Paraguard reviews - Mirena vs. Paragard IUD - Page 9

[DesertBell]

Nemrac, I am so grateful you posted this today! I was just at the doctor for a consultation, and even though I don't like hormonal birth control, she assured me the Mirena was a better choice because I already have heavy periods. (although no cramping.) She also assured me that the hormones were localized and wouldn't enter my bloodstream, although it appears that information isn't entirely accurate.

My biggest concern is that the heavy periods even out after an adjustment period- I can deal with them for six months, but not for ten years.

[Charrey]

I had Mirena for almost 2 years. At first, I was having some sharp pains in my lower abdomen that would come and go. I don't know why I did not get the thing removed at that point.

My periods were lighter but the same length (I've always had a 10 day long period, blech) and no more cramps.

Fast forward almost a year and a half, and I started to have light bleeding for weeks or even months at a time. Then came a foul yellowish discharge that would just not stop. I got a pap, was tested for STDs, and various types of yeast with it all coming back normal. My midwife suggested I take ibuprofen several times a day to relax my uterus and stop the bleeding. It worked for a couple weeks and the bleeding started again. It seemed like every time I went to the doctor or called in with problems relating to Mirena, they assumed it was something else since I did not have major issues right away and convinced me to try everything under the sun before removing it.

Finally, fed up after about 7 months of dealing with nasty side effects, I had it yanked out and went on NuvaRing. After a month my body returned to normal. No more constant bleeding, discharge, or sharp pains. I feel like a new women

Birth control of course affects everyone differently. The huge issue I had with the IUC is that I couldn't just stop taking it to figure out if it was the cause of my problems. Once it was out, there was no turning back.

I LOVE the NuvaRing on the other hand. My cycles are exactly 28 days for the first time in my entire life. I don't have a pill to forget. No side effects whatsoever that I've noticed. And if weird things do start to happen after a year +, I can pull it out temporarily.

[uniqsol06]

Mirena? Or possibly other allergy??

Hi! Not a momma but saw the forum regarding Mirena & thought I'd offer my experience & hope for some feedback.

I've always been VERY sensitive to pills, medicine, etc & have been through the gamut of BC. Finally arrived at the Mirena IUD & had it inserted in January 2010.
Initially, there was an adjustment of weight gain (3-8 lbs)/fluctuation, also some minor nausea. HOWEVER, bad headaches experienced w/ all other BC went away, as did periods (yea!).

Over the past 2 months, I've begun experiencing major bloating, difficulty w/ BMs, minor aches in my hips, headaches back though minor, and horrific acne on my face, chest & back. Never even as a teen was acne this bad!!
DISCLAIMER: I don't know for sure that the above symptoms are the Mirena's "fault"...that's a guess as it's the only thing that I've been doing differently.

I thought it a little strange that I'd just now be experiencing these symptoms...after almost 6 months of use. After reading the posts, I feel as though it could be Mirena; however, I've also read up on things like gluten allergies & many of the same symptoms seem to apply!

Any thoughts??

[indianafuji]

Insertion was NOT painful

I read all the posts on this thread before my appointment to get the Paragard inserted and almost psyched myself out after reading about the painful insertion. I gave birth 7 weeks ago with the help of Hypnobabies training and without any pain control medications. I LOVED my hypnotraining and found it very useful but did experience pain during transformation and the final pushing phase. With this fresh in mind, I didn't want to put my body through any more pain.

So I told myself that I would come right back to this forum and post if my insertion was not painful.

IT WASN'T PAINFUL...just some pinching feelings and a little pressure.

Short story is: don't let the stories of horrible pain dissuade you from getting an IUD.

[nl0102]

uniqsol06, I appreciated your post.

I, too, have not had kids yet though I want to. Both my husband and I are in grad school and when my old insurance was about to end I got a Mirena IUD at the end of June.

It's been almost 2 months since I had it inserted. I had the bleeding and spotting for about 4 weeks. It was annoying, but has since stopped.

My biggest issue has been the bloating/weight gain. I'm a pretty lanky girl, and as soon as the bleeding let up, I gained so much water weight I do not fit in any of my pants/skirts. I feel like that girl who blows up like a blueberry in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

I've been using bc for 10+ years and have tried many pills, Depo shots, Nuva Ring, condoms, and the Mirena. All messed with my emotions, some caused depression, Depo also made me gain a ton of weight and lose my sex drive, and certain condoms give me vaginal infections. I loved the Nuva Ring, but I have a tilted cervix so it would occasionally slip out (so awkward when you are walking down the city street w/your boss and you feel like you are birthing your Nuva Ring). After a few years on it, I started to reject it and get tons of yeast infections. Those yeast infections stopped once I took it out.

