Mirena or ParaGard???

[Cloodle]

I'm wanting to get an IUD and have an appointment with my doc in a few days and I'm kinda freaking out about the side effects.  I like the idea of Mirena potentially taking away my periods altogether but am very concerned if it will make me gain weight due to the hormones. Does anyone know if it typically causes weight gain?  The ParaGard freaks me out because I don't like the idea of having long heavy periods.  Is this one of those things where I can't have my cake and eat it too?? :(

[Bad Mama Jama]

i went with the paragard  when it came time to choose.  i chose it specially because of the reasons that you mentioned.  hormonal birth control and i don't get along.  i'm always the one who gains a bunch of weight, or whose cycle completely stops, or you name it and i've had it. 

you may want to think long and hard about the mirena if you don't want the side effects because as you know you can't pick and choose which ones you end up with.

[annanicole]

I've had mirena for 3.5 yrs now.  I had it placed at my 6wk post birth appt.  I haven't had a period in over 4 yrs, it is TRULY GLORIOUS!  Mirena takes time to get used to.  Including but not limited to, painful sex, at first, slight cramping for a few days post insertion, and if the strings aren't trimmed it can poke your husband.  

I love mine, I plan to have it re-inserted after this 5 yrs is up.

oh on the hormone level questions, if you were to have your blood drawn and I were to have my blood drawn our progesterone levels would be the same.  The progesterone stays pretty local.  so if you had nasty headaches or weight gain or anything like that with other birthcontrols, don't stress that it will happen with mirena.  It could happen, but it's a lot smaller of a choice.  If you decide to get mirena commit to leaving it for 6 mos then re-evaluate.

[stardogs]

I've had my Mirena for almost 3 years now and <3 it! I actually *lost* about 10lbs when I switched from the pill to the IUD. No period since about 3 months after it was placed, too. I've been a bit more prone to mood swings, but they are all about the time I would be having a period, so I kind of wonder if not having the hormones from the pill floating around has just made the moodiness that would be there regardless more obvious.

I do occasionally spaz about somehow being pregnant with the IUD (especially when I had symptoms from a probable small cyst), mostly because without a period you'd miss the lack of one as an early symptom, but if I get really worried I just get a cheapie poas test and all is well.