirena may be uncomfortable, but never like the pain I first encountered.  You do have to feel for the strings with the Mirena, but I usually just ask my husband does he feel them when we have sex.  For the most part I am enjoying the Mirena birth control.  Previously, I had a very heavy menstrual, but I don’t have them as often as I did.  I usually have them every 2-3 months and I think that is just my body adjusting some things in there.  If I do get a menstrual before that time, than it is usually very light.  What I do like about the Mirena birth control is the ability to adjust it if I want to have a baby sooner than five years or if I want to go another five years or so, I can do that without any worry. 

I hope your experience is much better than mines when deciding to use the Mirena birth control contraceptive.  All I can say is some people love it, but some are also going to hate it.  Go with what your body is allowing you to handle and you should be okay.  Although my experience was so bad at the beginning, I can honestly say Mirena promised what she said.  I am not pregnant again,  and I hardly get a heavy menstrual.  I was also told I would not gain any weight with Mirena and unlike other birth controls I have tried, with this birth control it has not contribute to any weight gain. 

Some other useful information about the Mirena Birth Control Contraceptive:

Side effects:
Uterine cramps
Bleeding
dizziness during and right after Mirena is placed
**To help minimize the cramps, ask your healthcare provider about medications that may be used before placement. If these symptoms last for more than 30 minutes, let your healthcare provider know. Mirena may not have been correctly placed and your healthcare provider should examine you.


Visit your healthcare provider shortly after having Mirena placed
As a follow up, you should visit your healthcare provider once in the first 4 to 12 weeks after Mirena is placed to make sure it is in the right position. After that, Mirena can be checked once a year as part of your routine exam.

Your periods may change
For the first 3 to 6 months, your monthly period may become irregular. You may also have frequent spotting or light bleeding. A few women have heavy bleeding during this time. After your body adjusts, the number of bleeding days is likely to decrease (but may remain irregular), and you may even find that your periods stop altogether for as long as Mirena is in place. Around the end of the third month of use, you may see up to a 75% reduction in the amount of menstrual bleeding. By one year, about 1 out of 5 users may hay have no period at all. Your periods will return once Mirena is removed. If you do not have a period for 6 weeks during Mirena use, contact your healthcare provider to rule out pregnancy.


Mirena does not protect against HIV or STDs.

Mirena (levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system) is a hormone-releasing system placed in your uterus to prevent pregnancy for as long as you want for up to 5 years. Mirena also treats heavy periods in women who choose intrauterine contraception.  You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. 

Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

BAYER, the Bayer Cross, and Mirena are registered trademarks of Bayer.
myMirena and Keep Life Simple are trademarks of Bayer.

 RESOURCES: MIRENA IUD EXPERIENCE: http://s2.webstarts.com/babies_tots_teens/tots.html