Does anyone out there who has/had Mirena have info on whether the symptoms go away after a few months? Did you get less bloated/fat feeling?

Was there something you did that relieved that feeling? I exercise and we're health nuts so I've tried drinking apple cider vinegar in water to relieve the bloating. It helped my insides be less gassy, but didn't reduce the water weight gain.

If you switched to Paraguard, did you lose that bloated feeling/weight?

I wish I could just not use birth control at all, but I don't think my husband would come near me if I did. I'm sick of having my body all screwed up from medications.

HELP! :'(

[NoKidder]

I, too don't have kids (don't want them, thus the need for b/c!). I was on Ortho Novum for 16 years (took it for 3 months in a row, had 4 periods a year) and did great. Now, at 40, had to switch to something else so chose the Mirena 10 months ago. At first, all was fine, then the symptoms started creeping up.

Likes: No periods...ever, not even spotting afterwards. No weight gain for me (actually lost 10 pounds), and no acne.

Dislkies: PAIN during insertion. Seriously, I thought I was going to die. No libido, back pain, irritability/rage.

I'm thinking of getting it removed, but after reading about the paragaard, don't know if that's any better. I despise having periods, so would like something that deals with that. I had a hormone blood test, and things are out of whack, so I've got an appt. next week to see what my doc recommends. She's not my gyno, but seems to know A LOT about these issues.

Anyone still on Mirena and supplemented with other hormones to try and even out the negatives?

Thx.

[~*Trish*~]

I have had the Mirena for a little over three years, and am preparing to get it removed soon, as we are ttc.

As for whether or not the Mirena was a good choice, I'm still undecided.

Pros: After 3-4 weeks of initial bleeding, periods AND pms totally stopped. It was great, but I never felt quite natural, kwim?

Other hormonal birth controls have upset me in the past, but this one did not, as far as I can tell.

Didn't have to worry about condoms and pills, etc. This was very handy.

Cons: Insertion was painful. I'd had a c-section, and the cramping was fierce for months.

Now that I'm ready to get it removed, it's gone AWOL, and I have to go in for minor surgery to recover it. NOT happy about that.

I may have experienced some weight gain and increased hypothyroid med levels, although I started another medication at the same time, and that might be responsible.

I don't think that I will be getting another one, although my experience wasn't entirely negative.

HTH!

[MadiRae]

Paragard Appt

After having read all the info, I'm thinking Paragard. I like my body on it's own cycle without hormones. I have worse cramping off the pill and heavier bleeding but it's not unbearable. My emotions are more stable without hormonal BC too. I don't like feeling like I could cry at any moment.
My appointment/consult with doctor is today.

[RedskinsGirl]

New Mirena User

I have been reading the posts on here and have decided to go with Mirena. I am going to get it inserted in the next week. I have never had problems with hormones in the past and have been on BC for the past 4 years and have never been PG. I have always had to up the strength of the pill due to breakthrough bleeding and heavy long periods. I have been on every kind you can imagine at every strength and am done with the pill!!! I would like to hear from someone who has had a similar experience as me about how the hormones in Mirena affected them, and their personal experience with Mirena because I have heard and read so many conflicting reports about Mirena and it's affect on people. I know everyone is different and ultimately I won't know for sure how my body will react to it until it happens, but I would like to have an idea Thanks so much in advanced!

[3Horses]

New Paragard! So far so good!

I had my Paragard inserted less than a week ago, on the 2nd day of my period. My period remained at it's normal length and flow! But, I did have major cramping upon insertion and for most of that first day. I had some more cramping the second day, not much worse than normal. And by the third day I was down to very minor cramping.

I'm looking forward to the changes in my body as it gets used to its own normal hormonal rhythms throughout these upcoming months. I'm trying to get my life back to a comfortable routine, and I think this is going to help.

