Mirena, An In Depth Experience

On the date of my last "yearly visit" my doctor told me that I was an excellent candidate for Mirena. Mirena is an IUD that is in the shape of the letter T and is placed in the doctor's office into the uterus as a form of birth control. One of the wonderful benefits of Mirena is that you do not have to remember to take a pill every day. Also there is a good chance that my monthly visitor will slow down or cease arriving within a few months of Mirena being placed. When I inquired about the cost I was informed that my insurance would probably cover it all, except for the office co-pay. Luckily that is what I paid, just my co-pay.

When I arrived at the doctor's office I was shown into one of the exam rooms and told to put on the typical examination gown. Next to the exam table was a tray covered by a blue cloth. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked under the cloth to find a bizarre and quite frankly scary array of medical instruments. There was a wavy metal rod, forceps and (the scariest) a very large syringe. Also there were a few vials of lydocaine.

When the physician assistant arrived I was measurably nervous and it showed. She tried to put me at ease, but I just had to ask what the tools were for and if there was going to be an injection involved.

The physician assistant told me that so long as I had had a vaginal birth, my cervix should allow the Mirena IUD through without having to use the pain killer injection. However since all three of my deliveries were via C-section she decided that I would have to get the injection. That was probably the worst part of the insertion process. A shot in your cervix is not comfortable at all. Even with the lidocaine shot it was still immensely uncomfortable when the IUD was placed in. I had cramping and bleeding after it was in place and had to wear a pad for a few days afterwards.

Directly afterwards a nurse performed an ultrasound to ensure that Mirena was in the proper place and then I was able to go home, For the first day I had some bad cramping that was beyond sore and I was told to use ibuprofen to control it. That pain was completely gone by the next day and the bleeding was very light and was gone within three days, The only side effect that I have been dealing with is opening my medicine cabinet looking for my pills every few nights and having to remind myself that I do not need to take pills any longer.

I was told one thing that the physician assistant said was very important. Mirena is good for five years, but you need to remember when that five year period is coming to an end so that you can either have it removed or replaced. After five years, you can get pregnant because the hormones in Mirena have run out. Apparently there is also a ten year Mirena, because the nurse prior to the placement of the IUD asked which one I had chosen. I was not aware of a ten year option and do not see it mentioned on their website.

I’ve had the IUD in place for over a month and so far I still have not gotten my period. I am hoping that I can say good bye to that forever. I have also read that some women tend to gain weight after having Mirena placed. I have noticed that I seem to be more hungry than usual, but I am hoping that will pass. This is my unique experience with Mirena. There are so many types of birth control there is sure to be one that is just right for you. I am in no way trying to push this type of birth control, but it (so far) has been the right choice for me.