Wed 31 Dec 2008
My Mirena Experience (birth control)
Posted by Carologic under women, moms and health
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Mirena is an estrogen-free intrauterine contraceptive that delivers small amounts of hormone directly to the uterus.
It can be in place for up to 5 years which for me is perfect. My family is complete (at least as far as my uterus is concerned), but I don’t want us to make any permanent decisions for now.
Mirena seemed an excellent choice because taking the pill is a pain and condoms suck. Most of the other options are either way to complicated or unreliable. The side-effects of Mirena are fairly minimal.
My first Mirena insertion did not go well. In April 2008 (about 12 weeks after the birth of my second child) I went to my doctor for the insertion. It did not place itself correctly in my uterus, and I was bleeding a lot and having horrible cramps. My doctor (who I respect greatly and have known since college), was concerned enough to get an ultrasound to make sure she had not perforated my uterus. Lucky for us all, it was just lodged in an odd place and I felt better immediately after she removed it.
Back to the pill.
In September I had my yearly exam and asked if we could try again. In October I returned to the office for Mirena insertion 2.0. This time things went smoothly, the insertion was basically painless and I only spotted. They used an ultrasound this time just to make sure everything was ok.
I of course ended up on the long side of the “irregular bleeding” side-effect with a two-month span of constant bleeding. Husband was getting very concerned, and then, last week it stopped – FINALLY!
So, while disappointed about the bleeding (minimally that was not good for our septic system!) I am excited that I may not have to do anything to prevent pregnancy for up to 5 years! No more pills!!