We have one more day before we can have sex again. The dr. said no sex for a week. So, we'll see how that goes. Also, I couldn't use tampons for the remainder of my cycle. I would say that was the biggest downfall of the whole experience. I NEVER use pads. And I only wear panty liners for up to one day with minimal spotting. So, I bought pads for the first time in probably 10 years. And of course, I ended up with thin, yet giant pads. I could only manage them for the first day and a half while I sat at home. Once I was up and moving I had to use panty liners. And I just changed them every time I went to the bathroom. It worked out pretty well all in all. But, also since I usually sleep naked I had to wear underwear to bed the first couple of nights and didn't sleep well at all! Once my flow was light enough, I just went sans underwear since I don't usually bleed at night. It was great to get a full night's sleep that night.

We'll see how next month's period goes. Guess I'll have to start marking it down on my calendar since I won't have a little pack of pills to remind me!

[texaspeach]

I just want to share my experience with the copper iud. I had one inserted at ~8w PP after a c/s. my period returned around 10.5m PP. so far I've had what I suspect were two instances of anovulatory bleeding and two real periods (I am charting cm and o-pain but not temps, and obviously not for bc just for my own info). my period is not any heavier or crampier than it was prebaby. it may actually be less crampier. I only have one heavy day, and it's super tampon not superplus++ heavy. I have about 10 total days of bleeding though. the last 4 are very light/spotting. we'll see if this continues on or if things get worse.

[karanyavel]

I've had three Paragard IUDs and can't imagine getting another. Mirena is out of the question for me because I am *extremely* sensitive to progesterone (it makes me crazy, cannot take any kind of BCP).

All three insertions were horrible -- extreme pain (far worse than anything I've experienced in giving birth), especially when they use the tenaculum to grasp the cervix and stabilize it. I fainted a few minutes after the third one was inserted and felt very ill and "shocky" for several hours. Afterwards, I got to experience 4-8 hours of cramps roughly comparable to transition.

Definitely had heavier, more painful periods while I had these in, but it wasn't a huge deal.

IUD #1: Migrated partially out of the cervix (stem was protruding from cervix) -- removed about six months post-insertion because of this.
IUD #2: Migrated partially out of the cervix, again with the stem protruding -- removed about 3 years post-insertion because of this.
IUD #3: Became pregnant with IUD in place, about three months post-insertion. OB removed IUD at that time -- his opinion was that the chance of an early miscarriage from taking it out was better than the chance of more serious complications if it stayed in -- and I lost the pregnancy.

No more IUDs for me, thanks!

--K

[mrsjones]

Hello! I just read your post in reference to Paragard.  I know you posted this years ago but I was wondering how you were doing with it?  I too have severe migraines and can not tolerated any type of hormonal BC.  I had Implanon for over a year and just recently had it removed.  I bled/spotted for 4 weeks at a time and the headaches were terrible.  I also had weight gain and bloating.  I am a newlywed and my husband do not want to use condoms. We DO NOT want children but a vasectomy is out of the question.  Please share your experience with me.  Thanks so much!

[mrsjones]

Originally Posted by nl0102 

uniqsol06, I appreciated your post.

I, too, have not had kids yet though I want to. Both my husband and I are in grad school and when my old insurance was about to end I got a Mirena IUD at the end of June.

It's been almost 2 months since I had it inserted. I had the bleeding and spotting for about 4 weeks. It was annoying, but has since stopped.

My biggest issue has been the bloating/weight gain. I'm a pretty lanky girl, and as soon as the bleeding let up, I gained so much water weight I do not fit in any of my pants/skirts. I feel like that girl who blows up like a blueberry in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

I've been using bc for 10+ years and have tried many pills, Depo shots, Nuva Ring, condoms, and the Mirena. All messed with my emotions, some caused depression, Depo also made me gain a ton of weight and lose my sex drive, and certain condoms give me vaginal infections. I loved the Nuva Ring, but I have a tilted cervix so it would occasionally slip out (so awkward when you are walking down the city street w/your boss and you feel like you are birthing your Nuva Ring). After a few years on it, I started to reject it and get tons of yeast infections. Those yeast infections stopped once I took it out.

Does anyone out there who has/had Mirena have info on whether the symptoms go away after a few months? Did you get less bloated/fat feeling?

Was there something you did that relieved that feeling? I exercise and we're health nuts so I've tried drinking apple cider vinegar in water to relieve the bloating. It helped my insides be less gassy, but didn't reduce the water weight gain.

If you switched to Paraguard, did you lose that bloated feeling/weight?

I wish I could just not use birth control at all, but I don't think my husband would come near me if I did. I'm sick of having my body all screwed up from medications.

HELP! :'(

My husband and I have hardly been intimate since I had my Implanon removed in Sept.  We are newlyweds too.  BOO! Anyway, I do not tolerate hormonal BC and am planning on having the Paragard inserted.  I have somewhat heavy periods historically but since the Implanon was removed, they have not been bad at all.  I gained weight with the Implanon which has the same hormone as Mirena (progestin).  I was a bloated little piggy.  Now that it's out, I lost 5 pounds and do not bloat like I did.  We were going to try FemCap but my husband is terrified of 'knocking me up.'  We don't want children either.  I am planning on returning to school in January and he is a teacher...enough said.  :) Best of luck to you!
 

[RedskinsGirl]

I ended up going with Mirena and having never had a kid, I would say that the pain of insertion was way beyond what I had expected! They had to dilate my cervix before they could put it in and it was the worst cramping of my life! I passed out in the waiting room as I was leaving, threw up 4 times after I came back from passing out, my blood pressure dropped severely, and my pulse spiked! It was awful for the first 3 days after getting it put in, with the cramping and the light-headedness. However, all that being said, I love it! I don't know if I would go back and do it again knowing what I know now, but it is worth it in the end. My periods are a bit longer now than before, but the are MUCH lighter than they have EVER been! I did get a severe break-out at my first period. All in all I do truly love it! I love the freedom from the pill, and my boyfriend and I can be much more spontaneous. I would recommend Mirena to anyone who is ready to ditch the pill and not get pregnant!

[FourFam]

Approximately 1 month ago, I decided to have the Paraguard IUD inserted.  I researched a lot about the process and side effects before and kind of had a bad feeling about the entire thing due to the rather large amount of negative reviews I had read.  However, I decided that the benefits of the Paraguard appeared to outweigh the negative.  I have two children, ages 4 and 2, and I am simply not ready for another right now. 

The actual insertion of it was rather painful with the cramping being equivalent to a contraction.  But, it only took around one minute for the entire process to be completed.  The cramping lasted through the night and throughout the next day.  The pain is tolerable though :)  As opposed to what I have read about weight gain with both the Paraguard and the Mirena, since I went off the pill I am happy to say that I have lost 7 pounds and the little pocket of fat on my lower abdomen that I affectionately call my pouch.  I was confused as to why people were reporting that a non-hormone IUD would cause weight gain.  For me, the desired effect of losing weight was acheived.  In addition, I got my libido back which was a very pleasant surprise. 

When I went to have the IUD checked by sonogram after two weeks, it was right where it was supposed to be. For those of you who do not know, the IUD is inserted into the endometrium of your Uterus and remains where the Gestastional Sac would be if you were pregnant.  Kind of creepy, but it works.  I could not be happier with my choice to get the Paraguard.  It is an individual and personal choice that requires a lot of thought, but don't be dissuaded by the negative reviews.  If you have a positive mindset, you might have a positive experience :)

[uniqsol06]

Hi there!  Might take a little time to read through everything below, lol.  Sorry, but included whatever I could think of to be complete!

Well, I'm now 3 months out from having the Mirena removed and while I do feel much better, I am still having some health issues.  The Mirena is the only thing that I can think to link to as I NEVER, I repeat, NEVER have had any of these problems prior to the Mirena!  (For whatever reason, the docs I've been to see can't seem to wrap their expensive brains around that concept!)

I've also undergone an endoscopy & colonoscopy to ensure that there isn't anything notable causing what symptoms I still have.  That was close to the end of October.

On Mirena, my weight jumped up to 139.  I'm just under 5'2" and have pretty much always been around 120 or lighter, so to me, this was significant.  Since having Mirena removed, I've dropped down to b/w 123-125.

*I have noted that when all of my "issues" started, I changed my diet hoping that was the problem.  I have since maintained the same diet b/c it seems when I deviate from it, I tend to have (more severe) reflux problems.  I've cut out beef & pork - sticking to chicken, turkey & fish.  I've also cut out lots of "junk foods" and try to stick to fruits, veggies, other healthy snacks.  I've also cut out soda pop.  I realize it's possible that part of the weight loss is from this diet change.  However, it still doesn't stand to reason why, when I have even a little rice or potatoes, my chest gets very tight & I experience very severe reflux.

My bloating is pretty much gone.  On occassion, I do have minor issues w/ gas, but nothing as severe as previously.  And it's more a problem of being able to pass the gas than passing it too much.  (Hope that's not TMI.)

I'm still having problems burping.  My chest gets uncomfortably tight & I feel short of breath.  Then, finally, when a burp happens, it's a tremendous relief!  I've mentioned this to my GI & I'm on a prescription med to see if it gets better.  Some days are better/worse than others.  I've now been on that medication for a couple of months.

I still feel very tired most of the time.  Lack of energy is an issue, but doesn't seem to be a concern to any docs I've seen.  :-/

I also have been experiencing joint & muscle soreness that I've never had before!  That's usually around the "trunk" of my body - my sides, underarms, arms, elbows, and also hips & knees.  It's been a daily thing and walking everyday & some light weights seem to help but only very slightly. 

As far as my bowel movements (BM), they are much more "normal" now then when all the issues had snowballed.  Perhaps TMI, but now they are, for the most part, solid & well-formed (versus non-existent or like "soft serve").

Again, I have NEVER in my life had any of these problems until I encountered Mirena.  Perhaps it's a coincidence, perhaps not!

I'm now off of "bc" altogether.  I decided to give my body a rest.  I'd been on hormones of some kind for at least 15 years and always seemed to have some side effect (nausea, severe headaches, acne).

My fiance and I have  decided to use condoms for awhile.  I wasn't excited about that, but we talked about it & he was worried about how my body would react to another hormone.  I can honestly say that it definitely NOT as uncomfortable as I thought it would be!  In fact, they aren't uncomfortable at all.  It helped my talking to him about it to see how he felt (even though he suggested it) and now we even joke about it sometimes.  My issue is that I have a latex allergy so we have to find ones that are not latex.  Either of us "getting fixed" isn't an option we want to consider just now as we are considering childern at some point.

Headaches are usually when I don't eat or around my period.  Acne around period as well, but nothing resembling when on Mirena or any other bc.  My weight has been "stable" (b/w 123-125) for several weeks.

Test results for Celiac & ultrasound for gall stones are all negative, as is other blood work for general things.

My GI doc has prescribed taking Pepto tablets (3/3x a day/3 months) for the slight colon irritation he found during my procedure, as well as the reflux medicine that I've already been on.

I can say that something still isn't right.  As I mentioned, I still have joint & muscle soreness and also experience pressure problems w/ burping, which is very uncomfortable & sometimes feels scary!  I'm supposed to check in with him in a month is these issues aren't better & he will go from there.  He mentioned going to a rheumatologist at that point.

Don't know if that has helped, but that's where I am right now.  Happy that he didn't find anything severe but still wondering why this is happening, how to fix it & what's actually wrong.

[KarenH1]

I'm glad I came across this thread (Even though its taken me the best part of my day to get the time to read through it properly!)

I'm trying to decide between the copper and mirena at the moment, and after reading through this thread its pretty obvious that there are less severe side effects from the copper! I've had 2 DDs (age nearly 5yrs and 10 months) and I'm 99% sure i don't want anymore.

If only I could convince the other half that getting the snip is a good idea, then I wouldn't have to worry about ANY of this stuff, but for now for us the copper IUD sounds like its definitely going to be the better option. 

thanks so much for this thread and for all the ladies that posted their experiences with both! 

[tri31]

I thank you for posting this, I just had one thing to add. I opted for Mirena (instead of essure) and everything went well. Not too painful and my period almost stopped completely right away. Next morning I noticed a rash along my rib cage. Called my provider and was promptly told that one had nothing to do with the other. On Christmas day my mom in law mentioned it looked like Shingles. Sure enough that is what it is. Mirena effected my immune system making me vulnerable to something I didn't even consider. Fortunately I caught it early, and it isn't as bad as it could have been. I  am nursing a 9 month old! The doctor said I should not be to worried about the babies exposure, and I can take the anti virals. But if I had known about the risk I would have just waited.

[lactatinggirl]

I didn't even know that there was a non-hormonal IUD! I currently have a Mirena and it was smooth sailing until about a year after putting it in, I started getting horrid acne (I didn't even have acne when I was a teenager!). I read about it online and apparently a lot of women have bad side effects with Mirena. I won't switch now because we're planning on TTC in 6 months, but after next baby I'll definitely look into Paragard.